The CRI is delighted to announce our upcoming 8th Hynes Lecturer,Professor Stuart Bunn, Ph.D., Director of the Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, and Australian Water Commissioner. His major research interests are in the ecology of river and wetland systems with a particular focus on the science to nderpin river protection and restoration, including the assessment of environmental flows and aquatic ecosystem health.
Professor Bunn has extensive experience working with international and Australian government agencies on water resource management issues. He is the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Panel for the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Council, Deputy Chair of the Scientific Expert Panel for the Southeast Queensland Healthy Waterways Partnership and leads the Australian Climate Change Adaptation Research Network for Water Resources and Freshwater Biodiversity. In 2008, he was appointed as an Australian National Water Commissioner.
Please mark your calendars for Professor Bunn's Hynes Lectures:
1) Public lecture: Balancing water needs for humans and nature. 20 October 2010,7 pm, UNB Saint John, Hazen Hall Lecture Theatre.
2) Science Lecture: Using stable isotopes to understand river foodwebs. 22 October 2010, 3 pm, UNB Fredericton, Loring Bailey Hall, Room 146.
For further information, please contact Dr. Karen Kidd, Hynes Lecture Committee (kiddk@unbsj.ca), or Heather Boyd-Kinnie (hkinnie@unb.ca,506-453-4770),Communications and Marketing Coordinator.
http://www.unb.ca/research/institutes/cri/about/hynes.html
July 08, 2010
NB Museum (Saint John) hosts Waterscapes display - 1 Jun to 6 Sep
Yours to Enjoy, Explore and Protect
From June 1 to september 6, 2010
Explore some of Canada’s beautiful waterscapes in this fun, new exhibition. Discover the amazing diversity of life that depends on our aquatic ecosystems. You can follow an imaginary Whooping Crane’s ‘diary’, listen to frog calls, and even create your own ocean sounds! From the Great Lakes to our seashores, we are a nation connected by water.
Visit Canada’s Waterscapes and find out how you can help protect our most precious resource. Located at the NB Museum, 1 Market Square, Saint John NB.
Also associated with the exhibit is the RBC National Lecture Series (at NB Museum as well):
- 15 July, 7pm: Dr. Kelly Munkittrick - New Brunswick Waterscapes: A Rich but Threatened Resource.
- 12 August, 7pm: Dr. Karen Kidd - Why Small Amounts of Pollution Can Cause Big Problems for Fish in Canada.
- 26 August, 7pm: Dr. Donald McAlpine - Frogwater: parasites, deformed frogs, and other bizarre stuff that swims in the water you might drink.
Exhibition produced by Canada Museum of Nature.
With support from Canadian Geographic.
Presented nationally in partnership with Parks Canada, NSERC, the Canadian Water Network, and the RBC Blue Water Project.
June 22, 2010
NB Water Grandmother program gets some attention
Cecelia Brooks (NB Water Grandmother) and Allen Curry (CRI Director)Photo credit: Shawn Berry
The Daily Gleaner and NB Telegraph Journal printed articles on June 22nd announcing the NB Environmental Trust Fund funding and creation of the Water Grandmother program through the CRI.
Cecelia Brooks has had a great relationship with the CRI over the past few years and now we are happy to be able to have her as a CRIer and as New Brunswick's Water Grandmother!
Please click on the links below to read the articles written recently on Cecelia and the CRI's new water education program for First Nations communities in NB, and also visit her new website that will feature her project as it progresses.
Daily Gleaner article
NB Telegraph Journal article
March 12, 2010
It's a GIRL
Mark Gautreau (Curry Lab Technician and CRI Gradaute Student), his wife Lisa, and the new big brother Riley are proud to announce that they have added a little baby girl to the family.
Born on March 12, she weighed in at 7 lbs 15oz and both baby and mom Lisa are doing really well.
Welcome Julia Marie Gautreau to the CRI Baby Club!
Born on March 12, she weighed in at 7 lbs 15oz and both baby and mom Lisa are doing really well.
Welcome Julia Marie Gautreau to the CRI Baby Club!
March 11, 2010
Upcoming Water Themed Talks at UNB
World Water Day is March 22nd and here are a few water-themed events/lectures happening here at UNB.
