Karen E. Smokorowski
Adjunct Research Professor
| Degrees: | B.Sc. (Toronto), Ph.D. (Trent) |
| Email: | Karen.Smokorowski@dfo-mpo.gc.ca |
| Office: | Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 1219 Queen Street E., Sault Ste. Marie, ON, P6A 2E5 |
Current Research
Understanding the impacts of human activities on freshwater ecosystems defines much of my research. Specifically, I provide credible scientific research linking anthropogenic activities such as hydroelectric dam operations and habitat alteration to effects on fish and lower trophic levels. Research projects are applied and often quite directed towards specific needs of our Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program in support their role in administering the provisions of the Fisheries Act. I maintain a strong interest in using science to support policy development and resource management, particularly when new legislation or new technologies are involved. I also work to maintain collaborations among academic and government researchers to meet science needs for DFO policy and management. For example, I serve on the advisory committee and am coauthoring a number of systematic literature reviews being conducted by the Canadian Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation at Carleton University on behalf of DFO, and work towards bringing the resulting scientific evidence into formal science advice to DFO management through Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat processes.
Selected Publications
Tuononen, E.I., S.J. Cooke, E.J.I Ledee, E.R. Timusk, and K.E. Smokorowski. 2022. Interactions of a temperate North American fish community with a very low head hydropower facility in Ontario, Canada. River Research and Applications. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3930
Harper, M., T. Rytwinski, J.J. Taylor, J.R. Bennett, K.E. Smokorowski, J.D. Olden, K.D. Clarke, T. Pratt, N. Fisher, A. Leake, S.J. Cooke. 2022. How do changes in flow magnitude due to hydropower operations affect fish abundance and biomass in temperate regions? A systematic review Environmental Evidence. 11:3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-021-00254-8
Smokorowski, K.E. 2022. The ups and downs of hydropeaking: a Canadian perspective on the need for, and ecological costs of, peaking hydropower production. 849:421–441. Hydrobiologia. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04480-y.
Smokorowski, K.E., J.L. Pearce, W.D. Geiling, T.C. Pratt. 2021. Wood removals from lakes may not necessarily elicit fish population responses. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 41:142–157. DOI: 10.1002/nafm.10543.
Tuononen, E.I., S.J. Cooke, E.R. Timusk, and K.E. Smokorowski. 2020. Extent of injury and mortality arising from entrainment of fish through a Very Low Head hydropower turbine in central Ontario, Canada. Hydrobiologia. doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04376-x.
Pearce, J.L., K.E. Smokorowski, J. Brush, E. Timusk, J. Marty, M. Power. 2019. Unrestricted ramping rates and long‐term trends in the food web metrics of a boreal river. River Research and Applications. 1–15. DOI: 10.1002/rra.3516.
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