The development of nature reserves (NRs) in China is occurring simultaneously with the huge economic and social changes in the past 30 years. The rapid changes of economic and society push local people to change their livelihood faster to adapt to it. What’s the effects of all of those changes among society, economic and environment? […]

“Underwater logging is the process of logging trees from underwater forest. It is expected that underwater logging will significantly increase in the coming years as the amount of flooded forests continue to grow due to dam construction and the availability of sophisticated underwater logging technology. Concerns about potential negative effects of underwater logging, like degradation […]

The proposed research project will conduct feasibility studies on the purification and conditioning of industrial, hemicellulose derived C5 sugars from a number of potentially commercial liquor fractions, derived from lignocellulosic biomass. In the first two Mitacs projects, enzyme hydrolysis showed considerable benefits over traditional acid hydrolysis for S2G’s bio-glycol production. However, relatively high enzyme loadings […]

The great number and variety of factors influencing the survival of migrating salmon smolts in the early marine environment makes it difficult to understand the causes of recent declines in smolt survival and salmon population productivity. We will combine novel methodologies (biotelemetry and biomarkers) simultaneously to examine a variety of factors influencing the migratory behaviour […]

The role of infectious disease in declining productivity of wild salmon in BC is poorly understood. We will combine novel genomic technologies with traditional fish health methodologies and more broadly identify the microbe exposure of BC salmon. By doing so, we can examine their evolutionary relationships and their epidemiological distribution patterns over time and space […]

The purpose of the project is to generate soybean plants able to tolerate whole plant submergence and waterlogging (soil submergence). This will be achieved by inducing Pgb, a gene normally present in soybean and known to confer tolerance to excessive humidity, through genetic manipulations. Correlative studies between Pgb expression and performance under excessive water conditions […]

A plants’ ability to withstand chilling and frost damage will dictate the geography in which production can occur. Global warming is predicted to increase chilling and frost injury in crops. It is important to note that frost injury is one of the key factors limiting production. In corn, chilling injury is an ongoing constraint for […]

The most critical region for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) winter survival is the crown. Exposure to different environmental cues during cold acclimation improves the crown’s resistance to freezing. This key fact is not taken into account in the design of controlled environment experiments and may not reflect actual mechanisms of cold hardiness in the […]

Much of the management theory taught in today’s classrooms is focused on consumer-based, growth businesses rather than natural resource-based, cyclical industries. This study will examine how natural resource industries, such as forestry, recognize and adapt to structural (permanent) challenges in their market environment. The research will have three main components: first, using publically available information […]

When plants are stressed they produce “reactive oxygen species” (ROS). Plants manage ROS with specific enzymes, many of which require micronutrients for activity. In the case of herbicide tolerant crops, the application of herbicide kills weeds in the crop but also stresses the crop for a time. The proposed work will test the hypothesis that […]

The Aboriginal housing situation in Canada is in crisis with a lack of culturally and environmentally appropriate housing. A Participatory Approach towards Housing Solutions (PATHS) Framework has been developed that recognizes and visualizes the strengths and limitations of communities, and assesses pathways with which they may achieve their housing goals. Communities are actively engaged in […]

Projected climate change is expected to alter fire regimes across the boreal forest, which in turn will affect forest community structure, composition and diversity. The intern will examine the effects of changes in climate, and by extension, fire cycle, on the presence of three most common tree species in the boreal forest of Canada. Specifically, […]