jbailey

Interesting article from the star. http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/11/18/jellification_in_muskoka_halliburton_may_affect_fish.html Acid rain has left Ontario with a slimy legacy: the “jellification” of lakes in Muskoka, Haliburton and probably beyond as aquatic ecosystems become increasingly dominated by a tapioca-like critter impervious to changing water chemistry. More than a decade ago, scientists discovered a troubling trend. Calcium levels in Canadian Shield lakes were declining. All organisms need a certain amount of the element to survive, but some, like crustaceans, need more. Freshwater biologists dubbed the phenomenon “aquatic osteoporosis” and grew increasingly worried about a type of crustacean, Daphnia, known commonly as water fleas. Daphnia are a crucial component of the freshwater food web and their calcium requirements sit well above the concentrations found in many lakes. “Now we’re asking question: if they’re losing, who’s winning?” said John Smol, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change at Queen’s University. “I wish we had some good news here.” A jelly-clad, calcium-poor competitor called Holopedium is increasing in abundance in temperate Canadian lakes, a team of researchers from five Ontario universities and the Ministry of the Environment have discovered. Their research is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B this week. This “jellification” isn’t just ugly, the scientists say. It also has long-term consequences for fish stocks and could wreak havoc on municipal water supplies. Many of the emissions that cause acid rain have been curbed in recent years. Since 1980, sulphur dioxide pollution in the U.S. has fallen by 75 per cent. Ph levels in lakes are responding in positive ways. But calcium depletion “is a new kind of problem — it’s a legacy of acid rain,” said Smol, a co-author of the study. Calcium had previously leached into lakes slowly through soil and fallen trees. But acid rain stripped out most of the readily available calcium in a few short decades, leaving little for future years. Timber harvesting also removes a source of calcium. To compare the pre- and post-acidification eras, the scientists extracted sediment cores from the bottom of 36 south-central Ontario lakes that dot the landscape between Georgian Bay and Algonquin Park. The research team, led by Adam Jeziorski at Queen’s, Norman Yan at York University and Andrew Tanentzap at the University of Cambridge, then compared preserved exoskeletons from the bottom layer of the sediment cores, which date to before 1850, to the most recent layer. Holopedium — whose jelly doesn’t preserve well but whose thin interior carapace does — had increased in 25 of the lakes. In 31 of them, the researchers also compared water samples collected in 1980 and in 2004-2005. Holopedium abundance increased almost in lockstep with declining calcium. The researchers examined 48 Nova Scotia lakes and found similar trends, suggesting that the problem may be consistent across all geologically similar lake regions, from New England to Scandinavia. As Holopedium muscle out Daphnia, various fish species and other organisms may suffer, says Ryerson University’s Michael Arts, another co-author: the fat, squidgy Holopedium bounce right off fish and other predators’ mouths, and even when digested are a nutritionally poor substitute because they have low calcium and phosphorous content. Once an ecosystem tips over into being Holopedium-dominant, Arts says, the problem simply grows. Scientists in Scandinavia have experimented with adding lime to lakes and forest to fix their chemistry, but the process is incredibly expensive and only moderately successful, said David Schindler, an aquatic ecologist at the University of Alberta who was not involved in the study but praised its design. “Right now we don’t know how to fix it, except to turn off emissions and wait.”

A few friends of mine were upgraded when they put a little extra in the envelope. I would stay somewhere on the new strip, there are some good package deals if you look around. Bellagio is really nice, as well as the Venetian. I have stayed at Treasure Island but that was a little dated. The other end of the strip has MGM Grand which is really nice. The gun ranges are pretty cool.

meh haha plenty of better defenseman

great photos! the bend in the rod in that one picture is insane! love the pic standing in the river with the pooch. Thanks for sharing. Cheers

"remove boat drain plugs" wow

It's not about the "holiday" itself. It's the unwarranted change, as others have pointed out.

again!

you mean black and orange day.

