Session Information
Session Topics
We are inviting attendees to submit abstracts for presentations and posters to one of the theme areas listed below. These themes are consistent with the themes used in past symposia but have been adjusted to account for changing management needs and to recognize our hosts Saugeen Ojibway Nation and their unique connection with coregonine fishes.
Presenters should plan on giving a 15-minute talk.
The maximum dimensions of posters should be 92cm X 92cm (36" X 36").
If you are unsure what theme to use or the subject matter does not fit into the sessions listed below, a general category is available.
Cumulative Stressors on Coregonine Populations: Climate Change, Disease, Habitat Loss, and Fishing Pressure
Many coregonine populations are now shaped by overlapping stressors, including changing nutrient regimes and water clarity, climate-driven warming and stratification, habitat degradation, interactions with invasive species, and pathogens, as well as harvest and bycatch. This session will bring together research that examines how these drivers interact across space, time, and life stages, rather than treating them one at a time. We invite contributions that use empirical field data, laboratory experiments, modelling, or long-term monitoring to tease apart cumulative and synergistic effects on growth, survival, recruitment, distribution, and resilience. Work that links environmental change to population dynamics, stock productivity, or fishery performance will be especially valuable. Talks that bridge disciplines, such as disease ecology, ecotoxicology, fisheries science, and social-ecological perspectives, are encouraged to help build a more integrated understanding of risk and recovery options for coregonines.
Movement Ecology and Behaviour of Coregonines: Telemetry, Tagging, and Novel Tracking Tools
The past decade has seen rapid growth in the use of acoustic telemetry, and other tracking technologies to study coregonines in lakes, rivers, and coastal systems. This session will focus on what these tools are revealing about habitat use, spawning site fidelity, seasonal migrations, and responses to environmental change or human activities. We welcome talks that present new analytical approaches, multi-sensor integrations (e.g., combining telemetry with environmental data, genetics, or isotopes), and comparative studies across basins or species. Methodological contributions, such as tag effects, deployment strategies, detection range testing, and data management are also encouraged. By bringing together diverse telemetry and tagging projects, this session aims to clarify how movement ecology can inform habitat protection, spatial management, restoration planning, and impact assessments.
Coregonines Across Scales: From Individual Physiology to Ecosystem Functions
Coregonines connect processes from the cellular level up to whole ecosystems, and this session will reflect that full spectrum. We invite contributions on individual-level topics such as physiology, bioenergetics, growth, behavior, disease, and stress responses; population-level topics including life-history variation, recruitment dynamics, stock assessment models, and demographic change; and community or ecosystem-level topics such as predator-prey interactions, food-web structure, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem modelling. Studies that explicitly link multiple scales; for example, how individual condition influences recruitment, or how food-web shifts alter population productivity are encouraged. Both empirical and modelling work are welcome, as are syntheses that integrate historical datasets with contemporary observations. The overarching goal is to highlight how processes at one level of organization cascade to others, and how this understanding can support more effective stewardship and conservation of coregonine species.
Applying the 7th Generation Principle to Coregonine Restoration and Stewardship
Coregonines have been culturally, spiritually, and nutritionally important to Indigenous peoples since time immemorial, and many Nations view decisions about these fishes through the lens of responsibilities to future generations. This session focuses on approaches to coregonine stewardship that are grounded in the 7th Generation principle and in Indigenous jurisdiction, values, and laws. We invite talks that highlight Indigenous Knowledge and governance systems, community-driven monitoring and restoration, and co-developed research frameworks that bring Indigenous Knowledge and western science together as complementary ways of knowing. Contributions might include examples of ceremony, story, and language informing management; Indigenous-led restoration projects; legal and policy innovations; and reflections on ethical space, relational accountability, and data sovereignty. Subject to logistics, this session may be held at a nearby First Nation, and we particularly encourage presentations by Indigenous Knowledge Holders, youth, and community practitioners, as well as their collaborators.
Sustainable Coregonine Aquaculture: Bridging Commercial Production and Conservation
This session will explore how aquaculture of coregonines (e.g., lake whitefish, cisco, vendace) can support both commercial production and stewardship goals rather than placing them in opposition. Presentations will examine innovative culture techniques, broodstock management, genetic and ecological risks, interactions with wild populations, and the role of hatcheries in restoration programs. We especially welcome talks that critically evaluate the ecological footprint of coregonine aquaculture (feeds, wastes, escapes, disease transfer) and highlight approaches that reduce impacts while sustaining livelihoods and food security. Case studies that link Indigenous and local food systems, community-based aquaculture, and co-developed governance models are encouraged. Contributions that provide practical recommendations for policy, regulation, and best practices will help connect this session directly to on-the-water decision making.
Genetics and Genomics in Support of Coregonine Management and Conservation: a Tribute to Dr. Louis Bernatchez
Advances in genetics and genomics have transformed our understanding of coregonine diversity, evolutionary history, and adaptive potential, with direct implications for stewardship and conservation. This session will highlight how tools ranging from traditional markers to whole-genome sequencing are being used to resolve complex species and form structure, identify locally adapted populations, delineate management units, assess hatchery-wild interactions, and inform restoration planning. We invite research that addresses hybridization, cryptic diversity, adaptive divergence across environmental gradients, and genomic responses to harvest, climate change, or habitat alteration. The session also serves as a tribute to Dr. Louis Bernatchez, whose pioneering work on fish phylogeography, population structure, and evolutionary ecology has shaped much of the current genetic and genomic research on coregonines. Talks that build on, extend, or reflect on his scientific legacy are especially welcome, as are contributions that translate genomic insights into concrete guidance for policy and on-the-ground stewardship.
