October 2021: Jordan defends his thesis

We raised our glasses to toast  Jordan on a successful MSc defense! Jordan's research investigated recent vegetation change in the Beaufort Delta Region. Congratulations, Jordan!

 

Read Jordan's thesis here!

October 2021: Zander defends his thesis

We shared a belated toast on the beach to celebrate Zander's MSc defense. In his research, Zander investigated Pacific salmon range expansion and shifting fishing opportunity in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. Congratulations, Zander!

 

Read Zander's thesis here!

August 2021: Hana defends her thesis

Hana successfully defended her Masters thesis exploring changes in surface water dynamics across the Northwest Territories. We were able to come together to share a pint in person for the first time in a while. Congratulations, Hana!

 

Read Hana's thesis here!

October 2021: Funded MSc Opportunity

The Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab (UVic), the Northwest Territories Geological Survey, and the Geological Survey of Canada are seeking an MSc student to lead a research project exploring the terrain controls of thaw slump initiation.

 

More information is available here: MSc Opportunity.

October 2021: Funded PhD Opportunity

The Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab at the University of Victoria is seeking a PhD (or MSc) student to lead a project exploring vegetation change in the summer range of the Porcupine Craibou Herd.

 

More information is available here: PhD Opportunity.

October 2021: Funded MSc Opportunity

The Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab at the University of Victoria is seeking an MSc student to lead a project on community-based monitoring of landscape change. 

 

More information is available here: MSc Opportunity.

September 2021: Funded PhD Opportunity

The Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab at UVic is seeking a PhD student to lead a research project exploring the recovery of tundra ecosystems following disturbance.

 

More information is available here: PhD Opportunity.

August 2021: Postdoctoral Researcher

The Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab at UVic and NSERC PermafrostNet is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to lead cross-scale synthesis activities exploring the determinants of thaw sensitivity in the Canadian Arctic.

 

More information is available here: PDF Opportunity.

December 2020: Angel successfully defends her MSc Thesis

This month, Angel successfully defended her Masters thesis that examined vegetation change due to climate change and fire in the western Canadian Arctic. We raised our cups and played a round of zoom jeopardy to celebrate!

 

Access Angel's thesis here!

December 2020: Postdoctoral Researcher

The Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab and the Gwich’in Renewable Resources Board are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to contribute to projects exploring surface water change, permafrost landscape change, and their impacts on fishing livelihoods.

 

More information is available here: PDF Opportunity.

November 2020: Funded Masters Opportunity

The Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab at the University of Victoria is seeking a highly motivated graduate student for a project exploring local knowledge of muskox populations in the northern Yukon. 

 

More information is available here: Masters Opportunity.

October 2020: Funded PhD Opportunity

The Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab at the University of Victoria is seeking a PhD student to join a team of researchers exploring permafrost thaw and its impacts on communities in the Western Arctic.

 

More information is available here: PhD Opportunity.

September 2020: Funded MSc Opportunity

The Applied Conservation Macro Ecology Lab and the Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab at the University of Victoria are seeking a highly motivated M.Sc. student to work on a research project focussed on Dall’s sheep population ecology in the Northern Richardson Mountains

More information is available here: MSc Opportunity.

August 2020: Research Assistant Position

The Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab at the University of Victoria is looking for a motivated individual to assist in research focussed on permafrost and vegetation change occurring in the Canadian Arctic. The successful aplicant will contribute to data management and analysis, and mapping and visualization projects.

 

More information on how to apply is available here: RA Opportunity.

July 2020: Funded PhD Opportunity

The Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab at the University of Victoria is seeking a PhD student to lead a research project exploring permafrost change in the Canadian Arctic. This project has two objectives: 1) to develop semi-automated mapping procedures to monitor permafrost landscape change and 2) to assess the biophysical determinants of terrain sensitivity by analyzing disturbance inventories created through mapping.

 

More information is available here: PhD Opportunity.

Turner Arctic Science

June 2020: Chanda has a paper published in Arctic Science

This month, ALE alumni Chanda Turner’s paper, ‘Muskrat distributions in a changing Arctic Delta are explained by patch composition and configuration’, was published in Arctic Science. This article explores habitat characteristics that influence the presence and distribution of muskrats in the heterogeneous landscape of the Mackenzie Delta. Click here to read the article.

