Warren Currie, Ph.D.

I am a bio-physical limnologist and ecosystem scientist specializing in lower-trophic food web dynamics in the Great Lakes.
Current research and/or projects
My research is focused on the role of phytoplankton and zooplankton to support of healthy ecosystems and sustainable fisheries within the Great Lakes. I employ a combination of empirical collection and modeling approaches, and I use modern sensor technology to collect information on plankton composition, distribution and size. Projects include impairments in phytoplankton and zooplankton within Areas of Concern, food web impacts of invasive species such as Dreissenid mussels and predatory cladocera such as Bythotrephes and Cercopagis, impact of Harmful Algal Blooms and hypoxia on planktonic food webs, and the binational Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative. I am particularly interested in feeding interactions and growth of zooplankton. Much of our work is in collaboration with other Canadian and US federal and provincial/state agencies.
Professional activities / interests
- Sensor technology and Observing Systems
- Molecular applications to food web ecology
- Ecological traits
- Ocean Acidification
Education and awards
Ph.D. University of Guelph, 2001
International experience and/or work
Estuarine ecology and ecology of HABs
Additional links
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Warren-Currie
Key publications
Figary, S.E., Meyer, M.F., and W.J.S. Currie. 2022. Building a worldwide freshwater zooplankton dataset to synthesize patterns of zooplankton community structure and change. ASLO Bulletin 31(4):132-133.
Watkins, J.M., Rudstam, L.G., Karatayev, A.Y., Currie, W.J., Scofield, A.E. and Hollenhorst, T.P., 2022. Foreword: Stressors and successes, Lake Ontario CSMI intensive year 2018. J. Great Lakes Res. 48(2): 261-263. doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2022.02.003
Bowen, KL, Currie, WJS, Niblock, H, Ward, CL, Metcalfe, B, Cuddington, KMD, Johnson TB, and MA, Koops. 2022. Importance of long-term intensive monitoring programs for understanding multiple drivers influencing Lake Ontario zooplankton communities. J. Great Lakes Res. 48(3):717-733.
Aristone, C, Mehdi, H, Hamilton, J, Bowen, KL, Currie, WJS, Kidd, KA, S, Balshine. 2022. Impacts of wastewater treatment plants on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in summer and winter. Sci. Total Envi.:153224
Currie, WJS and MA, Koops. 2022. Four decades of biogeochemical monitoring in the Bay of Quinte. In [eds.] Minns, CK, M Munawar and MA Koops. Ecology of the Bay of Quinte: Health, management and global implications. Ecovision World Monograph.
Chaffin, JD, Bratton, JF, Verhamme, EM, Bair, HB, Beecher, AA, Binding, CE, Birbeck, JA, Bridgeman, TB, Chang, X, Crossman, J, Currie, WJS, Davis, TW, Dick, GJ, Drouillard, KG, Frenken, T, MacIsaac, H, McClure, A, McKay, RM, Reitz, LA, Stanislawczyk, K, Stumpf, RP, Swan, ZD, Synder, B, Westrick, JA, Xue, P, Yancey, CE, Zastepa, A, Zhou, X. 2021. The Lake Erie HABs Grab: A binational collaboration to characterize the western basin harmful algal blooms at an unprecedented high-resolution spatial scale. Harmful Algae: 102080
Bowen, KL, and WJS Currie. 2021. Effect of the urbanized embayment Toronto Harbour on the composition and production of zooplankton. J. Gr. Lakes Res. doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2021.01.015
Berges, JA, Gronquist, D, Engevold, P, Thorngate-Rein, N, Sandgren, C, Bowen, KL, WJS Currie. 2020. Immunochemical methods for identification of prey in freshwater zooplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. Meth. 18(6): 221-234.
Rozon, RM, Bowen, KL, Niblock, HA, Fitzpatrick, MAJ and WJS Currie. 2018. It goes with the flow: Size mediated plankton attenuation through the Niagara River connecting channel. J. Gr. Lakes Res. 44(6): 1327-1338
Bowen, KL, Conway, A, and WJS Currie. 2018. Could dreissenid veligers be the lost biomass of invaded lakes? Freshwater Science 37(2): 315-329.
Bowen, KL and WJS Currie. 2017. Elevated zooplankton production in a eutrophic Lake Ontario embayment: Hamilton Harbour 2002–2014. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Mgmt. 20(3):230-241.
Cuddington, KM, ZT Hull, WJS Currie and MA Koops. 2015. Landmarking and strong Allee thresholds. Theoretical Ecology. 8(3):333-347.
Currie, W.J.S., Kim, J., Koops, M.A., Mandrak, N.E., O’Connor, L.M., Pratt, T.C., Timusk, E., Choy, M. 2015. Modelling spread and assessing movement of Grass Carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella, in the Great Lakes Basin. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2015/114. vi + 32 p.
Cuddington, KM, WJS Currie and MA Koops. 2013. Could an Asian carp population establish in the Great Lakes from a small introduction? Biological Invasions, 61(4) 903-917. doi: 10.1007/s10530-013-0547-3.
Currie WJS, KMD Cuddington, TJ Stewart, H Zhang and MA Koops. 2011. Modelling Spread, Establishment and Impact of Bighead and Silver Carps in the Great Lakes. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. RES2011/113.
Contact
Research facility
Expertise
Affiliations
University of Guelph