STRAIT OF GEORGIA DATA CENTRE - Key Persons
Research area(s):
Aquatic animal health
Marine conservation
Marine mammals
Job Titles:
- Research Scientist
- Research Scientist at IOS
Research area(s):
Biological oceanography
Chemical oceanography
Fisheries oceanography
Ocean modelling
Plankton
Angelica is a Research Scientist at IOS. Her research interests include studying the dynamics of planktonic ecosystems and their role in the cycles of carbon, oxygen and other biogeochemical elements. Her research activities use several approaches including field observations, laboratory analysis and development of coupled biophysical models to study the dynamic relationships that exist between the plankton and its environment.
Anne Salomon seeks to advance our understanding of how human disturbances alter the productivity, biodiversity and resilience of coastal marine ecosystems to inform ecosystem approaches to marine conservation. Broadly, Anne is interested in the cascading effects of predator depletion on marine food webs, marine reserve design and evaluation, climate change impacts on coastal ocean ecosystems, alternative state dynamics, and the resilience of social-ecological systems. Ultimately, Anne strives to engage coastal communities and government agencies in collaborative research and encourage constructive dialogue among stakeholders to navigate the tradeoffs between coastal conservation and resource use.
Job Titles:
- Chief Scientist
- Research Scientist
- Research Scientist at the Fisheries
Research area(s):
Anthropogenic stressors
Aquaculture
Aquatic invasive species
Deep-water ecosystems
Anya Dunham works as a research scientist at the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. Anya's academic training was in invertebrate zoology and experimental ecology. She is interested in exploring direct and indirect functional consequences of human activities (e.g., aquaculture, introduction of aquatic invasive species, energy projects) in the marine environment and using this information to answer applied ecological questions. She is also an adjunct professor at Vancouver Island University.
Dr. Dunham has worked as Chief Scientist on a number of projects surrounding glass sponge reefs in British Columbia, including the Salish Sea. In particular, these projects have assessed reef locations, status and ecological significance
Job Titles:
- Director, Community Mapping Network
Research area(s):
Impacts of climate change
Nearshore habitats
Research area(s):
Aquaculture
Fisheries science and management
Impacts of climate change
Marine conservation
Pacific salmon
Research area(s):
Fisheries oceanography
Fisheries science and management
Pacific salmon
Job Titles:
- Research Scientist
- Research Scientist at the DFO 's Pacific
Research area(s):
Fisheries science and management
Ocean modelling
Stock assessment
Carrie Holt is a Research Scientist at the DFO's Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. The goal of her research program is to develop tools to facilitate communication and decision-making at the interface between fisheries science and management in three broad areas. She is interested in identifying and evaluating biological benchmarks of population status of Pacific salmon and reference points for management. In addition, her program focuses on the integration of oceanographic information into models of salmon population dynamics to improve science advice to management. She is further interested in how the spatial dimension of ecological processes affects the distribution of fish species, and the implications for fisheries management. In her role coordinating assessments under Canada's Wild Salmon Policy, she is leading the development and evaluation of new methods for Pacific salmon to inform management plans.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of the Georgia Strait Alliance
Christianne Wilhelmson is the Executive Director of the Georgia Strait Alliance and can be contacted at: gsa@georgiastrait.org
Job Titles:
- Research Scientist
- Research Scientist at the DFO 's Pacific
Research area(s):
Aquaculture
Invertebrates
Pollutants
Christopher Pearce is a Research Scientist at the DFO's Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. His research interests include:
Job Titles:
- Research Scientist
- Research Scientist at the DFO 's Pacific Biological Station
Research area(s):
Fisheries oceanography
Forage fish
Marine conservation
Nearshore habitats
Spatial technologies
Cliff Robinson works as a Research Scientist at the DFO's Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo as well as an Ajunct Associate Proffesor in the Department of Georgraphy at the University of Victoria.
