We were honored to once again host an in-person (and online) Lake Erie and Inland Waters Annual Research Review December 9 and 10 at the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center. This event is an opportunity to bring together the researchers from Ohio Division of Wildlife and the university scientists and graduate students with whom they collaborate to study fisheries science and aquatic ecosystems across Ohio.

Welcoming remarks were delivered by Susan Olesik, Dean of the Division of Natural and Mathematical Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University, and by Kendra Wecker, Chief of the Division of Wildlife in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Closing remarks were offered by Scott Hale, Executive Administrator of Fish Management and Research at the Division of Wildlife in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Talks ranged from zooplankton, to catfish, to walleye, to sturgeon. See below for a list of talks and posters, and reach out to pfaff.20@osu.edu if you would like copies of the slides or posters. Most talks were given in person, with just a few given as pre-recorded talks with the authors available for questions on Zoom after. There were more than 50 individuals participating via Zoom, including asking questions to in-person presenters.

Talks:

• Western Lake Erie zooplankton dynamics are shaped by winter ice cover and summer cyanobacteria blooms. Presented by: James Hood, Amara Huddleston, Elizabeth Marschall (EEOB, OSU) Lyndsie Collis (EEOB and NOAA-GLERL). 
• Establishing novel Blue Catfish fisheries in Ohio reservoirs: lessons learned and future directions. Presented by: Jeremy Pritt, Richard Zweifel, Joseph Conroy, Stephen Tyszko, Kevin Page, Matt Hangsleben & Taylor Sasak (DOW, ODNR).
• Lake Whitefish larvae unlikely food limited despite spatial gradient of zooplankton density in the Western Basin. Presented by: Zachary Amidon & Christine Mayer (Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo [UT]); Edward Roseman & Robin DeBruyne (Great Lakes Science Center [GLSC], United States Geological Survey [USGS]); and Alexis Sakas (The Nature Conservancy).
• Growth and survival of larval Walleye in Sandusky Bay: Implications of biotic and abiotic effects. Presented by: Christopher Kemp & Jeffrey Miner (Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University [BGSU]). 
• Diets of age-0 Walleye reflect food web changes in western Lake Erie. Presented by: Touhue Yang & Christine Mayer (Environmental Sciences, UT); and Edward Roseman, Robin DeBruyne & Mark DuFour (GLSC, USGS).
• Feasibility of implementing an integrated long-term database to bolster ecosystem-based management in the Great Lakes basin. Presented by: Richard Budnik, Stuart Ludsin & Lyndsie Collis (EEOB, OSU); Ken Frank (Fisheries and Oceans Canada / Queen’s University); Michael Fraker (Michigan Sea Grant); Lacey Mason & Steven Pothoven (Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration); Andrew Muir (Great Lakes Fishery Commission [GLFC]); and Anne Scofield (Great Lakes National Program Office, United States Environmental Protection Agency).
• Largemouth Bass fisheries in Ohio reservoirs: utility of length-based regulations. Presented by: Stephen Tyszko, Jeremy Pritt, Joseph Conroy & Kevin Page (DOW, ODNR).
• Design of experiments to understand potential life-history differences between populations of largemouth bass. Presented by: Rachael Finigan & Elizabeth Marschall (EEOB, OSU); and Bryan Blawut (DOW, ODNR).
• Maximizing grass carp capture: comparing electrofishing with and without trammel nets. Presented by: Robert Hunter, Song Qian, Robert Mapes & Christine Mayer (Environmental Sciences, UT); Eric Weimer (DOW, ODNR); John Dettmers (GLFC); Lucas Nathan (Michigan DNR [MDNR]); and Ryan Young (USFWS).
• Dead giveaway: changes in grass carp mortality rates may signal management success. Presented by: Kaitlen Lang, Christine Mayer, William Hintz & Song Qian (Environmental Sciences, UT); Mark DuFour & Patrick Kočovský (GLSC, USGS); Eric Weimer (DOW, ODNR), John Dettmers (GLFC); Lucas Nathan (MDNR); and Ryan Young (USFWS).
• Linking seiches to Northern Pike spawning success in western Lake Erie wetlands. Presented by: Nathan Stott & Jeffrey Miner (Biological Sciences, BGSU).
• Defining and establishing an aquatic life use for Lake Erie. Presented by: Robert Miltner (Ohio Environmental Protection Agency).
• The Maumee River reintroduction plan: post stocking survival of Lake Sturgeon. Presented by: Jorden McKenna, Christine Mayer, Jonathan Bossenbroek & William Hintz  (Environmental Sciences, UT); Justin Chiotti (United States Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS]); Christopher Vandergoot (Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System, Michigan State University); Richard Kraus (GLSC, USGS); Eric Weimer, Matthew Faust & John Navarro (DOW, ODNR); and Matt Cross (Toledo Zoo).
• Estimating total length of Lake Erie Yellow Perch from head and mandible lengths: Can these metrics be applied to population modeling? Presented by: Andrew Gable (DOW, ODNR / EEOB, OSU); and Carey Knight & Ann Marie Gorman (DOW, ODNR).
• Estimating populations empirically: What do we have to know about the detection probability? Presented by: Song Qian (Environmental Sciences, UT).
• Uncharted waters: Mapping Walleye spawning habitat in the Sandusky River. Presented by: Taylor Sasak, Madison Myers, Jonathan Bossenbroek & Christine Mayer (Environmental Sciences, UT); and Brian Schmidt & Eric Weimer (DOW, ODNR).
• Saugeye: not as sterile as we thought? Presented by: Bryan Blawut, Kevin Kayle, Rich Zweifel & Joseph Conroy (DOW,  ODNR).

