Spatial distribution and thickness of fine-grained sediment along the United States portion of the upper Niagara River, New York

Over 220 linear miles of geophysical data, including sidescan sonar and chirp sub-bottom profiles, were collected in 2016 and 2017 by the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the upper Niagara River. In addition, 36 sediment grab samples were collected to groundtruth the geophysical data. These data were used to map the spatial distribution of fine-grained sediment, including volume data in certain locations, along the shallow shorelines of the upper Niagara River. Overall, the most extensive deposits were spatially associated with either small tributaries or with man-made structures that modified the natural flow of the system. Extensive beds of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) were also mapped. Although always associated with a fine-grained matrix, the SAV beds were patchy in distribution, which might reflect subtle differences in the grain size of the sediment matrix or could simply be a function of variations in species or growth. The maps generated from this effort can be used to guide sampling plans for future studies of contamination in fine-grained sediment regions.

Large- and small- scale movement and distribution of acoustically tagged lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in eastern Lake Erie

Background Defining the spatial distribution, home range, and movement patterns of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) is important to managers and decision makers given the large migration potential and potamodromous behavior exhibited by the species. A remnant population of lake sturgeon remains in the far eastern basin of Lake Erie and although recent efforts have estimated the population size, described the age distribution, and identified a primary spawning site no study to date has examined the spatial distribution or movements of individuals within this population. Between 2014 and 2018 we acoustically tagged 59 adult lake sturgeon, captured near the headwaters of the Niagara River, and monitored their large-scale movements throughout Lake Erie with the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry System and small-scale movements with a Vemco Positioning System near the headwaters of the Niagara River. After dividing Lake Erie into seven sections, we ran a multi-state mark recapture model to examine the movement rates into and out of the eastern most section of the lake. Within a heavily utilized lake section, near the headwaters of the Niagara River, we identified home ranges with our Vemco Positioning System for each season and year using averaged Brownian bridge movement models.Results Although some sturgeon demonstrated large-scale movements, traversing the entirety of Lake Erie, the majority of individuals spent their time in the eastern basin of the lake. Home ranges appeared to vary among seasons but were consistent across years with lake sturgeon selecting the northeastern, rocky, and shallow area of our array during pre-spawning and spawning seasons and leaving our array, or selecting a trough running along the northwestern portion of our array comprised of sand and bedrock, in the summer and fall seasons. Conclusions Documenting these large-scale movements aligns with previous findings that lake sturgeon on either end of the lake are genetically similar and demonstrates lake sturgeon in the eastern basin exhibit strong philopatry. Our small-scale movement models provide managers with spatial reference points, in the form of utilization distributions, which are heavily used by lake sturgeon within seasons. Future studies should examine what parameters are driving site selection in these areas.

Freshwater fish functional and taxonomic diversity above and below Niagara Falls

The Niagara River, which connects two Great Lakes (Erie and Ontario) and forms a border between Canada and the United States, has experienced decades of abiotic and biotic disturbance as well as long-term restoration efforts. Given the iconic riverscape and importance as a binational fisheries resource, a biodiversity assessment of the mainstem Niagara River fish assemblage is overdue. Here, fish assemblage and habitat data from a standardized boat electrofishing program of the Niagara River were combined with species trait data related to substrate associations, diet preferences, reproductive strategies, and body size to quantify biodiversity patterns among river sections (sites above and below Niagara Falls), seasons (spring, summer, fall), and years (2015–2017). Sixty-five species were captured representing a variety of trait combinations. Significant differences in functional dispersion and divergence (i.e., functional diversity) were observed between river sections, seasons, and (or) years. The fish community captured in the lower river in spring 2015 had both the highest average functional dispersion (2.08 ± 0.32 SD) and divergence (0.88 ± 0.04 SD) compared to the other seasonal sampling efforts, but relatively few fishes were captured (n = 686). Although non-native fishes represented a small portion of the catch over the 3 years (8.6% of catch), the seasonal presence (spring and fall) of mostly introduced large-bodied salmonids expanded functional trait space in the lower river during these periods. The importance of rare species on functional diversity metrics suggests further insight on local species detection probabilities is needed to understand if differences in functional diversity reflect ecological patterns or are driven by sampling design.

“The New Woman and the Manly Art”: Women and Boxing in Nineteenth-Century Canada

On July 27, 1859, “Canada” Kate Clark met two Americans, Nellie Stem and Mary Dwyer, for a pair of prize fights in Fort Erie, Canada West. Beginning their adventure in Buffalo, New York, they rowed their way across the Niagara River to the fighting grounds in the British colony. Like pugilists before them, they stripped to the waist to limit potential grappling in battle. Both the journey and pre-fight fight preparations were tried and true components of mid-nineteenth century prize fighting. Although the press, and later historians, overwhelmingly associated such performances with male combatants, women were indeed active in Canadian pugilistic circles, settling scores, testing their mettle, and displaying their fistic abilities both pre- and post-Confederation. In this article, we begin to untangle the various threads of female pugilism, situating these athletes and performers within the broader literature on both boxing and women's sport in Canada. By examining media reports of female boxers—both in sparring and prize fighting—we hope to provide a historiographic foundation for further discussions of early female pugilism, highlighting the various ways these women upheld and challenged the notion of the “new woman” in Canada.

The Peace Bridge and the Rhetoric of Hospitality at the US-Canada Border

The chapter discusses the Peace Bridge that traversed the Niagara River and connected Buffalo, New York, and Fort Erie, Ontario. It recounts how the Peace Bridge was inaugurated in 1927 in celebration of one hundred years of peace between the United States and Canada. It also looks at the official rhetoric around the bridge's construction in both the United States and Canada that stressed the themes of neighborliness and hospitality, which two nations had embraced for a century as friends. The chapter includes a poem by Elijah Holt, a local Buffalo lawyer and amateur poet, that was commissioned for the Peace Bridge's inauguration. It explores Holt's romantic portrayal of the bond of US–Canada relations that glossed over a more complicated geopolitical relationship that bore witness to the emergence of a cultural juxtaposition, which the Peace Bridge served to both thwart and emphasize at the same time.

Wild Swans

This chapter looks at how tundra swans arrived the day before Thanksgiving in the town of Island Lake in Wisconsin. Navigating by the stars and their memory of earth's moonlit landscape, they came, traveling from their summer breeding grounds in shallow pools, lakes, and rivers in the Arctic toward their winter residence in Chesapeake Bay and the marshes of Virginia and North Carolina. Tundra swans, which used to be called whistling swans for the sounds their wings make in flight, often travel in groups of several hundred. According to an Audubon guide, “they present a spectacular sight” when they make mass landings in places like the Niagara River. Like adolescents not quite ready to leave home, cygnets remain with the parent flock for at least a year, learning the route and where to feed and rest.