UNB Undergraduate Engineering Society initiative:
March 15 .2010
The Global Water Crisis
Lynn Patterson, Director of Corporate Responsibility, RBC
March 19 .2010
Future Engineers must Lobby for Public Policy
Geoff Norququay, Principal of Earnscliffe Strategy Group
April 6 .2010
Vertical Farming
Dr. Dickson Despommier, Columbia University
UNB Department of Political Science:
The Department of Political Science invites you to an interdisciplinary
FORUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS
March 18, 2010
Keynote Speaker: Andrew Biro, Acadia University
‘Water Wars’ from Global to Local: Violence and the Production of Scarcity
5:30 pm, Tilley Hall Room 5
Afternoon Lectures
3 - 5 pm, Tilley Hall Room 223:
Rusty Bittermann, St.Thomas University
Teaching (and researching) water and world history
Louise Comeau, University of New Brunswick
Power politics and the environment: the case for citizenship, critical
thinking and environmental ethics
Tom Beckley, University of New Brunswick
Science, pseudo science and social science in forest policydevelopment in New Brunswick
Janice Harvey, University of New Brunswick
The Green Party of Canada on the left-right political spectrum
Reception to follow at 5 - 5:30 in Tilley Hall Room 2
Poster
UNB Undergraduate Engineering Society initiative:
March 15 .2010
The Global Water Crisis
Lynn Patterson, Director of Corporate Responsibility, RBC
March 19 .2010
Future Engineers must Lobby for Public Policy
Geoff Norququay, Principal of Earnscliffe Strategy Group
April 6 .2010
Vertical Farming
Dr. Dickson Despommier, Columbia University
UNB Department of Political Science:
The Department of Political Science invites you to an interdisciplinary
FORUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS
March 18, 2010
Keynote Speaker: Andrew Biro, Acadia University
‘Water Wars’ from Global to Local: Violence and the Production of Scarcity
5:30 pm, Tilley Hall Room 5
Afternoon Lectures
3 - 5 pm, Tilley Hall Room 223:
Rusty Bittermann, St.Thomas University
Teaching (and researching) water and world history
Louise Comeau, University of New Brunswick
Power politics and the environment: the case for citizenship, critical
thinking and environmental ethics
Tom Beckley, University of New Brunswick
Science, pseudo science and social science in forest policydevelopment in New Brunswick
Janice Harvey, University of New Brunswick
The Green Party of Canada on the left-right political spectrum
Reception to follow at 5 - 5:30 in Tilley Hall Room 2
Poster
February 24, 2010
CRI in the News - Millions in research money to flow to Rivers Institute
Harbour: Study could one day help developers provide better environmental impact assessments
(original published Feb 22, 2010 - April Johnson, Telegraph Journal)
SAINT JOHN - Researchers at the Canadian Rivers Institute will start testing Saint John Harbour next fall as part of new pilot project whose findings could one day be used to help protect the environment.
Kelly Munkittrick, associate director of the Canadian Rivers Institute, will be doing research in the fall on the health of many forms of life in the local harbour.
The institute, based out of the University of New Brunswick Saint John, will receive millions in federal funding to launch a partnership with different industries and groups who have an interest in what is discharged into the harbour.
"What we're trying to do broadly within the Canadian Water Network is come up with a unified framework and philosophy for water monitoring," said Kelly Munkittrick, associate director of the Canadian Rivers Institute.
Researchers will collect baseline data from the harbour - on anything from water contaminants to sea life - that will be accessible to anyone who needs data for environmental impact assessments.
The assessments are required for any new developments - such as the shelved second oil refinery at Eider Rock, which is going through the final stages of an environmental assessment now.
Federal rules require developers to not only assess what impact the new construction will have on the immediate environment, but also how it will interact with other existing or proposed developments.
But there has not been any consistency in the timing of sampling or how things are monitored, Munkittrick said.
"We're hoping to provide that baseline, so there is more consistency as development happens," he said.
The Canadian Rivers Institute, in partnership with the Canadian Water Network, has done more than 90 studies on the St. John River since 2002, but the work isn't entirely useful to companies that perform impact assessments, he said. The questions asked in research and in potential developments aren't necessarily the same.
"We want to come up with a common framework for the different types of monitoring that goes on, so they all feed in to one another," he said.
Saint John will be the first of about six other locations in the country to have the baseline monitoring. The other places have not yet been determined.
Munkittrick said the institute chose Saint John because it has a long history of working on the St. John River system.
The amount of proposed development and the city's potential to become an energy hub was another big factor, he said.
"It's exciting because of the opportunity to see the results of research actually make a difference to how the environment is managed on a large scale," he said.
It's also a way to keep a focus on sustainable development, he said.
"It will give people confidence that we'll be able to detect the problem if one is out there and be able to help clean it up."
Munkittrick doesn't yet know how much funding he will get for the project, but it's expected to be in the millions, he said. The research will likely attract more academics and students to the area.
Munkittrick will meet with potential partners on Tuesday to explain the concept and get feedback on what kind of research should be done. Partners will likely include the Saint John Port Authority, the provincial and federal governments, Saint John Water and the local fishermen's association.
Munkittrick made a presentation to common council last week. Council members were happy to hear about the influx of research and development dollars to the region.
(original published Feb 22, 2010 - April Johnson, Telegraph Journal)
SAINT JOHN - Researchers at the Canadian Rivers Institute will start testing Saint John Harbour next fall as part of new pilot project whose findings could one day be used to help protect the environment.
Kelly Munkittrick, associate director of the Canadian Rivers Institute, will be doing research in the fall on the health of many forms of life in the local harbour.
The institute, based out of the University of New Brunswick Saint John, will receive millions in federal funding to launch a partnership with different industries and groups who have an interest in what is discharged into the harbour.
"What we're trying to do broadly within the Canadian Water Network is come up with a unified framework and philosophy for water monitoring," said Kelly Munkittrick, associate director of the Canadian Rivers Institute.
Researchers will collect baseline data from the harbour - on anything from water contaminants to sea life - that will be accessible to anyone who needs data for environmental impact assessments.
The assessments are required for any new developments - such as the shelved second oil refinery at Eider Rock, which is going through the final stages of an environmental assessment now.
Federal rules require developers to not only assess what impact the new construction will have on the immediate environment, but also how it will interact with other existing or proposed developments.
But there has not been any consistency in the timing of sampling or how things are monitored, Munkittrick said.
"We're hoping to provide that baseline, so there is more consistency as development happens," he said.
The Canadian Rivers Institute, in partnership with the Canadian Water Network, has done more than 90 studies on the St. John River since 2002, but the work isn't entirely useful to companies that perform impact assessments, he said. The questions asked in research and in potential developments aren't necessarily the same.
"We want to come up with a common framework for the different types of monitoring that goes on, so they all feed in to one another," he said.
Saint John will be the first of about six other locations in the country to have the baseline monitoring. The other places have not yet been determined.
