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Reflections on the 26th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research
J. Great Lakes Res. 9(4):590-591 Internat. Assoc. Great Lakes Res., 1983
COMMENTARY REFLECTIONS ON THE 26th ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON GREAT LAKES RESEARCHl
John E. Gannon 2
Research Center-King Hall State University of New York Oswego, New York 13126
The 26th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research was held during 23-26 May 1983 on the southeastern shore of Lake Ontario at the campus of the State University of New York, College at Oswego. The conference was co-hosted by the State University Research Center at Oswego and the New York Sea Grant Institute. The strength of the International Association for Great Lakes Research and the annual conferences has been the multidisciplinary focus on large lakes. It is difficult, however, in the atmosphere of 4 or 5 concurrent sessions to foster interdisciplinary interactions and discussion. Consequently, the program committee made an extra effort to allow time for professional interactions and informal discussions by hosting a wine and cheese social, featuring New York State wines produced in the "lake effect" climate of the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes, and a mid-eonference tour of the eastern Lake Ontario region. The tour was hosted by the New York Power Authority and included stops at the Nine Mile Point nuclear energy complex and the Salmon River Fish Hatchery. Participants were treated to a
fish boil luncheon hosted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at the fish hatchery. Another method of fostering interdisciplinary discussion is through the plenary session. This year the topic was "Perspectives on Lake Ontario Water Quality." The topic was particularly apropos because a decade has passed since Lake Ontario was last studied intensively during IFYGL (International Field Year on the Great Lakes). Moreover, attendees received up-to-date information on Lake Ontario resource management concerns, especially the discouraging persistence of bioaccumulated contaminants and the encouraging rehabilitation of fish stocks and revival of the sport fishery. The 26th Conference was truly multidisciplinary with 176 papers presented in a wide spectrum of disciplines (Table 1). Papers related to organic contaminants were most prevalent (19.3%), obviously reflecting current concerns about the potential threat of these substances to the health of the TABLE 1. Array oj topics and numbers ojpapers (total N=176) presented at the 26th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research.
1Editor's
note: on the occasion of the silver anniversary of the annual Great Lakes conference (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, May 1982), former IAGLR president Carlos Fetterolf, Jr. presented a chronological summary of past conferences. While preparing his review he found that a certain flavor was lost in 1975 when the annual conference proceedings were changed to the quarterly Journal. The conference proceedings always had an introduction, usually by the conference chairperson, that accentuated the thrust of the conference and major focal points of research at that time. Without such an introduction in the Journal, it is more difficult to identify the emerging concerns and interests of the large lakes research community. Consequently, he proposed at the 1982 IAGLR Annual Business Meeting that future conference chairpersons prepare a synopsis of each annual conference. The IAGLR Board of Directors concurred with his suggestion and this is the initial installment of a new series of conference summaries. 2Current address: Great Lakes Regional Office, International Joint Commission, Windsor, Ontario N9A 6T3.
590
Physicochemical Sciences (33) Climate (3) Hydrology (4) Ice (3) Physical limnology (9) Sedimentology (9) Sediment transport (5)
Water Quality (92) Monitoring/ Surveillance (I I) Eutrophication (28) Contaminant methods (5) Contaminant. transport (I I) Organic contaminants (18) Inorganic/ heavy metal contaminants (6) Toxicology/bioassay (13)
Biological Sciences (33) Algae (6) Bacteria (2) Fishery biology (15) Macrophytes (4) Paleolimnology (3) Zooplankton (3)
Bioengineering (6) Recreational Socioeconomics (7) Water Usage Law (5)
591
COMMENTARY
Great Lakes. Although considerable success in eutrophication control has occurred in the Great Lakes in recent years, many papers (15.9%) were delivered on the eutrophication problem, expressing our improved knowledge of nutrient sources and sinks, phosphorus bioavailability, and phosphorus control strategies. Physicochemical and biological papers were representative of many subdisciplines (Table 1). Papers on sediments, continuing a recent trend at Great Lakes conferences, were most prevalent among physical science presentations. Descriptive biological papers were rare; instead, presentations focused on functional interrelationships between the environment and biota with fisheries biology and bioassay papers predominant. Papers on law, socioeconomics, and bio-
engineering, topics infrequently represented at past meetings, were delivered in three symposia at this conference. The Journal of Great Lakes Research recently broadened its scope to include other large lakes of the world (Sonzogni 1982). Complementing that theme, a symposium on Lake Champlain and a session on the Finger Lakes were held at the Oswego conference. It is hoped that papers on other large lakes of the world will be presented at future Great Lakes conferences and appear in the Journal with increasing frequency. REFERENCE Sonzogni, W. C. 1982. Large lakes-A vital resource and international heritage. J. Great Lakes Res. 8:377.
