Innovative Projects Realized

Grassland butterfly conservation and headstarting program

Grasslands are one of the most endangered habitat in North America. In Manitoba, over 90% has been lost in the last 100 years and with it a suite of prairie adapted species. The Poweshiek skipperling is one such species which in recent years has plummeted in abundance for unknown reasons. Less than 500 individuals remain in the wild and the grasslands of southeastern Manitoba represent one of the species’ last strongholds. The Assiniboine Park Zoo is partnering with other organizations to establish a headstart program for this endangered butterfly in hope to stabilize its population in the province. This project will develop the needed expertise and novel methodologies to raise and release this butterfly back into suitable grasslands.

Diversity Snapshot of Hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

This project will provide a snapshot of diversity in hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). There

are a number of culturally diverse groups (e.g., visible minorities, women) who face barriers to

accessing healthcare services in Ontario as well as preventing their full workforce partiCipation. In

order to identify and address these barriers, diversity strategies (e.g., practices, processes, policies)

will be examined in six key areas: leadership and governance; strong and transparent human

resources practices; quality of life and organizational culture; measuring and tracking diversity;

integrating or mainstreaming diversity across the value chain and developing the pipeline. In such a

highly diverse region as the GTA, an examination of diversity strategies would yield examples of

successful practices – aimed at creating higher quality, client-centred, and accessible healthcare as

well as to increase the labour force participation of diverse groups – that can be adapted and applied

elsewhere.

A Framework for Assessing Regulations and Initiatives with Goals and Watson Analytics

Regulations are introduced to ensure the well-being, safety, and other societal needs of citizens and organizations. Yet, regulators often have difficulties assessing the performance of their regulations, and whether regulatory initiatives actually improve compliance. This project’s main objective is to investigate the suitability of a framework combining a standardized goal modeling notation with an existing cloud-based analytics and visualization tool (IBM Watson Analytics) for assessing compliance to regulations as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of regulatory initiatives. The intern will develop goal models for two regulations and companion initiatives from Environment and Climate Change Canada, and use existing data to analyse compliance and performance. Watson Analytics will help understand and interactively visualize correlations and trends. This framework will help regulators detect and understand, in an evidence-based and usable way, which parts of their initiatives and regulations do not work as expected, and enable them to take appropriate improvement actions.

Role of gut microbiome in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders

The healthy human gut contains a network of millions of bacteria that help to digest food, fight infection and promote human health. Stress, changes in diet, antibiotic use, and other environmental conditions can disrupt the bacterial network, and contribute to a wide range of illnesses including irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety depressive behaviors, autism, mood disorders, obesity and cancer. This project will describe the microbiome (bacteria and bacterial genes) present in health individuals compared with individuals diagnosed with a neurodevelopment disorder (ASD and ADHD) or mood disorder (depression and bipolar). This knowledge with contribute to our understanding of which bacteria and bacterial genes constitute a healthy versus unhealthy microbiome. Since bacterial composition can be relatively easily manipulated, personalized treatment of gut-bacteria-related psychiatric disorders shows tremendous potential for improving human health and reducing the economic burden of mental health disorders the health care system.

Influence des milieux humides sur le tracé des chemins forestiers

Les chemins forestiers sont indispensables tant pour l’industrie forestière pour accéder à la ressource ligneuse qu’aux collectivités pour profiter des services écologiques rendus par les écosystèmes, par exemple la villégiature, la chasse ou la cueillette de petits fruits. Mais les chemins sont aussi reconnus pour leurs nombreux effets négatifs sur les écosystèmes aquatiques et les milieux humides. Ironiquement, les chemins coûtent plus cher en milieu humide car les sols sont moins stables et la machinerie s’y enfonce facilement. Depuis les années 2000, des cartes de milieux humides sont devenues disponibles pour une grande partie de la forêt canadienne. Tembec (Rayonier AM), une entreprise forestière opérant au Québec et en Ontario, s’associe à des chercheurs pour déterminer comment elle pourrait intégrer l’information de ces cartes dans sa planification de réseaux de chemins, i.e. avant de les tracer sur le terrain et ainsi diminuer tant ses coûts d’opération que ses impacts environnementaux.

