PEARL - Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory

🎉 Big congratulations to Dr. Cale Gushulak and Dr. Branaavan Sivarajah, who both successfully defended their PhDs (remotely!) over the last couple of months. We will miss you so much at PEARL but can't wait to see what you take on next. 🎉

PEARL PhD candidate Matthew Duda is the lead author on a recently published article in Proc. Roy Soc Lond B. that is generating some media attention. Hundreds of years of bird droppings on Baccalieu Island (64 km north of St John's, Newfoundland, Canada) have provided clues to the long-term dynamics of the vulnerable seabird, Leach’s Storm-petrel.

To read more visit: http://post.queensu.ca/~pearl/Baccalieu/Baccalieu.html

Baccalieu Baccalieu

Earlier this month, Brian Cu***ng was announced as the 2020 recipient of the Frank Rigler Award. The Rigler award is the highest honour given by the Society of Canadian Limnologists (SCL), for lifetime achievement in Canadian Limnology.

Congratulations Brian!

http://socanlimnol.ca/awards/frank-h-rigler/

With another academic year beginning, the Limnology Seminar Series is back! Our meetings are on Wednesdays at 12:30-1:30 pm.

Follow the link (http://post.queensu.ca/~pearl/seminar.htm) to check out our current schedule.

If you research freshwater and are interested in giving a talk, contact Liz ([email protected]) or Graham ([email protected]).

post.queensu.ca Geochemical and mineralogical characterization of arsenic in lake sediments impacted by legacy gold mining in the Yellowkife region, Northwest Territories, Canada

John Glew Celebration of Life; 2-4 pm, Sunday April 28

Dear friends of John Glew,

We at PEARL, along with John Glew’s family, will be holding a celebration of his life. Anyone who has ever had the good fortune to know John could not help but be impressed at how many facets there were to his character and how rich his life was - and that he never wasted a moment of it. This is an occasion for us to remember him and all of the wonderful things that he accomplished, and what he meant to us all. We will have on display a sampling of John’s work and things that he was passionate about (which are many), some of his amazing contributions to science, his love of drawing and painting, his curiosity for understanding how things are made, and his unique view on life.

It would be wonderful if you could drop by between 2 pm and 4 pm on Sunday, April 28, 2019 at the atrium in the Biosciences Complex (116 Barrie St), Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.

A few people will speak regarding John’s life and influence, but most of the ceremony will be mingling with old friends. There will be some light refreshments (cookies, pies).

We thought it would be nice to have a memory board, so if you would like, you can bring along your favourite photo, or write some thoughts, or any other memento that has a special connection to John, and you can pin it to the board. If you have photos that you would like us to display on a digital frame, feel free to send them to us ahead of time so we can include them. We realize that there are likely many who cannot make it to the celebration - but maybe you would like to contribute by sending us your special memories, photos or thoughts

As we may not have everybody's email addresses, feel free to pass this message along to friends of John Glew.

Please email to let us know if you plan on attending as it would be important for us to have some estimate on numbers, etc.

We look forward to seeing you then,

On behalf of the Glew family and PEARL,

Kathleen Rühland ([email protected])
John P. Smol ([email protected])

A few weeks ago, we lost a member of the PEARL family when John R. Glew passed away very suddenly, but peacefully, in his sleep.

John was remarkably skilled in both science and instrument development, stemming from his early work as a tool and die maker in Sheffield, England, prior to moving to Canada in 1968. Once in Canada, he enrolled in a BSc program at Trent University as a mature student, graduated, then continued on to obtain a BEd from Queen’s University. After a few years of teaching, he decided to pursue graduate studies, first at McMaster University where he received an MSc in physical geography, then returning (now in his 40s) to Queen’s University to begin a PhD in Geography. However, he did not graduate.

A chance encounter in the Queen’s Geography Department between John Glew and a new biology professor named John Smol (only a few days into his professorship), set him down a new path.

Upon leaving the Geography Department, John began working with the young PEARL lab, designing and building specialized equipment, and making remarkable drawings (he illustrated all of John Smol’s books). Today he is best known for his various Glew corers (originally designed for early acid rain investigations), that are now used on all seven continents. John was an inaugural winner of the International Paleolimnology Association Service Award, presented in Glasgow in 2012 for “dedicated work in developing and improving new corers and samplers used by paleolimnologists worldwide”.

John officially retired a few years ago, but continued on as a part-time employee at PEARL and we saw him almost every day. The afternoon before he died, John seemed fine and as argumentative as usual, at 76 years old.

John is survived by his brother (Peter Marshall-Glew) of Victoria, British Columbia and his family, as well as thousands of friends.

