Natasha Salter
Project
The Effects of Mining Contaminants and Sewage on Cladoceran Communities in Lakes of Subarctic QuebecAquatic ecosystems are frequently exposed to multiple stressors. This project uses paleolimnological techniques to explore the interaction between contaminants and nutrients in aquatic ecosystems. The interaction between theses stressors is complex, and under some circumstances potentially synergistic with higher nutrients offsetting the negative effects of exposure to contaminants on aquatic organisms. To evaluate this hypothesis, temporal changes in diversity and structure of cladoceran communities in lakes from mining towns in Subarctic Quebec will be analyzed. Communities will be compared in lakes affected by both sewage discharge and aerial deposition of mining contaminants to those neighbouring lakes affected only by the mining contaminants.
