www.uwindsor.ca/science

University of Windsor students,Anna Swisterski and Christine Daly,conduct field research in a wetlandnear Fort McMurray, Alberta.

At the heart of the Great Lakes Basin

Known for its research in ecology

and evolution, the University of

Windsor Faculty of Science is the

first choice for many graduate

students. Located at the heart of the

Great Lakes Basin, Windsor is ideally

placed for fieldwork in studies of

freshwater species. Our world-

renowned team of researchers also

boasts experts in ornithology,

ecotoxicology and invasive species.

Quick Facts about the University of Windsor

Distance from Toronto, ON: 350 kmDistance to Cleveland, OH: 250 miNumber of Graduate Students: 1,304Number of Students: 16,830Average student/prof. ratio: 26:1

Why choose our M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs

The University of Windsor is fortunate to be home to renowned faculty,whose research and high calibre have made a global impact. We haveexcellent research facilities and equipment, and our geographic location isideal for conducting fieldwork. The intimate scale of our institution affordsgraduate students a unique learning environment under tutelage of world-renowned researchers.

www.uwindsor.ca/science www.uwindsor.ca/glier www.uwindsor.ca/graduate

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Researchers at the University of Windsor have access to some of the bestequipment in North America when it comes to studying the environment.

High quality research; High quality equipment

S A M P L I N G O F O U R E Q U I P M E N T

• Cesium Gradiometer with backpack GPS; Field Susceptibility MeasurementSuite; Two variable field translation balances (one is a proto-type);Superconducting magnetometer

• Finnigan-Mat Delta Plus mass spectrometer with continuous-flow capability;High vacuum extraction lines for gases; Florescence and cathodoluminscenceresearch microscopes; centrifuge; XRD, image analysis system; AAS

• Electrofishing boat, Remote Operated Vehicle, Underwater cameras, FishTracking Software, Artificial flumes , Invertebrate and fish collecting gear

• A ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system; A GPS system with one centimeteraccuracy

Ihsan Al-Aasm

• Expertise: Stable Isotope and EnvironmentalGeochemistry, Diagenesis, Sedimentology

• Research: L F H A

My research has two folds: the first one deals withquantifying chemical, mineralogical and isotopicchanges associated with diagenesis of carbonate andclastic sediment and their role in petroleum reservoircharacterization and porosity evolution. The secondresearch area involves environmental isotopic and elemental chemistry oflake sediments, wetlands, water and biota. This area of research aims onquantifying historical chemical pollution in lake and wetland systems, cyclingof C and N in aquatic environment and water-sediemnt-biologicalinteractions.

Jan Ciborowski

• Expertise: Aquatic Ecology, Bioassessment,Ecotoxicology

• Research: F H Q E

Our lab studies factors regulating distribution &development of aquatic invertebrates, their use inbioassays and as bioindicators of environmental stress,and assesses their functional role in food webs of theGreat Lakes and of northern wetlands.

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L E G E N D

L Primarily Lab Research

F Primarily Field Research

H Research involving habitat

Q Research involving aquatic species

G Located in the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER)

E Research involving Ecology and Evolution

B Research involving Behaviour, Cognition and Neuroscience

A Currently conducting research abroad

Meet our world-class researchers

h

Maria T. Cioppa

• Expertise: Paleomagnetism, EnvironmentalMagnetism, Environmental Geophysics

• Research: L H A

Environmental magnetism uses magnetic propertiesand techniques to investigate environmental processesand problems. My recent research in this area hasfocussed on examining the role that such techniquescan play in understanding geomorphological processessuch as beach accretion and erosion, longshore drift and stream bankerosion in Windsor-Essex County, Point Pelee and the northern shore of LakeErie. For example, the photo shows two students measuring intra-beachmagnetic susceptibility variations, related to iron content and wave-drivenbeach processes, on the beach at Point Pelee. Measurements were alsomade in summer to look at seasonal and annual variations.

Lynda Corkum

• Expertise: Aquatic Ecology, Behavioural Ecology

• Research: F H Q E B

My students and I study the role of pheromonesignaling in understanding the mating behaviour offish. We also study factors that influence spatial andtemporal patterns of aquatic insects and fish. Mycollaborators and I are using a pheromone-based strategy to control theinvasive fish, the round goby.

Melania Cristescu

• Expertise: Evolutionary Genetics, Aquatic Invasive Species

• Research: F G E

I use phylogenetic approaches to contrast historical andcontemporary patterns of invasion among Ponto-Caspiancrustaceans and use genomic tools for Daphnia pulex (e.g.microsatellite based genetic linkage mapping) to study thegenetic mechanisms underlying traits involved in adaptationto new environments.

