Brian C Weidel
Biography
Ph.D. in Limnology and Marine Science, Center for Limnology, Univerisity of Wisconsin-Madison, 2009
M.S. in Natural Resources, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, 2003
B.S. in Natural Resources, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, 1997
Research Fishery Biologist, Lake Ontario Biological Station, March 2010 - Present
Research Fishery Biologist, United States Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center 2010 – present
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Wisconsin, Madison 2009 - 2010
Graduate Research Assistant, University of Wisconsin, Madison 2005 - 2008
Research Assistant & Laboratory Manager, Cornell University 2004 - 2005
Graduate Research Assistant, Cornell University, Department of Natural Resources 2000 - 2003
Research Assistant, Cornell University, Adirondack Fishery Research Program 1998 - 2000
Research Assistant, Cornell University, Cornell Biological Field Station 1997 - 1998
Publications
Kornis, M.S., B.C. Weidel, S.M. Powers, T.J.Cline, M. Diebel, J. Fox, and J.F. Kitchell. 2015. Fish community dynamics following dam removal in a fragmented agricultural stream. Aquatic Sciences 77: 465-480. [Link]
Craig N, Jones SE, Weidel BC, Solomon CT. 2015. Habitat, not resource availability, limits consumer production in lake ecosystems. Limnology and Oceanography, 60: 2079-2089 [Link]
Young, T., O. Jensen, B. Weidel, and S. Chandra. 2015. Natural trophic variability in a large, oligotrophic, near-pristine lake. Journal of Great Lakes Research 41(2):463-472. [Link]
Vander Zanden, J.,C. Murray, E. Moody, C. Solomon, B. Weidel. Predicting stable isotope turnover and half-life in animal tissues. PLOS ONE. [Link]
Stewart, T., L. Rudstam, J. Watkins, T. Johnson, B. Weidel and M. Koops. in press. Research needs to better understand Lake Ontario Ecosystem Function. Journal of Great Lakes Research.
Solomon, C., S. Jones, B. Weidel, I. Buffam, M. Fork, J. Karlsson, S. Larsen, J. Lennon, J. Read, S. Sadro, and J. Saros. 2015. Ecosystem consequences of global browning of lakes. Ecosystems 18 376-389. [Link]
Bunnell, D.B. R.P. Barbiero, S.A. Ludsin, C.P. Madenjian, G.J. Warren, D.M. Dolan, T.O. Brenden, R. Briland, O.T. Gorman, J.X. He, T.H. Johengen, B.F. Lantry, B.M. Lesht, T.F. Nalepa, S.C. Riley, C.M. Riseng, T.J. Treska, I. Tsehaye, D.M. Warner, M.G. Walsh, and B.C. Weidel. 2014. Changing ecosystem dynamics in the Laurentian Great Lakes: exploring evidence for bottom-up and top-down regulation. Bioscience. 64:26-39. [Link]
Kelly, P.T., C.T. Solomon, B.C. Weidel and S.E. Jones. 2014. Terrestrial carbon is a resource, but not a subsidy, for lake zooplankton. Ecology 95:1236–1242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/13-1586.1 [Link]
Rudstam, L., K. Holeck., K. Bowen, J. Watkins, B. Weidel, and F. Luckey. in press. Crustacean zooplankton in Lake Ontario’s offshore: a comparison of the intensive field years of 2003 and 2008. Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management.
Watkins J.M. B. Weidel, L. Rudstam, and K. Holeck. in press. Spatial extent and dissipation of the deep chlorophyll layer (DCL) in Lake Ontario during LOLA 2003 and 2008. Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management.
Cline, T., D. Seekell, S. Carpenter, J. Hodgson, J. Kitchell, M.L. Pace, B. Weidel. 2014. Spatial variance in prey fish catch-per-unit-effort increased prior to a regime shift in a whole-ecosystem experiment. Ecosphere 5(8).
Godwin, S.C., Solomon, C.T., Weidel, B.C., Jones, S.E. 2014. Dissolved organic carbon concentration controls benthic primary production: Results from in situ chambers in north-temperate lakes. Limnology and Oceanography. 59:2112-2120. 10.4319/lo.2014.59.6.2112 [Link]
Kornis, M.S., B.C. Weidel, S.M. Powers, T.J.Cline, M. Diebel, J. Fox, and J.F. Kitchell. in press Fish community dynamics following dam removal in a fragmented agricultural stream. Aquatic Sciences.
