IRFP: Resistance and resilience in Canadian freshwater fish communities with climate induced species range shifts

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The International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad. This award will support an eighteen-month research fellowship by Dr. Karen M. Alofs to work with Dr. Donald A. Jackson at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada. Climate change is expected to produce shifts in species distributions leading to novel species assemblages and altering interspecific interactions. Studies of the effects of climate change on biodiversity, however, often focus on direct impacts for individual species ignoring the role of species interactions. A collection of historical and modern data from Ontario lakes is being used to study climate induced range shifts and their effects at northern latitudes where changes are predicted to be strongest. This project empirically tests for predicted range shifts and examines their relationship to freshwater fish community composition. Three primary objectives of this study are to (1) confirm predicted range shifts for freshwater fish species, including expansions (introductions) of cool and warmwater species at their northern limits and contractions (losses) of coldwater species at their southern limits; (2) examine whether community composition influences these species introductions or losses; and (3) test whether the impacts of range shifts varies between species or by characteristics of the lake or fish community.Ecological theory regarding species distributions and interspecific interactions can be used to make informed conservation decisions in the face of climate change and the related influences of invasive species. This project involves working with resource managers to evaluate conservation and monitoring priorities and educate the public. This research will also provide insights into ecological processes including colonization, extinction and community assembly by analyzing the natural experiments provided by climate induced range shifts.