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Daphnia

Round Goby defends nest

Stéphanie Doucet

• Expertise: Ornithology, Sensory Biology

• Research: F G E B

My research interests fall broadly within the fields ofevolutionary, behavioural, and tropical ecology. To date,my research has focused on visual communication inbirds. I am particularly interested in visual sensitivity,mechanisms of color production, mechanisms ofcondition-dependent variation, the signal function of intraspecific variation incolor, and the evolution of different types of plumage colors in birds. I alsostudy how natural and sexual selection interact to shape avian morphologyand ornamentation.

Ken Drouillard

• Expertise: Bioavailability, Contaminant Food WebModeling

• Research: F G E A

Research in my lab involves the development andcalibration of pollutant bioaccumulation models for avariety of indicator species including invertebrates,fish, amphibians and birds. These models are beingapplied to assess water and sediment quality of the Great Lakes, performecological hazard and risk assessments and as research tools to determinehow contaminant distributions are influenced by carbon production dynamicsand animal bioenergetics.

Aaron Fisk

• Expertise: Aquatic Toxicology, Chemical Ecology

• Research: F G E

My research examines the movement and effects of anthropogeniccontaminants in aquatic food webs and the structure and flow of energy infood webs using stable isotopes, fatty acids and contaminants.

Brian Fryer

• Fellow, Royal Society of Canada

• Expertise: Metal and analytical chemistry, Environmental Chemistry

• Research: F G E

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Our team is developing new analytical methods,primarily using solution and laser ablation ICP-MS/OES, for elemental and organometallic analysis ofnatural systems, and applying them to elucidategeological processes. Current research involves mantle-derived PGEs, iron formation geochemistry, toxicchemicals in the Great Lakes, and the use ofotolith/statolith microchemistry as a tool for monitoringaquatic environments.

Phil Graniero

• Expertise: Integration of GIS and EnvironmentalModels, Geospatial Data Acquisition

• Research: F E

Our team is developing innovative geospatial dataacquisition methods, investigating spatial interactionsin eco-hydrological systems and representing spatialheterogeneity in environmental models.

Doug Haffner

• Canada Research Chair, Environmental Health

• Expertise: Aquatic ecology, Ecotoxicology

• Research: F G E A

Our team is studying exposure and effects of chemicals inaquatic ecosystems, both in the Great Lakes andelsewhere. We are developing benthic and pelagicsystem models that will eventually be integrated to forma comprehensive ecosystem model of energy/carbon and contaminant dynamics.We are also involved in the conservation of ancient lakes in Indonesia.

Daniel Heath

• Canada Research Chair, Conservation Genetics

• Expertise: Use of genetic tools (quantitative, population and molecular) to address questions in evolution, ecology and conservation biology

• Research: L Q G E

Our team is studying gene dosage effects in Chinook salmon, tropical reeffish dispersal, invasive mussel population genetics; native and introducedfish species population genetics in southern Ontario, and evolution by genetranscription modification. In collaboration with other faculty, we are alsoexamining the evolution of hearing in Sciaenids and the role mate choiceplays in the health and performance of juvenile Chinook salmon.

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Dennis Higgs

• Expertise: Acoustic Biology, Sensory Ecology ofVertebrates

• Research: L Q B

We investigate questions relating to sensorydevelopment and sensory ecology of fishes. Whilefocused currently on fish hearing, we are interested in allquestions relating to how fish use their sensory systemsto obtain information about their environment and organisms within it.

Tim Johnson (Adjunct)

• Expertise: Fisheries Biology

• Research: F Q E

My research interests focus on structure and functionof aquatic food webs with an emphasis on fish andfisheries production. I combine laboratory studies onphysiology and behaviour with field studies oncomposition and abundance of different trophic groupsto build bioenergetic and ecological models.

Jon Lovett-Doust

• Expertise: Landscape Ecology, Plant Population Biology

• Research: L E

My laboratory investigates plant population biology, focusing in particular onhow features peculiar to plants – especially clonal propagation and highlyvariable mating systems – affect their population ecology.

Hugh MacIsaac

• Premier’s Research Excellence Award

• Expertise: Aquatic community ecology, biological invasions, zooplanktonecology, conservation biology

• Research: F G E

Our team is studying the community ecology of lakes, with emphasis ondeterminants and consequences of species invasions (zebra mussel Dreissenapolymorpha, quagga mussel Dreissena bugensis, spiny water flea Bythotrephes,Echinogammarus ischnus and Cercopagis pengoi). The team is investigatingvarious aspects of shipping-related invasions of exotic species in the Great Lakes.We will be testing sediments in the bottom of ballast tanks of international shipsfor viable resting stages of foreign species; conducting on-board tests of whether

U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I N D S O R8

Students

foreign ships that pick up and release ballast water while operating on the GreatLakes might inadvertently release exotic species resident in the bottom of theballast tanks; and conducting on-board testing of ballast water exchange (dumpfreshwater add saltwater) while crossing from European ports to the Great Lakes.