Munkittrick said the institute chose Saint John because it has a long history of working on the St. John River system.
The amount of proposed development and the city's potential to become an energy hub was another big factor, he said.
"It's exciting because of the opportunity to see the results of research actually make a difference to how the environment is managed on a large scale," he said.
It's also a way to keep a focus on sustainable development, he said.
"It will give people confidence that we'll be able to detect the problem if one is out there and be able to help clean it up."
Munkittrick doesn't yet know how much funding he will get for the project, but it's expected to be in the millions, he said. The research will likely attract more academics and students to the area.
Munkittrick will meet with potential partners on Tuesday to explain the concept and get feedback on what kind of research should be done. Partners will likely include the Saint John Port Authority, the provincial and federal governments, Saint John Water and the local fishermen's association.
Munkittrick made a presentation to common council last week. Council members were happy to hear about the influx of research and development dollars to the region.
February 01, 2010
CRI sCRIbbles WINTER EDITION 2010
I am lucky enough to get to publish this edition from a warm location down in Florida. Here is a nice picture of a manatee that we met shortly after getting here.
I hope everyone gets the chance to read through this edition of sCRIbbles, thanks to all that made contributions - if you see something missing, contact your sCRIbe or make sure you give them the information before each deadline (3rd week of Jan, May, and Sep). If you are a sCRIbe and I missed adding something you sent me, contact me directly.
If you have any comments, please email me: m.gray@unb.ca.
Thanks everyone and stay warm,
Michelle Gray 'editor' sCRIbbles
Recent Happenings - Courtenay Lab
Jordan Musetta-Lambert
Jordan is researching how the coastal development of rocky structures (ie. breakwaters & coastal armouring) in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence influence changes in productive capacity of the disturbed area. This fall, Jordan sampled and tested methodologies at breakwaters in New Brunswick, along the Bay Chaleur, the Northumberland Strait, and in Miramichi Bay. Jordan is currently working in the lab identifying algal and invertebrate species collected, and calculating biomass estimates. He is also preparing for the next more intensive field season, which includes learning to SCUBA dive to allow him to sample the base of the rocky structures. Next season will include sampling sites that encompass the shores of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick, along the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Allan Debertin
Allan has completed stomach sample analysis on pelagic fishes (smelt, mackerel, sandlance, herring, and alewife) caught during the July-August 2009 DFO survey of the Northumberland Strait. This analysis is part of his master’s project on the predator-prey interactions of zooplankton and their predators, pelagic fishes, within the Northumberland Strait. Allan is currently writing a paper which will describe the physical characteristics and zooplankton biomass of the Northumberland Strait through mapping and spatial analysis.
Allison Schein
Allison has graduated from the University of Prince Edward Island with a Master’s degree in Science. Allison completed a thesis on entitled: “The estuarine fish community and food web structure in areas of sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) and eelgrass (Zoatera marina) within the Stanley river estuary, Prince Edward Island”. Allison has moved back to her home in Vancouver, BC from Fredericton, NB conveniently in time for the 2010 Olympic Games. The Courtenay lab wishes her the best of luck in her future endeavors.
Jared Tomie
Jared has been continuing his work on burrowing behaviour and substrate selection of the American eel at the Mactaquac Biodiversity Facility. He has set up experiments that simulate overwintering habitat and allow eels to select from a rocky or muddy bottom. These experiments will continue until early spring when natural water temperatures begin to rise. Jared has also performed experiments to map the three dimensional structure of eel burrows. These experiments rely on carefully excavating eels that are burrowed in the mud. This winter, Jared will also be traveling around the Maritimes to interview fisheries officers about eel habitat based on summer and winter fishing sites.
Jordan is researching how the coastal development of rocky structures (ie. breakwaters & coastal armouring) in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence influence changes in productive capacity of the disturbed area. This fall, Jordan sampled and tested methodologies at breakwaters in New Brunswick, along the Bay Chaleur, the Northumberland Strait, and in Miramichi Bay. Jordan is currently working in the lab identifying algal and invertebrate species collected, and calculating biomass estimates. He is also preparing for the next more intensive field season, which includes learning to SCUBA dive to allow him to sample the base of the rocky structures. Next season will include sampling sites that encompass the shores of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick, along the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Allan Debertin
Allan has completed stomach sample analysis on pelagic fishes (smelt, mackerel, sandlance, herring, and alewife) caught during the July-August 2009 DFO survey of the Northumberland Strait. This analysis is part of his master’s project on the predator-prey interactions of zooplankton and their predators, pelagic fishes, within the Northumberland Strait. Allan is currently writing a paper which will describe the physical characteristics and zooplankton biomass of the Northumberland Strait through mapping and spatial analysis.
Allison Schein
Allison has graduated from the University of Prince Edward Island with a Master’s degree in Science. Allison completed a thesis on entitled: “The estuarine fish community and food web structure in areas of sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) and eelgrass (Zoatera marina) within the Stanley river estuary, Prince Edward Island”. Allison has moved back to her home in Vancouver, BC from Fredericton, NB conveniently in time for the 2010 Olympic Games. The Courtenay lab wishes her the best of luck in her future endeavors.
Jared Tomie
Jared has been continuing his work on burrowing behaviour and substrate selection of the American eel at the Mactaquac Biodiversity Facility. He has set up experiments that simulate overwintering habitat and allow eels to select from a rocky or muddy bottom. These experiments will continue until early spring when natural water temperatures begin to rise. Jared has also performed experiments to map the three dimensional structure of eel burrows. These experiments rely on carefully excavating eels that are burrowed in the mud. This winter, Jared will also be traveling around the Maritimes to interview fisheries officers about eel habitat based on summer and winter fishing sites.
