The Lake Ontario Nearshore Study: Introduction and summary

doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2012.07.006

Journal of Great Lakes Research

Volume 38, Supplement 4, 2012, Pages 2-9

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2012.07.006 Get rights and content

Abstract

Intensive sampling of seven 100-km² nearshore sites and a lake circumnavigation using geo-spatially linked, continuous-measuring sensors allowed unprecedented detail on the structure of the nearshore of Lake Ontario in the post-dreissenid era. The 23 manuscripts describe the wide variability in nearshore nutrients, suspended solids, and organic wastewater correlated with proximity to the shoreline and among geographic areas. Although 7.71 × 10⁵ mT of dreissenids exist in the nearshore, phosphorus regenerated was not enough to sustain populations of Cladophora. The phosphorus load of tributaries to Lake Ontario was 234% higher than of wastewater treatment plants and 67.5% of the 1982 Niagara phosphorus load. Phosphorus loading from local watersheds appeared to be the underlying driver for the spatial nearshore variability in Cladophora biomass. Such research has implications for the nearshore of other large lakes and is a necessary prerequisite to more fully understand how the nearshore functions in the post-dreissenid era. Consistent monitoring should be conducted on the major tributaries and representative smaller water courses in Ontario and New York to obtain ongoing information on the spectrum of influences that shoreline runoff has on the nearshore and the lake as a whole. We believe, however, that this falls short of what is needed to effectively manage nearshore water resources. We suggest that nearshore management might be advanced by a more purposeful coupling of the knowledge that exists in the field of watershed science with that of the limnology of large lakes to predict explicit nearshore conditions in the face of potential future environmental management regimes.

Highlights

► In 2008 an intensive study of the nearshore of Lake Ontario was undertaken. ► Chemistry, Cladophora, phytoplankton, gobies, dreissenids results are presented. ► Variability in nutrients and suspended solids were correlated with land use. ► P regenerated by mussels was not enough to sustain populations of Cladophora. ► Watershed P loading was the driver for the spatial variability in Cladophora.

Introduction

Between the shoreline and the open waters of large lakes exists the nearshore zone, a transitional zone with unique limnological and biological characteristics, influenced by the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the offshore zone and by the chemistry and accompanying flows of streams reflecting land use and the geology of the watersheds. Lake Ontario's large nearshore zone encompasses 1020 km of shoreline with Canadian and American shorelines of nearly equal length (537 km Canada; 483 km USA) (Coordinated Great Lakes Physical Data, 1977). For Canadians and Americans, the coastal zone is the primary zone of contact with the waters of Lake Ontario. Most importantly, the coastal waters of Lake Ontario are a valuable resource for drinking water and industrial usage, recreational boating, fishing and swimming, tourism, and wastewater processing and are a key asset in the economies of upstate New York and the Province of Ontario. As stated in the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Act “…coastal ecosystems are critical to the state's environmental and economic security and integral to the state's high quality of life and culture. Healthy coastal ecosystems are part of the state's legacy, and are necessary to support the state's human and wildlife populations….” In Canada the interdependence of the social and economic well-being of citizens of the Great Lakes basin and the protection of the water resources and aquatic environment of the Great Lakes is articulated in Annex 3, The Lake and Basin Sustainability Annex, of the Canada–Ontario Agreement of 2007.

This 2008 binational study of the Lake Ontario nearshore zone is featured in this special edition of the Journal of Great Lakes Research. Despite the economic and ecological importance of the nearshore zone, development of policies to mitigate nearshore problems and restore this region is generally impeded by a fragmentary understanding of structure and function within the nearshore zone and of the stressors and driving forces in this region of the lake. Thus the general goal of the Lake Ontario Nearshore Study was to focus research and monitoring on better understanding the structure and function of the nearshore zone, an area traditionally receiving less attention in large-lake research, to provide guidance for the management of this valuable resource.

This research and special edition consists of 23 publications which are a result of a series of workshops sponsored by the Lake Ontario Lake Management Plan (LaMP) and the International Joint Commission's (IJC) Council of Great Lakes Research Managers held in Kingston, Ontario, in October of 2006 and a series of several follow-up meetings held at Burlington, Grand Island, etc. As part of the Lake Ontario Intensive Year 2008, this coastal zone research was coordinated with the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) for the Great Lakes (Richardson et al., 2012). Major portions of the American monitoring and research funding were provided by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. In Canada in-kind contributions from several agencies, including the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Environment Canada, and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority and partner Conservation Authorities, and funding support from COA made studies possible.

Section snippets

Current status: Nearshore

Despite significant improvements in the water quality of the open waters in the last three decades (Holeck et al., 2008), the Lake Ontario shoreline and embayments – bays, river and creek mouths – are suffering from stressors that detract from and in some cases severely limit their recreational use and ultimately affect the economic development of the region (Makarewicz, 2000, Makarewicz and Howell, 2007). Adverse outcomes include habitat destruction; algae blooms; erosion, sedimentation, and

Conclusions

In summary, the coastal waters of Lake Ontario are stressed due to the urban and agricultural development of the surrounding shores and to the ecological perturbation of the littoral zone attributable to invasive species. In 2008, water quality was assessed in detail over approximately 160 km of shoreline distributed among seven regions of the lake with varied land use in a cooperative cross-border study of the nearshore. Gradients in nutrients, major ions, fecal indicators, and suspended solids

Acknowledgments

American funding was provided by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). In particular, we thank Don Zelazny of NYSDEC for his success in securing and maintaining funding efforts during a period of economic challenges. We also recognize Fred Luckey of Region 2 USEPA for his spirited effort in facing the challenges of providing guidance to this LaMP-initiated project. The funding support from the Canada–Ontario Agreement for aspects of the Canadian studies is

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