Chad's study aims to assess the influence of the cumulative effects of high temperature, reduced oxygen levels, and water browning on the growth and metabolism of juvenile Atlantic salmon. These stressors are becoming more common with climate change and land use changes. potentially threatening the development and survival of salmon.

The goal of the project is to quantify and asses the combined effects of these stressors on Atlantic salmon development.

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Atlantic salmon in Quebec have been declining since the 1980s, once due to overfishing and habitat loss, and now increasingly from climate change. Many young salmon still leave rivers for the ocean, but few return as adults. One idea is that survival depends on timing—if salmon migrate when their food is available, they thrive; if not, they struggle.

Joel's project focuses on analyzing the timing of smolt out migration from long-term monitoring data of three Atlantic Salmon populations in Quebec, particularly from the Saint-Jean River in Gaspésie and the Trinité River on the Lower North Shore, where continuous monitoring began over 40 years ago, and from the Ste-Marguerite River with a shorter time series.

The goal is to o describe changes in abundance, life-history characteristics (weight, length) and return rates (for the Trinité and Saint-Jean rivers), in relation to several environmental factors including freshwater growth opportunity and the timing of prey and predator occurrence at specific area.

Stephanie's project aims to use environmental DNA to map the distribution of striped bass in the Miramichi River. As striped bass are thought to be a major predator of salmon smolts, it is suspected that the species is currently playing a significant role in salmon population decline in the area, with the rise in bass populations strongly correlating with the decline in salmon.

This project will help to inform local organizations about the potential effects of striped bass on salmon populations, how they differ between seasons, and how their relationship has changed from 2017 to the present.

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Kiley’s study looks at how brown trout (an invasive species) and native Atlantic salmon are interbreeding in rivers on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula. It compares past and present data to see if hybridization has changed over 30 years and whether it differs between migratory and non-migratory salmon.

It also compares their physical traits to understand how the hybrids relate to each parent species.

Chandler’s study aims to understand how well salmon tolerate low oxygen (hypoxia) and temperature changes in rivers, especially near culverts—structures that let water flow under roads. Poorly designed culverts can harm fish habitats by affecting water quality. The Gespe'gewa'gi Institute of Natural Understanding (GINU) is collecting data onfish and environmental conditions in rivers within the Restigouche watershed.

The goal is to assess how salmon handle lowoxygen levels in rivers above and below culverts, and to explore how salmon smolts (young fish) cope with temperature and oxygen stress during their migration. The research will help identify which rivers are harder on the fish and how their bodies adapt to these challenges.

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Natalie is comparing Smolt-to-Adult Supplementation (captured wild smolts that are raised in captivity for 1-2 years until they reach sexual maturity before being released back to their natal river) vs. wild Atlantic salmon. She is tracking them to observe their behaviour and migration (after SAS salmon are released).

The project objective is to determine if there are any differences in habitat use, movement, and spawning behaviour of wild vs. SAS salmon.

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Hallie's study focuses on the combined impacts of climate change and hybridization from escaped aquaculture fish on wild Atlantic salmon populations in Newfoundland.

She is conducting a comparison of critical thermal maximums between wild, hybrid, and aquaculture populations. ​​

Erin is conducting an assessment of a stable isotope of out-migrating Atlantic salmon smolts across regional populations in Eastern Canada.

This project aims to examine the smolts’ trophic ecology and condition (resource use, habitat, and niche width) across regional populations in Eastern Canada. ​​

Ilias’ is developing a modeling framework to assess hydrological and thermal risks in rivers across Eastern North America. This project combines deterministic simulations with the CEQUEAU hydrological and water temperature model and advanced statistical risk modeling to evaluate how climate change will affect river discharge and summer water temperatures.

The goal is to better understand hydro-climatic extremes, such as low-flow and heatwave events, and their impacts on cold-water ecosystems for Atlantic salmon habitats.

Renata’s study aims to better understand the effects of heat stress events and thermal refuge availability on juvenile Atlantic salmon growth, condition, and marine survival using historical data.

Field-based research will also be conducted to determine the mitigating effect of thermal refuge availability.

Hugo is developing a bioenergetics model to analyse the impacts of climate change and land use on bioenergetic demand of Atlantic salmon.

The goal is to demonstrate the impact of each environmental variable on the biological model, as well as the evolution of the species' geographic distribution under future environmental conditions.

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