The Taiwanese white dolphin is a subspecies only found in Taiwan. Since 2008 it has been listed as Critically Endangered in the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), meaning that it is globally recognized as facing an extremely high risk of extinction. The dolphins face a plethora […]

British Columbia’s (BC) resident killer whales are listed under the Species At Risk Act as ‘threatened’ and ‘endangered’ for the northern and southern residents, respectively. Contaminants have been recognized as one of the main threats affecting the survival and recovery of these populations. This project will look at the levels of contaminants of concern in […]

The beluga population living in the St. Lawrence Estuary (Quebec) is endangered, and exposure to organic contaminants (i.e., polychlorinated biphenyls, short-chain chlorinated paraffins and polybrominated diphenyl ethers) may be one of the reasons that explain their steady decline. Recent studies using skin/blubber biopsies of St. Lawrence belugas showed that several of these organohalogens may perturb […]

The Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW, Orcinus orca) population is assessed at 73 individuals, and significant threats include high levels of endocrine disrupting contaminants, alongside other anthropogenic threats. Studies have painted a partial picture of the contaminants of concern in the SRKW food web. For example, preliminary studies of chinook salmon suggest that some resident […]

The ocean is experiencing drastic declines in biodiversity due to the cumulative impact of human activities, including habitat loss, resource exploitation and fossil fuel emissions. These declines in species abundance and diversity have dire consequences for coastal communities whose economic and social systems depend upon healthy oceans. While global analyses of human impacts on marine […]

Resident killer whale populations in British Columbia (BC) are listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) as “threatened” and “endangered” for the northern and southern populations, respectively. Common pollutants such as PCBs and PBDEs, are considered a significant impediment to the recovery of resident killer whales. These chemicals bioaccumulate throughout the food web and […]

Glass sponges build their skeletons out of silicon dioxide (i.e. glass). While these animals are found all over the world in very deep water, they only exist shallower than 50 m in a few places in the world. In very rare cases, new sponges grow on top of existing, dead sponges and form reefs in […]

Pacific northwestern southern resident killer whale population only encompasses 74 individuals and is considered endangered. Chinook salmon, the main food source of resident killer whales, is today disappearing from the North American western coast. Yet, it remains unclear to which extent food deprivation is affecting recovery of resident killer populations. The main aim of this […]

The Arctic environment is changing rapidly, and this change may influence the health of organisms that live there, such as belugas. In periods of low sea ice extent, belugas in the Beaufort Sea showed altered expression genes involved in various aspects of health. Further, polychlorinated biphenyls, contaminants of concern, were also associated with altered gene […]

Given that plastic pollution in the marine environment has been a critical issue in Canada and in the rest of the world in recent decades, our project aims to provide a possible solution to mitigate plastic waste in the ocean. Previous findings have shown that asking people to make a commitment can effectively change their […]

Glass sponges build their skeletons out of silicon dioxide (i.e. glass). While these animals are found all over the world in very deep water, they only exist shallower than 50 m in a few places in the world. In very rare cases, new sponges grow on top of existing, dead sponges and form reefs in […]

Economic development often has dire consequences for wildlife and environmental conservation. In Taiwan coastal waters, a small dolphin population is being affected by large-scale habitat loss and degradation resulting from development projects, pollution, vessel traffic and a massive fishing industry. The research aims to identify the threats having the greatest impacts on different aspects of […]