Dr. Barrett has the opportunity for a student to examine threshold concepts for a new ecological paradigm. This project involves thematic analysis of qualitative data to develop and validate a set of threshold concepts that are barriers to integrating Indigenous and Western worldviews in environmental problem-solving. Threshold concepts have been developed by Land and Meyer and identified as critical for accessing “new and previously inaccessible ways of thinking about something” (2006).

Assistant professor, Department of Poultry and Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Bioresources; Associate professor, SENS 
ryan.brook@usask.ca

Dr. Brook is interested in working with students on the following projects:

• Examining the dramatic increase in moose-human conflicts by integrating spatial datasets on crop damage by moose and survey data into a predictive model.
  • Skill required: Strong experience with Geographic Information Systems.
• Analysis of large mammal community structure in the agriculture-dominated landscape in Saskatchewan. Dr. Brook has a large database of trail camera photos of a wide range of mammals from feral wild boar to elk, weasel, deer, fox, and coyote and would be interested in doing some analysis looking at community diversity and landscape structure.
• The development of an on-farm risk assessment for carnivore depredation on livestock on the Canadian Prairies. While habitat plays an important role in cases of depredation on livestock by wolves, coyotes, and other carnivores, there are many potential farm management strategies that can also influence risk. This project would develop a set of criteria using empirical data and literature review to assess risk factors.

Dr. Gunn has the opportunity for a student to perform a comparative effectiveness evaluation of sustainability assessment, as practiced in a Canadian, English, Western Australian or South African context. The project aim is to determine the relative procedural, substantive, transactive, normative, pluralistic and learning effectiveness of several recent sustainability assessments to better understand the challenges of advancing international practice in this area. The intent is to publish the results of the evaluation in an internationally peer-reviewed environmental assessment journal.

Associate professor, SENS; Canada Research Chair in Predictive Aquatic Ecotoxicology
markus.hecker@usask.ca

Project: Water quality assessment in the Saskatchewan River Basin using Effect Directed Analysis
This project will be imbedded in a larger study that assesses water quality in the South Saskatchewan River (Saskatchewan, Canada) watershed using a novel bio-assay directed approach combined with analytical chemistry (termed Effect Directed Analysis). It uses biological endpoints (cell-based in vitro assays) and analytical chemistry to identify toxic potentials in water samples collected at a number of field sites in S. Saskatchewan. Potential water quality issues are associated with waste-water effluents, stormwater runoffs of larger communities and cities, as well as agricultural and industrial (e.g. mining) practices. The data will be used to characterize potential risks to humans and wildlife due to decreased water quality, and - if such risks are present - pinpoint the sources responsible for the observed decrease in water quality.

Roles and responsibilities of the student (under supervision and after appropriate training by supervisor or other personnel): Collect (depending on weather) and prepare (e.g. extraction, filtration, fractionation) water samples for biological and chemical analysis. Conduct in vitro (cell lines and/or fish egg test) assays to identify specific biological activities of samples or their fractions. Statistical data evaluation. Write a summary report, and - if permitted by the data - contribute to writing a peer-reviewed publication (student will be listed as a co-author). The student will need to complete the following safety course at the University of Saskatchewan before any work can commence (courses are between 1/2 and 1 day long): Biosafety, Laboratory Safety.

Skills required: Very good English reading and writing skills. Natural science background with some laboratory (pipetting, etc.) experience. The student should be willing to participate in possible field excursions to collect samples. Basic knowledge in statistical evaluation of data sets is expected.

Roles and responsibilities of the student (under supervision and after appropriate training by supervisor or other personnel): Plan and conduct short-term exposure studies with early life-stages of fish. Routine water quality assessment and maintenance of exposure experiments. Bio-analytical investigations (determine growth, deformities and mortality of fish; collect tissues and analyze sub-lethal biological effects such as changes in gene expression, biochemical homeostasis). Statistical data evaluation. Write a summary report, and - if permitted by the data - contribute to writing a peer-reviewed publication (student will be listed as a co-author). The student will need to complete the following safety course at the U of S before any work can commence (courses are between 1/2 and 1 day long): Animal Ethics Training, Biosafety, Laboratory Safety.

