Ramón Filgueira
Associate Professor - Marine Affairs Program
Professor II (20%) - Institute of Marine Research (Norway)
Ramon.Filgueira@dal.ca | ResearchGate | Google Scholar
Ramón's current research is focused on ecosystem functioning of marine environments with emphasis on the potential effects of different stressors on ecosystem resilience. The primary tool in Ramón's research is ecosystem modelling, which allows the integration of time and space, critical aspects for understanding ecological dynamics and therefore how natural systems provide ecosystem services. Scenario building and optimization processes deliver a detailed description of flows of matter and energy that I use to apply the concept of ecosystem-based management to aquaculture sites. Ramón's main goal is to promote sustainable aquaculture and provide objective scientific knowledge for marine spatial planning in order to guarantee the sustainability of coastal zones.
Associate Professor - Marine Affairs Program
Professor II (20%) - Institute of Marine Research (Norway)
Ramon.Filgueira@dal.ca | ResearchGate | Google Scholar
Ramón's current research is focused on ecosystem functioning of marine environments with emphasis on the potential effects of different stressors on ecosystem resilience. The primary tool in Ramón's research is ecosystem modelling, which allows the integration of time and space, critical aspects for understanding ecological dynamics and therefore how natural systems provide ecosystem services. Scenario building and optimization processes deliver a detailed description of flows of matter and energy that I use to apply the concept of ecosystem-based management to aquaculture sites. Ramón's main goal is to promote sustainable aquaculture and provide objective scientific knowledge for marine spatial planning in order to guarantee the sustainability of coastal zones.
Rubén Cordero
Postdoctoral scholar (co-adviced with Anaïs Lacoursière-Roussel and Thomas Guyondet)
Ruben.Cordero@dal.ca
Funding: Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Ruben’s research project focuses on determining the impact of shellfish aquaculture and climate change on maritime bays plankton community structure, by analyzing how size-spectra, community assemblage and species interactions change seasonally and across years and the impact of such changes in fisheries. Ruben received his B.Sc and M.Sc from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, focusing on aquatic toxicology and limnology. Subsequently, he finished a second M.Sc at the University of Toronto, studying the biogeographic patterns of aquatic insects (EPTs) generated by the glaciation periods in North America. His Ph.D, at the University of Toronto, was focus in determining patterns of species co-occurrence across thousands of lakes in Ontario, and how biotic and abiotic factors affects the direction and magnitude of those patterns.
Postdoctoral scholar (co-adviced with Anaïs Lacoursière-Roussel and Thomas Guyondet)
Ruben.Cordero@dal.ca
Funding: Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Ruben’s research project focuses on determining the impact of shellfish aquaculture and climate change on maritime bays plankton community structure, by analyzing how size-spectra, community assemblage and species interactions change seasonally and across years and the impact of such changes in fisheries. Ruben received his B.Sc and M.Sc from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, focusing on aquatic toxicology and limnology. Subsequently, he finished a second M.Sc at the University of Toronto, studying the biogeographic patterns of aquatic insects (EPTs) generated by the glaciation periods in North America. His Ph.D, at the University of Toronto, was focus in determining patterns of species co-occurrence across thousands of lakes in Ontario, and how biotic and abiotic factors affects the direction and magnitude of those patterns.
Eric Hans Ignatz
Postdoctoral scholar (co-adviced with Tiago Hori)
ehignatz@mun.ca
Funding: Genome Canada / Mitacs
Eric is studying the ecophysiology and genomics of triploid mussels farmed in Atlantic Canada. His research aims to identify and validate genetic markers of thermal and hypoxia tolerance that will help the industry sustainably expand despite the challenges of climate change. In his PhD from Memorial University, Eric investigated mitigation strategies for the Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry to combat rising sea surface temperatures. Eric also completed his MSc at Memorial University, where he helped identify the optimal rearing temperature for the commercial production of AquAdvantage Salmon in land-based recirculating aquaculture systems. Prior to moving to the East coast, he graduated from Fleming College's post-graduate Aquaculture program and received his BScH from the University of Guelph.
