ONTARIO CHAPTER

E.J. CROSSMAN AWARD

The Ontario Chapter of the American Fisheries Society has dedicated the Best Student Oral Presentation Award at our Annual General Meeting in remembrance of Dr. Edwin J. (Ed) Crossman. At the time of his passing, Dr. Crossman was Curator Emeritus of Ichthyology at the Royal Ontario Museum Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology and Professor Emeritus, Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, a world-renowned leader in ichthyology, and an active and honoured member of the American Fisheries Society. Dr. Crossman coauthored the award-winning Freshwater Fishes of Canada with his colleague Dr. W.B. (Bev) Scott. This comprehensive book is one of North America’s most important and informative works on freshwater fishes. His obituary was printed in Fisheries (page 27, January 2005). A video entitled Scott and Crossman: The Freshwater Fishes of Canada is available for viewing on the Ocean Scientists page of the Science and Technology for Canadians website. This is the story of scientist emeritus William Beverly (Bev) Scott, formerly of the Royal Ontario Museum and the Huntsman Marine Science Centre and Edwin (Ed) J. Crossman, formerly of the Royal Ontario Museum, authors of the definitive texts on freshwater fish in Canada.

The E.J. Crossman Award is presented to the graduate or undergraduate student enrolled in a university or college, whose oral presentation is deemed best by a panel of distinguished judges at the Annual Meeting of the Ontario Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. Due to the chapter hosting the AFS Annual Meeting in 2008, the Award was presented at a special E.J. Crossman Award Symposium. The award includes financial ($250) travel support to attend a scientific meeting, a one-year student membership to AFS and the Ontario Chapter, and a copy of Freshwater Fishes of Canada. The intention of the award is to encourage participation at an American Fisheries Society function.

The criteria for the award will include: 1) scientific approach; 2) organization and presentation; 3) communication skills; and 4) effectiveness of visual aids.  Additional criteria includes that the recipient must be a student in good standing at a university or college.

To honour Dr. Crossman, special consideration will be given to projects that emphasize his research interests including (in no particular order): a) research highlighting Esocids; b) the relationships, evolution, distribution and biology of freshwater fishes; c) the biodiversity of the fishes of the Great Lakes; and d) research on the impacts of introduced fishes and organisms.

AWARD WINNERS

The 2010 winner was Sean Landsman (right), from Carleton University. Sean received his award from OC Vice President Scott Gibson (left). His presentation was titled "The Effects of Catch-and-Release Angling for Muskellunge" and the abstract is available in the 2010 AGM Program.

The 2008 winner was Paul Venturelli (right), from the University of Toronto. He is is pictured with Mrs. Margaret Crossman (2nd from right), Nick Mandrak (2nd from left) and Becky Cudmore (left). His presentation was titled "Maternal quality and the sustainability of exploited fish stocks" and the abstract is available in the November 2008 Newsletter.

The 2007 winner was Mason Marchildon (right), from the University of Waterloo. Dave received the award from OC Student Subunit President Mary Finch (left). His presentation was titled "Hydrodynamic Properties of Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout Redds" and the abstract is available in the 2007 AGM Program.

The 2006 winner was Dave Zanatta (centre), from the University of Toronto. Dave received the award from Mrs. Margaret Crossman (left) and OC President Warren Dunlop (right). His presentation was titled "Evolution of active host-attraction strategies in the freshwater mussel tribe Lampsilini (Bivalvia: Unionidae)" and the abstract is available in the 2006 AGM Program.

The 2005 winner was Erin Dunlop (2nd from right), from the University of Toronto. Erin received the award from Dr. Bev Scott (2nd from left), OC President Dave Stanley (far left) and Becky Cudmore (far right). Her presentation was titled "Evolutionary changes in harvested populations" and the abstract is available in the 2005 AGM Program.

The inaugural recipient in 2004 was Mark Poos (centre), from the University of Guelph. Mark received the award from Dr. John Casselman (left) and OC President Dave Green (right). His presentation was titled "Can single factor remediation recover fish species at risk in a complex system?" and the abstract is available in the 2004 AGM Program.

Last update:  17 June, 2010