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Current Research
Below is a summary of some of the research
being undertaken at QRRC (and local area) by UNBC faculty, graduate students,
and our international research partners.
Sam Albers MSc
(Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Petticrew)
Contact- albers@unbc.ca
My research interests lie in examining the nutrient cycling
processes that occur during the salmon spawning events within the northern
interior of British Columbia.
Specifically, I would like to study the role that stream bed biofilms play in
the capture and storage of decayed salmon nutrients. I plan to use the
outdoor flumes at the Quesnel River Research Centre to experimentally determine
the effect of biofilms on overall stream bed storage of salmon-derived
nutrients. Using a combination of microscopic imaging techniques and the
measurement of direct physical parameters I hope to understand the mechanisms
behind this process.
Kristina
Anderson MSc Candidate
(Supervisor- Phil Owens)
Role of
riparian buffers in regulating water flows in agricultural landscapes
Leah Vanden Busch MSc Candidate
(Supervisors: Drs. Ellen Petticrew & John Rex)
Contact- vandenbl@unbc.ca
Every year, millions of sockeye salmon
travel hundreds of kilometres from the Pacific Ocean to their natal spawning
grounds in the Quesnel watershed. The nutrient-poor freshwater
systems in which they spawn receive an influx of marine-derived nutrients (MDN)
upon the arrival of the salmon. These additional nutrients provide
an important source of energy to enhance fish and aquatic productivity, as well
as riparian wildlife and plant species. My research will
investigate the hyporheic zone as an effective location of nutrient exchange
between the streambed and riparian vegetation. The objectives will be to
quantify concentrations of MDN present in hyporheic water samples, subsurface
macroinvertebrates, and riparian vegetation throughout the 2011 spawning season
and succeeding winter. In light of this research, we can gain a more comprehensive
understanding of hyporheic nutrient exchanges that will facilitate better
restoration and stream management decisions for the health of the ecosystem for
future salmon stocks.
Dr. Stephen Déry
Environmental Science and Engineering Program
Phone-
250-960-5193
Website- nhg.unbc.ca/
Contact- sdery@unbc.ca
Although our understanding of snow and ice processes has improved in
recent years, there remains some fundamental issues that need to be
addressed. This is an especially urgent matter as the northern high latitudes
are currently experiencing an unprecedented period of climate change.
Thus there is a great need to quantify the role of snowcover in the existing
and in the future states of the surface energy and water budgets and to better
comprehend hydrometeorological processes in the North. My research is
therefore geared towards a better understanding of northern hydrometeorological
processes and their impacts on the surface energy and water budgets. To
accomplish this goal, a variety of methods and tools are used, including field
observations, reanalysis datasets, remote sensing data, and numerical
modeling. I am concerned by both small-scale (from meters to a few
kilometers) and large-scale (> kilometers) hydrometeorological processes.
Catherine Henry MSc
(Supervisor: Dr.
Mike Rutherford)
The Mount Polley Mine is working on extracting copper from the
copper-oxide material through biologically induced copper heap leaching.
Copper oxide cannot be processed through conventional milling techniques
therefore the need for alternative technologies was identified. In
collaboration with University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), research is
being conducted to evaluate the feasibility of this technology.
Essentially, the heap is a zero-discharge acid generating facility that
mobilizes the copper from the rock and is recovered through an electro-winner.
The heap is amended with elemental sulphur. As the leachate solution
recirculates through the heap, the sulphur is oxidized by naturally occurring
bacteria, Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans. The sulphuric acid produced in this
reaction is the key to liberating copper ions and leaving them in solution.
Because heap leaching of this nature has not yet been preformed at an
industrial scale, researchers are evaluating the changes in solid and leachate
phases. The goal of this study is to provide sound scientific data that
identifies the chemical and physical dynamics of the heap such that future work
in this field are built from a strong academic foundation.
Alex Koiter Ph.D. Candidate
(Supervisors: Phil Owens and Ellen
Petticrew) Contact- akoiter@gmail.com
Increases in erosion rates and sediment loads within watersheds can
cause serious environmental problems. Currently, the goal of research is to
understand the source, fate, and transport of sediment mobilized within a
watershed. This information is critical to developing and targeting management
strategies that will reduce erosion rates and sediment loads. Sediment tracing
is an emerging technique being used to help address these issues. This
technique is based on the assumption that one or more of the properties of the
sediment will reflect the source form where it originated from and can be used
as a tracer to trace the sediment back to its sources. However, the
processes that link the sediment sources to the point of collection are not
well understood or quantified and currently there is an underlying assumption
of a direct link between hill slope and downstream sediment in terms of
property conservativeness. The main objectives of this research are to test the
assumptions of tracer conservativeness by investigating how the physical and
geochemical properties of sediments change as it moves though each of the three
key areas of the landscape; the hill slopes, riparian zones and river channels.