Cliff's doctorate is in fisheries oceanography and habitat ecology from the University of British Columbia. He has more than 25 years of applied and research experience working with coastal marine species and habitats. He was a senior marine scientist with the Canadian National Parks Service for 13 years responsible for establishing and managing coastal marine science programs for Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Canada. His adjunct Associate Professorship in the Marine Protected Areas Research group at the University of Victoria allows him to continue his long-term research interest in eelgrass conservation, Pacific sand lance ecology, marine species-at-risk conservation, and use of remote sensing and GIS in studying coastal habitats of British Columbia.
Research area(s):
Fisheries oceanography
Freshwater ecology
Impacts of climate change
Pacific salmon
David Welch has a B.Sc. from the U. of Toronto (Biology & Economics) and a Ph.D. from Dalhousie University (Oceanography). David joined Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 1985 and was appointed head of the High Seas Salmon Program in 1990. During the next decade he was responsible for studying the ocean biology of Pacific salmon, and provided some of the first compelling evidence for a potentially profound impact of global warming on Pacific salmon in the ocean. David developed the original concept of building large scale marine tracking arrays, particularly for application to Pacific salmon management, and founded Kintama in 2000 to bring the concept to reality by developing the core enabling technologies for designing, deploying, and operating large-scale marine telemetry arrays efficiently. The resulting infrastructure is beginning to have true impact for scientific experiment, discovery and important policy decisions on fisheries worldwide. In 2012 he received the J.P. Tully Medal in Oceanography from the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society for his work on developing marine telemetry arrays for addressing salmon conservation problems, and the Award of Excellence in Fisheries Management from the American Fisheries Society.
Using these acoustic-based telemetry systems, David has been involved in many Salish Sea studies by Kintama to assess steelhead, Chinook, sockeye, and coho smolt behaviour and survival between lakes and the Fraser River estuary, in the Strait of Georgia, and in Discovery Passage, as well as collaborative research with Professor Scott Hinch of UBC to measure freshwater and early marine survival of Chilko Lake sockeye smolts.
Research area(s):
Impacts of climate change
Physical oceanography
Debby Ianson is an interdisciplinary oceanographer who works in the field and develops numerical models focused on climate change issues. She is a federal research scientist at the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney BC and an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria. Debby was also a member of the West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Panel convened by the California Ocean Science Trust.
Jarnikova, Tereza; Allen, Susan E.; Ianson, Debby; and Olson, Elise, "A data science approach to understanding physical drivers of coastal primary productivity and effects on carbonate chemistry" (2018). Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference. 385. https://cedar.wwu.edu/ssec/2018ssec/allsessions/385
Job Titles:
- Research Scientist
- Research Scientist With the Ocean Sciences Division at the Institute of Ocean Sciences
Diane is a research scientist with the Ocean Sciences division at the Institute of Ocean Sciences and who has been involved with the Strait of Georgia Ecosystem Research Initiative. As part of this project, Diane was involved in developing an application of the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) for the Strait of Georgia. This model is the ocean dynamics component of an end-to-end modeling system. The model is forced by freshwater inflow from major rivers, tidal forcing and seasonal climatology at open boundaries, as well as wind stress and heat flux at the ocean surface. The model is being developed to reproduce realistic circulation features and water properties (temperature and salinity) for the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca over a typical seasonal cycle as well as to capture year to year variability. Because the model output is used to force a lower trophic model, simulating a realistic near surface stratification is a primary concern. As such, one needs to force the model with a realistic wind stress and new wind stress field were prepared using hourly data for 30 local wind observation stations. The measured wind stress vectors were interpolated onto the model grid using a thin plate radial basis function. Using the improved hourly wind stress, a yearly simulation was successfully completed for 2007.
