Supervisors
- Dr Mark Servos [Biology]
- Dr Simon Courtenay [Environment and Resource Studies]
Project
Evaluation of the Community Aquatic Monitoring Program (CAMP) to assess the relationship between Estuarine Health and Nekton in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Research Interests
I am interested in what structures animal communities, and particularly aquatic fauna communities and how anthropogenic activities influence their structure. I am investigating the Community Aquatic Monitoring Program (CAMP) to determine if it can be used to ascertain the relationship between estuarine health and nekton (the animals living nearshore) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. CAMP was implemented in 2003 and has continued to be administered by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Coalition on Sustainability (Coalition-SGSL). I will analyze the CAMP data to determine if littoral nekton community assemblages are an indicator of the estuarine health in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. To accomplish this, I will test the hypothesis that estuaries subjected to high levels of anthropogenic activity are characterized by relatively low nekton diversity and a corresponding increased abundance of pollutant tolerant species.