Recent Happenings - Culp Lab
Students from CRI Fredericton: Allison Ritcey, Laura Noel, Erin Foster, Alexa Alexander, Heidi Leblanc
Post-doc: Jen Lento (joining us in March 2010)
UNB Staff: Jessica McPhee, Adam Bliss
EC Staff: Eric Luiker, Dave Hryn and Kristie Heard
Fall synopsis, but a number of other projects are ongoing – watch for updates in future bulletins!
• Allison Ritcey (CRI Fredericton) has been processing cotton strips all fall and is now spending time working on identifying benthic macroinvertebrates collected in her MSc field sampling in northern Labrador.
This past summer was her second field sampling to assess the ecosystem structure and function of streams in the Torngat Mountains National Park. Together with Dea Chute from the Curry lab – these two can usually be found in the NWRI lab (room 208).
• Laura Noel (CRI Fredericton) is back from a leave of absence, part-time, to finish writing her dissertation. Felix [new son!] is doing quite well, and although he hasn’t been in a river yet, he loves it in the bathtub!
• Erin Foster (CRI Fredericton / NB Dept. Environ) is planning to defend her MSc thesis this winter. Congrats Erin!
• Alexa Alexander has been keeping busy attending multiple workshops (TERA) and conferences (ATW). She particularly enjoyed the drive to the Aquatic Toxicity Workshop in Charlevoix this fall along the St. Lawrence River.
St. Lawrence River on the ferry to Charlevoix... (Photo ACA)
• Also, the new postdoc (Jen Lento below) will be joining us in March 2010 – we can’t wait!
• Joseph Culp attended the Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring in Canadian Arctic Workshop in Victoria, Dec 7-8, 2009. In preparation for the first international meeting of the Freshwater Expert Monitoring Group (FEMG) of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP), Canadian experts convened prior to the ArcticNet Conference to discuss how Canadian research and monitoring can be integrated and summarized to better meet future monitoring needs of the North.
• Joseph also helped to organize the TERA (Trait-based Ecological Risk Assessment) workshop in Burlington, Sept 7 to 11th, 2009. Thirty, international researchers attended the workshop to develop and discuss the application of trait based approaches. A fun time was had by all! We had beautiful weather, good food and terrific discussions!
Post-doc: Jen Lento (joining us in March 2010)
UNB Staff: Jessica McPhee, Adam Bliss
EC Staff: Eric Luiker, Dave Hryn and Kristie Heard
Fall synopsis, but a number of other projects are ongoing – watch for updates in future bulletins!
• Allison Ritcey (CRI Fredericton) has been processing cotton strips all fall and is now spending time working on identifying benthic macroinvertebrates collected in her MSc field sampling in northern Labrador.
This past summer was her second field sampling to assess the ecosystem structure and function of streams in the Torngat Mountains National Park. Together with Dea Chute from the Curry lab – these two can usually be found in the NWRI lab (room 208).
• Laura Noel (CRI Fredericton) is back from a leave of absence, part-time, to finish writing her dissertation. Felix [new son!] is doing quite well, and although he hasn’t been in a river yet, he loves it in the bathtub!
• Erin Foster (CRI Fredericton / NB Dept. Environ) is planning to defend her MSc thesis this winter. Congrats Erin!
• Alexa Alexander has been keeping busy attending multiple workshops (TERA) and conferences (ATW). She particularly enjoyed the drive to the Aquatic Toxicity Workshop in Charlevoix this fall along the St. Lawrence River.
St. Lawrence River on the ferry to Charlevoix... (Photo ACA)
• Also, the new postdoc (Jen Lento below) will be joining us in March 2010 – we can’t wait!
• Joseph Culp attended the Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring in Canadian Arctic Workshop in Victoria, Dec 7-8, 2009. In preparation for the first international meeting of the Freshwater Expert Monitoring Group (FEMG) of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP), Canadian experts convened prior to the ArcticNet Conference to discuss how Canadian research and monitoring can be integrated and summarized to better meet future monitoring needs of the North.
• Joseph also helped to organize the TERA (Trait-based Ecological Risk Assessment) workshop in Burlington, Sept 7 to 11th, 2009. Thirty, international researchers attended the workshop to develop and discuss the application of trait based approaches. A fun time was had by all! We had beautiful weather, good food and terrific discussions!
Recent Happenings - Kidd Lab
The past few months have been a busy one in the Kidd Lab, even as the field season wraps up. Heidi Swanson defended her PhD on the 1st of December " Interactions of fish
ecology, life history, food web structure, and mercury bioaccumulation in coastal Arctic lakes”.
Leanne Baker won first place in the poster competition at the 37th ATW conference in October, and is now a NABS certified taxonomist.
Karen Kidd accepted two prestigious appointments:
1) Member of the Lakes Working Group for the Global Environment Facility
Project 'Enhancing the use of Science in International Waters projects to
improve project results', United Nations, Dec 09 - Dec 11.
2) Member of the Local Organizing Committee for the 10th International
Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant conference, Halifax, NS (24-29
Jul 2011), Dec 09 - Jun 11.
An example of a divided pond involved in Leanne’s work.
Geoff winning the ‘esteemed’ ugliest Christmas sweater prize at the annual GSA Christmas Party.
Chris, Leanne and Joe on their last field day in early December.
Presentations:
Kidd, K. Is the birth control pill an effective form of contraception for wild fishes? Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, 6 November 2009.
