The director of the University of Windsor's Freshwater Restoration Ecology Centre is getting federal funding for his research to save the redside dace.
The minnow is found mainly in Southern Ontario, including Lake Erie. The fish, listed as endangered in Ontario and threatened in Michigan, is known for its bright red colour during spawning season and its ability to leap half a metre out of the water to pluck insects out of the air.
Dr. Trevor Pitcher is researching how best to reintroduce it into the wild. His work could become a model for repopulating other fish species in their natural habitats.
The $50,000 grant from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is one of six projects funded in the first year of a five-year initiative. Subsidies for all six projects total around $790,000, and funding for the entire project is $55 million.
The grant will allow Pitcher to study the genetic mechanisms of thermal tolerance so conservation managers have better information about their habitat. It is hoped the redside dace will be reintroduced into streams in the Greater Toronto Area.