Project: Conservation status of threatened species

We use online herbarium information combined with a novel, straightforward priority-setting approach to screen large lists of rare plant species. Data are quantified to develop priority scores (for a given species) using three key criteria:

1. provincial/regional responsibility in species survival,
2. species’ local population characteristics, and
3. the anthropogenic threats causing species to be rare.

The use of a hierarchy of these criteria enables identification of species deserving attention and/or further study, while the method itself is deemed to be highly relevant to conservation managers and decision-makers due to its scale adaptability and fairly minimal resource requirements.

Population demography and reproductive biology of A. patens in response to deterioration of habitat conditions, management systems and environmental attributes are being studied. We examine how population size, degree of isolation, geographic region, habitat quality, and management regimes relate to demography and population viability to estimate population trends and extinction risk for different parts of species’ range. We also quantify how the demographic rates vary among individuals and populations of the study species; these can have not only a considerable effect on population dynamics, but can also generate evolutionary change.

We aim to explore and experimentally assess the link between habitat fragmentation, native plant species decline and increasing impact of invasive exotic species in fescue prairie. The long term objective of my research program is to contribute to the development of ecological theories predicting the impacts of global environmental change and anthropogenic disturbance on species diversity, structure and function of grassland communities in fragmented landscapes.

Dr. Liber can provide hands-on research experience in the areas of metal toxicity to aquatic organisms (both invertebrates and fish), the influence of water quality characteristics on metal toxicity to aquatic organisms, interactive toxicity of metal mixtures to aquatic organisms, and, in general, research related to the impact of metals and mining discharges on aquatic ecosystems. Specific projects that could be created for an interested student include:

• Metal bioavailability in sediments and risks to aquatic life associated with contaminated sediments (freshwater).
• The use of paleolimnological and paleoecotoxicological techniques to reconstruct historical contamination trends in pollution impacted systems (by looking at chemical and biological profiles in sediments).
• Small aquatic toxicology projects related to a student's specific interests.

Project: Development of a geospatial model to predict the occurrence of ice jamming along rivers
Provide understand of the link between fluvial geomorphology and ice jamming along various rivers on the Canadian Prairies using airborne and space-borne remote sensing imagery and geospatial modelling of river ice processes.

Project: Defining hydro-geomorphological regimes of fish habitat using geomorphic response units (GRU)
The main objective is to correlate areas of critical habitat of recreational sport fishing species with geomorphological characteristics of river networks represented by geomorphic response units. These units also show areas best suited for enhancement and rehabilitation of fish habitat.

Project: The impact of neonicotinoid insecticides on wetland invertebrates
Wetland habitats in Canada’s Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) are under serious threat from eutrophication, use by livestock, vegetation loss, lowland drainage, sedimentation, and chemical contamination. There is a growing concern that pesticides and other chemicals designed to improve agricultural production are degrading wetland water quality with suspected consequences for waterfowl and other wetland birds who consume invertebrates. A relatively new class of insecticides – neonicotinoids have rapidly become one of the most commonly used pesticides in Canadian agriculture, and may have direct effects on wetland ecosystems through reduced insect abundance and diversity. The student will do lab work on existing samples to assess Macroinvertebrate abundance, diversity and biomass from a range of sites with differing agricultural impact and neonicotinoid use.

Project: The role of pesticides in affecting grassland bird abundance
Over the past 25 years, grassland breeding bird species have shown the most dramatic and widespread decline of any group of birds in North America. Explanations of this decline have mainly focused on the conversion of native grasslands to farmland, habitat fragmentation, habitat degradation, and nest parasitism by cowbirds. However, the timing of the application of agricultural pesticides often overlaps with the avian breeding season in North America and is implicated in the decline of some grassland species. Little information exists regarding historical changes in Canadian agricultural pesticide use and changes in grassland bird populations. The student will explore whether there are any temporal correlations between changes in agricultural pesticide use and grassland bird populations in the prairie Canada between 1966 and 2006 using geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis of existing large datasets. Analytical and experience with GIS are a major asset.