Multiple Stressors and Cumulative Effects in the Great Lakes: An NSERC CREATE program to Develop Innovative Solutions through International Training Partnerships

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The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin is home to over 33 million people, approximately 10% of the population of North America. It is a key industrial and manufacturing center and its surrounding watersheds contain some of the most productive agricultural land in North America. With such an intense human presence comes a heavy human footprint, and the Great Lakes ecosystems have a long legacy of interacting anthropogenic stress regimes (e.g., nutrient pollution, chemical contamination, invasive species, coastal development, habitat destruction, among many others). Historically, researchers from different disciplines have examined these problems from the perspective of individual stressors but it is becoming increasingly clear that effective and innovative policy solutions to many of environmental problems experienced by the Great Lakes must be founded on a comprehensive understanding of how stressors interact and their cumulative effects. In the unique international environment of the Great Lakes, we believe that this is best achieved by training a core of professionals using a trans-boundary, multidisciplinary approach that integrates scientific, social, and economic dimensions which promotes direct interaction between researchers, policy-makers, and the public sector. Using a comprehensive combination of fundamental and practical teaching approaches, a "learn while doing" philosophy, this NSERC CREATE program on multiple stressors and cumulative effects is designed to train the next generation of scientists and policy-makers to understand and be capable of addressing the complex issue of multiple stressors and cumulative effects; students who are "market-ready" and therefore able to assume leadership positions in government, industry, and academia; and a core of professionals who will be in the best position to advise on and develop strategic regulatory policy and management frameworks for the future sustainability of the Great Lakes ecosystems.