Current Research

I am interested in factors that affect the biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems. Previous research has shown that declines in biodiversity have been most apparent in aquatic ecosystems. As such, the focus of my research is to determine when and why this loss has occurred.

For my Master’s thesis, I will make use of paleolimnological techniques to examine how nutrients have affected the diversity of diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) and Cladocerans (commonly known as water fleas) in lakes of the Eastern townships of Quebec. Paleolimnology is a novel approach to the age-old diversity-productivity question and thus has the potential to make important advances in the field of community ecology. In particular, the study of paleolimnological records allows us to ask ecological questions with data that span hundreds to thousands of years and large spatial scales.