Fourth-year biology honours student Gillian Currie and fourth-year biochemistry honours students Sophie Jahncke and Miki Williston, have worked with Dr. Matt Litvak’s sturgeon lab over the last two years as part of an independent student research grant.

Throughout their summer placements and studies at the lab, the students have collected data that directly assists in creating conservation strategies, publications, and gene banking. Their dedication as a whole represents the valuable research of science students at ������Ƶ Allison.

The Litvak Lab takes part in sturgeon research by exploring sturgeon movement, sex ratios, and spawning activities. As one of the most endangered vertebrate species in the world, these assessments are necessary to help create change.

Currie worked on the Mississaugi River, outlining how her work on the movement and distribution of lake sturgeon adds to conservation efforts. “All of the fish I study have been tagged. Over the course of two years, we pick them up as they move through the North channel of Lake Huron... and see where they are going.”

The group raised concerns about hydroelectric development, saying that dam construction, oxygen levels, and the height of the river can prevent eggs from hatching. Overall, Currie said her research “is critical to ensuring the protection of sturgeons in spawning grounds and overwintering sites.”

Williston also worked on the Mississaugi River last summer, recalling her time as an incredible experience. “It is one thing to do your research on an area and talk about the Mississaugi River, but it is a whole other thing being part of it”.

Her research examines the sex ratio of Lake Sturgeon during each day of their spawning cycles. Determining a sturgeon’s sex requires a non-invasive DNA collection through capturing blood and mucus samples, as well as fin clips. Because male and female sturgeons’ reproductive cycles struggle to coincide with one another, Williston’s work is vital in knowing why the sturgeon population is declining. Together, Williston and Currie’s research will assist in the creation of sustainable practices for sturgeon populations.

Jahncke spent her summer in Fredericton collecting data on the sex ratios of shortnose sturgeon. Similar to Williston’s work, Jahncke used a non-invasive process to limit the amount of harm done to sturgeons while collecting blood, mucus, and fin clips. From here, she amplifies DNA samples to find banding patterns, showing which samples are male and which are female. Jahncke emphasized the importance of this work, noting that birth patterns, poachers, industrial activity, and mass killing of sturgeons during the colonialist era severely diminished their population. This collection assists in creating positive change as it will inform [conservation] movements.

One rewarding aspect of this research is its relevance to entering any field.

Williston, who looks to enter the medical field, noted that the use of scalpels, ultrasounds, and drawing blood from sturgeons is great practice for what I will be doing. Aside from career experience, their work has also helped with personal growth.

Jahncke says working independently was a different feeling compared to working beside a lab instructor. “I do not have a professor here, but I did it by myself, and that was a really nice feeling.”

As the group’s experience comes to an end, Currie touched on how this independence leads to confidence. “I have done the foundational [work], the theory work, and it is so important to go from there and be like ‘I can do it. I have done it.'”