Postdoctoral scholar (co-adviced with Tiago Hori)
ehignatz@mun.ca
Funding: Genome Canada / Mitacs
Eric is studying the ecophysiology and genomics of triploid mussels farmed in Atlantic Canada. His research aims to identify and validate genetic markers of thermal and hypoxia tolerance that will help the industry sustainably expand despite the challenges of climate change. In his PhD from Memorial University, Eric investigated mitigation strategies for the Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry to combat rising sea surface temperatures. Eric also completed his MSc at Memorial University, where he helped identify the optimal rearing temperature for the commercial production of AquAdvantage Salmon in land-based recirculating aquaculture systems. Prior to moving to the East coast, he graduated from Fleming College's post-graduate Aquaculture program and received his BScH from the University of Guelph.
Shelby Clarke
PhD Candidate (Biology)
Shelby.Clarke@dal.ca
Funding: NSERC
Shelby’s research takes a multidisciplinary approach to study the effects of climate change and invasive species on mussel aquaculture in Atlantic Canada. Using physiology, behavior, and genetics she investigates the effects of increasing temperatures and tunicates across multiple levels of biological organization (i.e., individual to ecosystem) in blue mussels, Mytilus edulis. Shelby completed her BSc at Queen’s University and MSc at McGill University in biology. With a passion for food security and aquatic ecosystems Shelby’s previous research focused on the ecophysiology, nutritional value, and conservation of freshwater fishes in the Lake Victoria Basin of Uganda.
PhD Candidate (Biology)
Shelby.Clarke@dal.ca
Funding: NSERC
Shelby’s research takes a multidisciplinary approach to study the effects of climate change and invasive species on mussel aquaculture in Atlantic Canada. Using physiology, behavior, and genetics she investigates the effects of increasing temperatures and tunicates across multiple levels of biological organization (i.e., individual to ecosystem) in blue mussels, Mytilus edulis. Shelby completed her BSc at Queen’s University and MSc at McGill University in biology. With a passion for food security and aquatic ecosystems Shelby’s previous research focused on the ecophysiology, nutritional value, and conservation of freshwater fishes in the Lake Victoria Basin of Uganda.
Jasmine Talevi
PhD Candidate (Biology)
Jasmine.Talevi@dal.ca
Funding: NSERC, Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada
Jasmine earned her BScH in Marine and Freshwater Biology from the University of Guelph. During her time at Guelph, Jasmine completed an honours research project with Dr. Patricia A. Wright studying the changes in behaviour and physiology of amphibious fish across ontogeny. For her Masters, she will be studying how anthropogenic eutrophication impacts marine bivalves.
PhD Candidate (Biology)
Jasmine.Talevi@dal.ca
Funding: NSERC, Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada
Jasmine earned her BScH in Marine and Freshwater Biology from the University of Guelph. During her time at Guelph, Jasmine completed an honours research project with Dr. Patricia A. Wright studying the changes in behaviour and physiology of amphibious fish across ontogeny. For her Masters, she will be studying how anthropogenic eutrophication impacts marine bivalves.
James Cunningham
MSc Candidate (Oceanography)
JamesCunninham@dal.ca
Funding: Mitacs
James has earned his BSc in Oceanography from Dalhousie University. During his undergraduate studies, James has worked for the Centre for Marine Applied Research (CMAR) on a number of projects in the aquaculture and fisheries sectors. His Master's research will focus on the temporal and spatial patterns of oyster spat settlement along Nova Scotia's 'North shore.' The patterns of temperature, food availability, and other environmental conditions will be analyzed and compared to the patterns of spat settlement.
MSc Candidate (Oceanography)
JamesCunninham@dal.ca
Funding: Mitacs
James has earned his BSc in Oceanography from Dalhousie University. During his undergraduate studies, James has worked for the Centre for Marine Applied Research (CMAR) on a number of projects in the aquaculture and fisheries sectors. His Master's research will focus on the temporal and spatial patterns of oyster spat settlement along Nova Scotia's 'North shore.' The patterns of temperature, food availability, and other environmental conditions will be analyzed and compared to the patterns of spat settlement.
