The 40th annual Aquatic Toxicity Workshop (ATW) was held in Moncton, New Brunswick on 6 October. The theme of this year’s conference was “From the River to the Sea.” The keynote speakers were Doug Prosser and Gordon Craig.
Mr. Prosser spoke about the successful implementation of the Petiticodiac River Causeway Project in New Brunswick. Mr. Craig has been involved with ATW since it’s inception in 1973, so he shared with us the journey that ATW has taken in the last 40 years.
There were a number of interesting and regionally important sessions, such as Aquaculture and Agriculture, Onshore Oil and Gas, Salty Waters, and Modern Mining. An Unconventional Gas Forum was also held at the conference. The forum included a panel of experts from industry and government presenting information on the hydraulic fracturing industry, rules and regulations in place to guide the industry and protect the environment, and challenges related to aquatic resources and the environment. The forum was well attended and generated an interesting and valuable discussion with a number of greater questions from the audience.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2013 Student Awards (many of whom were from Ontario):
First Place, Platform: Lesley Milne, University of Waterloo – Using Non-linear Models to Predict the Chronic Toxicity of Cobalt to Hyalella azteca under Different Water Chemistry Conditions
Second Place, Platform: Arran Brown, York University – Food Quantity Affects the Sensitivity of Daphnids in Muskoka Lakes to Road Salt
Third Place, Platform: Jessica Leung, University of Waterloo - Different Responses in Toxicity Testing among Two Members of the Hyalella azteca Species Complex
First Place (tie), Poster: Jordan Anderson, University of Ontario Institute of Technology – The Chronic Effects of Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin on the Reproduction of the American Flagfish (Jordanella floridae) Over One Complete Life-Cycle
First Place (tie), Poster: Stephanie Schiffer, University of Saskatchewan – Acute and Chronic Toxicity of Aqueous Vanadium to Model and Field-Collected Planktonic and Benthic Invertebrates
Third Place, Poster: Jenna Zee, University of Saskatchewan – Molecular and Physiological Effects of Chronic Dietary Selenomethionine in Juvenile White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus).
A great local band entertained conference attendees on Tuesday night and the dance floor was packed! The tidal bore on the Petiticodiac River near downtown Moncton was a “must see.”
The next ATW will be held at the Ottawa Convention Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, from 28 September to 1 October. It will be a great opportunity for L-SETACers to present and/or hear about great work in the field of aquatic toxicology that is going down in Canada!!! -Submitted by Ryan Prosser