Karen and Heidi gave two talks at SETAC in New Orleans:
Kidd, K. and T.D. Jardine. Mercury biomagnification in streams, lakes and oceans - does field data support lab studies? Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Meeting, New Orleans, LA, 20-23 Nov 2009.
Swanson, H.K. and K.A. Kidd. When stable isotopes are not enough: importance of basic ecology in models of fish mercury concentration. SETAC Meeting, New Orleans, LA, 20-23 Nov 2009.
ecology, life history, food web structure, and mercury bioaccumulation in coastal Arctic lakes”.
Leanne Baker won first place in the poster competition at the 37th ATW conference in October, and is now a NABS certified taxonomist.
Karen Kidd accepted two prestigious appointments:
1) Member of the Lakes Working Group for the Global Environment Facility
Project 'Enhancing the use of Science in International Waters projects to
improve project results', United Nations, Dec 09 - Dec 11.
2) Member of the Local Organizing Committee for the 10th International
Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant conference, Halifax, NS (24-29
Jul 2011), Dec 09 - Jun 11.
An example of a divided pond involved in Leanne’s work.
Geoff winning the ‘esteemed’ ugliest Christmas sweater prize at the annual GSA Christmas Party.
Chris, Leanne and Joe on their last field day in early December.
Presentations:
Kidd, K. Is the birth control pill an effective form of contraception for wild fishes? Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, 6 November 2009.
Karen and Heidi gave two talks at SETAC in New Orleans:
Kidd, K. and T.D. Jardine. Mercury biomagnification in streams, lakes and oceans - does field data support lab studies? Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Meeting, New Orleans, LA, 20-23 Nov 2009.
Swanson, H.K. and K.A. Kidd. When stable isotopes are not enough: importance of basic ecology in models of fish mercury concentration. SETAC Meeting, New Orleans, LA, 20-23 Nov 2009.
Recent Happenings - MacLatchy Lab (Wilfred Laurier)
The MacLatchy Lab would like to thank everyone at Irving Pulp and Paper, Irving Paper and Lake Utopia Paper for hosting an interesting and informative two day gathering in December. The opportunity to present recent data and to tour the mills was invaluable (especially to the students who had never been on a mill tour before!).
Recent Happenings - Munkittrick Lab
Gila Somers finished her late fall/ early winter season electrofishing for slimy sculpin within the Kennebecasis watershed in November and December.
She was joined by members Kennebecasis Watershed Restoration Committee, Jake Oulette from University of Saskatchewan, Murray Somers (Curry Lab) and JA Sumith (Munkittrick Lab, from Sri Lanka); who had his first experience doing field work in negative degree Celsius temperatures.
Tim Barrett will be presenting a seminar on January 21 on “Level of biological organization for monitoring and assessing impacts of industrial effluents on fish: Population or community?”
Tim Barrett and Gila Somers will be presenting their MSc thesis proposals at UNBSJ on February 11th.
New Dr. Thijs Bosker has started his post-doctoral fellowship with the CRI. He is working with Drs. Kelly Munkittrick and Deb MacLatchy on standardizing a mummichog reproductive tests for endocrine disrupting substances.
Thijs Bosker has attended the Aquatic Toxicity Workshop in Charlevoix, Quebec, and presented some of his PhD work.
David Deslauriers (Supervisor: Dr. Jim Kieffer, CRI Associate UNBSJ) submerged himself in Asian culture on his visit to an International workshop on sturgeon.
Recent Happenings - Newbury
Dr. Bob Newbury did it again - he wrapped up another hugely successful and well received Stream Restoration: Design and Monitoring course (Oct 26-30, 2009).
The 2009 course offering was held in Penticton, British Columbia. Participants came mainly from Canada (YT, BC, AB, SK, ON, and NB) with a few from the USA (WA, OR) and one well traveled participant from the Australian Rivers Institute in Queensland, Australia (Griffith University).
The field day mid-way through the course was absolutely fantastic - everyone traveled by bus to the town of Oliver, BC to see 3 projects that Bob has been instrumental is seeing through from idea to implementation. As an absolute bonus it was right at the time that the sockeye salmon were in the Okanagan River to have their one and only chance at reproduction. The projects that Bob has been involved with have created habitat and opened up habitat that have been unavailable to sockeye salmon for decades.
1. Okanagan Riffle project
2. Okanagan River Remeander project. You can see new salmon redds that the sockeye created and are using after finding the perfect Froude number... (wanna know what that means, take the course in 2010! :))
Project news article.
3. McIntyre dam project.
.JPG)
The 2009 course offering was held in Penticton, British Columbia. Participants came mainly from Canada (YT, BC, AB, SK, ON, and NB) with a few from the USA (WA, OR) and one well traveled participant from the Australian Rivers Institute in Queensland, Australia (Griffith University).
The field day mid-way through the course was absolutely fantastic - everyone traveled by bus to the town of Oliver, BC to see 3 projects that Bob has been instrumental is seeing through from idea to implementation. As an absolute bonus it was right at the time that the sockeye salmon were in the Okanagan River to have their one and only chance at reproduction. The projects that Bob has been involved with have created habitat and opened up habitat that have been unavailable to sockeye salmon for decades.
1. Okanagan Riffle project
2. Okanagan River Remeander project. You can see new salmon redds that the sockeye created and are using after finding the perfect Froude number... (wanna know what that means, take the course in 2010! :))
Project news article.
3. McIntyre dam project.
.JPG)
Recent Happenings - Peake Lab (UNB)
Claire Hrenchuk and Kelly Sparks have completed the first year of their MSc degrees. Let’s hope the next one is as successful as the first!