CIHR

June 2020: Tracey begins work at the Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health in Saskatoon

We sure do miss having Tracey in the lab but we are excited to announce that she has taken a new job in sunny Saskatoon! Tracey will begin work on June 15th at the Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health. The IIPH is part of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and is housed at the University of Saskatchewan. Congrats Tracey!

Tait Overeem

May 2020: Tait completes her BSc in Biology and ES

Tait completed her Bachelor of Science this May with a double major in Biology and Environmental Studies. In lieu of a formal graduation ceremony, Tait was joined by friends and family via Zoom to celebrate. The surprise ceremony, put on by Tait’s roommates, involved a construction paper graduation hat, a home-made degree, and a lot of laughter.

Proverbs Human Ecology

May 2020: Tracey has a paper published in Human Ecology

This month, the first paper from Tracey’s MA was published in Human Ecology. This journal article explores how social-ecological changes including development and climate change are influencing access to fish in four Gwich’in communities in the Northwest Territories. It also highlights the importance of access to fish to well-being. Follow the link here to check it out.

Hana and Zander Helicopter

May 2020: Hana and Zander receive the W. Garfield Weston award

Another big congratulations to Hana and Zander on their success! Both Hana and Zander received W. Garfield Weston Awards to support their ongoing MSc research examining ecological change in Canada’s Arctic.

Hana and Zander Field

May 2020: Hana and Zander receive NSERC funding

A big congratulations to both Zander and Hana for receiving Canada Graduate Scholarships from NSERC for 2020! These scholarships will support Hana’s MSc research on drained lakes and Zander’s MSc research exploring the impact of salmon and climate change on subsistence fisheries in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.

Tracey Proverbs

August 2019: Tracey successfully defends her MA thesis

This month, Tracey successfully defended her Masters thesis that examined socioecological change in the Gwich’in Settlement Region and the impact of change on access to fish and to Gwich’in well-being. Access her thesis here!

Hana Travers Smith

April 2019: Hana graduates her BSc and begins her MSc

Hana graduated from her BSc program with a major in Geography and a minor in Statistics. Following her hard work in the lab as a Research Assistant, we convinced Hana to continue with us as a Master’s student. She is already diving deep into her research focusing on lake drainage in the Beaufort Delta Region. Happy to have you on board Hana!

Jordan Nicola NSERC

May 2019: Nicola and Jordan Receive NSERC Funding

Congratulations to Nicola and Jordan who both received Canadian Graduate Scholarships from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) in support of their MSc research. Jordan’s research explores the determinants of tundra vegetation change in the Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands and Yukon North Slope while Nicola’s examines the effect of marine storm surges on the habitat of Arctic shorebirds in the Beaufort Delta region.

Tracey Trevor UN

May 2019: Tracey and Trevor go to NYC for the Tracking Change Global Knowledge Symposium

Trevor and Tracey made their way to New York City this month to attend the Tracking Change Global Knowledge Symposium. This meeting highlighted recent research outcomes from the Mackenzie, lower Mekong, and lower Amazon River basins. As part of this meeting, Tracey presented at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Click the link here to watch

Kiyo Thesis

January 2019: Kiyo publishes in Remote Sensing then defends his MSc Thesis

Kiyo successfully defended his thesis exploring changes in hydrology and vegetation on Banks Island. His analysis of the drivers of surface water declines was published in Remote Sensing in December and he is currently revising his chapter exploring vegetation change. We are excited to report that Kiyo has agreed to stay on for the summer to manage our field logistics.

Kiyo's Remote Sensing article can be accessed here.

September 2018: MSc / PhD Opportunity

The Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab at the University of Victoria is seeking a graduate student to work on a research project exploring local knowledge of Pacific salmon in the western Arctic. The objective of this project is to document local knowledge of distributional shifts in salmon and the environmental conditions that may be influencing these changes.

