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Freshwater ecosystems face ever increasing environmental and ecological challenges. Recognition of those challenges is not new—over 30 years ago, a series of workshops convened to develop a research agenda (The Freshwater Imperative) to address those challenges. It was recognized that a critical component of solving the problems that freshwater ecosystems face would require greater interdisciplinary collaboration. Here, we discuss the context for the "Revisiting the Freshwater Imperative" workshop and describe how a small‐workshop model can be used effectively to seed longer term collaborative partnerships in support of meeting the challenges freshwater ecosystems face. Some key recommendations include: (1) engage with participants prior to the workshop to maximize efficient use of time and prime divergence‐convergence thinking; (2) promote a bottom‐up participant driven structure; (2) develop an agenda with enough flexibility to accommodate participant driven changes (i.e., a "live" agenda); (3) utilize best practices for facilitating team science; and (4) provide coordinating structure for post‐workshop working group activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Winter Limnology Network is a project supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation that aims to develop a network of researchers trained in conducting limnological research on frozen lakes. This project addresses the lack of training in areas such as ice safety, operating equipment in subzero temperatures, and collecting samples from under snow and ice. The network uses a team science approach and welcomes participation from researchers interested in paired winter-summer sampling. To build capacity for winter research, the network organized a comprehensive winter limnology training workshop for early career limnologists. The workshop included ice safety training, hands-on field research, and discussions on team science and science communication. The Winter Limnology Network plans to offer this training again in the future and encourages researchers to join their efforts. [Extracted from the article]

The Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel (SDWSC) in the San Francisco Estuary, which is an active commercial port, is critical habitat for pelagic fish species including delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus), longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), and Sacramento perch (Archoplites interruptus). Pelagic organism decline has been attributed to covarying factors such as manipulation of habitat, introduction of invasive species, decrease in food production, and contaminant exposure. Quantification of bioavailable toxicant loads in the SDWSC is limited despite previous surveys that have detected elevated contaminant concentrations in the sediments. Therefore, the focus of the present study was to characterize the bioavailability of the contaminants in the SDWSC from six sites along the channel. At each site, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), pyrethroid insecticides, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were quantified in sediment, zooplankton, and suspended solids. In addition, Tenax extraction was used to measure the bioaccessible fraction of sediment-associated contaminants freely dissolved in the water. Bioaccessible contaminants in the sediment provided an uptake route for these stressors into invertebrates and fish with bioaccessible OCPs being found at all sites, particularly 4,4'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE). Bifenthrin was the only pyrethroid detected in the chosen matrices and it was found at concentrations below levels of concern. Bioaccessible PAHs were found at all sites, with highest detections for phenanthrene and pyrene. No PCBs were detected in sediments, but were detected in both suspended solids and zooplankton. Contaminant concentrations overall were significantly higher in suspended solids, followed by zooplankton and sediments. The highest sediment concentrations of DDE, fluoranthene, pyrene, and dibenzo[a,h]anthracene exceeded sediment quality benchmarks indicating potential risk to sediment-dwelling species. Finally, elevated contaminant levels were found in both suspended solids and zooplankton, suggesting additional risk to pelagic species in the SDWSC., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)