Bill Tibble attended the 63rd Annual Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research (CCFFR) in Winnipeg, Manitoba in January. He presented some work from his MSc research: Winter Movement and Habitat Use of a Lacustrine Population of Brook Char (Salvelinus fontinalis), in Little Bear Cave Pond, Newfoundland.
Tommi Linnansaari, post-doc with Steve Peake and Rick Cunjak
After 1.5 years of working with the Centre for Environmental Design of Renewable Energy (CEDREN) at the SINTEF Energy Research in Trondheim, Norway I decided to return to New Brunswick to work in the Miramichi River once more. This time, the main research activity in the Miramichi River revolves around the effects of high water temperature events on the survival and movements of Atlantic salmon parr. Specifically, is movement to cold-water refugia (evolutionarily) adaptive in terms of survival and to what extent is the spatial distribution of salmon parr affected after the high temperature events?
I am also involved in publishing the ‘left-overs’ from my Ph.D. thesis considering river ice and effects on juvenile Atlantic salmon, continuing collaboration with Norwegian colleagues who work on hydropeaking effects on stream biota and also further developing new Passive Integrated Transponder techniques for fish research.
Finally, I will try to give support to any of Steve Peake’s graduate students during his sabbatical, if the students see this as useful.
Bill Tibble attended the 63rd Annual Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research (CCFFR) in Winnipeg, Manitoba in January. He presented some work from his MSc research: Winter Movement and Habitat Use of a Lacustrine Population of Brook Char (Salvelinus fontinalis), in Little Bear Cave Pond, Newfoundland.
Tommi Linnansaari, post-doc with Steve Peake and Rick Cunjak
After 1.5 years of working with the Centre for Environmental Design of Renewable Energy (CEDREN) at the SINTEF Energy Research in Trondheim, Norway I decided to return to New Brunswick to work in the Miramichi River once more. This time, the main research activity in the Miramichi River revolves around the effects of high water temperature events on the survival and movements of Atlantic salmon parr. Specifically, is movement to cold-water refugia (evolutionarily) adaptive in terms of survival and to what extent is the spatial distribution of salmon parr affected after the high temperature events?
I am also involved in publishing the ‘left-overs’ from my Ph.D. thesis considering river ice and effects on juvenile Atlantic salmon, continuing collaboration with Norwegian colleagues who work on hydropeaking effects on stream biota and also further developing new Passive Integrated Transponder techniques for fish research.
Finally, I will try to give support to any of Steve Peake’s graduate students during his sabbatical, if the students see this as useful.
Recent Happenings - St. Hilaire Lab
André St. Hilaire and Anik Daigle are participating in a project on thermal refugia for salmonids along with 3 CRI Fellows (Rick Cunjak, Allen Curry and Kerry MacQuarrie). They are developping water temperature models with the objective of simulating the possible loss of thermal regugia in the future associated with climate change. Their work is focusing in three rivers: the Little Southwest Miramichi, the Ouelle and the Ste-Marguerite.
A new student, Julien Mocq, will begin his Ph.D. this winter. He will continue the development of a fuzzy-based habitat model for juvenile rearing and spawning habitat for Atlantic salmon.
Dae Jeong is working on development of a statistical downscaling method in order to generate multisite climate information. General Circulation Models (GCMs) commonly operate at large spatial scales and provide a reasonable representation of global and continental scale processes. Statistical downscaling is a way to infer local information from coarse scale information by applying statistical links between large scale fields and local conditions.
Anik Daigle is working on different projects which are:
1) the comparison of Parametric and Non Parametric estimations of Annual Water Temperature Cycle Starting Date (with André St-Hilaire, Taha B.M.J. Ouarda, INRS-ETE; and Laurent Bilodeau, Hydro-Québec)
2) Multivariate modeling of water temperature in the Okanagan system (with André St-Hilaire, INRS-ETE; Daniel Peters and Donald Baird, Environment Canada)
3) Analyses of streamflow characteristics of Quebec and Atlantic Provinces rivers (with Daniel Caissie and Loubna Benyahya, Fisheries and Oceans; André St-Hilaire, INRS-ETE; and Dan Beveridge, UNB.)
Sandra Proulx-Mc Innis. Hydrological budget and mapping of a highly aqualysed fen, Baie-James, Quebec. MSc candidate. 2010.
• Sandra went several times in northern Québec, to collect her data and appreciating sun, peat and... all kinds and sizes of mosquitos… Now, she is analysing flows, evapotranspiration, water levels and topographic data of this highly aqualysed fen. She is working on daily and seasonal hydrological budget to write her first paper.
Hélène Higgins. Estimation and modeling of annual suspended sediment yield using turbidity measurements and hydroclimatic data in the Saint John river, New-Brunswick. MSc student. 2010.
• In New-Brunswick, she learned how to deal with rain when working with computers... (see below). Field season came to an end for her project on November 25th, when she took down her turbidity-measuring instruments at her two sites along the Saint John River. Now the fun starts; analysing all these high frequency data and trying to get a clear story out of it! But beforehand, she is off for a “break” semester; she will be working as a hydrologist (yeah!) for Environment Canada in Ottawa all winter. Back to INRS in May!
Mohammed Aziz Es-Salhi. Comparative analysis of suspended sediment concentrations downstream of harvested peat bogs. Does the addition of hydraulic structures improve sedimentation pond efficiency? (co-supervised by M. Clément and S. Courtenay). MSc student. 2009.
