This March (2026), Dr. Anna Metaxas gave a seminar at the University of Queensland, where she is an honorary professor. In this seminar, Anna explains what IPBES is, how science assessments are requested and conducted, and highlights key findings from the Nexus Assessment, for which she was a lead author on Chapter 3: Future interactions across the nexus (link here).
Lab News!
Graduation!
In December, we celebrated the successful Master’s defense of Alexis Savard-Drouin! His thesis, titled “Mechanisms driving kelp detrital particulate organic carbon (POC) uncertainties and population dynamics in the Eastern Shore Islands, Nova Scotia” can be found online here!
We continued our long-standing lab traditions to honour our graduate, including a student-designed cake highlighting key elements of Alexis’ research, and a research-themed dance choreographed by Alexis himself.
Alexis is heading to Australia to pursue his PhD and continue his kelp research in the Wernberg and Filbee-Dexter Lab at the University of Western Australia! While we will certainly miss him, we wish Alexis every success in this exciting next chapter and all the very best in his future studies!
Caught on Camera!
Last week, our honours student Aaron Ulrick was invited to present at the 39th Annual Cameron Conference at Dalhousie University. The Cameron Conference showcases undergraduate honours research in the biology and marine biology departments at Dalhousie University through a series of presentations and a poster session. Aaron shared insights from his research, which explores differences in species composition between reefs with high and low kelp coverage, as well as deeper environments using BRUVs (baited remote underwater video cameras). His work contributes to a better understanding of how habitat structure influences marine biodiversity. We’re thrilled to see Aaron’s hard work recognized and look forward to the impact his research will have in the field of marine science. Congratulations, Aaron!!
Merry Metaxas Christmas!
Tis’ the season for holiday parties and celebrations before everyone departs. The Metaxas Lab, alumni and current students, got together for our annual Christmas dinner and gift swap last week. Wishing you a happy holiday season and a great year to come! See you all in 2025!
New lab publication!
We are celebrating the release of another Metaxas Lab publication! Lead by master’s student, Alexis Savard-Drouin, and co-authored by our undergraduate honours student, Aaron Ulrick, and Dr. Anna Metaxas. You can find it in Marine Ecology Progress Series by clicking the preview below!
Metaxas Lab off to a research cruise
Meri, Maria and Anna are heading off to Rhode Island to board the NOAA vessel Henry Bigelow on a research cruise to the US and Canadian continental slope on the NW Atlantic and the Gulf of Maine.
Metaxas Lab is in the ESI!
The Metaxas Lab is in the Eastern Shore Islands as part of our annual fieldtrip. From July 5-9th, we will be surveying the luscious kelp beds by SCUBA! We are conducting video transects, quadrats to measure kelp density and size, and replacing temperature loggers that will be on the seafloor until the fall!
Marine Benthic Ecology and conservation 