COMMENTARY REFLECTIONS ON THE 26th ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON GREAT LAKES RESEARCHl
John E. Gannon 2
Research Center-King Hall State University of New York Oswego, New York 13126
The 26th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research was held during 23-26 May 1983 on the southeastern shore of Lake Ontario at the campus of the State University of New York, College at Oswego. The conference was co-hosted by the State University Research Center at Oswego and the New York Sea Grant Institute. The strength of the International Association for Great Lakes Research and the annual conferences has been the multidisciplinary focus on large lakes. It is difficult, however, in the atmosphere of 4 or 5 concurrent sessions to foster interdisciplinary interactions and discussion. Consequently, the program committee made an extra effort to allow time for professional interactions and informal discussions by hosting a wine and cheese social, featuring New York State wines produced in the "lake effect" climate of the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes, and a mid-eonference tour of the eastern Lake Ontario region. The tour was hosted by the New York Power Authority and included stops at the Nine Mile Point nuclear energy complex and the Salmon River Fish Hatchery. Participants were treated to a
fish boil luncheon hosted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at the fish hatchery. Another method of fostering interdisciplinary discussion is through the plenary session. This year the topic was "Perspectives on Lake Ontario Water Quality." The topic was particularly apropos because a decade has passed since Lake Ontario was last studied intensively during IFYGL (International Field Year on the Great Lakes). Moreover, attendees received up-to-date information on Lake Ontario resource management concerns, especially the discouraging persistence of bioaccumulated contaminants and the encouraging rehabilitation of fish stocks and revival of the sport fishery. The 26th Conference was truly multidisciplinary with 176 papers presented in a wide spectrum of disciplines (Table 1). Papers related to organic contaminants were most prevalent (19.3%), obviously reflecting current concerns about the potential threat of these substances to the health of the TABLE 1. Array oj topics and numbers ojpapers (total N=176) presented at the 26th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research.
1Editor's
note: on the occasion of the silver anniversary of the annual Great Lakes conference (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, May 1982), former IAGLR president Carlos Fetterolf, Jr. presented a chronological summary of past conferences. While preparing his review he found that a certain flavor was lost in 1975 when the annual conference proceedings were changed to the quarterly Journal. The conference proceedings always had an introduction, usually by the conference chairperson, that accentuated the thrust of the conference and major focal points of research at that time. Without such an introduction in the Journal, it is more difficult to identify the emerging concerns and interests of the large lakes research community. Consequently, he proposed at the 1982 IAGLR Annual Business Meeting that future conference chairpersons prepare a synopsis of each annual conference. The IAGLR Board of Directors concurred with his suggestion and this is the initial installment of a new series of conference summaries. 2Current address: Great Lakes Regional Office, International Joint Commission, Windsor, Ontario N9A 6T3.
590
Physicochemical Sciences (33) Climate (3) Hydrology (4) Ice (3) Physical limnology (9) Sedimentology (9) Sediment transport (5)
Water Quality (92) Monitoring/ Surveillance (I I) Eutrophication (28) Contaminant methods (5) Contaminant. transport (I I) Organic contaminants (18) Inorganic/ heavy metal contaminants (6) Toxicology/bioassay (13)
Biological Sciences (33) Algae (6) Bacteria (2) Fishery biology (15) Macrophytes (4) Paleolimnology (3) Zooplankton (3)
Bioengineering (6) Recreational Socioeconomics (7) Water Usage Law (5)
591
COMMENTARY
Great Lakes. Although considerable success in eutrophication control has occurred in the Great Lakes in recent years, many papers (15.9%) were delivered on the eutrophication problem, expressing our improved knowledge of nutrient sources and sinks, phosphorus bioavailability, and phosphorus control strategies. Physicochemical and biological papers were representative of many subdisciplines (Table 1). Papers on sediments, continuing a recent trend at Great Lakes conferences, were most prevalent among physical science presentations. Descriptive biological papers were rare; instead, presentations focused on functional interrelationships between the environment and biota with fisheries biology and bioassay papers predominant. Papers on law, socioeconomics, and bio-
engineering, topics infrequently represented at past meetings, were delivered in three symposia at this conference. The Journal of Great Lakes Research recently broadened its scope to include other large lakes of the world (Sonzogni 1982). Complementing that theme, a symposium on Lake Champlain and a session on the Finger Lakes were held at the Oswego conference. It is hoped that papers on other large lakes of the world will be presented at future Great Lakes conferences and appear in the Journal with increasing frequency. REFERENCE Sonzogni, W. C. 1982. Large lakes-A vital resource and international heritage. J. Great Lakes Res. 8:377.