The Atlantic Coastal and Estuarine Science Society (ACCESS) Workshop: “Estuaries: A Threatened Resource” was held at UPEI in Charlottetown, PEI on May 13th-15th. The workshop was well attended by CRI folks and several CRI graduate students gave wonderful presentations and posters on their research. Thank-you to the Co-ordinator Mike van den Heuvel and the Organising Committee: Gary Bugden, Simon Courtenay, Martha Jones, Pedro Quijon, Jeff Davidson, Andy Trivett, Kevin Teather, Megan Finley, Christina Pater, Cindy Crane, Mark Hanson, Lori Edwards, and Jon Stackpool as well as the numerous volunteers that helped make this workshop a success.
Allison Schein (MSc candidate co-supervised by Mike van den Heuvel and Simon Courtenay) won 1st place in the Student Platform competition at the ACCESS Workshop for her presentation titled: Effects of agriculturally-derived nitrate and increased sea lettuce growth on the estuarine food web structure of Prince Edward Island. Congratulations Allison!
Monitoring PEI Amphibians for Disease
A collaborative research project led by Natacha Hogan and Kevin Teather (CRI Associate Fellows) and Maria Forzan (wildlife pathologist, Atlantic Veterinary College) will assess the presence and distribution of a chytrid fungus as a potential threat to the health of amphibians on PEI. This fungus and resulting disease outbreaks have been linked to the decline or extinction of up to 200 amphibian species worldwide. Results of this project will be used to foster awareness among the public and special interest groups regarding disease status of amphibians and make recommendations to appropriate authorities, offices and local groups for implementing measures to effectively impede the introduction and/or spread of the fungus. Summer fieldwork is underway and involves swabbing frogs at sites from across PEI for diagnostic testing for the fungus. This project is funded by the PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund and a UPEI Major Research Grant.
