MY RESEARCH
For a complete list of publications from my research, please refer to my Google Scholar profile.
INTEGRATING NOVEL DATA SOURCES AND MULTIPLE KNOWLEDGE TYPES TO ENHANCE FISHERIES SCIENCE IN ATLANTIC CANADA
PhD Research, Dalhousie University, 2019-present
To ensure the long-term sustainability of fish stocks and the associated socioeconomic benefits derived from fishing in Atlantic Canada, it is essential that fisheries management decisions are based on the "best available" information. Non-traditional approaches to data collection via engagement with resource users, "citizen scientists", and their communities show promise in complementing existing scientific methodologies, while informing a more comprehensive understanding of fisheries as complex socio-ecological systems. However, effective practices for engaging with communities and incorporating crowd-sourced data or local knowledge with conventional scientific approaches often remain elusive. My research will explore novel approaches involving public participation in science to inform scientific assessments and conservation actions for fisheries in Atlantic Canada.
COMMUNITY-BASED OCEAN LITERACY: FOUR CASE STUDIES OF OCEAN OPTIMISM FROM MI’KMA’KI/ATLANTIC CANADA
Invited Collaboration - Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition, 2020
This research involved analyzing data from the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition's regional survey on ocean literacy. We identified four case studies of community-based ocean literacy in Mi’kma’ki/Atlantic Canada to demonstrate how approaches to ocean literacy that are context-specific and responsive to community priorities can foster healthier human-ocean relationships. While there are barriers to bridging community learning with formal education, we discuss opportunities for collaborations and the importance of ocean optimism in guiding these urgently needed efforts to benefit future community-based, ocean-focused and solutions-orientated initiatives.
OUTCOMES OF LONG-TERM SATELLITE TRACKING OF LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLES
Contract - Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 2016
Attachment methods for satellite tags deployed on marine animals must optimize data collection and minimize potential adverse effects on the study subjects. The smooth, oily carapace of the leatherback turtle contrasts with the keratinized scutes of other sea turtles and has required the development of novel approaches to tag attachment. The study represented the first long-term assessment of satellite tag retention, recovery, and attachment site condition for leatherback sea turtles. We compared outcomes for female, male, and sub-adult turtles tagged using both harness and direct attachment methods in a foraging area off Nova Scotia, Canada.
ENTANGLEMENTS OF LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLES IN FIXED FISHING GEAR IN ATLANTIC CANADA
Contract - Canadian Sea Turtle Network, 2014
Incidental capture in commercial fishing gear is a threat to many populations of marine megafauna, including sea turtles. While research has largely focused on pelagic longline impacts on sea turtles, fixed‐gear fisheries are a significant, historically understudied source of injury and mortality. This study involved assessing the interaction of endangered leatherback sea turtles with fixed‐gear fisheries in high‐latitude seasonal foraging habitat where sub‐adult and adult turtles aggregate. Records of leatherback‐fishery interactions were compiled from databases of publicly‐reported sea turtle sightings in Atlantic Canada to identify the spatiotemporal distribution of these events; to identify corresponding fisheries and gear types; and to describe the mechanics and outcomes of entanglements in fixed gear.
EFFECTS OF THERMAL EFFLUENT ON THE DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF BENTHIC INVERTEBRATES IN THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER
MSc Research, McGill University, 2011-2013
Temperature is an important physical constraint on the distribution and abundance of aquatic organisms. Increasingly, natural thermal regimes of aquatic systems are modified by human activities, resulting in changes to the composition and structure of the local organismal community. Operating from 1983 to 2012, the Gentilly-2 Nuclear Power Plant (G2NPP) in Bécancour, QC, discharged coolant water into the St. Lawrence River at temperatures more than 10oC above ambient. My MSc research aimed to quantify how the diversity, composition, and abundance of the St. Lawrence benthic invertebrate community had been altered
by G2NPP thermal effluent.
WATER MASSES AND SOLAR ILLUMINATION INFLUENCE HIGH-RESOLUTION LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE MOVEMENTS AT HIGH LATITUDES
BSc Honours Research, Dalhousie University, 2010-2011
Data loggers were deployed on three female leatherback sea turtles foraging off Halifax, Nova Scotia, and were recovered during subsequent nesting in South and Central America. My BSc Honours research involved using these telemetry data to identify high-resolution spatial and temporal patterns in leatherback movements, and associated environmental variables shaping leatherback habitat use in Atlantic Canadian foraging waters.
Please feel free to reach out for more information about my work.