The election results are in and we are happy to announce that the following individuals will be joining the SCAS Board of Directors as of Feb 2023:

Erin Stewart – Student Representative (1 year)

Anas Mohamed Usoof – Early Career Researcher Representative (1 year)

Andrea Kirkwood – Member-at-Large (2 years)

Karen Smokorowksi – Vice-President (1 year)

The newly elected officials will join the other returning members of the Board:

Jerome Marty – Member-at-large

Josh Thienpont – Treasurer

John Lark – Secretary

Steve Cooke – President

Kerri Finlay – Past-President

Thank you to everyone who put their names forward for the elected positions, and to the membership for casting their votes! We are looking forward to another year of productive meetings to offer support to the Canadian Aquatic Sciences community through the provision of new and exciting events and opportunities for our members. 

Sincerely,

Kerri Finlay

SCAS President (outgoing)

The SCAS-SCSA  committee has recently awarded the Robert H. Peters Award and the Frank H. Rigler Award for 2022. We would like to recognize Graydon McKee as the winner of the Peters Award and Dr. Beatrix Beisner as the winner of the Rigler Award.

Peters Award, winner: Graydon McKee

The Robert H. Peters Award recognizes the best aquatic sciences paper published in the preceding year by a Canadian student or a student working in Canada. The winner of the 2022 Peters Award is Graydon McKee, a recent graduate from Lakehead University. Graydon’s paper titled, “Alternative migratory strategies related to life history differences in the walleye (Sander vitreus)” was published in Movement Ecology (McKee et al. 2022). In the words of Graydon’s nominator, “Graydon’s work stands to make a significant contribution to understanding the inherent variation that exists within managed populations like fisheries, indicating that management strategies targeted at “a population” without recognizing this variation is unlikely to succeed, or alternatively, only potentially benefit one fraction of the population”.

Congratulations Graydon! We look forward to seeing more exciting publications in your research career!

Rigler Award, winner: Dr. Beatrix Beisner

The Frank H. Rigler Award recognizes and honours major achievements in the field of limnology by Canadians or those working in Canada. The 2023 Rigler awardee is Dr. Beatrix Beisner, professor at the University of Quebec at Montreal. Her research focuses on plankton community ecology, with research themes encompassing biodiversity and invasion ecology.  Over her research career so far, Dr. Beisner has trained 14 postdoctoral fellows, 24 PhD students, and 28 MSc students, and published over 100 peer-reviewed articles that have had lasting impact on the field. Some of Dr. Beisner’s most significant contributions include work on aquatic community dynamics as they relate to climate change and the application of functional ecology in planktonic communities. Her paper on alternative stable states in ecology (Beisner et al. 2003) has been particularly well cited across disciplines. Dr. Beisner is an established leader in Canadian limnology and is currently the co-director of the Groupe de Recherche Interuniversitaire en Limnologie et Environnement Aquatique (GRIL) and has been instrumental in organizing annual meetings, collaborative research projects, and providing access to critical infrastructure for limnological research. The research that has emerged from GRIL is renowned across Canada and globally.

Congratulations Bea!! We look forward to seeing your plenary talk at SCAS in Montreal in Feb 2023!

Lauréat du Prix Peters: Graydon McKee

Le Prix Robert H. Peters distingue le meilleur article sur les sciences aquatiques publié l'année précédente par un étudiant canadien ou un étudiant travaillant au Canada. Le gagnant du prix Peters 2022 est Graydon McKee, récemment diplômé de l'Université Lakehead. L'article de Graydon est intitulé " Stratégies migratoires alternatives liées aux différences de cycle biologique chez le doré jaune (Sander vitreus) " et a été publié dans le journal Movement Ecology en 2022 (McKee et al. 2022). Selon la personne qui a proposé la candidature de Graydon, "le travail de Graydon contribuera de manière substantielle à la compréhension de la variation inhérente qui existe chez les populations régulées par les pêcheries, indiquant que les stratégies de régulation visant "une population" sans tenir compte de cette variation peuvent être inefficaces ou, au contraire, de ne profiter qu'à une fraction de la population".

Félicitations Graydon ! Nous sommes heureux de lire d'autres publications intéressantes dans votre carrière de scientifique!

