Profile
Professional biologist and policy analyst with over 10 years of experience at provincial and federal governments. Skilled manager with experience in operational, policy and regulatory roles. Strengths include strategic leader, collaboration, team building, and the identification and development of policy needs with a particular focus on the environment.
PhD research
My PhD research focuses on the individual and intergenerational consequences of nest predation pressure in a species which provides paternal care. My work takes place on lakes within the Rideau River watershed in eastern Ontario. These lakes are interconnected by a series of locks but are generally believed to be reproductively isolated. My work has shown that they inherently differ in nest predation pressure. Adult smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) have little risk of individual predation but their offspring can be highly vulnerable to predation. My work examines if there are behavioural and/or physiological consequences to this natural gradient in predation pressure for parents and offspring.
Applied Fisheries and Conservation
I am also interested in fisheries management and conservation. I have been involved in a number of applied projects which have examined the effects of catch and release fishing, as well as the effects of tournament fishing. I have performed research contracts for the Rainy Lake Fisheries Charity Trust, where we examined the effects of bass tournament fishing practices on the post-release behaviour and physiology of tournament caught fish which had experienced barotrauma. Barotrauma occurs when fish are rapidly brought up from depth (typically over 3 m) and suffer a suite of consequences such as distended swim bladders and hemorrhaging of blood vessels. This research identified behavioural and physiological consequences of barotrauma. We then performed a followed up study which examined the effects of fizzing (i.e., puncturing the swim bladder) as a potential technique to alleviate the effects of barotrauma on tournament-caught fish.