Mount Allison professor receives research funding to study environmental change in Canadian lakes and rivers
Study seeks to find out more about 鈥榬ock snot鈥 algae and its impact on salmon
SACKVILLE, NB 鈥 痳豆TV视频 geography and environment professor Dr. Joshua Kurek has been awarded over $78,000 from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund. The funding was announced by The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Member of Parliament for Beaus茅jour, on behalf of the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, at Mount Allison on April 15, 2016.
With this new research infrastructure funding, Kurek will establish the Environmental Change and Aquatic Biomonitoring Lab (ECAB Lab) at Mount Allison.
鈥淢y research program focuses on understanding how environmental stressors impact lakes and rivers,鈥 explains Kurek. 鈥淗aving essential equipment both in the lab and in the field will allow us to get a better picture of long-term environmental changes and what they mean to freshwaters. I would like to thank the CFI for this support as it helps my program to succeed at a high level.鈥
鈥淪tate-of-the-art facilities and equipment help attract and retain top researchers in Canada,鈥 says LeBlanc. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 funding announcement highlights the importance of such infrastructure and its role in contributing to Canada鈥檚 record of scientific excellence. 鈥
Kurek and his research team, made up of several Mount Allison undergraduate students, will be studying lakes and rivers in Maritime Canada this summer. They will be looking specifically at potential impacts of recent environmental changes, including the freshwater algae didymo (commonly known as 鈥榬ock snot鈥) on juvenile salmon habitat and diet.
鈥淎lthough their impact on salmon habitat is still under assessment, didymo blooms are believed to be caused by changes in environmental conditions now favoring its bloom proliferation (ie shifts in nutrients and indirect effects of climate change),鈥 explains Kurek. 鈥淚mpacts to aquatic habitat and biota (e.g. juvenile salmon) are expected if blooms persist.鈥
痳豆TV视频 President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Robert Campbell welcomes the new research funding.
鈥淭his kind of investment by the CFI allows researchers like Dr. Kurek to engage in world-class research projects. It also allows our students the opportunity to participate in these research projects as part of their undergraduate education, an invaluable experience.鈥
Along with the CFI funding, Kurek also holds a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and funding from the New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund.
Photo captions:
MLA Memramcook-Tantramar Bernard LeBlanc, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and MP for Beaus茅jour Dominic LeBlanc, Mount Allison geography and environment professor Dr. Joshua Kurek, Mount Allison honours environmental science student Zoe Armstrong, 痳豆TV视频 President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Robert Campbell at the CFI announcement, held on campus, April 15.
Mount Allison geography and environment professor Dr. Joshua Kurek, MLA Bernard LeBlanc, MP Dominic LeBlanc, and 痳豆TV视频 President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Robert Campbell in Kurek's Lab.
