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]

Branaavan Sivarajah, Post-Doctoral Fellow

I am a Mitacs-Accelerate Postdoctoral Fellow examining the environmental legacies of historical gold mining activities on lakes in Nova Scotia, Canada. I use biological and geochemical proxies preserved in lake sediments (field of paleolimnology) to assess the long-term ecological consequences of anthropogenic activities, with a particular focus on the impacts of precious-metal mining activities in a multiple stressor world. My undergraduate and graduate training were completed at Queen’s University. Prior to Mt A, I recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Carleton University, where I conducted a whole-ecosystem experiment to investigate the impacts of plastic pollution on agricultural fields. I also serve as a regional coordinator for the Blue Futures Pathways program (Students On Ice).

Email: bsivarajah@mta.ca
Office: #326 Avard-Dixon
Links: [Google Scholar] [Twitter]

Katlyn Morrow, MSc Biology student, 2023-2025

As a recent graduate from the University of New Brunswick Saint John with a BSc in Biology, I am passionate about recovering and protecting our freshwater ecosystems here in Canada. I am from Saint John, New Brunswick, but I have spent a lot of time in Rowley, NB where I have had the opportunity to grow up enjoying nature at our family home on a lake. Working with the Belleisle Watershed Coalition during my undergrad is what really inspired me to continue working on freshwater ecosystem conservation and rehabilitation. I am eager to work on my MSc project that will be looking at invertebrate responses to historical DDT inputs, as well as potential lake recovery from this legacy stressor using lake sediment analyses and invertebrate bioindicators.

Ilya Dimitrovas, MSc Biology student, 2023-2025

I am from Pickering, Ontario, and completed my BSc in Biological Sciences while specializing in environmental toxicology at Ontario Tech University. While working on my undergraduate thesis, which focused on using macroinvertebrates as bioindicators of stream health, I knew then that I wanted to continue in this field. My MSc project will examine legacy DDT pollution and benthic invertebrates in remote lakes across New Brunswick. Using lake sediments, I aim to determine how legacy pesticides and other environmental stressors have influenced lake ecosystems and their recovery from historical pollution.

Macartney Wormington, BSc Hons student, 2023-2024

I am a student from Ottawa, Ontario currently in my 4th year studying Environmental Science. I am thrilled to be working in the ECAB Lab this summer (and next academic year) to complete my honours BSc degree. Throughout my academic experiences, I have found a love for chemistry and how it functions on an environmental level. The research I will be a part of is tasked with understanding mercury concentrations within the muscle tissue of brook trout in 20 lakes across New Brunswick. We will compare total mercury levels from a province-wide survey conducted ~30 years ago with modern measures of that contaminant. Have mercury levels increased, decreased, or remained stable in mostly remote New Brunswick lakes compared to decades ago? Findings have implications for addressing risks to aquatic and human health and also monitoring of a global pollutant. I am excited to learn new skills and apply knowledge I’ve gained in my environmental-focused studies.

William Chapman, Summer research assistant, 2023

I am a 3rd year Environmental Science Student from Ottawa, Ontario, minoring in Language and the Mind. This summer, I will be working in the ECAB Lab as a research assistant, hoping to gain practical lab and research experience that I can carry forward in my academic career. I am looking forward to both the field and lab portions for this summer, and to work with other students and researchers studying aquatic ecosystems.