Ph.D. Research
My dissertation mostly centers on one question: how do we detect the impacts of changing ocean chemistry on culturally, ecologically, and economically important coastal invertebrates. I explore how we might optimize chemical monitoring (dissolved oxygen, pH) to capture stressful conditions where, and when critters are present throughout their life history. I also investigate biological monitoring data (i.e., zooplankton, larvae) to see what is most responsive to hypoxia and acidification. And, as an alternative to conventional monitoring, I’m investigating whether juvenile pacific oyster shells can serve as bio-indicators for chemical stressors.
MSc Research
As photosynthetic and calcifying organisms, it is unclear how coralline algae will respond to rapid sea ice loss and acidification in the Arctic. Greater access to sunlight and carbon should benefit their growth, while low carbonate saturation, will lower growth and density of their skeletons. As the main “reef-building” organisms in high latitude environments, and a refuge for invertebrates in all life stages, it is important to understand how they are coping with the conditions.
In my Master’s research I used long-lived species of coralline algae, Clathromorphum compactum, to examine carbonate system dynamics in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Results of this research suggest that at sites where sea ice melts each summer, the growth-boost provided by the sunlight is outweighing acidification, at least for now. At sites where the algae are deeper, and intermittently covered by multi-year ice, they are not seeing extra sunlight, and they appear to be struggling with calcification.