Yule, D.L. J.V. Adams, D.M. Warner, T.R. Hrabik, P.M. Kocovsky, B.C. Weidel, L.G. Rudstam, and P.J. Sullivan. 2013. Evaluating approaches for estimating biomass of pelagic fish biomass using simulated fish communities. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 70: 1845-1857. DOI: 10.1139/cjfas-2013-0072 [Link]
Jones, S.J., C.T. Solomon, and B.C. Weidel. 2012. Subsidy, substitution, or subtraction: How do terrestrial inputs influence consumer production in lakes? Freshwater Reviews 5:37-49. doi: 10.1608/FRJ-5.1.475 [Link]
Cline, T.J., B.C. Weidel, J.F. Kitchell, and J.R. Hodgson. 2012. Growth response of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) to catch-and-release angling: a 27-year mark-recapture study. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 69:224-230. 10.1139/f2011-150. [Link]
Ahrenstorff, T.D., O.P. Jensen, B.C. Weidel, B. Mendsaikhan, and T.R. Hrabik. 2012. Abundance, spatial distribution, and diet of endangered Hovsgol grayling (Thymallus nigrescens). Environmental Biology of Fishes. doi:10.1007/s10641-011-9961-5. [Link]
Lantry, B.F., C.G. Gumtow, M.G. Walsh, B.C. Weidel, B.T. Boscarino and L.G. Rudstam. 2012 Consumption of Hemimysis anomala by fishes in southeastern Lake Ontario during 2009-2010. Journal of Great Lakes Research . 38 (2): 73–78. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2011.08.007 [Link]
Brosseau, C.J., T.J. Cline, J.J. Cole, J.R. Hodgson, ML. Pace, and B.C. Weidel. 2012. Do Daphnia use metalimnetic organic matter in a north temperate lake: An analysis of vertical migration. Inland Waters 2: 193-198. DOI: 10.5268/IW-2.4.513 [Link]
Moody E.K., B.C. Weidel, T.D. Ahrenstorff, W.P. Mattes and J.F. Kitchell. 2011. Evaluating the growth potential of sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) feeding on siscowet lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in Lake Superior. Journal of Great Lakes Research 37: 343-348.
Weidel, B. C., S.R. Carpenter, J.F. Kitchell, M.J. Vander Zanden. 2011. Rates and components of carbon turnover in fish muscle: insights from bioenergetics models and a whole-lake 13C addition. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 68:387-399.
Solomon, C. S. Carpenter, M. Clayton, J. Cole, J. Coloso, M. Pace, M.J. Vander Zanden, and B. Weidel 2011. Terrestrial, benthic, and pelagic resource use in lakes: results from a three-isotope Bayesian mixing model. Ecology 92:1115–1125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/10-1185.1 [Link]
Cole, J.J., S.R. Carpenter, J. Kitchell, M.L. Pace, C.T. Solomon, and B. Weidel. 2011. Strong evidence for terrestrial support of zooplankton in small lakes based on stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108:1975-1980. [Link]
Tetzlaff, J.C., Roth, B.R., Weidel, B.M., and J.F. Kitchell. 2011. Predation by native sunfishes (Lepomis spp.) on the invasive crayfish Orconectes rusticus in four northern Wisconsin lakes. Ecology of Freshwater Fish. 20:133-143. [Link]
Carpenter, S.R., J.J. Cole, M.L. Pace, R.D. Batt, W.A. Brock, T. Cline, J. Coloso, J.R. Hodgson, J.F. Kitchell, D.A. Seekell, L. Smith and B. Weidel. 2011. Early warnings of regime shifts: A whole-ecosystem experiment. Science 332: 1079-1082. [Link]
Robinson, J.M., D.C Josephson, B.C. Weidel and C.E. Kraft. 2010. Influence of variable interannual summer water temperatures on brook trout growth, consumption, reproduction, and mortality in an unstratified Adirondack lake. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 139:685-699. [Link]
Solomon, C.T., J. Cole, R. Doucett, M. Pace, N. Preston, L. Smith, and B. Weidel. 2009. The influence of dietary water on the hydrogen stable isotope ratio in aquatic consumers. Oecologia 161:313-324.
Jensen, O., D. Gilroy, Z. Hogan, B. Allen, T. Hrabik, B. Weidel, S. Chandra, and M.J. Vander Zanden, 2009. Evaluating recreational fisheries for an endangered species: a case study of taimen, Hucho taimen, in Mongolia. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 66:1707-1718.
