Positions: Two Arctic Field Research Assistants Duration: ~August 6 to ~ August 27, 2018 Location: Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories Stipend: $2,100 for the three-week duration. All costs related to travel, food and accommodations are additionally covered. Description: Our study area is in a unique region of northern Canada, where Canada’s first all-season highway connection to the Arctic Ocean has just opened to the public. This August, our research team will be collecting fish population data in lakes between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, NWT. The research program is a joint effort led by Dr. Derek Gray (Wilfrid Laurier) and Dr. Sapna Sharma (York University) investigating the effects of climate change on […]
READ MORELarkin Award Runner-up: Sarah Walton
By Sarah Walton, M.Sc. candidate, Carleton University I am an MSc candidate co-supervised by Dr. Steven Cooke in the Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory at Carleton University and Dr. John Farrell from the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). My research investigates spatiotemporal and behavioural ecology of age zero esocids – Muskellunge (Esox masquinogy) and Northern Pike (Esox lucius) – in the St. Lawrence River. Exploring the spatiotemporal ecology of fish is necessary to elucidate life history strategies, delineate and conserve core habitats, and appropriately manage populations. While nursery habitat requirements for age zero esocids in the St. Lawrence River are well […]
READ MORELarkin Award Runner-up (PhD) – Michael Lawrence
By Michael Lawrence My current body of work looks to address the role of the stress axis in mediating predator-prey interactions in wild fishes. My research primarily focuses on the biology of pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) in the Rideau Lakes region. Specifically, I’m looking to characterize the physiological consequences of sustained cortisol elevation on the metabolic operation of pumpkinseed and to link these alterations with behavioural parameters that are indicative of anti-predator capacity and/or risk aversion. During my research, I will also be quantifying the influence of cortisol on altering predation rate in a mesocosm setting thereby linking physiological, behavioural and ecological scale processes together to thoroughly address the question of […]
READ MORELarkin Award Recipient (PhD) – Andrea Reid
Ultimate Fate of Pacific Salmon in the Pacific Northwest Written by Andrea Reid I am currently a PhD student cosupervised by Dr. Steven Cooke in the Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory at Carleton University and Dr. Scott Hinch in the Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory at the University of British Columbia. My research investigates the impacts of fisheries interactions for the fate of Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) in British Columbia’s most salmon-bearing rivers: the Nass, Skeena and Fraser Rivers (see map). I integrate methods from multiple disciplines – movement ecology, ecophysiology and socio-ecology – to understand how different fisheries-related stressors are shaping Pacific salmon migrations and their future. As […]
READ MORELarkin Award Recipient (MSc) – William Twardek
By William Twardek, MSc. Candidate, Carleton University, Little is known about the biological consequences of recreational fisheries for steelhead trout, despite steelhead being one of the most highly coveted species to anglers around the world. It is particularly important to account for the impact that recreational fisheries have on steelhead given that there are only a few wild populations left in the world distributed throughout the Pacific Northwest and Russia. In most, if not all recreational fisheries, anglers are required to release steelhead following capture under the premise that released fish suffer minimal fitness consequences. Although commercial fisheries for steelhead have indicated significant by-catch mortality of steelhead, few studies have […]
READ MORETracking Walleye in Hamilton Habour
Written by Jill Brooks, 2016 MSc. Larkin co-Awardee, follow her on Twitter too, @jillbrooks85! I am currently an MSc student, supervised by Dr. Steven Cooke in the Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Lab at Carleton University in Ottawa. My research focuses on the movement of fish in response to various habitat restoration efforts in Hamilton Harbour at the western end of Lake Ontario. The aquatic ecosystem in the Harbour has been degraded over the last 120 years as a result of industrialization and land use change. Sewage, fertilizers and industrial pollutants flowing into the relatively small system, combined with extensive physical habitat alteration has resulted in Hamilton Harbour deemed as an […]
READ MOREFreshwater Fish Survey
Hello, As a part of a research project in the Mandrak lab at the University of Toronto Scarborough, we are testing the reliability of freshwater fish identification based on photographs of fish viewers. To do this, we are looking for volunteers to participate in surveys where participants will be asked to identify fishes based on images. If you are interested in aiding our research and exercising your fish ID skills, please read on. To minimize the time commitment of survey takers, we have prepared 20 short (~10 min) surveys, each with 5 different images. Each image contains a group of small freshwater fishes of varying species composition caught in Canada. As […]
READ MORESummer Research Assistantships
Summer research assistantships are available with Nick Mandrak’s lab at the University of Toronto (Scarborough). See: JobDescription_FieldAssistant_UTSC for more details.
READ MOREThe Changing Lake Nipissing Ecosystem
MNRF’s Science and Research Branch invites you to participate in a Science Insights seminar entitled The Changing Lake Nipissing Ecosystem. This seminar will be held on Monday, March 29 (see details below). To request a WebEx line for this seminar, [email protected] Feel free to share this invitation with other resource professionals who might find this topic of interest.
READ MOREPh.D. & M.Sc. – Habitat Offsetting for Freshwater Fishes in the Oil Sands Region of Alberta, Canada
Enthusiastic, team oriented, and self-motivated students are encouraged to apply for a Ph.D. and MSc positions to conduct research on habitat offsetting for freshwater fishes in the Oil Sands Region of Alberta, Canada. This project is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between the University of Alberta, and industrial and government sponsors. Main project goals include: i) identifying food-web dynamics of newly created compensation lakes, ii) determining best practices in monitoring and measuring newly created compensation lakes, and iii) developing field based studies to determine causative relationships between age and growth and other life history characteristics in relation to differing lake environments. These research projects are fully funded and will provide key insights […]
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