People
Dr. Karen Dunmall
Hello! I am Dr. Karen Dunmall and I lead the Arctic Salmon and Arctic Coast teams. Together, and with people from communities across the Canadian Arctic, we research fish biodiversity change and coastal ecosystems using community-led approaches. Originally from Winnipeg, I completed my BSc at Queen's University, my MSc at the University of Waterloo, my Ph.D. at the University of Manitoba, and was a Liber Ero postdoctoral fellow at the University of Victoria. I have lived in the north and have researched fish, and especially salmon, in Norway, in the US (Washington, Oregon, and Alaska), and in northern Canada. I am currently an Aquatic Biologist supporting the Arctic Region at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Biologists:
Darcy McNicholl
Hi! I’m Darcy McNicholl an aquatic science biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, at the Freshwater Institute in Winnipeg, MB. I have been studying fish and coastal change among communities across the Canadian Arctic since my MSc in 2013. Before that, I studied plants on Ellesmere Island, elephants in Namibia, large cats in South Africa, tropical ecology in Costa Rica, and I am an alumni for Students on Ice 2006/2007. In my current research, I specialize in investigating food web dynamics of co-occurring fishes, and using stable isotopes to determine the potential for competition among native and non-native species. The information collected allows for decisions to be made by Indigenous leaders and management in order to protect biological and culturally significant parts of the Canadian Arctic.
Laurissa Christie
Ullukkut! My name is Laurissa and I live in Winnipeg, but I grew up on a farm in Ontario. I have been a biologist with Arctic Coast/ Arctic Salmon since February 2020 where I coordinate coastal monitoring and local knowledge documentation programs in the Hudson Bay Complex (Kinngait, Naujaat, Igloolik, Whapmagoostui) using community-led approaches. I am especially interested in understanding food web dynamics and energy flow within the Arctic marine environment using a variety of approaches including: tracer analysis, local knowledge documentation, and ecosystem monitoring. I also created the Arctic Salmon cookbook. I love that my position combines two of my passions Arctic science and working with communities! It is a dream come true.
Postdoc:
Dr. Eranga Galappaththi
Hi! I’m Eranga Galappaththi. I used to live in many places in the past ten years, including Winnipeg, Montreal, and Waterloo. I was born in Sri Lanka, a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean. I began my career as an aquaculture farmer (in Sri Lanka). Now, I am a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Arctic and Aquatic Research Division of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. My role within this group is to bring social science perspective to Arctic fisheries research. My research is central to climate change adaptation in remote Indigenous communities and their local food systems. My theoretical approach integrates concepts from social-ecological resilience, vulnerability, adaptation, and theoretical elements of commons, with an emphasis on community-based management, (adaptive) co-management, Indigenous knowledge systems, co-learning, and knowledge co-production. Also, I bring a broader perspective to my research, using systematic literature reviews that contribute to global-level assessments.
Staff:
Students:
Zander Chila
Hi! I’m Zander, a Master’s student with the Arctic Salmon Project. I’m based at the University of Victoria where I’m co-supervised by Trevor Lantz in the Arctic Landscape Ecology Lab. I split my time between Vancouver and Victoria, but was crazy enough to decide I had to go to the Arctic to study salmon! My research focuses on the factors influencing the availability of fish in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. Using multiple, interdisciplinary methods and partnerships I am investigating how fish distributions, namely salmon, are changing in the region, and the environmental factors influencing peoples’ access to fish.