These objectives will be addressed with both field and experimental studies
using the facilities at UNBC's Quesnel River Research Centre and field sites
within the Quesnel
River watershed.
Mike Leggat MSc Candidate
(Supervisor: Dr. Phil Owens)
Suspended sediment generation
processes during the ablation season at Castle Creek Glacier
In British Columbia, 20 % of the
watersheds have enough glacial coverage to influence the quantity, quality, and
timing of water and sediment delivered to downstream ecosystems. Glaciers have
been receding since Little Ice Age, and will continue to recede under current
climate projections. The effect of deglaciation on water resources has received
more attention than the effect on sediment flux. However, both water and
sediment have important implications for downstream infrastructure and
ecosystems. As glaciers recede, highly erodible unconsolidated sediment is
exposed in the proglacial zone. During glacial recession, sediment flux is
expected to increase. As watersheds become deglaciated, available sediment may
become transport limited due to a decreased contribution of glacial meltwater
to stream flow. Additionally, proglacial sediment generation processes change
over time as result of winnowing of fines and surface stabilization. In order
to project future sediment flux, my research aims to quantify current fine
sediment generation processes, as well as the temporal effect on sediment
availability in the proglacial zone of the Castle Creek Glacier; which is an
upper tributary of the Fraser Basin in the Cariboo Mountains of British
Columbia.
Crystal McRae MSc
(Supervisor:
Dr. Mark Shrimpton)
Factors related to Spawning Site Locations in Interior Fraser Coho
Salmon- Selection of spawning sites by adult salmon is thought to insure that
the incubation environment for eggs and larval fish (alevins) is suitable and
guarantee the animal’s reproductive success. Suitable site selection is
crucial because the highest rates of mortality over the life of a fish
generally occur during the incubation period. Much of the mortality that
occurs during this time is directly related to characteristics of the site that
the female selected. There are a range of factors that have been
identified to play an influential role on survival and growth of embryos and
alevins, but their relative effect may depend on species and/or region.
My thesis study aims to develop a better understanding of the spawning habitat
and incubation requirements of the Interior Fraser coho (IFC) in a northern
interior watershed, McKinley Creek. The objectives of this study are to
(1) determine locations within the McKinley Creek watershed where IFC spawn;
(2) characterize the physical and chemical features of specific spawning sites;
and (3) gain a better understanding of survival and growth during
incubation. Findings of this investigation will play a key role in
understanding the early life history of IFC as well as contributing
significantly to the identification of critical habitats and their basin-wide
distribution; both of which are major knowledge gaps required for the recovery
of declining IFC stocks.
For more information, link to full text
Dr. Phil Owens
FRBC Endowed Research Chair in
Landscape Ecology
Dr. Owens’ main research interest is the effect of landscape
disturbance (e.g. forestry, agriculture, mining, urbanisation, wildfire,
climate change) on the behaviour, fluxes and fate of water, sediment and
chemicals in the environment at a range of time and space scales, and the
development of appropriate information and advice for improved management of
land and water resources. Specific interests include: Sediment sources,
transport, storage and budgets, Sediment management in river basins, Soil
erosion, Effects of wildfire and forest disturbance on soil erosion and
sediment fluxes, Mountain geomorphic processes, Fallout environmental
radionuclides and other environmental tracers, Nutrients and contaminants in
soils and waters, Ecology-water-sediment interactions.
For more information visit, http://www.unbc.ca/owens
Dr. Ellen L Petticrew
FRBC Endowed Research Chair in
Landscape Ecology
The underlying theme of Petticrew’s research is the fate and effect
of sediment moving from terrestrial systems through the aquatic system.
Her work addresses the role of inorganic and organic sediments on the
biological (plants, fish), chemical (nutrients, contaminants) and physical
(sediment erosion and transport) aspects of land-water systems. Specific
focus areas include: 1) Landscape scale linkages between terrestrial and
aquatic systems, 2) Landscape disturbances on sediment transfers (fire, forest
harvesting, agriculture), 3) Biogeomorphology: influence of organisms on
physical attributes of aquatic systems and vise versa, 4) Ecological
implications of transfers and storage of fine sediment (both organic and
inorganic) in rivers and lakes, 5) Fine sediment morphology and composition
(flocculation processes), and 6) Lake restoration and community stewardship.