Scudder Mackey (Adjunct)

• Expertise: Hydrogeology, Coastal Processes

• Research: F E

My research investigates the physical controls on aquatichabitat structure. I conduct aquatic habitat mapping(especially side scan sonar of substrates), and assess thegeology and hydrology of wetlands, rivers, and watershedsand the potential for restoration of natural flow regimes. Iam especially interested in using remote sensing tools to characterize aquatichabitat and facilitate GIS database development and applications.

Nicholas E. Mandrak (Adjunct)

• Expertise: Fish Biology, Species at Risk

• Research: F Q E

I ama Research Scientist with Fisheries and OceansCanada, where I lead the federal Aquatic Species atRisk Program for the Great Lakes, and a NationalCentre of Expertise on the Risk Assessment of AquaticInvasive Species. My research interests are in thebiodiversity, biogeography and conservation of Canadian freshwater fishes.

Dan Mennill

• Expertise: Ornithology, Animal Communication

• Research: F B A

My research interests include behavioural ecology andanimal communication with a special focus on birds. Iuse innovative recording and playback technology tounderstand the ecology of songbirds in temperate andtropical forests.

Peter Sale (Professor Emeritus)

• Expertise: Coral Reef Ecology, Fish Ecology

• Research: F Q E A

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I study coral reef ecology, with particular emphasis on connectivity ofpopulations and dynamics of communities, using fish as the preferred targetspecies. My research interests also focus on tropical coastal zonemanagement.

Sherah VanLaerhoven

• Expertise: Insect Ecology, Forensic Entomology &Biocontrol

• Research: F E

I am an active forensic scientist, one of only twoforensic entomologists in Canada. My research dealswith the interactions between insect species withinand between trophic levels, and between insects andtheir environment. This includes projects such as successional patterns ofinsects on carrion within a variety of habitats, behaviour and movement ofinsect predators, parasitoids and omnivores within different habitats andplant communities, and population dynamics of insects at various spatialscales.

Doug Wahlsten

• Expertise: Heredity, Brain & Behaviour

• Research: L G B

I study individual differences in brain structure and behaviour, specializing ingenetic experimentation and statistical analysis of data. My laboratoryresearch involves mice, while explorations of theoretical and statistical issuesspan a wide range of species, including humans.

Christopher Weisener

• Expertise: Environmental mineralogy and aqueous geochemistry

• Research: L

My current areas of interest are surface chemistry of minerals and metaloxides, environmental adsorption and mobilization of heavy metals in soilsresulting from industrial and mining activities; and biological influences andisotopic fractionation in soils and aquatic ecosystems. Other interests includewaste disposal and remediation methods, adsorption/dissolution kinetics ofminerals, applications and development of surface and near surfacetechniques to study minerals/materials and biological influences on mineralsurfaces in metals and actinide contaminant environments. This researchincorporates the development of advanced synchrotron radiation (XANES,XAFS, and SPEM) techniques and soft X-ray (SRXPS) applications foradvanced research applied to mineral systems and environmental science.

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Barbara Zielinski

• Expertise: The Neuroscience of Fish Olfaction

• Research: L Q B

The olfactory pathway, which directs our responses toodorants, provides a model for understanding how anenvironmental stimulus is channeled into the brain,where this information evokes memory or where amotion response is generated. In our lab, we areconducting experiments with the objective of understanding olfactoryprocesses in the sea lamprey and the round goby, invading fish species inthe Great Lakes, that use olfaction for their reproductive success.

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER)

GLIER’s 5200 square metre, tri-level, dedicated facility on the Detroit River iswithout parallel in Canada. It includes over 25 extensively equipped laboratories,offices for researchers and postdoctoral/graduate students, and conference andmeeting rooms. GLIER maintains a private boat launch on the Detroit River andhas a dedicated research vessel and boats. GLIER has the distinction of housingthe only university-based environmental analytical laboratory in Canadaaccredited by the Canadian Association of Environmental Analytical Laboratories(CAEAL) to international standards of performance.

Sampling of Equipment:• Femtosecond laser ablation solid sampling system

• NEPTUNE Double focussing high resolution multicollector ICP-MS

• Microarrayer

• Liquid Handling Robot

• Two automated DNA sequencers

• Quantitative PCR thermal cycler

• UV-plate reader and Bioanalyzer

• Waters/Micromass GCT (HRGC-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer)

• Environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) facility

• Three experimental temperature-controlled rooms (bioavailability, toxicity, toxicokinetics)

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University of Windsor401 Sunset Avenue

Windsor, ON N9B 3P4

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