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Creating knowledge to slow environmental destruction

Given the demands of a growing population and rising consumption expectations, the rates of environmental degradation and loss are deeply problematic. As a society, we think we know how the world works, but often this is based on best guesses or insights from another place or time. Our research at SRES is critically important as it helps reveal more about the reality of our options, which results in better decisions, less environmental devastation and better outcomes for society.

Examples of potential MES Thesis projects at SRES

Ghost fishing in the Atlantic: Creative solutions to a persistent problem

This project will address the following questions: How can monitoring and removal of ghost fishing gear in Nova Scotia or across Eastern Canada benefit coastal restoration efforts across the region? Additionally, how can retrieved ghost gear be repurposed into the local fishing community to stimulate the Blue Economy? In other words, can retrieved ghost gear be monetarized to provide economic benefits as repurposed or recycled materials or to increase ecosystem services?
Dr. Tony Walker

Manufacturing envy: real estate/lifestyle TV, cultural norms and environmental behaviour

The propagation of real estate and lifestyle-oriented programming on TV channels and streaming platforms contributes to cultural norms about what it means to have a ‘good life’. Those projected norms about housing, landscaping and furnishing can spark shifts in our collective sense of what is desirable and could have an impact on the environment via human behaviours. Research on this topic could use a range of methods, such as discourse analysis of programming, and/or primary research with viewers via survey or interviews.
Dr. Kate Sherren

Let them eat lobster – revealing the climate impact of the rapid expansion of live-lobster exports from Atlantic Canada and New England

Fisheries for American lobster (Homarus americanus) are some of the largest and most valuable fisheries in Atlantic Canada and New England. Prior research has quantified the life cycle climate impacts of lobster fisheries in Maine and Southwest NS. However, what has not been accounted for is the rise in exports of live lobster via air freight to international markets. Given the scale of these exports – now approaching 40,000 tonnes annually from just Atlantic Canada – and the distances involved - most exports are now landing in Asia - preliminary estimates suggest that the previously overlooked climate impact of air freighting could double the emissions that result from all inputs to catching lobster.
Dr. Peter Tyedmers

Canada’s ‘critical’ minerals rush: making the case for an improved impact assessment regime

Canada is prioritizing the extraction of 'critical minerals' to meet societal needs, and a mining boom is underway. However, preliminary evidence shows some project proponents might be circumventing full regulatory environmental social and reviews of a mine's potential impacts by massively altering mines after they approved. The MES student will work with a national network of impact assessment practitioners to uncover what is happening behind closed doors regarding mine expansions and potential consequences for the environment.

Illuminating ‘dark taxa’ for freshwater assessment and conservation

Biodiversity loss and degradation of freshwater ecosystems has been accelerating worldwide. Changes in land-use, direct exploitation, environmental change, and pollution are the most pressing direct drivers this decline. Our ability to monitor and predict these consequences of human disturbance is reliant on accurate, reliable, and cost-conscious mechanisms for routine monitoring. However, the successful conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems is hindered by ‘dark taxa’, such as non-biting midges (Chironomidae), a group of species which is ecologically abundant and important, yet their identification is difficult, time-consuming, and requires a high level of expertise. Here, we propose a means to illuminate critical information derived from chironomid indicators for bioassessment often disregarded as too complicated for routine use by policy and decision-makers. Thus, this project seeks to evaluate (speed, cost, reliability, robustness) of two different approaches; 1) morphology-based bioassessment, and 2) deep-learning image recognition approaches for automatic identification of biological indicators.
Dr. Andrew Medeiros

Find out more about our research strengths on the SRES website.

Research Goals

• To provide a supportive and collegial setting for the conduct of scholarly research.
• To identify and pursue important resource and environmental questions and areas of research using the School's network.
• To involve students in research projects locally, regionally, and internationally.
• To translate results into creative and practical tools for change in thought and behaviour.
• To communicate research results within the School and beyond to other academic communities and government and non-governmental institutions.
• To create new partnerships for innovative, interdisciplinary research between SRES and other Â鶹´«Ã½ units, as well as between SRES and the external academic and research community.
• To encourage collaborative and comparative research with international partners.