Title: Dynamics of the Petersen Ice Shelf, Nunavut, Canada

The objective of my study is to complete the first comprehensive survey of the Petersen Ice Shelf, one of the last remaining ice shelves in Nunavut, Canada. The survey will include ice thickness and mass balance measurements, while quantifying recent changes in surface area. My study will also examine changes in the composition of the epishelf lake and the extent of multiyear landfast sea ice, which may provide further insight into the past and current stability of the ice shelf. In accomplishing this study, I aim to improve our understanding of ice shelf dynamics and the conditions leading to ice shelf collapse along the northern coast of Ellesmere Island.

Title: Polar bear distribution and habitat selection in Hudson Bay

My research will examine seasonal distribution of polar bears using GPS satellite-linked telemetry collar data from 1994 to 2011 and the corresponding sea ice data. We will examine the movements of the Western Hudson Bay polar bear population across seasons and years. This research will contribute to improved understanding of habitat use by polar bears and the energetic implications in their movement patterns. Monitoring space-use patterns over time will allow us to understand how changes in sea ice in Hudson Bay alter habitat selection by polar bears.

Title: Diving under the big ice: Investigating the role of ocean dynamics on the fate of Ellesmere Island's ice shelves and epishelf lakes

Recent atmospheric warming has contributed to the collapse of many of the remaining ice shelves and the loss of associated epishelf lakes, yet little is known about the role of the ocean in determining the stability and fate of these unique systems. My project will involve deploying oceanographic instruments to measure variations in stratification, heat flow and circulation in Milne Fjord, Ellesmere Island, where the Milne Ice Shelf dams the largest known epishelf lake in the Arctic. Innovative technology will help determine the oceanographic processes shaping a rare cryospheric ecosystem that is vulnerable to complete disappearance as a result of ongoing climate change.

Title: Metamorphic geology and tectonics of Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island Nunavut

My overarching research will contribute to our rapidly evolving understanding of tectonic events that occurred 1.9-1.8 billion years ago. I am addressing the region’s tectonic history through a primary study of regional metamorphism. Aside from a 1:3,500,000-scale map, my research will produce the first published work on Cumberland Peninsula’s metamorphic geology.

Title: The adaptability of Subarctic aquatic communities undergoing environmental change

My research aims to determine the adaptability of pond zooplankton communities to environmental change. I will be conducting an experiment to measure the ability of dispersing species to establish in existing pond zooplankton communities. I will also be looking at how the establishment of dispersers changes throughout the ice-free season and with different environmental disturbances. The results from this study will enable us to assess community response to environmental change and the role that dispersers play in that response.

Title: Determining seasonal diet and movement patterns of eastern Canadian Arctic whales (beluga, bowhead, and killer whales) using satellite telemetry and stable isotopes analysis

The Arctic is a region of seasonal extremes where habitat and resource abundance vary greatly throughout the year. My research focuses on diet and habitat use of bowhead, beluga, and killer whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic. The results of my research will help to define seasonal diet and habitat requirements of these Arctic marine mammals, and identify how these populations may be vulnerable to changes in habitat and prey availability as Arctic ecosystems respond to climate change.

Title: Evolutionary genetics of adaptive divergence in the threespine stickleback

My PhD project addresses the process of adaptation in two ways. First, I will address how genetic history may affect an organism’s ability to adapt, and second I will address how genomic regions involved in adaptation evolve over time. This project has applications to understanding how all organisms adapt, and potentially for understanding how organisms will adapt to a rapidly warming world.

Title: Integrated Investigation of Beluga Habitat Ecology Through Aerial Surveys and Nunavimmiut Knowledge in Nunavik

I am focusing on the study of two beluga populations, which are listed as 'endangered' and have been slow to recover following commercial whaling a century ago. My overall research objective is to develop a comprehensive understanding of beluga habitat ecology in north-eastern Canada. Through the analysis and integration of different survey and observational techniques/methods including Nunavimmiut (Inuit) Knowledge and aerial surveys of beluga whales, the project will identify ecological and other critical factors that influence habitat use and preference.

Title: Effects of habitat variation on the genetic diversity of spider populations in northern Canada

My research uses molecular techniques to study the population genetics of Arctic and boreal forest wolf spiders. My work will indirectly measure interpopulation dispersal and genetic relatedness of spiders, in the boreal forest versus the Arctic, by studying the genetic variation between populations. Interpopulation dispersal is influenced by changes in the environment; therefore, my research will provide a baseline for future studies.

Title: Challenges in Northern Aquatic Insect Sampling: An investigation into protocols for a sustainable sampling program in the Sahtu, Northwest Territories

Within the Sahtu Settlement Area of the NWT, the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board has been working with students and researchers for many years to investigate and monitor wildlife in the region. My MSc. project aims to develop a community-based stream biomonitoring program for the Sahtu region. My project will assess the suitability of standard protocols for subarctic streams and I will develop a program that will enhance the capacity of remote northern communities to conduct annual stream assessments in the Sahtu. The biomonitoring program will be designed for high school students and will include modules, picture identification keys and a field demonstration video.

Title: How can arctic birds work hard and live long?

My passion is birds and I am continuing my quest for understanding of Arctic biology through a PhD at the University of Manitoba on senescence in Arctic birds. Despite high energy costs, many Arctic animals live exceptionally long. Longevity for animals high in the food web leads to a high level of toxic contamination. My research will focus on the causes and consequences of longevity in akpa, an Arctic seabird with a long life and high energy costs. I look forward to sharing my newfound knowledge with the many Northerners I encounter along the way.

Title: Ecological Impacts of Wood Bison on Plant Communities in the Aishihik area, Yukon

Since wood bison were reintroduced to the Nisling River area in the southwest Yukon in the late 1980’s, their population has jumped from 34 to over 1,100. Biologists and members of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations are concerned that the bison may compete with caribou, moose and sheep for forage or physically displace them.  There are also concerns that wood bison may be altering grasslands that contain rare, endemic plant species such as Koeleria asiatica. My study will examine bison impacts on plant communities through the use of exclosures, collared bison data, scat analysis, orthophotos, consultation with Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and plant inventory data from 1981.

Title: The biology and ecology of sympatric polymorphic lake trout, in Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories

Sympatric trophic polymorphism occurs when different forms of the same species coexist by using different resources. Little is known of the extent to which lake trout polymorphism occurs in large northern Canadian lakes. The overall objective of my research is to determine differences and understand the basis for variation of up to four shallow-water lake trout morphs.

Title: Reconstructing late Holocene alpine glacier dynamics in the Torngat Mountains, Northern Labrador

My research will investigate the historical climatic sensitivity of glaciers located in the Torngat Mountains of northern Labrador, where there are 59 small glaciers (<2 square kilometers) covering an area of 16.7 square kilometers. These glaciers are of particular interest for scientific study because of their geographic importance, they are the only glaciers on mainland North America east of the Rocky Mountains and they are the southernmost glaciers along the highland rim of the Eastern Canadian Arctic. This research will contribute to our knowledge of past responses of glaciers to climate change and provide a basis for understanding the significance of the current glacier recession.

Title: The effects of increased soil nutrients on the morphology and reproductive strategy of understory plant species in the Boreal forest

I am using experimental plots near Kluane Lake, Yukon that have been fertilized for the past 22 years to investigate the effects of increased soil nutrients on the growth of Boreal understory plants. It has been shown that some species increase in abundance when fertilized, while others decline to local extinction. I will compare traits (ex. flowers, leaves, stems) and seed germinability for five common Boreal forest understory species in fertilized and unfertilized plots. This will allow me to relate fertilizer response at the individual plant level to larger-scale changes in the plant community.