 

To apply please send a statement of interest, your CV, and unofficial transcripts to Dr. Trevor Lantz (tlantz@uvic.ca). Questions should be directed to Dr. Trevor Lantz or Dr. Karen Dunmall (Karen.Dunmall@dfo-mpo.gc.ca). The deadline for applications is October 19, 2018 and the position will start in January, 2019. Applicants interested in this position, but unable to start until September, 2019 are also encouraged to apply.

 

More information is available here: MSc / PhD Opportunity.

Angel

March 2018: Angel Chen receives the Lorraine Allison Memorial Scholarship

Angel has received the Lorraine Allison Memorial Scholarship for her research on how climate and fire trends are changing vegetation structure in the Western Canadian Arctic. This scholarship is from the Arctic Institute that was set up to honour Lorraine Allison, who loved the natural world and particularly the North and emphasizes the importance of research that is relevant and useful to northern communities.

TrevorSOI

March 2017: Living on Earth radio program interviews Trevor

Following the publication of “Climate-driven thaw of permafrost preserved glacial landscapes, northwestern Canada” in Geology, Trevor was interviewed on the weekly environmental news program Living on Earth. In his interview with Steve Curwood, Trevor discussed the implications of permafrost thaw in Northern Canada, the methodology of the study, and community concerns regarding ongoing thawing.

The radio segment and transcript can be found here.
The paper can be accessed here.

TrevorSOI

March 2017: Trevor is interviewed for the Students on Ice blog

The mandate of the Students on Ice Foundation is educate youth about the importance of the Polar Regions, and inspire and support subsequent sustainability initiatives. Trevor was interviewed by an alumni of one of the educational programs they offer, and a current Environmental Studies student, Elise Pullar. Throughout the interview, Elise and Trevor discussed how he first became interested in Arctic regions, the power of experiential learning, and the changes he has observed throughout the diverse landscapes of the Western Arctic.

The interview can be found here.

Peach smart

March 2017: Paige defends her Honours thesis

At the end of the final semester of her undergraduate degree, Paige defended her Honours thesis, “Representing Northern Indigenous Peoples in the Age of Climate Change: A Critical Analysis of An Inconvenient Truth and Qapirangajuq: Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change”. Her research focused on how documentary films represent Indigenous peoples' experiences of climate change in Arctic regions, within the context of ongoing colonial violence.

Will

December 2016: Will publishes in ARCTIC

Following on the completion of his thesis, Will published a paper in ARCTIC. The paper details an assessment of disturbances on culturally important ecosystems in the ISR, using a cumulative distubance map, and models for nine future disturbance scenarios. The potential to conserve larges contiguous areas of land was explored using the conservation planning software Marxan.

Nina

November 2016: Nina Moffat completes her B.A. in Geography and Minor in Environmental Studies

After two years with the Arctic Landscape Ecology lab, first as a directed studies student then a research assistant, Nina has graduated! After wrapping up some work with spruce imagery and coastal flooding data, Nina will be hopping across the pond to Edinburgh in January. We can't wait to see where her travels take her, but we'll miss her hard work and big smile here in the lab.

Fulbright

October 24-28th, 2016: Fulbright Arctic Week

To conclude his 18-months as a Fulbright Arctic Initiative scholar, Trevor travelled to Washington D.C. to participate in Fulbright Arctic Week. Throughout the week, the seventeen scholars participated in policy meetings and public engagement events, culminating in a symposium at the National Academy of Sciences.

A video of Dr Lantz’s presentation on sea level rise and storm surges can be seen here.

High-centre Polygonal Terrain

August 2016: Nina publishes in Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

This month, Nina published a paper which used high quality repeat air photos to examine how vegetation cover has changed in the tundra ecosystems of the Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands between 1980 and 2013. The quality and extent of these photos allowed her to show that while changes in vegetation cover differed across different terrain types, dwarf shrub expansion and lichen decline were fairly consistent across the study area.

The article can be found here, and a more comprehensive list of publications by members of the Arctic Landscape Ecology lab can be found here.

Road

 

April 2016: Emily publishes in Environmental Research Letters

Following the completion of her thesis in 2015, Emily contributed a paper to a focus issue of Environmental Research Letters, which centers around the causes and consequences of changes to Arctic and Boreal phenology, biomass, and productivity. Emily's paper focuses on how road construction and maintenance impact vegetation structure and biomass in the Peel Plateau.

