UNews - Canadian Society of Zoologists

U of L biology students receive honours at Canadian Society of Zoologists meeting

caroline.zentner — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 17:11:43 +0000

A group of five ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students, working under the tutelage of Dr. Cam Goater of the Department of Biological Sciences, distinguished themselves at the recent Canadian Society of Zoologists meeting in Calgary.

Led by award winners Stephanie Reimer and Bradley Van Paridon, the group presented papers in a variety of sections and garnered significant attention for the research work being done at the U of L.

“I am extremely proud of the remarkable successes of our students at this conference,” says Goater, a foremost expert in the study of parasitism. “These competitions for Best Student Paper are getting more and more competitive, so to have two different students win two different competitions was a real thrill for our group.”

Left to right are Natalia Phillips, Brad van Paridon, Dr. Cam Goater, Melissa Beck, Stephanie Reimer and Zach Dempsey.

Reimer, who defended her Master of Science in April 2015, won the prestigious Cas C. Lindsey Prize for the best student presentation within the fields of behaviour, ecology and evolution. She is a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Post-Graduate Fellowship winner as well, and competed against master’s and PhD students from across the country for the Lindsey Prize.

Reimer’s presentation, Ecological Epidemiology of an Emerging Virus in Tiger Salamanders in Southern Alberta, discusses how emerging infectious diseases are a leading cause of global declines in amphibian populations.

“The emergence of Amybstoma tigrinum virus (ATV) in tiger salamander populations in southern Alberta has led to concerns regarding the population status of this prairie icon,” says Reimer. “Results from a longitudinal survey of a larval salamander population in Livingston Lake, Alberta showed that ATV transmission is strongly seasonal, increasing in prevalence from 0 to 100 per cent between early July and the timing of metamorphosis in mid-August. Despite consistency between years in the seasonal pattern of transmission, variability in annual ATV-induced mortality was extremely high. Our early results suggest that ecological factors that influence host quality act in addition, or synergistically, to ATV exposure to contribute to the magnitude of ATV-induced outbreaks within larval salamander populations.”

Van Paridon, who is in the midst of his PhD, won the Murray Fallis Award for the top student presentation in the fields of parasitology and immunology.

“He uses modern molecular tools to understand how invasive parasites enter host populations, how they spread, and the consequences they have on their new hosts,” says Goater. “The parasite he is studying is best known for its bizarre ability to turn one of its hosts (ants) into zombies that cling tightly onto vegetation at night.”

Van Paridon splits his time between the U of L and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary and recently won a fellowship from the National Center for Veterinary Parasitology in the United States. His paper was titled, Invasion Pathway, Life-cycle, and Host Utilization of Emerging Liver Fluke, Dicrocoelium dendriticum, in Wildlife and Cattle in Cypress Hills, Alberta.

“The lancet liver fluke emerged in Cypress Hills Park (CHP) in the 1990s. Results from annual host surveys show that 60 to 90 per cent of sympatric elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer and beef cattle are infected, with individual hosts often harbouring more than 1000 gravid worms,” says Van Paridon. “At this site of emergence, the life-cycle involves at least three species of Formicid ant as second intermediate host and one species of terrestrial snail (Oreohelix) as first host. Using two molecular markers, mtDNA gene sequences and microsatellites, we genotyped samples of adult worms from hosts in CHP, two other invasion sites in North America, and sites in Europe. Our results are consistent with invasion of CHP from multiple sources, likely via trans-border movement of domestic stock. An understanding of invasion pathway, life-cycle and host utilization patterns provide important tools for mitigating future spread of liver fluke to comparable sites in North America.”

Three of Goater’s other graduate students presented papers at the conference as well. Master of Science students Zach Dempsey and Natalia Phillips each presented, as did PhD student Melissa Beck.

“Melissa was selected to compete for the William S. Hoar Award for overall Best Student Oral Presentation,” says Goater. “Students have to submit separate proposals to compete for what is considered the most prestigious award of the annual meeting and she was one of six students selected to present, which is a real honour. She did not win, but it was a thrill to see her compete against students from the biggest and best-known labs in the country.”

The annual meeting once again highlighted the outstanding, national-level research work being done by ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge graduate students.

Rasmussen Appointed to National Oilsands Review Panel

trevor.kenney — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:20:51 +0000

In response to concerns about industrial pollution in the Athabasca River and connecting waterways, Environment Minister Jim Prentice has appointed an independent advisory panel of leading scientists to review the design and management of related environmental systems.

Among the committee members is Dr. Joseph (Joe) Rasmussen, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge biological sciences researcher and Canada research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystems – and the only Albertan on the six-member review panel.

Rasmussen says he is looking forward to working with Environment Canada officials and his colleagues, who are among Canada's leading water and environment researchers.

"I was very pleased to be asked to participate in this review," says Rasmussen. "It's a chance to do something very important, and an affirmation that the Minister is taking this issue very seriously."

The Advisory Panel has a mandate to advise Minister Prentice on the current state of environmental research and monitoring in the region around Alberta's oil sands and to make recommendations to ensure that state-of-the-art monitoring and best practices are implemented.

"We are determined to develop Canada's oil sands in a manner that it sustainable and environmentally-sensitive," says Prentice. "This independent review by some of Canada's most respected scientists is a critical step in ensuring that environmental issues are balanced with economic considerations."

