Lake Ontario Environment Quality: Are There Future Surprises?

Great Lake productivity and health are maintained by synergistic actions of many factors, none of which act independently with similar results. For example, questions have been raised regarding a conflict in Lake Ontario resource management strategies that both target nutrient control limiting productivity, and emphasize extensive fish stocking enhancing lake productivity. Further confounding the strategies of nutrient control and fish stocking are feedback processes between food web manipulations and effects on nutrient cycling. Mass balance calculations demonstrated gaps in our knowledge on these processes and a significant concern was raised regarding how much nutrient abatement is enough in relation to primary production and food web support. It was also postulated that changes in nutrient cycles and carbon flow in Lake Ontario could significantly influence the flow of toxic contaminants from various sources within the ecosystem.