are you kidding me? https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/happy-orange-and-black-day-canadian-schools-turn-122333329.html It is that spooky time of year when Canadian parents and students in small pockets around the country bristle at being told their schools will not be celebrating Halloween this year. Instead, children will be welcome to celebrate something a little safer, something that doesn’t have its roots in the occult. Call it Spirit Day, or Black and Orange Day, or just Friday. This year’s Ground Zero for anti-Halloween outrage is Windsor, Ont., where parents are unhappy that Anderon Public School has barred Halloween costumes and parties. The Windsor Star reports that the public elementary school has instead implemented “Black and Orange Day.” Which, y’know, are the colours of the Halloween season. There will be no parade, and costumes are outright discouraged, with the school saying it would be neat if kids wore black and orange clothing. Though it’s not all trick, there will be some treat: Classes are welcome to hold discussions about the history of Halloween and the different customs that have been practiced over the years. On its website, Anderon Public Elementary School says they stopped allowing candy a few years ago, and the latest shift is to meet its commitment to inclusivity: Halloween is an exciting time of year for many families. However, in some Anderdon households it is not observed at all, and therefore a school wide celebration presents with some anxiety around that day for many of our students. The observation of Halloween is not part of the curriculum and is a tradition that is celebrated by some but not inclusive to all. That’s the part that riles some parents: The idea of inclusivity through limitations. “Parents are upset about seeing Canadians continually give up traditions and losing sight of accepting others for whoever they are,” parent Shannon Taylor told the Star. “My nine-year-old son came home (last Friday) and said, ‘Mom, they’re taking away everything that was fun at school.’” The Windsor school isn’t alone. North Ward School in Paris, Ont., is banning Halloween for the first time this year for a variety of reasons, including the increased level of supervision needed to monitor the appropriateness of costumes, and the frequency with which hot, uncomfortable costumes make children cry during class. A London, Ont., school board candidate actually ran on the promise to deny schools the right to ban Halloween based on the fact there is no board policy on the matter. This issue is by no means new. In recent years, a handful of schools have joined the movement against Halloween. Last year, the popular Halloween alternative was “Spirit Day,” so at least we are making progress on that front. Black and Orange Day at least acknowledges that October 31 was once Halloween. Now it has just been given a maudlin name to avoid offending anyone. Sort of like how Ottawa’s CFL team is called the RedBlacks, because who’s going to get offended and mount a petition against a couple of random words smashed together? While Halloween has its roots in Christianity, that influence is gone completely at this time. TheVatican recently condemned Halloween for its “undercurrent of occultism.” Either way, it is increasingly becoming a non-starter in Canadian schools. And parents are noticing. Just wait until classes start marking Dec. 25 with Red and White Ho Ho Happy Day.

Check out Robbie's Marina, you can hand feed the tarpon, its a really cool place. http://www.robbies.com/ You buy a bucket of bait for something like $5 and the tarpon are everywhere. Check out the videos on youtube. As others have said, get out of Miami, its a cesspool.

maybe last season, maybe next week, but so far ottawa has been better than expected.

ouch, that did not look good for Phaneuf. Hopefully he's ok.. knee injuries are terrible

oh wow, thanks for sharing

that we did!

nice spot you got there

x 2, I've been out with him (on GBay not river fishing) a couple times. Great guy, very professional.

I work on the Don River everyday, the salmon are everywhere right now.. I know what you mean about seeing them in the real small creeks - makes you wonder where they could possibly be headed?!

Wow, Calgary stole that game tonight against Chicago. Chicago absolutely dominated, they had so many ridiculous score chances..

wow what a beast! that must have had the adrenaline pumping!!!

awful, i really wanted to see that scrap.

yea, mackinnon's always fun to watch. The Ave's top six play very fast, hopefully the leafs D are well rested or they may get caught flat footed.

I actually like how I don't need the sports package anymore to watch other hockey games (but I still DESPISE rogers.)

hahaha Bill that's hilarious on another note, Leafs signed Richard Panik off waivers. He was previously playing for Tampa. Seems like a decent signing for the leafs in my opinion. He was a decent player for Tampa last season.

haha fair enough

incredible.