Lab Members

Matt Miller (PhD student): Matt is a PhD student from Nanaimo, BC. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries and Aquaculture from Vancouver Island University. Matt studies pteropods, also known as sea butterflies, and the potential impact that ocean acidification is having on them. These tiny planktonic snails have come to be known as an early indicator, or sentinel species, of the impacts of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems. To do this work he collects plankton samples and water chemistry data on oceanographic research cruises in the NE Pacific, in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Pandora Gibb (MSc student): Pandora’s research interest is physical-biological coupling in marine ecosystems. In collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pandora is investigating the relationship between water chemistry and benthic foundation species on Canada’s Northeast Pacific seamounts, with a focus on mat-forming brittlestars. 

Liam Hubbert (MSc student): In collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Liam is testing the effectiveness of recently-developed biochemical methods of measuring zooplankton secondary production. To do this, water samples will be collected during research cruises in various regions around Vancouver Island and be analyzed using enzyme assays to measure zooplankton growth and reproduction.

Daniel Labbé (MSc student): Daniel is an MSc student with broad research interests in marine ecology and ocean ecosystems. He is specifically fascinated by organisms that live in extreme or understudied environments. In collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, he is currently studying zooplankton ecology over a series of isolated seamounts off the west coast of Vancouver Island.