The ECAB Team
Josh Kurek, Principal Investigator
I’m an Associate Professor at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. I lead the Environmental Change & Aquatic Biomonitoring (ECAB) Laboratory in the new Gairdner Building. My research program includes aspects of aquatic science, paleolimnology, and monitoring of ecosystems. I am interested in studying the responses of lakes, rivers, and wetlands to environmental stressors, such as pollution and climate change. This often involves understanding how the ecological structure and overall function of freshwater ecosystems has changed across time. I enjoy mentoring students within my research program and helping to develop their abilities, knowledge, and interest related to environmental science.
Email: jkurek@mta.ca
Phone: 506-364-2390
Office: #305 Avard-Dixon
Links: [Google Scholar] [Twitter]
Norma Fernanda Charqueño Celis, Post-doctoral fellow
I´m passionate about the study of paleoecology. I started my academic journey at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where I pursued a Bachelor's and Master's degree focusing on modern ecology, studying macroinvertebrates and microcrustaceans in the lakes of the Yucatán Peninsula. Then, for my PhD in Comahue University in Bariloche, Argentina, I directed my research on the paleoecology of two bioproxies (Testate amoebae and Chironomids) in lakes of southern Patagonia, Argentina. During my career, I have become increasingly aware of the importance of examining the interplay between environmental variables and bioindicators. For this reason, I´m continuing my journey at the ECAB LAB analyzing the relationship between bioindicators and dissolved oxygen in the Wolastoq watershed. My research aim is to achieve better reconstructions that help us to understand the watershed responses to environmental changes.
Current ECAB Lab Students
Ben macneill, bsc hons student, 2026-2027
I’m incredibly excited to be working in the ECAB Lab this summer. I’m currently pursuing a BSc with a double major in environmental science and biology. I grew up in Kensington Prince Edward Island, where I have developed a curiosity and fascination with the interconnectivity of ecosystems, how they change over time, and how our actions impact them. My honours research will focus on exploring the impacts of road salt use on the ecology of urban lakes in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), using bioindicators in lake sediments. Specifically, I will examine past and present cladoceran diversity, abundance, and community structure to understand ecological change in ~30 lakes since the 1950s. By doing this research I will develop skills and knowledge that will help me further pursue my interests in paleoecology. Additionally, this research will allow me to further understand how often widespread impacts, like road salting, can alter urban lake ecosystems.
ECAB Lab Alumni
Expand the sections below to meet previous ECAB Lab students:
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Branaavan Sivarajah, 2021—2024, Assistant Professor at Memorial University
Project: LEGACY POLLUTION FROM GOLD MINING
Andrew Labaj, 2019—2021, Senior Policy Analyst (Environment and Climate Change Canada) and Adjunct Professor at Mount Allison
Project: MICROPLASTIC POLLUTION IN THE SAINT JOHN RIVER WATERSHED
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Katlyn Morrow, MSc Biology, 2026
Thesis: RESPONSES OF CHIRONOMID ASSEMBLAGES TO LEGACY DDT AND LAND-USE CHANGE FROM LAKES IN NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA
Ilya Dimitrovas, MSc Biology, 2025
Thesis: LEGACY DDT IN NEW BRUNSWICK LAKE SEDIMENTS AND CHIRONOMID ASSEMBLAGE RESPONSES
Alexandra Di Lonardo, MSc Biology, 2023
Thesis: USING MULTI-PROXY MEASURES OF LAKE SEDIMENTS TO IDENTIFY ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES IN PROTECTED WATERSHEDS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Meghan Fraser, MSc Biology, 2023
Thesis: LEGACY CONTAMINANTS IN BROOK TROUT FROM REMOTE NEW BRUNSWICK LAKES
Jacob Demers, MSc Biology, 2021
Thesis: AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM SENESCENCE OF WETLAND IMPOUNDMENTS IN THE UPPER BAY OF FUNDY, ATLANTIC CANADA
Julia Campbell, MSc Biology, 2021
Thesis: ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF EUTROPHICATION ON LAKES IN SOUTHWESTERN NOVA SCOTIA USING SUBFOSSIL REMAINS OF CHIRONOMIDAE AND CHAOBORIDAE
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Brenell Enman, BSc Honours Student, 2026
Thesis: TRACKING RESPONSE OF A REFERENCE LAKE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA
Marissa Emberly, BSc Honours Student, 2026
Thesis: Using Cladoceran Remains to Determine Environmental Changes at Nictau and Nashwaak Lakes
Catherine Minnaar, BSc Honours Student, 2026
Thesis: CHIRONOMIDS AS BIOINDICATORS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN YOHO LAKE, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA
William Chapman, BSc Honours Student, 2025
Thesis: VIBRIO PARAHAEMOLYTICUS CONTAMINATION IN EASTE RN OYSTERS IN THE SOUTHERN GULF OF SAINT LAWRENCE
Chloe Robichaud, BSc Honours Student, 2025
Thesis: WHAT DO BENTHIC INVERTEBRATES TELL US ABOUT LONG-TERM ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF LAC UNIQUE, NEW BRUNSWICK?