• Aziz monitored suspended sediment concentrations downstream of two harvested peat bogs in New Brunswick for two years. He has now finished his field work and writing his thesis!
Valérie Ouellet. Impacts of water temperature extremes on fish habitats in St. Lawrence River. PhD student. 2010.
• Valérie is finishing the water temperature model which is finally working after months of trying simulating daily water temperature for each hour. Hard programming time! But now, fun is coming, she will begin the fuzzy logic habitat model and adapts the model for the St. Lawrence River.
A new student, Julien Mocq, will begin his Ph.D. this winter. He will continue the development of a fuzzy-based habitat model for juvenile rearing and spawning habitat for Atlantic salmon.
Dae Jeong is working on development of a statistical downscaling method in order to generate multisite climate information. General Circulation Models (GCMs) commonly operate at large spatial scales and provide a reasonable representation of global and continental scale processes. Statistical downscaling is a way to infer local information from coarse scale information by applying statistical links between large scale fields and local conditions.
Anik Daigle is working on different projects which are:
1) the comparison of Parametric and Non Parametric estimations of Annual Water Temperature Cycle Starting Date (with André St-Hilaire, Taha B.M.J. Ouarda, INRS-ETE; and Laurent Bilodeau, Hydro-Québec)
2) Multivariate modeling of water temperature in the Okanagan system (with André St-Hilaire, INRS-ETE; Daniel Peters and Donald Baird, Environment Canada)
3) Analyses of streamflow characteristics of Quebec and Atlantic Provinces rivers (with Daniel Caissie and Loubna Benyahya, Fisheries and Oceans; André St-Hilaire, INRS-ETE; and Dan Beveridge, UNB.)
Sandra Proulx-Mc Innis. Hydrological budget and mapping of a highly aqualysed fen, Baie-James, Quebec. MSc candidate. 2010.
• Sandra went several times in northern Québec, to collect her data and appreciating sun, peat and... all kinds and sizes of mosquitos… Now, she is analysing flows, evapotranspiration, water levels and topographic data of this highly aqualysed fen. She is working on daily and seasonal hydrological budget to write her first paper.
Hélène Higgins. Estimation and modeling of annual suspended sediment yield using turbidity measurements and hydroclimatic data in the Saint John river, New-Brunswick. MSc student. 2010.
• In New-Brunswick, she learned how to deal with rain when working with computers... (see below). Field season came to an end for her project on November 25th, when she took down her turbidity-measuring instruments at her two sites along the Saint John River. Now the fun starts; analysing all these high frequency data and trying to get a clear story out of it! But beforehand, she is off for a “break” semester; she will be working as a hydrologist (yeah!) for Environment Canada in Ottawa all winter. Back to INRS in May!
Mohammed Aziz Es-Salhi. Comparative analysis of suspended sediment concentrations downstream of harvested peat bogs. Does the addition of hydraulic structures improve sedimentation pond efficiency? (co-supervised by M. Clément and S. Courtenay). MSc student. 2009.
• Aziz monitored suspended sediment concentrations downstream of two harvested peat bogs in New Brunswick for two years. He has now finished his field work and writing his thesis!
Valérie Ouellet. Impacts of water temperature extremes on fish habitats in St. Lawrence River. PhD student. 2010.
• Valérie is finishing the water temperature model which is finally working after months of trying simulating daily water temperature for each hour. Hard programming time! But now, fun is coming, she will begin the fuzzy logic habitat model and adapts the model for the St. Lawrence River.
Recent Happenings - U of Manitoba Campus
Craig McDougall recently presented a poster titled “Course scale movement patterns of juveniles/subadult lake sturgeon in a small Winnipeg River reservoir” at the Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research held in Winnipeg, MB (7-9 Jan). Craig is now preparing for the 2010 field season.
Cam Barth and Cheryl Klassen had the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to Wuhan, China and participate in the 6th International Symposium on Sturgeon.
Both presented work from their PhD projects which were well received by an audience that consisted of the world’s top sturgeon scientists. Following four days of talks, participates had the chance to travel outside the city to visit the Three Gorges Dam and release Chinese sturgeon into the Yangtze River. It was also an opportunity for these prairie CRI students to meet fellow CRI’er, David Leslauriers, from UNBSJ (Kieffer Lab). Overall, it was an eye-opening experience not soon to be forgotten!
(L-R: Cam Barth, Cheryl Klassen, David Deslauriers)
Cam Barth and Cheryl Klassen had the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to Wuhan, China and participate in the 6th International Symposium on Sturgeon.
Both presented work from their PhD projects which were well received by an audience that consisted of the world’s top sturgeon scientists. Following four days of talks, participates had the chance to travel outside the city to visit the Three Gorges Dam and release Chinese sturgeon into the Yangtze River. It was also an opportunity for these prairie CRI students to meet fellow CRI’er, David Leslauriers, from UNBSJ (Kieffer Lab). Overall, it was an eye-opening experience not soon to be forgotten!
(L-R: Cam Barth, Cheryl Klassen, David Deslauriers)
Recent Happenings - UPEI campus
Megan Finley, former PhD student in the van den Heuvel lab, was accepted into first year of the DVM program at the Atlantic Veterinary College and began her studies in Sept 2009. Congratulations and good luck Megan!
The members of the van den Heuvel Lab as well as members of the Hogan and Teather Labs recently attended the 2nd Atlantic Regional Fish Physiology Conference in beautiful St. Andrews, NB.
Christina Pater (MSc student) gave a presentation entitled “Reproductive and population characteristics of northern pipefish (Syngnathus fuscus) in sea lettuce vs. eelgrass dominated habitats”.