John, we miss you. Rest in peace.

Congratulations to Dr. Clare Nelligan , who successfully defended her PhD thesis yesterday! We are sad that Clare will be leaving us, but wishing her all the best at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks!

Congratulations to Brigitte Simmatis, who successfully defended her MSc thesis yesterday! We are excited that Bri will be staying on at PEARL for her PhD!

PEARL sampling of the Turkey Lakes Watershed (north of Sault Ste. Marie).

Survey on Graduate Student & Postdoc Funding | Science & Policy Exchange Science & Policy Exchange (SPE) wants to hear what YOU think about Canadian federal funding for students and postdoctoral fellows.

SCL responds to proposed Partnership Program funding at NSERC | The Society of Canadian Limnologists (SCL)/La Société canadienne de limnologie (la SCL) SCL responds to proposed Partnership Program funding at NSERC October 12, 2018 / 0 Comments / Category: Uncategorized While many of the proposals in NSERC's new Partnership Program funding stream may be beneficial over the current mix of funding that fits under this purview, there are some changes w...

Congratulations to PEARL's newest PhD candidate, Robin Valleau! Robin passed her comprehensive qualifying exams with flying colours on Thursday, April 26th, 2018!

Congratulations to Dr. Andrew Labaj for a wonderful defense of his Ph.D. thesis about the response of cladoceran assemblages in high elevation Andean lakes to climate change!

January was a big month and we're still recovering! Congratulations to Janae Rampone on the successful completion of her master's thesis titled "A Paleolimnological and Modeling Investigation of Water Quality and Biological Changes in Algonquin Park Lakes in Response to Multiple Stressors"! Way to go!

Dr. Emily Stewart is in the house! In fact, she's been here for a while! Emily successfully defended her beaut of a thesis titled "The Role of Chironomids as Paleoecological Indicators of Eutrophication in Shallow Lakes Across a Broad Latitudinal Gradient" on January 23rd, 2018! We are so proud and happy (and so are her science-savvy cats)! Congratulations, Dr. Stewart!

A recent article by the CBC describes upcoming work to study the impacts of bitumen on freshwaters by simulating oil spills in the Experimental Lakes Area.

The research is intended to address questions related to the increasing risk of oil spills in freshwater environments as well the lack of data available on the environmental impacts of bitumen releases (as opposed to other oil types such as diesel).

To read the article visit: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/oil-spill-freshwater-research-pipelines-1.4562872

Oil spill research set for in northwestern Ontario Scientists are planning experimental "oil spills" in northwestern Ontario this summer in an effort to better understand what happens when diluted bitumen winds up in freshwater lakes.

Media interest in the impacts of road salt and potential alternatives remains high. Jamie and Robin appeared in a live interview on CTV yesterday talking about the costs to infrastructure of current practices, as well as some of the alternatives already in use in communities around Canada.

John is now wondering whether they may soon abandon science to pursue the floodlights and big bucks of show business?

To see the interview vist: https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/beet-juice-and-cheese-brine-which-alternatives-can-break-our-addiction-to-road-salt-1.3779790

Beet juice and cheese brine: Which alternatives can break our addiction to road salt Road salt ruins boots, carpets, and our vehicles, but it’s doing a lot more damage than that. Salt is not only building up in our rivers and creeks, it does billions of dollars of damage every year to our roads, buildings and concrete structures.

John was recently featured in an article by the Ottawa Citizen describing the importance of oxygen under lake ice. As a general science article, I found it interesting to be reminded that to the general public winter can appear as a period of complete dormancy. When surrounded by limnologists everyday, it can be easy to forget how much our perspective on lakes is shaped by our work.

To read the article visit: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/science-of-winter-fish-dont-die-when-ice-locks-away-the-oxygen-supply

Science of winter: Fish don't die when ice locks away the oxygen supply Winter is an active season, a time when nature is doing much more than just turning dormant for three months. Today we look under the ice of frozen lakes as part of a series we call The Science of …

Due to PEARL's involvement in the NSERC Canadian Lake Pulse program (http://lakepulse.ca), we have developed a keen interest in how others have tackled the challenges associated with a national sampling effort. The launch of a national lake sampling program across New Zealand, was described in a recent article in the New Zealand Herald, along with some discussion of the role of paleolimnology in the program to determine the timing of observed increases in the frequency of blue-green algal blooms across the country.

Read more at: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11972055

It is the first time I have come across the phrase: "geological whakapapa", an interesting combination of the two concepts.

With temperatures well below freezing over the past few weeks, Jamie and Robin have released a timely article on "The Conversation" about the environmental impacts of road salt.