Chaired by Elizabeth Dowdeswell, the Advisory Panel members are Dr. Peter J. Dillon, Dr. Subhasis Ghoshal, Dr. Andrew D. Miall, Dr. Joseph Rasmussen and Dr. John P. Smol.

Within 60 days, it will report back to Minister Prentice. This report will be publicly available on the Environment Canada website.

-- 30 --

Advisory Panel Background information

The purpose of the Advisory Panel is to provide recommendations to the Minister of the Environment on the scientific research and monitoring of the environmental effects associated with the development of the oilsands.

Serious concerns have been raised about oilsands pollution entering the Athabasca River Basin and connected waterways and whether monitoring systems are well designed and implemented.

These concerns must be fully explored to ensure that a first class, state-of-the-art monitoring system is in place, serving the public interest.

In this context, the Advisory Panel will:

1. Document, review and assess the current body of scientific research and monitoring.

2. Identify strengths and weaknesses in the scientific monitoring, and the reasons for them.

Within 60 days of being established, the Advisory Panel will present its findings in the form of a written report to the Minister of the Environment.

The report will include conclusions on items 1 and 2 above, and recommendations on next steps for the federal government in ensuring that any scientific issues are effectively addressed.

The report will be made public.

Environment Canada will provide scientific and logistical support to assist the Advisory Panel with their analysis of current peer reviewed literature and their discussions with recognized experts.

Biographical Information -- Advisory Panel Members

Elizabeth Dowdeswell – Chair
President, Council of Canadian Academies & Former UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UNEP, Founding President & CEO NWMO
Toronto, ON

Ms. Dowdeswell served as Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, Assistant Deputy Minister of Environment Canada, responsible for the National Weather and Atmospheric Agency and led a number of public inquiries, including into Canada's unemployment benefits program and federal water policy. Her early career included terms as Deputy Minister of Culture and Youth for the Province of Saskatchewan, educational consultant, university lecturer and high-school teacher. Ms. Dowdeswell holds a Master of Science degree in behavioural sciences from Utah State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics, a teaching certificate from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan and, nine honorary degrees.

Dr. Peter J. Dillon

Peter Dillon is a Professor in Environmental and Resource Studies and the Department of Chemistry at Trent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Professor Dillon specializes in biogeochemistry of lakes and their catchments. He was the scientific leader of the environmental research and long-term investigations carried out at the Dorset Research Centre in central Ontario for 25 years. He was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Miroslaw Romanowski Medal for outstanding contributions to the environmental sciences in 2003 and this year he received the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award from the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography for his pioneering work on lake eutrophication and acid rain. Peter directs the Water Quality Centre at Trent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ which is dedicated to the development and application of innovative new techniques for the analysis of organic and inorganic contaminants.

Dr. Subhasis Ghoshal

Professor Ghoshal joined McGill in 1997. His expertise is in the area of soil and groundwater contamination by hydrocarbon pollutants. Professor Ghoshal has conducted research on the fate and transport of organic pollutants in subsurface environments, and on the clean-up of sites contaminated by petroleum liquids, coal tars and creosotes. Professor Ghoshal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, and a William Dawson Scholar at McGill.

Dr. Andrew D. Miall

Andrew Miall is a Professor of Geology and holder of the Gordon Stollery Chair in Basin Analysis and Petroleum Geology at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto. He specializes in teaching and research in the study of sedimentary basins. He has broad interests in energy and climate-change issues, and from 1998 to 2008 he taught a popular science-for-non-scientists course at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto entitled "Geology and Public Issues". Professor Miall was awarded the Past President's Medal of the Geological Association of Canada in 1983 and became a Distinguished Fellow of that society in 1995. He served as Vice President of the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) from 2005 to 2007 and President of the Academy from 2007-2009.

Dr. Joseph Rasmussen

Joseph Rasmussen is a professor of biological sciences at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and a Canada Research Council Chair in Aquatic Ecosystems. Professor Rasmussen's research has made a significant contribution to the development of tracer approaches that are used to model energy flow in aquatic food webs. His research has provided fresh insights and technical inroads into important ecological problems such as the biomagnification of persistent contaminants and the impacts of heavy metals on environmental quality. He is also a regular contributor to the Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research (CCFFR) and the Canadian Society of Limnologists (CSL), is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology, and serves as the chair of the Ecology, Evolution and Ethology section of the Canadian Society of Zoologists. Dr. Rasmussen was the recipient of the Frank H. Rigler award from the Society of Canadian Limnologists in 2010.

Dr. John P. Smol

John Smol is a professor in the Department of Biology at Queen's ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ where he is also holder of the Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change. Professor Smol has been presented with numerous research and teaching awards, including the NSERC Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal, Canada's top scientific prize, in 2004. His award winning research in the fields of limnology and environmental change has addressed impacts of acid rain, nutrients and climate warming on aquatic systems. M. Smol is the founding editor of the Journal of Paleolimnology and is currently editor-in-chief of the journal Environmental Reviews. M. Smol co-directs the Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory at Queen's ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, a group of about 30 paleolimnologists working throughout the world on a variety of limnological and paleoecological problems.

UNews - Canadian Society of Zoologists

U of L biology students receive honours at Canadian Society of Zoologists meeting

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Rasmussen Appointed to National Oilsands Review Panel

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