Research (Français)

Renewable resources Master’s student, I am conducting research under the mentorship of Pascal Sirois (Chaire de recherche sur les espèces aquatiques exploitées, UQAC), co-supervised by Gesche Winkler (Institut des Sciences de la Mer, Québec-Océan, UQAR) and in collaboration with the Ministère de la Faune, des Forêts et des Parcs.

During the 1960’s, the St. Lawrence Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) population has gone extinct because of significant habitat changes and excessive fishing pressure. This anadromous species, typical of the estuaries and shorelines of the North American east coast, has been gradually reintroduced since 2002. It is now well documented that the population self-reproduced since 2008. Nevertheless, little is known about the ecology of this new striped bass population, especially about the interactions between early life stages and their potential prey.

In this context of reintroduction, I am working to deepen the understanding of the interactions between larval and juvenile stages of fishes, paying particular attention to the striped bass, and assemblages of zooplankton and other invertebrates in the St. Lawrence estuary. This research will improve the management of striped bass and its critical habitat. In addition, this study provides insights for a better understanding of interactions within fish communities based on detailed prey species description.

Lien vers les photos du projet Habitat MOSA

Communications

Lévesque S, Vanalderweireldt L, Forget-Lacoursière EL, Gagnon K, Legault M, Sirois P (In prep) Growth of juvenile walleye correlated with accumulated degree-days in a large boreal reservoir.

Forget-Lacoursière, EL.; Vanalderweireldt, L.; Winkler, G.; Sirois, P. (2016) Ichthyoplankton and juvenile fish community structure in the St. Lawrence River since the re-establishment of the Striped Bass population. 40^th Annual Larval Fish Conference; 2016 June 19-23; Solomons, MD. Ressources Aquatiques Québec Annual Reunion; 2016 November 22-23; Québec, QC.