SIL Presidential Lecture 2007

GENE E. LIKENS
Director, Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Millbrook, New York 12545 USA

Understanding, Using and Protecting Inland Waters of the World

Welcome to the 30th Congress of the International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology (SIL). We are delighted to be meeting in Montreal and to be returning to the water wonderland of Canada after 33 years!        

Bienvenue au trentième congrès de la Société Internationale de Limnologie. Nous sommes réjouis d’être à Montréal et de se retrouver à nouveau, après trente-trois ans, dans ce pays véritablement aquatique qu’est le Canada !

The excellent efforts, planning and hard work by the local Organizing Committee, chaired by Professor Yves Prairie is very much appreciated by all of us and we are now ready for an exciting and important meeting.

This is only the third time in SIL’s long history that a Congress has been held in North America. Previous Congresses occurred in Madison, Wisconsin in 1962 and in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1974. It is most appropriate to hold a Congress in North America, as this continent contains some of our planet’s most precious and well-known inland waters including the Laurentian Great Lakes, the lake district of the midwestern USA, the Experimental Lakes Area of Canada, the Brazos, Churchill, Colorado, Columbia, Connecticut, Fraser, Hudson, Mackenzie, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Rio Grande, St. Lawrence, and Yukon Rivers, and massive wetland areas.

This Congress is likely to be the most important in memory, not only because of the science we are sharing, but because we need to make a series of critical decisions that will guide and sustain our Society into the future.

Much has happened to our inland waters during the half century since we were last in North America. Currently, there is less visible degradation of lakes, rivers and wetlands from, for example, raw or untreated sewage and trash, but unfortunately, there is increased degradation (often invisible to the public) from loss or degradation of habitat from human activity and development, particularly of shorelines and watersheds, from invasive species, and from anthropogenically-generated pollutants such as acid rain, mercury, pharmaceuticals, and PCBs. The scale of human disturbance of landscapes at present is unprecedented (e.g., Wilkinson & McElroy 2007).

The human population continues to grow rapidly and to put increasing pressure on our finite freshwater resources, needed for drinking water, irrigation, recreation, fisheries, transportation, etc. Since the last Congress in 2004 it is estimated that we have crossed that major threshold where more than 50% of the world’s population now lives in cities or urban agglomerations (UN Population Fund Report 2007), placing even greater pressures locally on both surface and subsurface water supplies.  Moreover, how will we control the increased runoff of water and the pollutant load from ever-increasing areas of impervious surfaces (roofs, paved areas, etc.) in these expanding urban areas?

Climate change has the potential to wreak much human upheaval and misery by changing the distribution and intensity of precipitation, severe weather, flooding, and drought, by causing shorter ice-cover on lakes and rivers, and by increasing the spread and severity of infectious disease. Currently, severe weather, flooding and drought, are becoming commonplace around the world. 

Solving the world’s water needs becomes more challenging daily, and represents one of human society’s most urgent problems.  It is clear that the way we use water today is not sustainable for tomorrow.  Limnologists today face many new challenges, including the study and management of inland waters, both fresh and saline, which now are impacted increasingly.  Long-term limnological research and monitoring provide important sources of information and leadership for addressing these challenges (e.g., Goldman 1981, Edmondson 1991, Goldman et al. 1993, Jónasson 2003, Lovett et al. 2007). At the same time these challenges represent important opportunities for members of our Society to provide intellectual breakthroughs, innovative management, as well as increased visibility for our discipline (e.g., Kling et al. 2005).

Nevertheless, my main message today isn’t about science per se, it is about supporting the scientific base and modernizing and revitalizing the organizational infrastructure for the future of SIL.

As with our science, there have been significant changes in our professional Society during the past 5 decades. Our membership, which increased steeply from 1950 to 1970, has remained flat or declined since (Fig. 1). We currently have some 2630 members, including only 250 student members. Many limnological programs and courses at academic institutions have been fragmented or dispersed into aquatic ecology, freshwater ecology, stream ecology, biogeochemistry, environmental engineering and so forth.  Moreover, the autocratic control of academic departments has been democratized, diversified, modernized and expanded, making some of the duties of our National Representatives, particularly the collection of dues, cumbersome. Undoubtedly the most important change is that we have moved into the electronic age with rapid storage, retrieval and transfer of large data sets, almost instantaneous communication by e-mail, electronic publishing, and facilitated financial transactions worldwide.  The original structure of SIL, which was based on conditions and a world view following World War I, now must be modernized to compete and survive in not only today’s, but tomorrow’s world (Likens 2005).  Because of strong traditions, change comes about slowly, which is both good and bad, particularly for a professional Society such as ours, which is so rich in tradition.