The article describes the widespread use of road salt as road deicer, the impacts on downstream waters, and some alternatives (both materials and practices) being explored to reduce these impacts.

The original article is available at: https://theconversation.com/road-salt-is-bad-for-the-environment-so-why-do-we-keep-using-it-87860

As of today, it has been picked up by CNN, and can also be found at:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/08/us/road-salt-environment-partner/index.html

Road salt is bad for the environment, so why do we keep using it? With frigid temperatures and snow in the forecast, slippery roads can't be far behind. Salt keeps roads safe, but it's harmful to aquatic environments.

Congratulations to Liz Favot who successfully passed her comprehensive exam today!

The arrival of cold weather has me nostalgic for summer days, and also made me realize that somehow this summer post didn't go live in a timely manner...

PEARL had a strong presence in the 2017 summer newsletter of the Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Associations (FOCA).

Liz provided a short article on cyanobacterial blooms in Ontario lakes, describing some of the impacts and causes of this increasingly frequent phenomenon.

Meanwhile Adam provided readers with a few facts about lake trout in the "What Lurks Below?" section.

To view the newsletter visit: https://foca.on.ca/2017-foca-lake-stewards-newsletter/

2017 FOCA Lake Stewards Newsletter | FOCA 2017 FOCA Lake Stewards Newsletter FOCA is very pleased to release the 2017 edition of our annual Lake Stewards Newsletter! Articles include: Why Cottage Country Needs You (p2) Youthful Energy in Lake Associations (p3) Changes in Cottage Country (p4-5) “What Lurks Below?” – Ontario Fish Facts (p7-11...

The Ottawa Citizen has released an article looking at potential impacts of clmate change on the Ottawa region over the next 50 years or so. They contacted experts in ecology, agriculture, and human health to provide a variety of perspectives on how mean annual temperature increases will affect skating season on the Rideau, agriculture, flooding, etc.

John is quoted in the article and appears the accompanying video: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/an-inconvenient-ottawa-what-will-climate-change-actually-mean-for-the-nations-capital

An Inconvenient Ottawa? What will climate change actually mean for the nation's capital? It’s Canada Day, 2067 — our bicentennial.In Ottawa, the peach trees have lost their blossoms and young fruit are developing nicely as mockingbirds and blue grosbeaks hop from branch to branch.The k…

Congratulations are in order for Clare Nelligan, the 2017 recipient of the Jim LaBounty Award from the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS)!

This award is given annually to recognize and honor the best paper published in the journal Lake and Reservoir Management (LRM).

Clare recieved the award for her paper: Nelligan C, Jeziorski A, Rühland KM, Paterson AM, Smol JP (2016) Managing lake trout lakes in a warming world: a paleolimnological assessment of nutrients and lake production at three Ontario sites. Lake and Reservoir Management 32: 315-332.

To read more about NALMS, visit: https://www.nalms.org/
To read the paper itself, visit: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10402381.2016.1203844

Congratulations to Jamie who successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled "Long-Term Limnological Dynamics in Multiple-Stressor Systems in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Canada". Well done Dr. Summers!

Former PEARLite Jennifer Barrow was recently featured in the SCL Limnoseminar web series.

Jennifer presented the research she has been working on at McGill University as part of her MSc titled "Community responses to macrophyte abundance and nutrient loading in experimental ponds".

The seminar can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IJiMb5qpb4

Community responses to macrophyte abundance and nutrient loading in experimental ponds Jennifer Barrow from McGill University

An extensive report on traditional knowledge from the Mackenzie River Basin region has recently been released and is available at: http://www.trackingchange.ca/

The Globe and Mail covered the report in an extensive article that includes comment from John: https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/technology/science/indigenous-knowledge-provides-portrait-of-transformation-on-the-mackenzie-riverbasin/article36528173/

Tracking Change Local and Traditional Knowledge in Watershed Governance

New research demonstrating how dust from the Sahara Desert is fertilizing alpine lakes in the Spanish Sierra Nevada has just been published in Global Change Biology. The study was led by Laura Jiménez from the University of Granada, who performed much of this work while a visiting student at PEARL.

Rising temperatures and increasing atmospheric dust deposition is a concern for aquatic ecosystem health in many geographic regions. The paper examines dated sedimentary records from six remote Sierra Nevada alpine lakes to understand how recent warming and calcium and phosphorus-laden Saharan dust has contributed to lake biota changes over the past ~150 years.

A brief summary of the article can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.1534/full

To read the article itself visit: doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13878

The Cu***ng Lab went piston coring in the prairies this summer to help out Mike, Bianca and Julien two PhD students and a post-doc from Jaime Toney's lab from the University of Glasgow.