Advancing Resilience: Integrative Ecosystem Management in the Great Lakes

The Modelling Food Web Resilience in the Great Lakes working group recently met at the Centre for Ecosystem Management to focus on discussions around resilience, governance, and modelling in ecosystem management.

Attendees included individuals from government agencies as well as other post-secondary institutions within the US and Canada. Guest speakers presented talks centered on these themes, emphasizing the interconnectedness of ecosystem components over time and space:

  • Towards managing for resilience in the Great Lakes Basin (Dr. Kevin McCann, University of Guelph)

  • Using Allometric Trophic Network (ATN) models for resilience & restoration (Dr. Kayla Hale, University of Guelph)

  • Retrospective methods to prioritize areas for restoration (Dr. Cindy Chu, Fisheries and Oceans Canada)

  • LIM approach to Ecopath mass balance (Dr. Tom Stewart)

  • Navigating coregonine restoration: Analysis of contemporary & future food web structures (Alex Koeberle, Cornell University)

  • Portfolio theory in management and conservation planning (Dr. Stuart Ludsin, Ohio State University)

  • Habitat sensitivity and ecosystem assessment (Dr. Marten Koops, Fisheries and Oceans Canada)

  • Size-structured models and food web resilience (Dr. Henrique Giacomini, University of Toronto)

Unlike traditional approaches that often target single species or specific issues like nutrient runoff, the group discussed the benefits of a systems-level perspective. CEM representatives Dr. Kevin McCann and Dr. Kayla Hale highlighted how managing ecosystems as integrated systems can mitigate risks such as harmful algal blooms, which are influenced by factors like water opacity and species interactions. Currently, management practices tend to address issues individually and short-term, potentially leading to conflicting goals and unexpected outcomes. This workshop aimed to promote a holistic view of ecosystem management to resource managers, emphasizing the importance of resilience—the capacity of the entire system to maintain diversity and function. A paper summarizing the discussions and recommendations is expected to follow.

Helen Vanos