Arctic Coastal Oceanography - U of Manitoba

In early March, Alessia Guzzi participated in an event hosted by Mushkegowuk Council bringing science open houses along the winter road to Attawapiskat First Nation, Fort Albany First Nation, Moose Cree First Nation, and Timmins, ON. This was an opportunity to meet students and community members to discuss science, and ongoing oceanographic research in coastal and offshore James Bay supporting Indigenous-led environmental protection and conservation initiatives. It was a great way to connect with more community members and have meaningful conversations to learn about what people are interested in about the environment. It was also a great opportunity to connect with other scientists doing work in the region.

Photo Credits (Photos 2-6 and 8): Sydney Walsh/Audubon Society

Mushkegowuk Council: Lands and Resources
CEOS UM
Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources

Eelgrass ecosystem collapse and social-ecological regime shift driven by hydropower development and climate change - Nature Communications Traditional scientific methods struggled to identify causes of seagrass losses in Canada (Eeyou Istchee). Here the authors combine Indigenous and scientific knowledge and find that eelgrass losses were caused by local hydroelectric development compounded by extreme climate events.

🌿 Fun fact about eelgrass!

Eelgrass is a perennial marine plant — meaning it doesn't die off each year. It can survive for months under sea ice with very little light, waiting patiently for spring to bounce back and keep growing. Tough little plant! 💪

Here is a photo of eelgrass under the sea ice. The photo was taken in March near Chisasibi. Photo credit John Merlo-Coyne

Eeyou Istchee bathymetry surveys Mapping the water depths along the Eeyou coast for navigation and research purposes

This past week 4 team members from the University of Manitoba Coastal Oceanography team (Cassidy, Alessia, Kaushik, and Yudhistir), visited Chisasibi to conduct some work on the Eeyou Coastal Habitat Research project with local land users. They will be headed to Wemindji tomorrow for the next week!

Niskamoon Corporation
CEOS UM