Posters:

• Changes in zooplankton phenology in Western Lake Erie, 1995-2020. Presented by: Jenna Bailey, James Hood (EEOB, OSU) and Daniel O’Donnell (EEOB and UC-Davis). 
• Progress on understanding the response of Yellow Perch distribution to changing habitats in Lake Erie. Presented by: Alexandra Cabanelas Bermudez, Richard Budnik & Elizabeth Marschall (EEOB, OSU)
• A programming tool to calculate electrofishing distance with non-standard data. Presented by: Ryan Brown, Christine Mayer, Robert Mapes & Song Qian (Environmental Sciences, UT); Eric Weimer (DOW, ODNR); John Dettmers (GLFC); Lucas Nathan (MDNR); and Ryan Young (USFWS).
• Effects of feed provision on diel foraging and growth of first-feeding Channel Catfish and hybrid (Channel × Blue) catfish. Presented by: Cathleen Doyle & David Culver (EEOB, OSU); and Jesse Filburn (Biology, Southern Arkansas University).
• Developing, validating, and applying fish habitat assessment methodology for littoral habitat in boatable waterbodies. Presented by: Taher Fletcher & Michael Booth (Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati); and Jeremy Pritt & Taylor Sasak (DOW, ODNR). 
• Economic impacts of the Ohio Lake Erie charter fishing industry. Presented by: Mahesha Kuluppuarachchi, Jeremy Bruskotter & Sayeed Mehmood (SENR, OSU); Brent Sohngen (AEDE, OSU); Tori Gabriel (Ohio Sea Grant College Program, OSU). 
• Economic valuation of sports fisheries in Ohio. Presented by: Mahesha Kuluppuarachchi, Jeremy Bruskotter & Sayeed Mehmood (SENR, OSU); Brent Sohngen (AEDE, OSU). 
• Classifying Ohio reservoirs to understand habitat impairment. Presented by: Hannah Moore, Jim Hood (EEOB, OSU) and Joe Conroy (DOW, ODNR).  
• Prospecting for Grass Carp spawning in Lake Erie tributaries and beyond: known activity and potential rivers. Presented by: Keith Shane, Kaitlen Lang, Song Qian & Christine Mayer (Environmental Sciences, UT); James Roberts, Corbin Hilling & Patrick Kocovsky (GLSC, USGS).
• Does time of day impact Grass Carp catchability? A preliminary analysis. Presented by: Dillon Weik, Rob Hunter, Ryan Brown, Robert Mapes & Christine Mayer (Environmental Sciences, UT); Eric Weimer (DOW, ODNR); John Dettmers (GLFC); Lucas Nathan (MDNR); and Ryan Young (USFWS).
• Community composition and abundance of potential predator fishes in Sandusky Bay. Presented by: Kelsi Wygant & Jeff Miner (Biological Sciences, BGSU).