Research area(s):
Fisheries oceanography
Freshwater ecology
Juvenile salmon
Dr. Asit Mazumder is a Profressor of Biology at the University of Victoria. His research interest is to understand and model nutrient-foodweb dynamics of freshwater and marine ecosystems, and associated patterns of water quality, fisheries productivity, fate and transport of nutrients, energy and contaminants along aquatic foodwebs, and aquatic diversity. During the last decade, his research team has been approaching these fundamental ecological concepts and theories using ecosystem-level projects in coastal and interior BC, Alaska, northern Quebec and Ontario. Some of these projects are: nutrient limitation of aquatic productivity in coastal and interior lakes, delineation of aquatic foodweb structure and sources of energy along aquatic foodwebs using stable isotope geochemistry, linkages among foodweb structure, energy transfer efficiency and Hg accumulation in plankton and fish, ecosystem level impacts of fish farm on contaminants in traditional seafoods of aboriginal people, fish farm impacts on sea lice infection of juvenile Pacific salmon, nutrient-foodweb ecology of sockeye salmon ecosystems in Alaska and BC, foodweb dynamics and trophic interactions among juvenile Pacific salmon in the Bering Sea Ecosystem, resource partitioning between brook trout and juvenile Atlantic salmon in northern Québec streams, and the impact of selective sport fishing on foodweb structure, resource allocation and Hg accumulation in lake trout of selected Ontario lakes.
Job Titles:
- Research Associate
- Research Associate at the Vancouver Aquarium
Dr. Brenda Burd is a marine ecologist and research associate at the Vancouver Aquarium and DFO Institute of Ocean Sciences, specializing in 1) analysis of benthic community response and recovery patterns related to metal mines, pulp mills, fish farms and multiple discharges (sewage, stormwater, industrial, ocean dumping and sediment geochemistry); and 2) development of sampling and analytical protocols for benthic monitoring programs. Recent projects include; initiation and management of the Salish Sea Ambient Monitoring Exchange (SSAMEx); quality control and temporal trends in monitoring programs for the Capital Regional District; benthic monitoring programs for the Metro Vancouver Iona and Lions Gate wastewater outfalls; Initiation, design, project management and biological oceanography for Strait of Georgia Ambient Monitoring Program (collaborative agreement of NRCan/DFO/Metro Vancouver 2003-2013).
Dr. Burd is currently building and managing the new Salish Sea Ambient Monitoring Exchange to promote data sharing and harmonization trans-boundary for marine monitoring programs. The primary goal is to support research and analyze temporal trends in background conditions to provide context for understanding the effects and environmental sensitivities related to localized discharges in the region.
Research area(s):
Anthropogenic stressors
Biological oceanography
Impacts of climate change
Plankton
Dr. Brian Hunt is a biological oceanographer with broad interests in the structure and function of pelagic marine ecosystems, and their response to climate forcing and anthropogenic impacts.
His research has focused on plankton dynamics, the response of these lower trophic levels to bottom-up forcing by climatic and oceanographic conditions, and the implications of this response for mid-trophic levels, including forage and juvenile fish, as well as top predators. Brian's research is wide ranging, spanning interests in the Antarctic, tropical South Pacific, New Zealand, Mediterranean, North Pacific and Arctic.
Since moving to UBC in 2006, British Columbia coastal ecosystems have been Dr. Hunt's major research focus. After his initial involvement in the Tula Foundation funded Rivers Inlet Ecosystem Study between 2008 and 2011, Dr. Hunt has worked extensively in partnership with the Tula Foundation/Hakai Institute in developing Oceanographic Observatories' on the Central Coast and in the Strait of Georgia. In addition to monitoring and communicating ecosystem response to climate, these platforms research new innovations in ocean observing, and inform collaborative programs with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and First Nations' investigating the growth and survival of herring and salmon.
Research area(s):
Aquatic animal health
Aquatic invasive species
Genetic research
Dr. Abbott was a member of the Project Management team for the federal interdepartmental Genomics Research and Development Initiative project on Quarantine and Invasive Species (2011-2016), which was awarded a Public Service Award of Excellence for outstanding scientific contribution. The project focused on DNA barcoding and metabarcoding to develop and implement faster, more accurate ways to identify and trace the origin of invasive species. The success of the project validated the collaborative model of research in government and demonstrated that stronger results can be achieved for Canadians by sharing knowledge and resources.
