RUI: Acquisition of Tools for an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Research, Education, and Management

Suny College At Oneonta, Oneonta NY

Investigators

Abstract

The State University of New York College at Oneonta (SUNY Oneonta) is a primarily undergraduate institution located in New York's Central Leatherstocking region. The SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station (BFS), located in Cooperstown, NY, supports research opportunities for high-school students, undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and visiting researchers. The planned improvements supported by the FSML grant will modernize the conventional limnological monitoring schema, improving the breadth and quality of the research, education, and training opportunities available to students and researchers at SUNY Oneonta and from other institutions through the addition of modern fisheries sampling and data collection capacities. The requested equipment will greatly enhance several ongoing projects at the BFS, provide capacity needed to revitalize an historical fisheries program that has been largely absent from the BFS for nearly 30 years, and increase the self-reliance of the BFS in providing regional support integral to opportunities offered to undergraduate and graduate students, and visiting researchers. Projects and programs that will benefit from these improvements include: the nation's first Master of Science (MS) and Professional Science Master (PSM) programs in Lake Management; characterization of food web dynamics in Otsego Lake, NY, following collapse of an invasive planktivore; restoration of lake whitefish in Otsego Lake; continued warm-water fisheries monitoring and updating an historical inventory; ecosystem-level effects of the trophic management in experimental ponds; continued long-term monitoring of water quality and limnological parameters in Otsego Lake and the Upper Susquehanna River watershed; coordinated long-term, high-resolution limnological and climate monitoring with other SUNY institutions and contribution to the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON); and research on local and regional fish parasites. The BFS has a demonstrated dedication to long-term monitoring of aquatic ecosystems on BFS lands and throughout New York State. Monitoring efforts have ranged in application from informing the management of fisheries, lakes, and surrounding watersheds to basic research for the advancement of biological and ecological knowledge. Certain systems have accumulated more than 40 years of continuous monitoring data, some of which have been utilized in high-impact global climate research projects. The BFS conducts collaborative research projects with local, state and federal partners, and integrates current ecological theories into natural resource management practices. It serves the local community by monitoring water quality, controlling sources and symptoms of anthropogenic eutrophication, managing aquatic invasive species, and assessing emerging pollutants. These comprehensive monitoring efforts provide diverse opportunities to study natural resource management questions at various levels, from individual ecosystem components to the ecosystem and regional levels.