School of Environmental Studies Graduate Theses
Recent Submissions
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Using fluorescence spectroscopy to measure the biodegradation of naphtha in Athabasca oil sands tailings ponds
This study used fluorescence spectroscopy and solid phase microextraction (SPME) to develop a time-efficient and cost-effective method to measure naphtha biodegradation in Athabasca Oil Sands Region mature fine tailings ... -
Characterization of arsenic and antimony minerals in Yellowknife Bay sediments
Yellowknife Bay, Northwest Territories, Canada, is a waterbody valued by surrounding communities for its subsistence, recreational, and cultural use. Located adjacent to the former Giant and Con Mines, Yellowknife Bay has ... -
Detection of Antibiotic Resistance in Enterococcus spp. by Growth Kinetics Measurements in the Presence of Vancomycin Using the Detection System from TECTA-PDS
The spread of antibiotic resistant organisms has increased in different water environments. This originates from the disposal of antibiotics from hospital wastes, irrigation from farms, domestic antibiotic drug disposal ... -
Sorption of the common freshwater cyanotoxin microcystin to microplastics
Interactions among multiple stressors in freshwater ecosystems remain poorly understood. In particular, microplastic and nutrient pollution are rarely studied in combination. However, microplastics are now commonly found ... -
Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Polar Bear Co-Management in a Changing Arctic
This thesis examines polar bear (Ursus maritimus) co-management in the Canadian Arctic, with a particular focus on the contributions of Inuit traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) to published literature about polar bear. ... -
Rethinking Extraction: A Lefebvrian Critique of Sustainable Mining Discourse
The idea of Sustainable Mining (SM) has gained increasing traction in the past two decades as an industry-based response to concerns over operational pollution, the (mis)treatment of local/Indigenous communities, and a ... -
Investigating Whether Epigenetic Changes Occur Following Gestational Exposure to Triphenyl Phosphate in C57Bl/6 Mice
Triphenyl phosphate (TPP) is a chemical flame retardant and plasticizer which is added to both consumer and industrial products. While overt toxicity to TPP is relatively low, recent studies have begun to investigate the ... -
A Study of Energy Democracy in Mexico
Endorsing ‘energy democracy’ is an attempt to attain sustainable electricity. Although this ultimate goal is somewhat clear, conflict characterizes the different roads leading to the ‘ideal’ provision of this essential ... -
Spatiotemporal Patterns of White-Tailed Deer Habitat Use on Hill Island in Thousand Islands National Park of Canada
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are hyperabundant in parts of Thousand Islands National Park because of their ecological impact on its forests. To manage the high number of deer on Hill Island, an annual ... -
Assessing the Phytoextraction of Organic and Inorganic Pollutants From Point Pelee National Park, Ontario and Iqaluit, Nunavut
This thesis investigated the phytoextraction of both organic and inorganic contaminants from two locations of Canada (Point Pelee National Park (PPNP), Ontario and Iqaluit, Nunavut). PPNP is a National Park that is highly ... -
Environmental Art and Our Relationship With Road-killed Animals
The broad aim of this research creation project is to explore my emotional encounters with road-killed animals. This project involves the current road ecology issue of road-killed animals; the encroachment of human settlements ... -
Stable isotope analysis reveals the minimal incorporation of petrogenic carbon into a freshwater food web following experimental diluted bitumen spills
Bitumen mined from the Canadian oil sands is viscous to such a degree that it must be diluted to flow in pipelines resulting in diluted bitumen (dilbit). Dilbit has chemical and physical properties that differ it from ... -
A study of turbidity interference in a new, automated Escherichia coli and total coliform detection method and application of the method on the Yangtze River in China
According to Sustainable Development Goals, water quality assessment is vital to sustainable water management. Bacteria monitoring is an important part of water quality management. Traditional methods for bacteria detection ... -
Productivity And Phenology of Forests in the Algonquin-to-Adirondacks Corridor: Climatic Drivers and Recent Trends
The phenology and productivity of temperate forests has changed across eastern North America in recent decades. However, these changes have varied spatially and temporally. And, while climate change has been an important ... -
Road salt soil contamination and remediation methods using halophytes
In northern latitudes, road salt (sodium chloride; NaCl) application is leading to soil and freshwater salinization, and having widespread environmental impacts. Canada applies over 5 million tonnes of road salt annually ... -
Nigeria’s Internally Displaced Women: The need for decent shelter
Since 2009, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has been in a serious humanitarian crisis emerging from insurgency headed by militant jihadist organization: Boko Haram. The group has carried out deadly attacks on ... -
The Toxic Effects of Oil Sands Contaminants on Developing Amphibians
The Canadian oil sands contain a viscous form of crude oil known as bitumen. This research aimed to understand how contaminants from the oil sands industry can impact the growth and development of juvenile native amphibians. ... -
Whose Knowledge, Whose Water, Whose Life: A case study of water governance and mining in Sekhukhune, South Africa
Since news about Day Zero in Cape Town captured public attention, water scarcity in South Africa has become a widely known problem. However, the country has been impacted by similar issues for decades. This is especially ... -
Traces of (Un-) Sustainability: Towards a Materially Engaged Ecology of Mind
Discussions of sustainability are usually framed within a dominant Cartesian dualistic paradigm as something that requires material changes in the world, for example, a new technological invention, or alternatively, new ... -
The Locations and Drivers of Herpetofaunal Wildlife Road Mortality on Two Highways within the Frontenac Arch, Ontario
The mortality of wildlife on roads is an aspect of biological and environmental degradation that is often overlooked amidst the plethora of other threats that exist. Yet it is a very real concern, especially for species ...
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