For more information visit, http://www.unbc.ca/petticrew
Dr. John Rex Adjunct Professor
(UNBC)
Research Hydrologist (Ministry of
Forests & Range)
Contact- john.rex@gov.bc.ca
Anadromous fish such as Pacific salmon play an important role in
global nutrient cycling because they return substantial quantities of marine
derived nutrients (MDN) to terrestrial and freshwater environments during
spawning events. These MDN are known to support riparian
zone vegetation and terrestrial organisms, benthic macroinvertebrates, algae, and
other fisheries populations within natal watersheds. Despite the
recognized importance of MDN to stream ecology, little is know about the
underlying mechanisms for their delivery and retention in streams. The
research I am completing at the QRRC under the supervision of Dr. Ellen
Petticrew addresses that gap by investigating the role of flocculation in
nutrient delivery to the streambed. Flocculation refers to the
aggregation of inorganic and organic particles into 'flocs' by chemical,
physical, or biological means. Using outdoor channels at QRRC that
have been converted to both flow-through and re-circulating systems, we
have been able to study floc formation, streambed delivery, and retention
processes to determine the potential for salmon based flocs to play a role in nutrient
delivery. To date our results suggest that flocs formed by the
bacterial aggregation of salmon organic matter and clay delivers substantial
amounts of nutrients to streambeds, enhancing their retention and
biogeochemical cycling within Pacific salmon streams. These findings show
that flocculation is integral to downstream nutrient cycling in Pacific
salmon streams.
For more information, link to full text
Ty Smith MSc Candidate
(Supervisor: Dr. Phil
Owens)
Contact- tsmith2@unbc.ca
Impact of Land use Activities on Fine
Sediment- Associated Contaminants;
Quesnel River Watershed- A clear association between fine
sediments and the transport of organic and inorganic contaminants has been
documented for many river systems. Through remote sampling of tributaries
to the Quesnel River with predominant land use
associations, contaminant concentration signatures will be derived. Of interest
is the spatial and temporal variation between sample sites representing
different land uses, and in particular if each land use activity has a distinct
contaminant signature. High-energy events such as storms or spring flood
water levels should provide the greatest yield of fine sediment and thus the
greatest concentration of contaminants into the system. Using GIS to
determine land use areas within the Quesnel
River watershed, the aggregate
influence of fine sediment-associated contaminant inputs at the city of Quesnel will be
extrapolated.
(Supervisor: Dr. Mark
Shrimpton)
Contact- kylawarren@gmail.com
The goal of this project is to determine the physical, chemical, and
behavioural factors that affect the use of habitat by juvenile coho salmon
(Oncorhynchus kisutch) in the Horsefly-McKinley watershed. The coho in this
system belong to the interior Fraser coho population, an understudied
population that has experienced severe declines in recent decades. The study
areas of the Horsefly-McKinley watershed will include mainstem, large creek,
and small tributary habitat, which are representative of areas present within
the watershed. Habitat usage patterns will be examined on a watershed scale
using otolith chemistry to track movement of individual juvenile coho through
the various regions and tributaries of the Horsefly-McKinley watershed. Habitat
selection on a microhabitat scale will be assessed throughout the watershed by
a survey of habitat characteristics including water chemistry, substrate,
velocity, canopy and underwater cover, and bank characteristics.
Behavioural studies in artificial stream channels will target behavioural
interactions such as territoriality and schooling that may have consequences
for the use of habitats in a natural stream. A better description of the impact
of these factors can assist in protectio n and restoration of critical rearing habitats
for interior Fraser coho: a goal suggested by governmental stock reports.
Gosro Karimlou, MSc Candidate
Marlos van Lipzig, MSc Candidate
Contact- m.l.h.m.vanlipzig@students.uu.nl
Gosro Karimlou, Msc. and Marlos van
Lipzig, Msc. are students of Hydrology and Physical Geography from Utrecht University
in the city of Utrecht, Holland. They have conducted their Msc.
fieldwork at the Quesnel River Research Centre (QRRC) under the supervision of
Dr. Marcel van der Perk. Dr. van der Perk is collaborating with Dr.
Phil Owens from the UNBC. The researchers from Utrecht are investigating the effects of
mining on the geochemistry of the fine sediments in gravel in rivers.
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University of Northern British Columbia
3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, Canada, V2N 4Z9 | |
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