Sean MacNeill presented part of his undergraduate research project, “In vitro evaluation of seasonal sex steroid hormone levels produced by the gonads of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).”
The members of the van den Heuvel Lab as well as members of the Hogan and Teather Labs recently attended the 2nd Atlantic Regional Fish Physiology Conference in beautiful St. Andrews, NB.
Christina Pater (MSc student) gave a presentation entitled “Reproductive and population characteristics of northern pipefish (Syngnathus fuscus) in sea lettuce vs. eelgrass dominated habitats”.
Sean MacNeill presented part of his undergraduate research project, “In vitro evaluation of seasonal sex steroid hormone levels produced by the gonads of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).”
CRI in the NEWS
This article was written and appeared online at CBC PEI on Jan 9th and featured the research project of Garry Gregory, an MSc candidate supervised by Dr. Mike van den Heuvel (CRI Fellow).
Disease could be killing Island muskrats: researcher
A contagious bacterial disease could be contributing to the decline in Prince Edward Island's muskrat population, says a graduate student from the Atlantic Veterinary College. Gary Gregory, who is studying the problem, presented his preliminary findings to the P.E.I. Trappers Association on Saturday.
"At least in one area where we examined, we found a disease — Tyzzer's Disease — that had not previously been found on Prince Edward Island, which is known to cause muskrat death," he said.
"It can cause the animals to become lethargic, not eat properly, and it can also just cause death in animals without any clinical signs at all.
"It's difficult to determine whether this is playing an important role in this decline or not."
The research was prompted by reports from trappers of declining muskrat catches in marshes across the Island, said Gregory. Areas that used to produce about 200 muskrats several years ago now only have about a dozen, he said. The provincial government commissioned the study to find out what was going wrong. Muskrats have historically made up about half of the province's fur harvest. They are an important source of food for foxes, coyotes and birds of prey.
Gregory, who is about halfway through his two-year project, said his research hasn't revealed any problems with muskrat reproduction. He plans to look into the effect of contaminants next. If environmental factors are hurting the muskrat population, they could affect other species as well, he said.
Disease could be killing Island muskrats: researcher
A contagious bacterial disease could be contributing to the decline in Prince Edward Island's muskrat population, says a graduate student from the Atlantic Veterinary College. Gary Gregory, who is studying the problem, presented his preliminary findings to the P.E.I. Trappers Association on Saturday.
"At least in one area where we examined, we found a disease — Tyzzer's Disease — that had not previously been found on Prince Edward Island, which is known to cause muskrat death," he said.
"It can cause the animals to become lethargic, not eat properly, and it can also just cause death in animals without any clinical signs at all.
"It's difficult to determine whether this is playing an important role in this decline or not."
The research was prompted by reports from trappers of declining muskrat catches in marshes across the Island, said Gregory. Areas that used to produce about 200 muskrats several years ago now only have about a dozen, he said. The provincial government commissioned the study to find out what was going wrong. Muskrats have historically made up about half of the province's fur harvest. They are an important source of food for foxes, coyotes and birds of prey.
Gregory, who is about halfway through his two-year project, said his research hasn't revealed any problems with muskrat reproduction. He plans to look into the effect of contaminants next. If environmental factors are hurting the muskrat population, they could affect other species as well, he said.
CRI 2009 HBN Hynes Lecture
Photo from the Hynes Public Lecture Public Lecture: The Weird and Wonderful World of River Ice held on 21st October, 2009; 7 pm in Loring Bailey Hall, room 146, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton.
CRI Fellows with the 2009 Annual HBN Hynes Lecturer: Dr. Faye Hicks. (L-R: Donald Baird, Rick Cunjak, Faye Hicks, Karen Kidd, Allen Curry, Katy Haralampides, Simon Courtenay)
This year's Hynes Lecturer was Dr. Faye Hicks, one of the leading experts on river ice. Dr. Hicks is a professor at the University of Alberta, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in hydraulics, and has research interests in the areas of river ice processes and hydraulics, ice jam flood forecasting, and environmental impacts of river ice.
This lecture explored both freeze-up and breakup processes on rivers, a topic critical to New Brunswick. This lecture was attended by ~120 and included researchers, professors, scientists and personnel from provincial, federal and local governments.
This lecture may be viewed and downloaded by clicking here.
CRI Retreat - Oct 2009
CRI RETREAT FALL 2009:
The CRI retreat on Saturday, October 24th, was well attended and enjoyed by graduate students and fellows alike despite a bit of rain.
After an update from Allen Curry and Susan Farquarson, attendees leapt into the wonderful world of knot tying with Ed Trippel only to discover a bowline was more difficult than many of the fellows thought!
In the afternoon, “10 Most Common Statistical Mistakes” was presented by CRI post-docs and researchers: Tommi Linnansaari, David Armanini, Brittany Graham and Wendy Monk.
No more common errors here! Thanks to everyone for helping the Student Liaison Committee make the retreat happen!
The CRI retreat on Saturday, October 24th, was well attended and enjoyed by graduate students and fellows alike despite a bit of rain.
After an update from Allen Curry and Susan Farquarson, attendees leapt into the wonderful world of knot tying with Ed Trippel only to discover a bowline was more difficult than many of the fellows thought!
In the afternoon, “10 Most Common Statistical Mistakes” was presented by CRI post-docs and researchers: Tommi Linnansaari, David Armanini, Brittany Graham and Wendy Monk.
No more common errors here! Thanks to everyone for helping the Student Liaison Committee make the retreat happen!
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