Honours Candidate
Current Research
Terrestrial and marine species are unprecedently impacted by global change, causing ecosystem distributional shifts and emergence of alternative states. Kelps are a type of large brown algae which provide three-dimensional habitats for fish and invertebrate. These marine ecosystems are called kelp forests, or beds, and they are amongst the most productive on the planet. In southwestern Nova Scotia, increasing water temperatures and encrustation by an invasive bryozoan have led to a major defoliation of the kelp beds across the coast. With increasing temperatures, kelp growth and survivorship decrease, and the population growth of the bryozoan increases, further decreasing kelp survival. The Eastern Shore Islands is an area selected as a potential marine protected area by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, where healthy kelp beds remain.
My research focuses on investigating the factors causing kelp bed resilience in the Eastern Shore Islands. My first goal is to quantify the long-term changes in kelp canopy cover and density to understand if the Eastern Shore Islands populations are stable, in decline, or recovering each year. Kelp beds in southwestern Nova Scotia may have collapsed from kelp tissue degradation, as both warming temperatures and the invasive bryozoan cause tissue weakening. My second goal is to uncover if there are differences between tissue properties from kelp found in southwest Nova Scotia and the Eastern Shore Islands.
Education
B.Sc. Marine Biology Co-op, Minors Ocean Science, First Class Honours
Advisor: Dr. Anna Metaxas
2018-2023
Publications
Bouchard Marmen, M., Odenthal, B., Murillo, F. J., Tompkins, G., Baker, E., Savard-Drouin, A., Walkusz, W., Siferd, T. and Kenchington, E. 2021. Sponges from the 2010-2014 Paamiut Multispecies Trawl Surveys, Eastern Arctic and Subarctic: Class Demospongiae, Subclass Heteroscleromorpha, Order Poecilosclerida, Families Mycalidae and Isodictyidae. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3452: 60.
Bouchard Marmen, M., Tompkins, G., Harrington, N., Savard-Drouin, A., Wells, M., Baker, E., Odenthal, B., Walkusz, W., Siferd, T. and Kenchington, E. 2019. Sponges from the 2010-2014 Paamiut Multispecies Trawl Surveys, Eastern Arctic and Subarctic: Class Demospongiae, Subclass Heteroscleromorpha, Order Poecilosclerida, Families Microcionidae, Acarnidae and Esperiopsidae. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3349:76.
Scholarships and awards
2022 Rob Stewart Award in Marine Conservation, NSERC
2022 Top Science Coop Student award
2021 Undergraduate Summer Research Award, NSERC
2021 Dalhousie In-course Scholarship
2018-2022 Dalhousie Dean’s list
2018-2021 University of Toronto Scholarship of Dependent
2020 Dalhousie In-course Scholarship
2020 CABIOS Scholarship
2018 Dalhousie Entrance Scholarship
Professional Experience
2022 Research Assistant, Biological Oceanography & Biomechanics
Oceanography Dept., Dalhousie
Advisor: Dr. Anna Metaxas
2021 Research Assistant, Biological Oceanography & Benthic Ecology
Oceanography Dept., Dalhousie
Advisor: Dr. Anna Metaxas
2020 Research Intern, Coral Physiology
Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Yvonne Sawall
2020 Aquaculture Operative Assistant
Agricultural Dept., Dalhousie
Supervisor: Paul MacIsaac
2018-2020 Research Assistant, Arctic Sponge Taxonomy
Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Supervisor: Mariève Bouchard Marmen
Teaching Experience
2022 Teaching Assistant, Invertebrate Biology
Biology Dept, Dalhousie
2019-2020 Teaching Assistant, Introductory Chemistry 1 & 2
Chemistry Dept, Dalhousie
Volunteer work
2021-2022 Fourth Year Student Representative, Marine biology Society
Biology Dept, Dalhousie
2019-2020 Second Year Student Representative, Marine biology Society
Biology Dept, Dalhousie
2019-2021 Peer Mentor, Marine Biology Society
Biology Dept, Dalhousie
Contact
Email: asavard-drouin@dal.ca
Marine Benthic Ecology and conservation 