Laboratory for Water and Environmental Sustainability Science (WESS)
Sable Island National Park Reserve (Sable Island NPR) is an example of a coastal ecosystem that is highly influenced by environmental change and subsequent variability in weather extremes. Storm-surge activity and erosion has led to large-scale change in the surface hydrology of Sable Island NPR. … Continue readingVulnerability of Sable Island’s freshwater ecosystems under a changing climate
Can we utilize our knowledge of biogeographic patterns and historical trends in aquatic invertebrate indicators as markers for conservation planning? Although aquatic trophic systems are important ecosystem components in northern regions, most Arctic lakes have not yet experienced large-scale changes analogous to those of … Continue readingProjecting future change informed through the past
Can we use sedimentary deposits as the baseline to compare to contemporary indicator communities as a quantitative marker of environmental stress? The utility of bioindicators is a means to qualify the environment without specifically having open-ended multi-year monitoring studies. The examination of the bioindictor allows … Continue readingUnderstanding Paleoenvironmental Change
How can we quantify the effects of environmental stressors on northern trophic systems? Our baseline knowledge of northern aquatic ecosystems is often extremely limited and site-specific, forcing many studies to draw conclusions assuming overarching affects between environmental conditions and biota. Few studies have attempted to … Continue readingArctic Biomonitoring