Reciprocal invasion potential of North American and European spruce bark beetles

The goal of our research project is to estimate the risks of the North American spruce beetle and European spruce bark beetles becoming invasive in their counterpart’s range. These species can be accidentally spread through global trade and can cause considerable mortality of their host spruce. To estimate invasion risk, we aim to predict the interactions between the bark beetles, host trees, and predators which eat the bark beetles. These interactions influence the ability of an invading bark beetle to find suitable host trees and to survive to adulthood. Our experiments in Norway will determine whether European spruce bark beetles will infest and reproduce in the North American spruce which were previously introduced to the region. We will also conduct trapping experiments to determine whether predatory insects will be attracted to the pheromones of the non-native North American spruce beetle. These are complimentary experiments to ones already underway in Canada and will allow us to predict whether these bark beetles have the potential to become invasive outside of their current range.

Development of a Reliability-Centered Maintenance Battery Program

Battery energy storage systems are used in electric utilities for a variety of applications including back up power for critical equipment. Manitoba Hydro is evaluating two battery chemistries for use in its substations, namely Li-ion and sodium-nickel chemistries. Along with assessment of technical merits of each battery type to determine which chemistry best suits the intended application, Manitoba Hydro needs to develop schemes for maintenance and condition monitoring of these new batteries so that it can maximize their lifespan when in service and prevent any unforeseen outage. This project aims to develop reliability indices and recommendations for operations of these battery energy storage systems.

Development of computationally efficient models for modular multilevel converters with integrated battery energy storage systems

The research project aims to develop new computer models for accurate representation of battery energy storage systems that are used in modern power systems. In particular state-of-the-art modular multi-level converters with integrated dc-dc converters will be considered. The models to be developed will provide high levels of accuracy and feature low computational intensity so that study of battery systems that are integrated into the grid using advanced converter systems becomes feasible on present-day computing systems. The outcomes of this research will enable practicing engineers and researchers to conduct studies with accuracy and low computation burden. The findings of this research will be experimentally verified using scaled-down laboratory setups.

Digital In-Line Holographic Microscopy in the Biological and Medical Sciences

Point Source Digital In-line Holography has been developed by Kreuzer, Jericho and

collaborators over the past fifteen years into an efficient and versatile microscopy that

produces 3-D images at the submicron level and can track the motion of objects like algae,

bacteria, bubbles and sand grains ocean and freshwater environments in real time, hence the

nomenclature 4D microscopy. Resolution Optics currently has three versions of DIHM

systems; the desktop model, the optical microscope attachment, and the self contained,

submersible model. Recent uses have been the (successful) search for algae and bacteria in

cold water springs in the high Arctic [7], in coastal waters of Nova Scotia and in a survey of

phytoplankton at depths down to 6000m in the mid Atlantic. The objective of the research

project is to develop new applications and uses of DIHM in biological and medical imaging is

to develop protocols that allow stable long term imaging over days and months to follow the…

Aboveground Storage Tank (AST) tightness testing using statistical approach

The industry partner, Cantest is establishing a new leak detection procedure for analyzing data sources in aboveground storage tanks and statistical learning models to monitor AST shell dynamics and product activity over time. This is an important problem as identifying leak detection is usually associated with various environmental data and records collected from sensitive sensors attached to the ASTs. Current testing procedure for leak detection uses simple statistical rules and thresholds to detect anomalies. These methods are failing for preventing AST related environmental incidents. Incorporating data records from upgraded evaluation equipment, this research internship will help to identify and create appropriate leak detection procedures for the ASTs and extend and improve the functionality of Cantest’s current leak detection systems.

Evaluating the impacts of landscape development on carnivore activity patterns and species interactions

Understanding the impacts of human-driven disturbance on carnivore communities is an important step for prioritizing conservation decisions and managing land-use policies. Disturbances such as landscape development may influence how species structure their activity periods over the 24-hour cycle and potentially compromise the capacity for competitors to avoid costly encounters with each other. Few studies to date have investigated how landscape disturbance impacts species’ behaviour and interactions across time, and the potential ramifications on community-level biodiversity and structure. Employing camera-trap datasets collected across Alberta, this project will characterize the behavioural responses of carnivore species across a gradient of landscape development and disentangle the interacting effects of disturbance and landscape characteristics on species interactions. Results of this research will benefit the partner organization in providing scientific information to government and industry decision-makers for better conservation practices and land-use management.

Stable isotope analyses for food web characterization in relation to hydrological alteration

Rivers provide important services to people in the form of agricultural irrigation, hydroelectric power generation, and recreation. However, many of these benefits require dams and river control at the expense of natural systems. Rivers in Spain are of particular interest because globally Spain has the most dams per person. This project will look at the impacts of dams and river control on downstream ecosystems by modeling food webs with stable isotope analysis (effectively tracking nutrient signatures up the food chain). The findings of the project will contribute to a better understanding of the impacts of dams and river control and help inform better river management to maximize both the services that rivers provide and the ecosystems they support.