The article can be found here, and a more comprehensive list of publications by members of the Arctic Landscape Ecology lab can be found here.

Thaw Slump

June 2016: Becky publishes in Environmental Research Letters

In June, Becky published a paper which examines the influence of climate and landscape factors on thaw slump dynamics. A variety of landscapes were studied, and their observations that the most rapid intensification of slump activity occurred in the coldest environment they studied, indicates that ice-cored landscapes in cold permafrost environments are highly vulnerable to climate change.

The paper can be found here.
A news article discussing the paper can be found here.

Senate

March 2016: Paige Bennett gets elected to UVic Senate

A few weeks of absence from the lab due to campaigning have paid off, as Paige was elected to the UVic Senate as a Student Senator in the first week of March. Serving on the Senate and the sub-committee on Academic Planning, Paige hopes to make the administrative workings of the university more transparent, and more accountable to students.

Dougie

December 7th-11th, 2015: Doug Esagok receives the Inuit Recognition Award at ArcticNet AMS, Vancouver

Doug Esagok received the Inuit Recognition Award for his involvement in Arctic research at the ArcticNet annual scientific meeting in Vancouver. Congratulations Dougie! Over the years Dougie has contributed his time, knowledge and guidance to everyone in the Arctic Landscape Ecology lab, and we are lucky to work alongside him.

An article on Dougie’s achievement can be found in the most recent edition of Inuktitut Magazine, which is available for download here.

 

Abra

 

December 3rd, 2015: Abra Martin defends her MSc thesis

On December 3rd, Abra defended her thesis, "Carbon Fluxes from High-Centred Polygonal Terrain in the Northwest Territories". After a celebratory lunch at the Grad House to raise "the defender", Abra has returned to the east, and will be starting law school at McGill University in the fall of 2016.

Will

 

December 4th, 2015: Will Tyson defends his thesis

The next day, Will followed suit, defending his thesis entitled "Assessing the Cumulative Effects of Environmental Change on Wildlife Harvesting Areas in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region through Spatial Analysis and Community-based Research" . In January will moved to Squamish to get closer to the snow and continue his work in Arctic research as a consultant.

 

Emily

 

September 25, 2015: Emily Cameron defends her thesis

Only a few short weeks into the fall semester, Emily defended her thesis, "Ecological Impacts of Roads in Canada’s North". Her research focused on how disturbances drive vegetation change in high-latitude ecosystems, and combined fieldwork with broad-scale GIS analysis. Emily is continuing to work closely with the lab, and also taking time to get outside.

 

Muskrat Queen

June 2015: Chanda Brietzke receives a W. Garfield Weston Award for Northern Research

Chanda received a highly competitive and prestigious Garfield Weston Award (administered through the Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Science and the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada). Chanda’s research revolves around both local knowledge and scientific research methods, and will contribute to a better understanding of the factors affecting muskrat populations in the delta, and inform future management of this important resource. Congrats Chanda, and nice jacket!

Fulbright

April 2015: Trevor Lantz is named an Arctic Fulbright Scholar

Trevor was named a Fulbright Scholar within the Fulbright Arctic Initiative. The initiative creates opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together experts from the US, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden. Trevor is working specifically with scholars from the US, Canada, Denmark and Sweden, looking at circumpolar health and wellness.

An interview with Dr Lantz regarding the Fulbright appointment can be found here, and further information regarding the Fulbright Arctic Initiative can be found here.

Photo from the U.S. Department of State blog post regarding the first official meeting for Fulbright Arctic Iniative members.

Chanda

March 2015: Chanda Brietzke receives the Lorraine Allison Memorial Scholarship

This month, Chanda received a scholarship from the Arctic Institute that was set up to honour Lorraine Allison, who loved the natural world and particularly the North. The scholarship emphasizes the importance of research that is relevant and useful to northern communities, and demonstrates a commitment to northern research. Chanda’s focus on both local knowledge and scientific fieldwork, with long term goals of informing and improving muskrat management, fit the bill perfectly.