Habitats at high latitudes are experiencing changes in climate more rapidly than other regions of Canada. The melting permafrost is resulting in retrogressive thaw slumps, which are common along lake margins in some parts of the Northwest Territories. These slumps produce influxes of sediment and change water quality by increasing turbidity, conductivity, and nutrient levels. A MSc student is needed for a project that will explore the biological impacts of melting permafrost in lakes found in the northern Northwest Territories. The student will conduct field surveys and experiments to determine how plankton communities respond to changes in water quality associated with inputs from melting permafrost.
The student will join the laboratory of Dr. Derek Gray in the Department of Biology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario (www.graylab.ca<https://lauriercloud-my.sharepoint.com/personal/dgray_wlu_ca/Documents/Administrative/www.graylab.ca>). Students will be enrolled in the MSc in Integrative Biology Program at Wilfrid Laurier and will be guaranteed a minimum stipend of $21,500 per year for two years supported by a combination of grant funding, scholarships, and teaching assistantships. Information on the MSc program is available here: https://legacy.wlu.ca/page.php?grp_id=4&p=7663 Interested students should have a background in environmental science, ecology, or another related field and should be comfortable traveling and conducting fieldwork. The project will require travel to the Northwest Territories during the summer months and laboratory work in Waterloo during the rest of the year. Please send a letter of interest describing your background and research interests to dg...@wlu.ca.
