Industrial Research Chairs (IRC) projects are, by their nature, multi-dimensionals and collaboratives thus we strive to integrate expertise beyond that already present in our group. It is for this reason that from the outset, establishing collaborations to enhance and broaden the program has been one of our priorities. We now have a solid network of collaborations within UQAM, Canada, and internationally, which allows us to expand our program beyond its core.
One of the objectives of the CarBBAS Industrial Chair program is to develop a network of collaborations to complement our existing expertise and to allow us to expand the scope and impact of our research, and thus the program. The IRC is currently developing a network of scientific collaborations involving colleagues from at least nine different institutions, briefly described below:
Dr. Yves Prairie (GRIL-UQAM) - is a specialist in aquatic carbon biogeochemistry and we are collaborating to explore gas exchange between water and the atmosphere in boreal lakes and rivers, through the co-supervision of a doctoral student (2010-2014).
Dr. Beatrix Beisner (GRIL-UQAM) - is a specialist in plankton ecology and we are collaborating to explore patterns in plankton community structure and function, linking them to patterns in carbon cycling. We are co-supervising a doctoral student (2010-2014).
Dr. Alison Derry (GRIL-UQAM) - is a specialist in interactions between ecology and evolution in freshwater ecosystems. We are co-supervising a master’s student (2011-2013).
Dr. Michelle Garneau (UQAM, Sciences de la Terre, and Chaire HQ des écosystèmes tourbeux et changements climatique) - is an expert on northern peat bogs and wetlands and our groups will coordinate portions of our research programs so as to integrate surface waters with bogs and wetlands, in at least some targeted northern landscapes. We are currently exploring the most effective way to complement our respective research programs, but it will most likely be through the joint sampling of specific regions and the co-supervision of a graduate student.
Dr. Changhui Peng (Dépt. des sciences biologiques, UQAM) - is a terrestrial modeller specializing in forest productivity. We are collaborating to develop coupled terrestrial/aquatic models that combine DOC and DIC export from catchments to waterbodies with terrestrial primary production, carbon accumulation and long-term storage. A doctoral student will be involved in this collaboration.
Dr. Jeffrey Cardille ((McGill School of Environment, McGill University) - is a specialist in landscape modelling and remote sensing of landscape and aquatic properties. We are collaborating to use satellite remote sensing to detect key lake parameters in northern landscapes, through the co-supervision of a master’s student (2010-2012).
Dr. Roxane Maranger (Dépt. de sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal) - is a specialist in aquatic nitrogen cycles and our collaboration explores the magnitude and variability of N2O emissions from boreal aquatic networks and links carbon and nitrogen dynamics in northern aquatic systems. A co-supervised master’s student is involved in this collaboration (2011-2013).
Dr. Chris Solomon (Dept. of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University) - is interested in the importance of terrestrial carbon to the functioning of lakes and the role of lakes in regional carbon balances. We are collaborating to develop models to track organic carbon input, processing, and export, and to explore links between watershed characteristics, climate, and carbon processing in boreal lakes.
Dr. Susan Ziegler (Memorial University, Newfoundland) - works at the interface of aquatic and terrestrial carbon biogeochemistry and is interested in biomarkers and organic carbon tracers. We are using fatty acid composition and isotopic signature to trace the movement of terrestrial carbon in boreal lake food webs, with a focus on bacterioplankton and zooplankton.
Dr. Milla Rautio (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi) - is interested in the interactions of light and organic matter in lakes and in the influence of terrestrial carbon on lake functioning. We will be collaborating to calculate a complete water and carbon mass balance for lake Simoncouche, one of our sentinel lakes, and to track the fate of terrestrial carbon in this lake.
Dr. Hank Margolis (Département des sciences du bois et de la forêt, Université Laval, Directeur du programme canadien du carbone) - is a specialist in forest ecology and carbon biogeochemistry and has overseen the functioning of three eddy covariance towers, as part of Fluxnet-Canada, in the Chibougamau region of northern Québec. We are in discussion with Dr. Margolis’ group to carry out aquatic research within their study regions, so that we can eventually integrate the aquatic and terrestrial components of the regional carbon budget.
Dr. Suzanne Brais (Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue) - specializes in forest growth, soil processes and terrestrial carbon accumulation. She is a member of the terrestrial team at UQAT, with whom we will be collaborating to integrate aquatic and terrestrial components of the Abitibi landscape.
Dr. David Paré (Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada) - is interested in modelling boreal forest productivity and carbon balance. Together with the terrestrial team at UQAT, we will be integrating aquatic and terrestrial components of the block of land occupied by the FERLD in Abitibi.
Dr. Matthew Cottrell (University of Delaware, USA) - is a microbial ecologist interested in linking bacterial community composition and function in marine and freshwaters. We are developing a collaboration to explore landscape patterns of specific lake bacterial groups.