Biggs, R., Diebel, M., Gilroy, D., Kamarainen, A., Kornis, M., Preston, N., Schmitz, J. Uejio, C., Van De Bogert, M., Weidel, B., West, P., Zaks, D. and S. Carpenter 2009. Preparing for the future: Teaching scenario planning at the graduate level. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. online
Weidel, B., S. Carpenter, J. Cole, J. Hodgson, Kitchell, M. Pace, and C. Solomon. 2008 Carbon sources supporting fish growth in a north temperate lake. Aquatic Sciences. 70: 446-458.
Zipkin, E., Sullivan, P., Cooch, E., Kraft, C., Shuter, B., Weidel, B. 2008. Overcompensatory response of a smallmouth bass population to harvest: release from competition? Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Society 65:2279-2292.
Josephson, D., J. Robinson, B. Weidel and C. Kraft. 2008. Long-term retention and visibility of visible implant elastomer tags in brook trout. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 28:1758-1761.
Weidel, B., Ushikubo, T., Carpenter, S., Kita, N., Cole, J., Kitchell, J., Pace M., Valley, J. 2007. Diary of a bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus): daily δ13C and δ18O records in otoliths by ion microprobe. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 64:1641-1645.
Pace, M.L., S.R. Carpenter, J.J. Cole, J.J. Coloso, J.F. Kitchell, J.R. Hodgson, J.J. Middelburg, N.D. Preston, C.T. Solomon, and B.C. Weidel. 2007. Does terrestrial organic carbon subsidize the planktonic food web in a clear-water lake? Limnology and Oceanography 52: 2177-2189.
Weidel, B.C., Josephson, D.C., and Kraft, C.E. 2007. Fish community response to removal of introduced smallmouth bass in an oligotrophic Adirondack lake. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 178: 778-789
Lepak, J.M., C.E. Kraft, and B.C. Weidel. 2006. Rapid food web recovery in response to removal of an introduced apex predator. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 63: 569-575.
Weidel, B.C., D.C. Josephson, C.C. Krueger. 2000. Diet and prey selection of naturalized smallmouth bass in an oligotrophic Adirondack lake. J. Freshwater Ecol. 15:411-420.
Science and Products
Understanding How Climate Change will Impact Aquatic Food Webs in the Great Lakes
This project addressed regional climate change effects on aquatic food webs in the Great Lakes. We sought insights by examining Lake Erie as a representative system with a high level of anthropogenic impacts, strong nutrient gradients, seasonal hypoxia, and spatial overlap of cold- and cool-water fish guilds. In Lake Erie and in large embayments throughout the Great Lakes basin, this situation...
State of lake ecosystem conference sub Indicator: Prey fish
Overall Assessment Status: Fair Trends 10-Year Trend: Unchanging Long-term Trend (1973-2017): Undetermined Rationale: Great Lakes prey fish community status remains ”Fair” based on diversity and percent native species, but individual lake status varied. Both diversity and percent native metrics were classified as “Good” in Lake Superior, but “...
Weidel, Brian C. Status of Mysis diluviana in Lake Ontario in 2013: lower abundance but higher fecundity than in the 1990s
Mysis diluviana is a major component of prey fish diets in the Great Lakes, so annual production of M. diluviana is important for understanding and modeling energy flow through Great Lakes food webs. However, only three lake-wide measurements of M. diluviana annual production in Lake Ontario are currently...
Holda, Toby J.; Rudstam, Lars G.; Bowen, Kelly L.; Weidel, Brian C.; Watkins, James M.; Sullivan, Patrick F; Holden, Jeremy P.; Connerton, Michael J. Experimental whole-lake dissolved organic carbon increase alters fish diet and density but not growth or productivity
Negative relationships between dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and fish productivity have been reported from correlative studies across lakes, but to date there have not been experimental tests of these relationships. We increased the DOC concentration in a lake by 3.4 mg L-1, using a before-after control-impact (BACI) design, to...
Koizumi, Shuntaro; Craig, Nicola; Zwart, Jacob A.; Kelly, Patrick T.; Ziegler, Jacob P.; Weidel, Brian C.; Jones, Stuart E.; Solomon, Christopher T. Bottom trawl assessment of Lake Ontario prey fishes
Managing Lake Ontario fisheries in an ecosystem-context requires prey fish community and population data. Since 1978, multiple annual bottom trawl surveys have quantified prey fish dynamics to inform management relative to published Fish Community Objectives. In 2017, two whole-lake surveys collected 341 bottom trawls (spring: 204, fall: 137), at...