Elisa Duchesne
MSc Candidate (ISMER-UQAR) (co-adviced with Réjean Tremblay and Tillmann Benfey)
Elisa.Duchesne@uqar.ca
Funding: Genome Canada / Mitacs
The research project I’m working on aims at coping with climate change that shell aquaculture is facing through the study of metabolomic responses of triploid mussel families under heatwave conditions. Triploid mussels usually invest less energy in reproduction and more in growth and byssus development, which makes them great candidates for highly productive aquaculture. However, temperature changes in water can affect mussels’ metabolism regulations, and induction of triploidy can lower organisms’ survival. Hence, the development of more resilient and more performing triploid hatchery-bred strains could improve productivity as well as foster climate-friendly aquaculture production. To address these issues, we envision producing triploid mussel families and their diploid control and analyzing their adaptative capacity to heatwaves through a physiological and metabolomic approach.
My project is part of a larger team project linking the ISMER-UQAR (Dr Réjean Tremblay), the Dalhousie University (Dr Ramón Filgueira), the University of New Brunswick (Dr Tillmann Benfey), Atlantic Aquafarms, the largest shellfish producer in North America, and Genome Canada.
MSc Candidate (ISMER-UQAR) (co-adviced with Réjean Tremblay and Tillmann Benfey)
Elisa.Duchesne@uqar.ca
Funding: Genome Canada / Mitacs
The research project I’m working on aims at coping with climate change that shell aquaculture is facing through the study of metabolomic responses of triploid mussel families under heatwave conditions. Triploid mussels usually invest less energy in reproduction and more in growth and byssus development, which makes them great candidates for highly productive aquaculture. However, temperature changes in water can affect mussels’ metabolism regulations, and induction of triploidy can lower organisms’ survival. Hence, the development of more resilient and more performing triploid hatchery-bred strains could improve productivity as well as foster climate-friendly aquaculture production. To address these issues, we envision producing triploid mussel families and their diploid control and analyzing their adaptative capacity to heatwaves through a physiological and metabolomic approach.
My project is part of a larger team project linking the ISMER-UQAR (Dr Réjean Tremblay), the Dalhousie University (Dr Ramón Filgueira), the University of New Brunswick (Dr Tillmann Benfey), Atlantic Aquafarms, the largest shellfish producer in North America, and Genome Canada.
Kat Kabanova
Honours 2024
Kabanova@dal.ca
Funding: Ocean Pride Ltd.
Kat is an honours student studying the effects of temperature and diet on feeding in the orange-footed sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa). She is majoring in marine biology and enjoys diving and freediving in her spare time. Her current academic interests revolve around eco-physiology of marine invertebrates.
.
Honours 2024
Kabanova@dal.ca
Funding: Ocean Pride Ltd.
Kat is an honours student studying the effects of temperature and diet on feeding in the orange-footed sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa). She is majoring in marine biology and enjoys diving and freediving in her spare time. Her current academic interests revolve around eco-physiology of marine invertebrates.
.
Kendra Mainprize
Honours 2024 (co-adviced with Jasmine Talevi)
Kendra.Mainprize@dal.ca
Funding: NSERC
Kendra is entering her fourth year of her undergraduate degree in marine biology at Dalhousie University. She is also working on certificates in Aquaculture and the Environment as well as Science Communication and Leadership. She is currently working on a research project with Insa Kaphegyi to evaluate the effects of increased temperature on blue mussel physiology, and whether this differs between mussels in the intertidal and subtidal zones. Kendra is focussing on oxygen consumption rates and stress levels of the mussels.
Honours 2024 (co-adviced with Jasmine Talevi)
Kendra.Mainprize@dal.ca
Funding: NSERC
Kendra is entering her fourth year of her undergraduate degree in marine biology at Dalhousie University. She is also working on certificates in Aquaculture and the Environment as well as Science Communication and Leadership. She is currently working on a research project with Insa Kaphegyi to evaluate the effects of increased temperature on blue mussel physiology, and whether this differs between mussels in the intertidal and subtidal zones. Kendra is focussing on oxygen consumption rates and stress levels of the mussels.