Lauréate du Prix Rigler: Dr. Beatrix Beisner

Le Prix Frank H. Rigler distingue et honore des accomplissements exceptionnels dans le domaine de la limnologie par des Canadiens ou des personnes qui travaillent au Canada. La gagnante du prix Rigler 2023 est Beatrix Beisner, une professeure à l'Université du Québec à Montréal. Ses recherches se concentrent sur l'écologie des communautés planctoniques, avec des thèmes de recherche comprenant la biodiversité et l'écologie des invasions. Au cours de sa carrière scientifique, Docteure Beisner a entraîné 14 boursiers postdoctoraux, 24 étudiants en doctorat et 28 étudiants en maîtrise et a publié plus de 100 articles révisés par des pairs qui ont eu un impact considérable dans le domaine de la limnologie. Les contributions les plus importantes du Docteure Beisner comprennent des travaux sur la dynamique des communautés aquatiques en relation avec les changements climatiques et l'application de l'écologie fonctionnelle aux communautés planctoniques. Son article sur les états stables alternatifs en écologie (Beisner et al. 2003) a été particulièrement cité dans toutes les disciplines. Docteure Beisner est chef de file établi en limnologie canadienne et est actuellement co-directrice du Groupe de Recherche Interuniversitaire en Limnologie et Environnement Aquatique (GRIL). Elle a joué un rôle essentiel dans l'organisation des réunions annuelles, des projets de recherche en collaboration et a fourni l'accès à l'infrastructure critique pour la recherche en limnologie. La recherche réalisée par le GRIL est reconnue au Canada et dans le monde entier. Félicitations Bea ! 

Nous attendons avec intérêt de voir votre conférence plénière à la SCAS à Montréal en février 2023 !

The Society of Canadian Aquatic Sciences (SCAS) and Canadian Science Publishing (CSP) are thrilled to announce our new partnership.

CSP is Canada’s largest not-for-profit scientific journal publisher, publishing several journals that connect with SCAS members, including: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (CJFAS), Canadian Journal of Zoology, Environmental Reviews, and FACETS. Our mutual respect for environmental science and its advancement in Canada make this collaboration natural and especially compelling.

We are both organizations that value world-class research and exceptional, peer-reviewed publications as a foundation for science communication. Our shared commitment to the development of a diverse, inclusive, equitable, and just community underlies everything we do and fortifies our passion for evidence-informed decision making.

Thanks to this partnership, CSP will support SCAS through:

● continued sponsorship of the Frank Rigler Award and Stevenson Lectureship, including CJFAS submission invitations for recipients,

● webinars and other resources for early-career SCAS members interested in understanding the publication process,

● development of special issues and symposium proposals from SCAS members, with a particular interest in those organized by, or featuring, early-career members,

● promotion of SCAS members’ works on CSP communication channels, and

● discounted rates for subscriptions to CSP journals.

Dr. Kerri Finlay, President of SCAS:

“Canadian Aquatic Scientists have had a long history of publishing, editing, reviewing, and reading manuscripts in CSP journals. This formalized partnership further strengthens the relationship between the organizations and affirms our commitment to high-quality aquatic science research and early career support.”

Dr. Sherestha Saini, Managing Editor, Environmental Sciences Journals at CSP:

“This symbiotic partnership furthers the goals of aquatic research excellence and early-career researcher support that CSP and SCAS are both dedicated to achieving and sustaining. We are excited to continue championing integrity and innovation in environmental science alongside SCAS members that work so diligently to accomplish the same.”

About the Society of Canadian Aquatic Sciences

The Society of Canadian Aquatic Sciences (SCAS) was formed in 2022 as an amalgamation of the Society of Canadian Limnologists (SCL) and the Canadian Conference of Fisheries Research (CCFFR). SCAS strives to be the leading scientific society for the excellence, integration, and dissemination of expert knowledge in fisheries, limnology, and aquatic sciences.

About Canadian Science Publishing

Canadian Science Publishing (CSP) is Canada’s independent, not-for-profit leader in mobilizing science, making sure it is easy to discover, use, and share. Featuring content from a global community of researchers, CSP is Canada’s largest publisher of scientific journals, publishing 22 peer-reviewed journals that cover the natural and physical sciences and engineering.

We are beyond excited to announce the launch of our shiny new website! Please feel free to navigate around the site, where you’ll find useful information on how to join, upcoming meetings, and lots of other great things we have in the works (and have archived from our previous two societies). And don’t forget to let us know what you think if you have suggestions/ideas! Just send us an e-mail at SocCanAquatSci@gmail.com!