Cathryn is also head of a molecular biology laboratory within DFO's National Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory System (NAAHLS) that supports Canada's National Aquatic Animal Health Program (NAAHP). The NAAHP is led by the CFIA and is co-delivered by DFO; in her lab they conduct research, provide scientific advice, and perform diagnostic testing for aquatic animal diseases that are regulated due to their potential impact on trade and/or the Canadian economy.
She also co-supervises graduate students through collaborations with academic scientists; for example, as a PI on the Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network.
Job Titles:
- Researcher at the DND Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental
Research area(s):
Biological oceanography
Coastal birds
Marine mammals
Plankton
Dr. Corinne Pomerleau is a researcher at the DND Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges in Nanoose Bay. Her work is focus within the Central Strait of Georgia, particularly in and around area Whiskey Golf and in Hotham Sound. Her research interests include the spatial and temporal changes in zooplankton and water mass structure and how this is related to marine mammal foraging and seabird feeding hotpots. She is interested in real-time detection of marine mammals, particularly killer whales, using passive acoustic monitoring. She is also interested in the effects of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals, particularly on their distribution, feeding and vocal behaviour.
Job Titles:
- Scientist
- Senior Research Scientist
- Retired Scientist from the Institute of Ocean Sciences
Dr. Eddy Carmack is a Senior Research Scientist Emeritus for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans at the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, British Columbia. His research interests include ocean circulation, mixing and water mass formation on continental shelves in the open ocean, and their relationships to climate and marine ecosystems. With a focus on high-latitude waters, he has participated in over 80 field investigations in rivers, lakes and seas spanning from the Antarctic to the Arctic; from the Yukon to Siberia. From this he has published over 175 peer-reviewed scientific articles, over 70% of which contain ‘original' data. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the 2007 Massey medalist of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, the 2010 Tully medalist for the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, and holds the Sydney Chapman Chair at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.
In the past, with Environment Canada, he studied the consequences of economic development on the physical habitat and ecology of lakes. His current research seeks to examine the signals and causes of climate variability in high-latitude lakes and oceans and repercussions to the food web and resident fish and marine mammals. He has served as Chief Canadian scientist for co-operative studies of the subarctic North Pacific with Russia, for the 1994 Canada/US expedition to the North Pole, for recent international studies in the Northwest Passage and Canada Basin, and the ‘Canada's Three Oceans' project for the international Polar Year; in retirement, he is ‘Captain' of his 34' troller conversion R/V Wicklow.
He has been involved in projects that have encouraged citizen scientist's involvement, such as "The Drift Bottle Project". Since 2000, he, together with citizen scientists, students, and other interested volunteers, has tossed over 5,000 bottles into waters surrounding North America and stretching from the Arctic to Antarctica. Contained inside are messages describing the drop time and place, and a request to contact the Drift Bottle research team if found. This simple and inexpensive project allows communities and students to get involved in thinking about our oceans and our environment.
He also proposed another Citizen Science program, whereby small fishing vessels could be set up as mini oceanographic sampling vessels, to be used in the Strait of Georgia to collect information that would be very costly to collect on larger vessels. This was implemented through the Salish Sea Marine Survival Program's Citizen Science Program, where over a 3-year period (2015-2017) oceanographic data was collected in the Strait of Georgia at a spatial and temporal scale not realized or possible before.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of the Sea
Nikki Wright is the Executive Director of the SeaChange Marine Conservation Society and can be contacted at: seachange@shaw.ca
Ramona de Graaf is a marine biologist, forage fish specialist, marine educator, and researcher who has been studying and surveying forage fish habitats since 2000. She has studied marine systems from the deep sea to eelgrass, marine population genetics, cetaceans, and plankton. She is the BC Shore Spawners Alliance Coordinator and can be contacted at: Foragefish.bc@gmail.com
Job Titles:
- Director, Community Mapping Network