The original aims of our founders in 1922 are still valid and continue to serve as guideposts for the future. SIL’s first President, August Thienemann laid out three primary aims for the Society in his 1922 founding address that are worth repeating (Rodhe 1974):

  1. To foster international limnological communication and cooperation, indeed to be “übernational”,
  2. To integrate theoretical and applied limnology, and
  3. To bring limnologists working in hydrographical and biological fields close together in our Association and to encompass “all phenomena pertaining to the fresh water on the whole (italics mine) – to be as comprehensive as possible, i.e. currently all inland waters.

I have been a member of SIL since 1962 and have profited greatly by gaining a greater knowledge of the world’s inland waters, through fostering of international scientific connections and friendships, and from the wonderful traditions and history of the Society. However, if we are to prosper in the future we must modernize and reformulate our beloved professional Society. Shortly before he died, former SIL President (1974-1977) Jack Vallentyne, expressed deep concern that the current members of SIL were largely unaware of SIL’s illustrious history. Thus, he was planning to give a special presentation at this Congress on SIL’s history. Unfortunately, because of his untimely death just two months ago (16 June 2007), this will not happen. Hopefully at the Congress in 2010, someone will pick up this challenge and make that important presentation. Incidentally, two past presidents – Profs. Carolyn Burns and Pétur Jónasson – are with us today. I would like to recognize them at this time.

During the last triennium SIL lost a major force for our well being and survival. Professor Robert G. Wetzel died unexpectedly of lung cancer shortly after the Lahti Congress in Finland. Bob had been a mainstay of SIL for 37 years as the elected General Secretary and Treasurer. He had begun this difficult and complicated task as a relatively young limnologist, and faithfully served many administrations. His indefatigable attention to detail, unselfish service and dedication to scholarship served the Society well and made him revered and admired by colleagues around the world (Likens & Lampert 2005). Many, including me, credit Bob for almost single-handedly nurturing SIL through this long period. He was a dedicated, hard-working supporter of our fundamental operations, activities, traditions and heritage. His major

Bob was a devotee of tradition, but saw the critical need for SIL to modernize. In the SIL Circular (2005) that he sent to members just after the Lahti Congress in 2004 and shortly before he died, he stated regarding SIL -- “Evolve or Die!”. 

Shortly before his death, Bob and I invited Professor William Lewis, Jr., to become Acting General Secretary and Treasurer for SIL. Bill accepted and the Executive Committee approved. Bill has really stepped up to the plate, as we say in the U.S.A., and has done a truly outstanding job with this monumental task.  He needed to learn rapidly about SIL’s intricate structure, how it functions and how to make it work. He has supported me and the President’s office in every way, has provided wise leadership regarding SIL’s proposed changes for the future, and yes, has dutifully attended to all of those details and complications inherent in an international society with members from 96 countries. Bill – you have our profound thanks for a job extremely well done!

I am very pleased and honored to have been your President for two terms, and I have worked hard in conjunction with the Executive Committee, to bring about positive change for the Society’s future.

The Executive Committee, the ad hoc Futures Committee, the ad hoc Ethics Committee, and the various standing committees have all given much time and effort during this triennium to help chart a new course for SIL’s future. As such, this will be a “watershed Congress” in SIL’s long history as we move to modernize SIL’s structure so the Society and the theoretical and applied science of its members can meet the challenges of tomorrow’s world.  Then, we all need to proactively step up to meet these challenges. We have made progress (Table 1), but there is much more to be done.

We adopted a new Mission Statement for SIL at the Lahti Congress in 2004 (Table 2).

I appointed an Ethics Committee (Professors Carolyn Burns, Chair; Rob Hart and William Lewis, Jr.) during the Lahti Congress and they produced a Code of Ethics for SIL that was adopted for the Society by the National Representatives in the spring of 2005 (Table 3).  The SIL Code of Ethics is on our web site and the Code represents an important step for a modern professional Society in today’s world.

Most notably, during the Lahti Congress, I appointed a Futures Committee, chaired by Professor Brian Moss, who now has been elected to lead SIL as its 12th President. This Committee was charged to think innovatively and to provide recommendations for safeguarding and energizing SIL’s future. There have been a number of very important issues that stemmed from the deliberations of this Committee, which now have been vetted over the past many months by the Executive Committee so that recommendations could be brought to the National Representatives and to you for action at the General Assemblies of this Congress. More about that in a moment.

Three years ago at the Congress in Lahti, in my President’s address, I presented a series of challenges that I thought would be necessary to face and to solve if SIL were to survive and to prosper in today’s world (Likens 2005).  So, let’s see how well we’ve done during the past three years in response to these challenges:

PROMOTE LIMNOLOGICAL INITIATIVES, ESPECIALLY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

For Example…

  1. Sponsor limnological workshops and conferences for younger scientists [THERE IS APPRECIABLE ACTIVITY AT THIS MEETING, e.g. three evening sessions for students and young scientists on topics such as, “Being a Scientist in SIL”.  A student committee was involved in organizing the Congress and there is a student forum regarding the Congress on the web site; students have crafted a student guide to Montreal;
  2. Develop “virtual meetings” on the internet [ATTEMPTED, BUT DIDN’T HAPPEN. Nevertheless, major lectures, e.g. President’s Address and Baldi Memorial Lecture, will be web cast for the next several months worldwide, including IN developing countries.  WE NEED TO DO BETTER IN OUR USE OF THE INTERNET AND OUR WEB SITE IN REACHING OUT TO YOUNG LIMNOLOGISTS ESPECIALLY THOSE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.],
  3. Develop special fora (with funding) primarily for younger members [NOT YET],
  4. Elect an Executive Vice President from a developing country [DONE – I appointed PROF. CHRIS GORDON of GHANA after the Lahti Congress, and he was confirmed by THE Executive Committee.  Now, Prof. Brij Gopen of India has been elected through our normal election process.]
  5. Enhance and expand working groups and committees, focusing on limnological issues in developing countries [UNDER WAY].

(At the least, develop an ethical code of conduct for SIL and its members) [DONE]

Clearly, we have made some progress, but we have some serious problems, including:

Now, let me briefly review some of the major proposals for modernization that are being brought to you at this Congress by the Executive Committee and the International Committee for your consideration and hopefully for adoption.

So, we have a full agenda of organizational tasks to be addressed and completed during this Congress. Our Society facilitates our science and our science provides the knowledge base for our survival on this planet. To paraphrase Aldo Leopold (1938), we must learn to live on and with our inland waters without spoiling them. SIL must and can continue to be an increasingly important international force in generating the knowledge, both theoretical and applied, to make this happen. SIL needs to make its value and expertise known to the world and the world needs SIL and the values and expertise it provides.

Acknowledgments

I thank Yves Prairie for help with the French greeting and William Lewis for comments and discussions. Denise Johnson provided data on SIL membership and Phyllis Likens and Pamela Freeman provided administrative and research support in the preparation of this manuscript.

References

Edmondson, W.T. 1991. The uses of ecology: Lake Washington and beyond. University of Washington Press.

Goldman, C.R. 1981. Lake Tahoe: two decades of change in a nitrogen-deficient oligotrophic lake. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 21: 45-70.

Goldman, C.R., A.D. Jassby & S.H. Hackley. 1993. Decadal, interannual, and seasonal variability in enrichment bioassays at Lake Tahoe, California-Nevada, USA.  Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 50: 1489-1496.

Jónasson, P.  2003.  Hypolimnetic eutrophication of the N-limited dimictic Lake Esrom 1908-1998. Arch. Hydrobiol. Suppl. 139: 449-512.

Kling, G.W., W.C. Evans, G. Tanyileke, M. Kusakabe, T. Ohba, Y. Yoshida & J.V. Hell. 2005. Degassing Lakes Nyos and Monoun: defusing certain disaster.  Proc. National Acad. Sci. 102: 14185-14190.

Leopold, A.  1938.  Wildlife research: is it a practical and necessary basis for management?  Trans. 3rd N. Amer. Wildlife Conf.

Likens, G.E. 2005. Providing Limnological Leadership in Tomorrow's World.  SIL Presidential Address, Lahti, Finland.  Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 29: 1-10.

Likens, G.E. & W. Lampert.  2005.  In memoriam, Professor Robert G. Wetzel, 1936-2005. Arch. Hydrobiol. 163: 431-433.

Lovett, G.M., D.A. Burns, C.T. Driscoll, J.C. Jenkins, M.J. Mitchell, L. Rustad, J.B. Shanley, G.E. Likens & R. Haeuber. 2007. Who needs environmental monitoring?  Front. Ecol. Environ. 5: 253-260.

Rodhe, W. 1974. The International Association of Limnology: Creation and Function. Mitt. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 20: 44-70. 

United Nations Population Fund Report. 2007. State of the World Population, UNFPA and World Population Prospects.

Wetzel, R.G. 2005. Evolve or Die: The Need for New Thrusts in SIL.  Commentary from the General Secretary and Treasurer.  SIL Circular 2005.

Wilkinson, B.H. & B.J. McElroy. 2007. The impact of humans on continental erosion and sedimentation. Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull. 119: 140-156.

Table 1.   What does SIL do?

Table 2.  SIL Mission Statement

“The International Association for Theoretical and Applied Limnology works worldwide, to understand lakes, rivers and wetlands and to use knowledge, gained from research, to manage and protect these diverse, inland aquatic ecosystems.”

Supporting this Mission Statement are several Objectives and Goals:

  1. To study all inland aquatic ecosystems
  2. To understand how these ecosystems arose, function and are maintained.
  3. To educate everyone about the value of these aquatic systems for the well-being and survival of all organisms, including humans on Earth, and
  4. To protect and conserve these ecosystems by promoting and fostering only sustainable use

Table 3.   A Code of Ethics for SIL

Preamble:

These ethical principles provide the standards for the professional actions and values of all members of the International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology. Members of SIL shall conduct their professional work in accordance with the following principles:

Figure 1. Membership trends of SIL.