Macartney Wormington, BSc Honours Student, 2024
Thesis: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MERCURY IN BROOK TROUT IN NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA
Suzan Mhagama, BSc Honours Student, 2023
Thesis: IMPACTS OF HISTORICAL GOLD MINING ON CHIRONOMID ASSEMBLAGES IN LAKE THOMAS, NOVA SCOTIA
Jordan Takkiruq, BSc Honours Student, 2023
Thesis: LEGACY EFFECTS OF HISTORICAL GOLD MINING ON CHIRONOMID ASSEMBLAGES FROM GEGOGAN LAKE, NOVA SCOTIA
Hannah Zettel, BSc Honours Student, 2023
Thesis: LEGACY IMPACTS OF HISTORICAL GOLD MINES ON THE CLADOCERA ASSEMBLAGES OF TWO NOVA SCOTIAN LAKES
Sarah Waldron, BSc (Hons) Env Sci, 2022
Thesis: USING FOSSIL CHIRONOMIDS TO INVESTIGATE DISSOLVED OXYGEN IN NEW BRUNSWICK LAKES EXPERIENCING ALGAL BLOOMS
Suzan Mhagama, BSc, 2021 Aquatic Biomonitoring Assistant
Annie Dysart, BSc (Hons) Env Sci, 2021
Thesis: CLADOCERAN BODY SIZE AS A METRIC OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN NEW BRUNSWICK LAKES
Allison Clark, BSc (Hons) Biology, 2020
Thesis: IMPACTS OF LEGACY CONTAMINANTS FROM HISTORIC GOLD MINING ON LAKES IN DARTMOUTH, NOVA SCOTIA
Casey Doucet, BSc (Hons) Env Sci, 2020
Thesis: MICROFIBER UPTAKE BY FRESHWATER MUSSELS IN TRIBUTARIES OF THE SAINT JOHN RIVER WATERSHED, NEW BRUNSWICK
Amber LeBlanc, BSc (Hons) Env Sci, 2020
Thesis: DISTRIBUTION OF SUSPECTED MICROPLASTICS WITHIN SURFACE WATERS OF TWO NEW BRUNSWICK RIVERS
Abbie Gail Jones, BSc (Hons) Biology, 2019
Thesis: A PALEOLIMNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACTS OF MINK FARMING ON LAKES IN SOUTHWESTERN NOVA SCOTIA
Cara MacKenzie, BSc, 2016-2018 Aquatic Biomonitoring Assistant
Amelia MacDougall Fleming, 2018 Aquatic Biomonitoring Assistant
Taylor Crosby, BSc (Hons) Env Sci, 2018
Thesis: MICROPLASTIC EXPORT NEAR WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS IN NEW BRUNSWICK RIVERS
Marley Caddell, BSc (Hons) Env Sci, 2018
Thesis: PALEOLIMNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF ORGANOCHLORINE IMPACTS ON BENTHIC INVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES IN NEW BRUNSWICK LAKES
Caeleigh Marshall, BSc (Hons) Env Sci, 2018
Thesis: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LITTORAL CLADOCERA AND HABITAT IN ACIDIC AND CIRCUMNEUTRAL LAKES
Paul MacKeigan, BSc (Hons) Env Sci, 2017
Thesis: LEGACY EFFECTS OF DDT ON CLADOCERAN ASSEMBLAGES FROM NORTH-CENTRAL NEW BRUNSWICK LAKES
Isaac Armstrong, BSc (Hons) Env Sci, 2016
Thesis: INVESTIGATING THE IMPACTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE ON NEW BRUNSWICK LAKES USING CLADOCERA AS BIOINDICATORS
Margaux Daly, BSc (Hons) Env Sci, 2016
Thesis: USING CLADOCERANS TO ASSESS 20TH CENTURY CHANGES IN NEW BRUNSWICK LAKES