Contributed talks:
11 March 2023 Winner of the E.J. Crossman Award for Best Student Oral Presentation Abstract: Bighead Carp threatens to expand northward and invade the Laurentian Great Lakes, but there is uncertainty about whether the winter conditions encountered there could impose a population bottleneck. Population growth of Bighead Carp is highly sensitive to the survival of young-of-year (age-0), but this life stage is often implicated in population bottlenecks at northern latitudes.
23 February 2023 Abstract: Bighead Carp threatens to invade the Laurentian Great Lakes, but there is uncertainty about whether winter conditions encountered during northward expansion could impose a population bottleneck. Young-of-year (age-0), a critical life stage, are especially vulnerable to starvation due to their reduced size and capacity to store energy, and are often implicated in population bottlenecks at northern latitudes. By modelling how climate warming could affect spawn timing, growth, and the onset and duration of winter, we explored how the recruitment and overwinter survival of young-of-year Bighead Carp could change in response to climate change.
17 May 2022 Abstract: Bighead Carp populations have established and caused great ecological and economic damage throughout the Mississippi River. Their range continues to expand and they currently threaten to invade the Laurentian Great Lakes, but it is uncertain how they will perform in new environments and under climate change. Around the world, Bighead Carp populations in different climates show variation in size-at-age and age of maturity. At higher latitudes, individuals grow more slowly and mature later in life at larger adult sizes, while those in warmer regions grow faster but mature younger and smaller.
21 April 2022 Abstract: Bighead carp inhabits various climates around the world and have multiple traits that contribute to its successful invasion, such as high fecundity, fast growth, and large body size. However, bighead carp also exhibits variable growth and maturation in different environments, which can affect these traits and, ultimately, impact population performance. In warmer climates, bighead carp experience faster subadult growth but mature at younger ages, resulting in smaller size at maturity, while populations at higher latitudes mature later in life at larger sizes.