Walleye Bright Spots

Welcome to the Bright Spots Website!

Habitat loss, pollution, species introductions, and overfishing have impacted inland fisheries for decades. The impact of climate change threatens to compound these other factors. Our work focuses on walleye fisheries of inland lakes of the Upper Great Lakes region, which have been declining since the early 2000s. Rather than the usual focus on understanding walleye population declines, our research emphasizes ‘bright spots’ - fisheries success stories. We seek to understand the drivers associated with fisheries that perform far better than expectations (‘bright’ fisheries).

Projects

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Climate Change and Resilience of Sport Fisheries in Lakes
Sport fisheries of lakes are embedded in complex system of ecological and social interactions. The multiple drivers that affect lake sport fisheries, along with the complex interactions within lakes, make it difficult to forecast changes in sport fisheries and plan adaptive responses to build resilience of these important resources. Resilience involves managing with an eye toward critical thresholds for behavior of ecosystems.
Climate Change and Resilience of Sport Fisheries in Lakes
Safe Operating Space for Walleye Managing Inland Recreational Fisheries for Climate Change
Walleye, a socially and economically important sportfish across much of North America, are experiencing population declines in many lakes throughout their range. Studies suggest that multiple factors – potentially linked to climate change – are contributing to the decline of walleye, including changes in lake temperatures, loss of habitat, increasing water clarity (perhaps due to drought), and interactions with other fish.
Safe Operating Space for Walleye Managing Inland Recreational Fisheries for Climate Change
Walleye Fisheries Bright Spots in a Changing Climate
Rather than focusing on understanding walleye population declines, this project’s approach is to probe the factors that underlie successful, thriving fisheries. Focusing on ‘bright spots’ and examples of ’success’ tends to highlight innovations, social context, and the possibility of more effective fisheries management in the face of environmental change.
Walleye Fisheries Bright Spots in a Changing Climate

Project Timelines

 
 
 
 
 
Walleye Bright Spots
November 2021 – Present Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, USA
 
 
 
 
 
Walleye Safe Operating Space
May 2016 – September 2022 Wisconsin, USA
 
 
 
 
 
Climate Change and Resilience of Sport Fisheries in Lakes
April 2011 – April 2015 Wisconsin, USA

Project Publications

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Institutions

University of Wisconsin - Madison
University of Wisconsin - Steven’s Point
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
United States Geological Survey
Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Quinnlan Smith

Quinnlan Smith

PhD Student - University of Wisconsin - Madison

Website

I am a fisheries biologist with interests relating to the conservation and management of fish communities, the influence of climate change on the ecology, fisheries, and population dynamics within lake systems, human effects on ecosystems, and water column effects due to changing light conditions.

Chris Rounds

Chris Rounds

PhD Student - University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Website

I am interested in the anthropogenic impacts on aquatic ecosystems, mainly in the form of invasive species and climate change.

Ben Vasquez

Ben Vasquez

MS Student - Univeristy of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

I am a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point studying walleye habitat use in three northern Wisconsin lakes. My current project involves archival tagging and acoustic telemetry to evaluate walleye temperature and light-at-depth use. My other research interests include trophic ecology of sportfish and fisheries management.

Dr. Holly Embke

Dr. Holly Embke

Principal Investigator - United States Geological Survey

Website

Holly Embke is a Research Fish Biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center. Holly’s research aims to understand conditions to support self-sustaining inland fish communities in a changing climate across a range of scales. Her work is collaborative and seeks to inform the conservation of inland fishes by working directly with partners to address areas of management concern and develop adaptation strategies.

Dr. Gretchen Hansen

Dr. Gretchen Hansen

Principal Investigator - University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Website

I am an assistant professor of fisheries ecology at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. My research focuses on freshwater ecosystems in the context of environmental change, with a particular focus on climate change impacts on fish communities.

Dr. Jake Vander Zanden

Dr. Jake Vander Zanden

Principal Investigator - University of Wisconsin - Madison

Website

I am Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and the Director of the Center for Limnology at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. My research is focused on lakes, and specifically how humans and a broad range of human activities affect lakes. Much of my work is done from a food web perspective.

Dr. Olaf Jensen

Dr. Olaf Jensen

Principal Investigator - University of Wisconsin - Madison

Website

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and the Center for Limnology at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. My research is focused on understanding the combination of human and ecological factors that contribute to sustainability of marine and freshwater fisheries.

Dr. Zachary S. Feiner

Dr. Zachary S. Feiner

Principal Investigator - University of Wisconsin Madison - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

WICCI Fisheries Working Group

WDNR Fisheries Research

I am a research scientist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and UW-Madison Center for Limnology. My research interests involve the human impacts on freshwater ecosystems, including climate change impacts on fish populations and the interrelationships between fisheries management and fish populations that drive the sustainability of recreational fisheries.

Dr. Aaron D Schultz

Dr. Aaron D Schultz

Collaborator - Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission

Website

Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership

Fisheries Conservation Foundation

Boozhoo (hello), my name is Aaron Shultz, and I am a climate change fisheries biologist with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC). My research and management interests include weaving together indigenous knowledge and scientific knowledge, evaluating the effects of catch-and-release angling, assessing the vulnerability of beings (species) to climate change, developing climate adaptation plans, and designing rehabilitation plans for aquatic ecosystems. In addition to my role at GLIFWC, I serve on the steering committee for Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership and am on the board of directors for the Fisheries Conservation Foundation.

Dr. Greg G. Sass

Dr. Greg G. Sass

Collaborator - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

I am a fisheries research scientist broadly interested in fisheries ecology, fisheries management, and the sustainability of exploited fish populations with considerations of ecosystem-based perspectives on habitat conservation and enhancement and fisheries as social-ecological systems providing subsistence and recreational ecosystem services.

Contact

Feel free to contact me with any questions about the project!