Updates on Project Status and Model Development

Fall 2001 to Fall 2003

• Continue model simplification studies
• Start research project for Ohio Coastal Assistance Grants Management Program to develop tributary habitat maps
• Start of regional stressor-response modeling project

Fall 2000 to Fall 2001

• Completion of model simplification studies
• Begin GIS mapping of nearshore and tributary habitat

Fall 1999 to Fall 2000

• Conducted modeling and decision analysis workshops on the value to fisheries management of research on "Lake Erie Response to Nutrient Inputs and Zebra Mussels: Workshops (January 24-25 and February 21-22, 2000).
• Extension of LEEM to include habitat influences

Spring 1997 to Fall 1999

• Participation in the 1999 IAGLR Modelling Summit
• Analysis of effects of phosphorus loading constraints on the productive capacity of the fish community of Lake Erie
• Modification of LEEM to include habitat constraints on fish reproduction.
• Development of an interactive help interface for the LEEM model. This interface provides a detailed summary of the equations in LEEM Version 1.0.

March 1997

• Official release of LEEM Version 1.0. Version 1.0 was written in Visual Basic 4.0 and is available as a stand-alone program for both Windows 95/NT and Windows 3.x. This release features an improved user interface and better integration of the model and EXCEL spreadsheet templates. The spreadsheet templates have also been revised for this release.

October 1996:

• Posting of Version 0.3 of Prototype. This Version has some minor upgrades of output from Version 0.3. Spreasheet templates, however, are revised in this release. Two input spreadsheets have been reduced to one and feature easier interaction with simulation model. Three output spreadsheets have been reduced to one also with features to improve interaction with model.
• Conclusion of the prototype development and evaluation with presentations and discussions at the Lake Erie Modelling Summit, which was organized by the IJC's Lake Erie Task Force and Environment Canada, Windsor, Ontario. September 1996
• Start of new research program funded by the U.S. EPA, "Modeling and Multiobjective Risk Decision Tools for Assessment and Mangement of Great Lakes Ecosystems." This is a joint project between Johns Hopkins University and Case Western Reserve University.

July 1996

• Release of Version 0.2 of LEEM. The prototype revision included more detailed resolution of lower trophic levels.
• Completion of Phase II of testing of the LEEM prototype.

April 1995

• Prototype LEEM released for testing following a Model Evaluation Workshop hosted by IJC's Lake Erie Task Force in Windsor, Ontario.
• Internet Home Page set up to distribute copies of the prototype and reports of the Lake Erie Ecological Modelling Project.