Assessing potential impacts of mink farming on lakes in rural Nova Scotia

 

Project Home    Background    Methods     People    Documents

Partners

TREPA

Principal Investigators

John P Smol (Queen`s University)

John Smol is a paleolimnologist, biology professor, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change, and co-director of the Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory (PEARL), at the Department of Biology at Queen's University. His previous research has focused on long-term environmental change in lakes from across North America and around the world.

SmolJ@QueensU.Ca

website

biography

Jules M Blais (University of Ottawa) website

Joshua Kurek (Mount Allison University)

Joshua Kurek is an Assistant Professor at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick (Canada). He leads the Environmental Change & Aquatic Biomonitoring (ECAB) Laboratory in the state-of-the-art Gairdner Building. His research program is interdisciplinary and includes aspects of aquatic science, paleolimnology, and monitoring of freshwater ecosystems. He is interested in research questions that contribute to understanding how lakes, rivers, and wetlands respond to stressors and how the structure and function of freshwaters has changed across time. One of his favorite job perks is mentoring undergraduate and graduate students and helping to develop their abilities, knowledge, and interest related to environmental science.

jkurek@mta.ca

website

Mark Mallory (Acadia University) website

Rob Jamieson (Dalhousie University)

Dr. Jamieson is a Professor with the Department of Civil and Resource Engineering at Dalhousie University.  He holds the Canada Research Chair in Cold Regions Ecological Engineering. His areas of research are watershed modeling, contaminant transport, and passive wastewater treatment systems.  He is a professional engineer with over 10 years experience in water resources engineering, with particular expertise in hydrological modeling, water quality modeling, microbial water quality, and on-site and alternative wastewater systems. 

jamiesrc@dal.ca

website

Graduate Students

Corwin Andrews (Univeristy of Ottawa):

Julia Campbell (Mount Allison University): I am originally from Summerside, PEI and recently graduated from Mount Allison University where I completed my BSc. in Biology and Environmental science. I continued my studies at Mount Allison by joining the mink team and am now a graduate student working towards my MSc. in Biology. My component of the mink project is to assess the effects of eutrophication by analyzing midge assemblages and reconstructing dissolved oxygen trends in lakes. I was drawn to this research because it addresses local concerns about water quality issues. I have always been passionate about the conservation of aquatic and marine ecosystems, and I am eager to learn more about the common and widespread effects of eutrophication. I previously worked with a watershed group in PEI and was able to observe the land use impacts in streams and estuaries, while doing water quality monitoring and stream restoration work. By working on the mink project, I am now able to study lakes, which are not a common occurrence in PEI.

Jennifer Kissinger (University of Ottawa): I am originally from the United States and currently a graduate student at the University of Ottawa, specializing in Chemical and Environmental Toxicology within the Department of Biology. I completed my undergraduate degree in Forensic Pathology at Indiana University Bloomington, USA. My research experience is interdisciplinary spanning from abstract biological applications to federal policy, and have a formal forensics background as a deputy coroner, with training in blood spatter analysis, forensic entomology, and clandestine cadaver recovery. My research interests focus on reconstructing environments longitudinally through physiological biomarkers in sediment which can remain stable for decades up to hundreds of years. Utilizing limnological techniques, sterol and stanol biomarkers can be used to create a 'forensic fingerprint' of sediment biochemistry which can, in conjunction with multi proxy methods, provide past and present snap-shots of environmental states and provide clarity of the relevant impacts on ecology and society.

Nell Libera (Queen's University): I am originally from Vancouver, BC, and I completed an undergraduate degree in Biology at Queen's University, with a focus on ecology and environmental science. I have previously taken part in a project assessing the impact of industrial bitumen extraction operations in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AB), using sedimentary diatom assemblages as environmental indicators. My focus as an MSc student in this project will be diatoms, chrysophytes, and chlorophyll-a as indicators of eutrophication. I am passionate about scientific communication and education, as well as water quality issues that are especially important in our changing world.

Jessie McIntyre (Acadia University): I am originally from New Glasgow, NS and recently graduated from Mount Allison University in Environmental Science, Biology and Women's & Genders studies. I am interested in wildlife biology and conservation, especially with birds, environmental education and collaborative research that involves local communities. My previous research experience has been with migratory shorebirds in Atlantic Canada, GIS, and application of remote sensing technologies to map important habitat. I will be working on the biotransport aspect of this study and am really excited to be working with the gulls and other motivated researchers on this project. As a native Nova Scotian, I am eager to work on this local issue that brings together a variety of research areas and opportunities for positive change.

Aidan Van Heyst (Dalhousie University): I grew up in Waterloo, ON, and completed by undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph in Water Resources Engineering. I worked at Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs as a summer research student and studied the impact of land applying abbatoir wastewater and if it could be a factor in eutrophication of lakes. Lake eutrophication and algal blooms are a huge issue in Ontario, and I am looking forward to exploring this issue in Nova Scotia. I am currently a student at Dalhousie University and I am completing a MASc in Civil Engineering. I will be focusing on the hydrologic modelling of watersheds affected by mink farming and lake eutrophication.