• Assessing long-term changes in chironomid assemblages linked to past fluctuations in Leach’s Storm-Petrel populations on islands in the Western Atlantic Ocean 

  Lim, Joeline

  Nutrient loading is an important factor that can indirectly deplete dissolved oxygen concentrations in lakes. In environments where seabirds nest and breed, guano is a prominent source of nutrients that can eutrophy ...

• Hypoxia and the metabolic phenotype of Daphnia 

  Westbury, Kurtis

  Environmental hypoxia is a phenomenon in which low oxygen conditions force organisms to respond behaviourally and physiologically to survive in an otherwise lethal habitat. Animals display different mechanisms to cope with ...

• Functional genomics to discover genes responsible for root architecture and heavy metal tolerance in Populus 

  Quagraine, Joseph

  Anthropogenic activities have led to widespread of heavy metal contaminants such cadmium and arsenic. When left untreated, they pose risk to both human and ecosystem health as well as further reduce arable lands. ...

• Mechanisms underlying anoxic coma and spreading depolarization in Locusta mirgatoria 

  Van Dusen, Rachel

  Spreading depolarization (SD) is neurological phenomenon that results in the depression of neural activity and is found in both vertebrate and invertebrate systems. SD is characterized as a propagating wave of neuronal and ...

• Evaluation and Improvement of the Stoichiometric Homeostasis Model for Understanding and Predicting the Structure and Functioning of a Low Arctic Tundra Plant Community 

  Gu, Qian

  Arctic tundra vegetation structure profoundly affects ecosystem processes and climatic regulation. Therefore, there is a growing urgency for more accurate biogeochemical models to better understand how tundra vegetation ...

• The effects of increasing chloride concentrations and temperatures on freshwater zooplankton communities 

  McClymont, Alexandra

  Across the Northern Hemisphere, chloride concentrations in lakes are increasing from decades of road salt use, imperiling aquatic ecosystems. Elevated chloride concentrations threaten aquatic organisms, and zooplankton are ...

• High sensitivity of freshwater zooplankton to low chloride concentrations is unaltered by nutrient level 

  Greco, Danielle

  Driven by decades of road salt use, freshwater salinization is prevalent across North America. Increasing chloride concentrations threaten freshwater species, and zooplankton are particularly sensitive. In Canada, the ...

• Effects of peripherality and hybridization on range-wide genetic structure of the coastal dune plant Abronia umbellata (Nyctaginaceae) 

  Van Natto, Alyson

  The pattern of genetic variation across a species range may give insight into geographic variation in adaptive capacity and hence, conservation priority. For this reason, determining the factors that may influence range-wide ...

• Understanding sources of variation in advertisement call attributes in spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) 

  Chen, Ying

  The mate recognition system is the foundation of biological speciation in frogs and toads. Sexual selection has been suggested to cause male call evolution, population divergence, and ultimately reproductive isolation. It ...

• Long-term response of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) nursery lakes to climate and watershed management activities in British Columbia (Canada) 

  Barouillet, Cecilia

  Sockeye salmon (Oncorhyncus nerka) are a heavily exploited species. Owing to their large geographical distribution and use of both freshwater and oceanic habitats, sockeye salmon are exposed to various stressors at the ...

• Towards a sustainable Arctic fishery: Population genomics of lake whitefish in a hybrid species complex 

  Driver, Hannah

  Genetic variation is an important predictor of population persistence under changing or stressful environmental conditions. Consequently, efforts to preserve genetic variation by identifying genetically distinct populations ...

• Habitat Associations of Coexisting Carrion Beetles (Subfamilies Nicrophorinae and Silphinae) in Southeastern Ontario 

  Burke, Kevin

  The coexistence of closely related species is thought to play an important role in shaping and maintaining local diversity and community organization. However, competition for shared limiting resources can inhibit coexistence ...

• Investigating NLR-mediated immunity and Pseudomonas syringae effector interactions with two MACPF domain proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana. 

  Sementchoukova, Irina

  To disarm plant defenses, successful pathogens secrete an arsenal of diverse virulence factors, termed effectors, into the host cell to shut down key components of the plant immune signaling pathway. To protect against ...

• Arabidopsis Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase Kinase Family Members and Their Possible Role in Innate Immunity 

  Siegel, Kristen

  From an early developmental stage, plants are exposed to both beneficial and pathogenic microbes. Upon pathogen detection, receptor complexes on the cell surface can detect conserved microbial molecules, such as bacterial ...

• Investigating Suberin Biosynthesis in Poplar: Candidate Genes and Chemical Composition 

  Rains, Meghan

  For plants, lipid barriers represent a critical adaptation to terrestrial life, providing a first line of defense against biotic and abiotic stressors. Among these lipid barriers, suberized cell walls protect both internal ...

• Bioremediation of arsenic and cadmium in a Populus tremula x Populus alba mutant 

  Weber, Jackie

  The use of plants to remediate contaminated lands is of growing interest to the scientific community because of its ease of implementation, cost effectiveness and ability to stabilize contaminated soils. A novel Populus ...

• Can genomic tools aid conservation of an arctic seabird, the northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)? 

  Colston-Nepali, Lila

  Human activities and climate change threaten Arctic ecosystems. Population genetics and genomics may help conservationists appropriately manage threatened species both by (1) determining the population genetic structure ...

• Assessing the use of Viviparus georgianus snails as a means for biomanipulation of cyanobacterial species Microcystis aeruginosa 

  Kokkinakis, Sofia

  Cyanobacterial blooms can produce toxins which can be fatal to organisms, including humans. Biomanipulation of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CHABs) aims to proactively prevent their formation by maintaining continuous ...

• Using Population Genomics to Disentangle the Evolutionary History and Aid Conservation of the Leach’s Storm-Petrel Species Complex (Hydrobates spp.) 

  Birchard, Katie

  Despite their ability to overcome most geographic barriers to dispersal and to fly long distances, many seabird species exhibit strong population genetic structure. For this project, I quantify population differentiation ...

• Stochastic and adaptive processes affect rapid evolution of two invasive plants in North America 

  Wu, Yihan

  Evolution can occur rapidly on timescales of years to decades. In addition to adaptive responses to natural selection, stochastic processes such as gene flow and genetic drift may influence rapid evolution in many species. ...

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