The Jim LaBounty Best Paper Award 2025
The Jim LaBounty Best Paper Award is awarded annually for the Best Paper published in Lake and Reservoir Management. For 2025, members of the editorial board nominated seven papers from the last two issues 2024, and the first two issues 2025. These papers are available through Free Access from Taylor and Francis for the month of March 2026. The winner was chosen by multiple rounds of voting by the editorial board.
An evaluation of cyanobacterial occurrence and bloom development in Adirondack lakes
Rebecca M. Gorney, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, Michael D. Stouder, Ann E. St. Amand, Cory Sauve, Denise Clark, Erin A. Stelzer, Carrie E. Givens & Jennifer L. Graham. 2024 40(4): 373-389.
We monitored five lakes with and without documented cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (HABs) of cyanobacteria in New York’s Adirondack Park. Cyanobacteria were detected in all five lakes and sample locations. Our study found that cyanobacteria and bloom potential exist even in low-nutrient Adirondack lakes, meaning historical bloom records alone don’t predict future risk. These findings highlight the need for genetic and sediment monitoring to improve early detection and proactive strategies.
Remote cyanobacteria detection by multispectral drone imagery
Garrett Bartelt, Jiaqi You & Miki Hondzo. 2024 40(3): 236–247.
We demonstrate drone-mounted multispectral cameras’ value for lake water quality monitoring. Chlorophyll a correlates with near-infrared (840 nm) and red (668 nm) bands, and phycocyanin mapping aligns with in situ measurements for a small freshwater lake, Brownie Lake, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Effects of aeration on water quality in agricultural reservoirs in the northern Great Plains
Jessica Lerminiaux, Ben Norton, Rikki Jean Wilson, Ryan Rimas, Thomas Michael Lavender & Kerri Finlay. 2024 40(3): 264-284.
We assessed the effects of wind-powered aeration on water quality by comparing five aerated and five unaerated agricultural reservoirs in the summer. Although aeration enhanced water column mixing and deep oxygenation, it produced minimal and inconsistent improvements in nutrients, algal biomass, cyanobacteria, or algal toxins, suggesting benefits may be limited to specific reservoir types.
Comparison of imaging flow cytometry and microscopy for freshwater algal bloom detection
Sabina R. Gifford, Ann St. Amand, Jennifer L. Graham, Guy M. Foster, Cory Sauve, Denise Clark & Hannah Schroeder-Larkins. 2024 40(3): 221–235.
We compared imaging flow cytometry (IFC) and traditional microscopy to detect freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs). IFC detected cyanobacterial HAB forming taxa faster and at lower abundances than microscopy, though with less taxonomic detail and limitations in biovolume accuracy. We demonstrated that IFC is a valuable tool to rapidly detecting diverse freshwater phytoplankton groups and its potential for near-real-time field sampling to evaluate HABs.
Relative energy and perceived impact of vessel-generated waves in fetch-limited environments
Chris Houser, Abigail Carswell, Ben Chittle, Grace Johnson, Ava Caschera & Alex Smith. 2024 40(3): 285-302.
We monitored Vessel generated waves at 32 sites across 7 fetch-limited lakes in Ontario, Canada between 2020 and 2023. Wake energy was affected by average fetch length, and whether the site was an embayment, narrow section or open area of the lake. Shoreline erosion and degraded water quality were associated with vessel generated waves in lakes with the smallest fetch.
A handheld fluorometer evaluates freshwater cyanobacterial blooms across a broad productivity gradient
Ve Van Le & Alan E. Wilson. 2025 41(2):104–111
We collected 1,043 water samples from ultraoligotrophic drinking water reservoirs to hypereutrophic aquaculture ponds to evaluate the use of a portable fluorometer to measure freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs). After removing fluorescent measurements that exceeded saturation (>50,000 RFU), the remaining 880 samples showed that fluorescence was strongly related to chlorophyll a and phycocyanin measurements using conventional lab techniques (R2 = 0.855, P < 0.00001, n = 880), demonstrating that a portable fluorometer can be used to monitor for HABs.
Characteristics of boat-based aquatic recreation in Adirondack lakes
Michale Glennon & Daniel Kelting. 2025 41(2): 75–92.
We assessed boat activity on 39 Adirondack lakes from 2015 to 2020. The most frequent vessel types observed were motorboats, followed by kayaks, personal watercraft, and canoes. Numbers peaked at midday and were highest in July for most vessel types. Spatiotemporal patterns of weekday and weekend use were similar, but approximately twice as many boats were observed on weekends. Mean numbers of boats could be predicted by relatively few variables. Motorboat use was highest on large lakes with marinas located close to interstate highways.
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