Weidel, Brian C.; Connerton, Michael J.; Holden, Jeremy Cooperative science to inform Lake Ontario management: Research from the 2013 Lake Ontario CSMI program
Since the mid-1970s, successful Lake Ontario management actions including nutrient load and pollution reductions, habitat restoration, and fish stocking have improved Lake Ontario. However, several new obstacles to maintenance and restoration have emerged. This special issue presents management-relevant research from multiple agency surveys in...
Watkins, James M.; Weidel, Brian C.; Fisk, Aaron T.; Rudstam, Lars G. Feeding ecology and niche overlap of Lake Ontario offshore forage fish assessed with stable isotopes
The forage fish communities of the Laurentian Great Lakes continue to experience changes that have altered ecosystem structure, yet little is known about how they partition resources. Seasonal, spatial and body size variation in δ13C and δ15N was used to assess isotopic niche overlap and resource and habitat partitioning among the five common...
Mumby, James; Johson, Timothy; Stewart, Thomas; Halfyard, Edward; Walsh, Maureen; Weidel, Brian C.; Lantry, Jana; Fisk, Aarron Evidence for migratory spawning behavior by morphologically distinct Cisco (Coregonus artedi) from a small inland lake
Conservation and management of rare fishes relies on managers having the most informed understanding of the underlying ecology of the species under investigation. Cisco (Coregonus artedi), a species of conservation concern, is a cold-water pelagic fish that is notoriously variable in morphometry and life history. Published reports indicate, at...
Ross, Alexander J.; Weidel, Brian C.; Leneker, Mellisa; Solomon, Christopher T. Vertical distribution of alewife in the Lake Ontario offshore: Implications for resource use
Oligotrophication of Lake Ontario has led to increased water clarity and an increased proportion of zooplankton residing in the metalimnion during the day, which may affect the utilization of different depth regions for planktivorous fish. We investigated day and night distributions of fish using hydroacoustics and suspended...
Riha, Milan; Walsh, Maureen; Connerton, Michael J.; Holden, Jeremy; Weidel, Brian C.; Sullivan, Patrick J.; Holda, Toby J.; Rudstam, Lars G. Nearshore fish community
Lake Ontario’s nearshore fish community consists of a diverse assemblage of warm- and cool-water species. The “nearshore zone,” loosely separated from the “offshore zones” by the 15-m depth contour, consists of complex habitats spanning a gamut from vast open-coastal areas to sheltered embayments and wetlands. Lake Ontario’s nearshore habitat has...
Hoyle, James A.; Connerton, Michael J.; Dittman, Dawn E.; Gorsky, Dimitry; Lantry, Jana R.; Mathers, Alastair; Schlueter, Scott L.; Walsh, Maureen; Weidel, Brian C.; Yuille, Michael J. Deepwater sculpin status and recovery in Lake Ontario
Deepwater sculpin are important in oligotrophic lakes as one of the few fishes that use deep profundal habitats and link invertebrates in those habitats to piscivores. In Lake Ontario the species was once abundant, however drastic declines in the mid-1900s led some to suggest the species had been extirpated and ultimately led Canadian and U.S....
Weidel, Brian C.; Walsh, Maureen; Connerton, Michael J.; Lantry, Brian F.; Lantry, Jana R.; Holden, Jeremy P.; Yuille, Michael J.; Hoyle, James A. Light climate and dissolved organic carbon concentration influence species-specific changes in fish zooplanktivory
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in lakes reduces light penetration and limits fish production in low nutrient lakes, reportedly via reduced primary and secondary production. Alternatively, DOC and light reductions could influence fish by altering their visual feeding. Previous studies report mixed effects of DOC on feeding rates of zooplanktivorous...
Weidel, Brian C.; Baglini, Katherine; Jones, Stuart E.; Kelly, Patrick T.; Solomon, Christopher T.; Zwart, Jacob A. The deep chlorophyll layer in Lake Ontario: Extent, mechanisms of formation, and abiotic predictors
Epilimnetic production has declined in Lake Ontario, but increased production in metalimnetic deep chlorophyll layers (DCLs) may compensate for these losses. We investigated the spatial and temporal extent of DCLs, the mechanisms driving DCL formation, and the use of physical variables for predicting the depth and concentration of the deep...
Scofield, Anne E.; Watkins, James M.; Weidel, Brian C.; Luckey, Frederick J.; Rudstam, Lars G.
Lake Ontario Annual Spring Prey Fish Survey Collects Record Number of Trawls
USGS - NYDEC Collaboration Produces Record Results
Weidel speaks at four Lake Ontario fishery public meetings
State of Lake Ontario Fisheries