Volume 27 No. 49

March 12, 2024

Employment & Opportunities

Science Teaching and Learning Postdoctoral Fellow - Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences - The University of British Columbia

In partnership, the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS) and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) are seeking a Science Teaching and Learning Postdoctoral Fellow (STLF) to support a grant-funded project to renew and expand the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Environmental Sciences (ENSC) with an aim to:

● Centre climate change and its intersections with other environmental and equity concerns
● Highlight data analysis, computational, and problem-solving skills
● Add opportunities to work across different knowledge systems including Indigenous knowledge systems
● Make connections to complementary fields of study (policy, law, engineering etc.)
● Offer students opportunities to develop a personal professional identity by creating connections with professionals from diverse and allied disciplines involved with the environmental sector.

The renewal will include evaluation and (re)design of pedagogy in both existing and new courses. Pedagogies will need to address the aims above, support student well-being, and accommodate large class sizes. There may be opportunities for the incumbent to teach up to two environmental science courses with a separate postdoctoral teaching fellow appointment.

More details to be found here

News & Events

IOF SEMINAR -The Canary in the Coal Mine is Black and White: Chemical Contaminants of Concern and Hydrocarbons in Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales from BC, Canada, March 15, 2024

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) from British Columbia (BC, Canada) are among of the most contaminated cetacean species in the world. They are ecologically, culturally and economically-important species in Canada's west coast and powerful spiritual beings for coastal First Nations communities. Yet, endangered southern resident killer whales (SRKWs), with a small population of ~73 or 74 individuals, are affected by cumulative environmental stressors and human-made threats, including lack of both quality and quantity of its main diet item (Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), physical disturbances by underwater noise (acoustic pollution), marine pollution and climate change.  Concentrations and potential health implications of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), new persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in SRKWs have been scarcely documented.

In this seminar, I will share the findings of the first concerted ecotoxicological assessment of CECs: alkylphenols (APs), triclosan, methyl triclosa;  and, new POPs such as  hexabromocyclododecane [HBCCD], and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), known as “forever chemicals” (PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS), as we ll as PAHs in skeletal muscle and liver samples of SRWK and investigate in utero transfer of these contaminants. Samples were collected from stranded, necropsied individuals from 2006-2018 in BC, Canada, in collaboration with Fisheries and Ocean Canada (DFO) and the Animal Health Centre, BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. The most prevalent compounds were 4-nonylphenol (4NP), a predominant AP (median 40.84 ng/g ww), and interestingly, 7:3-fluorotelomer carboxylic acid (7:3 FTCA) was the primary PFAS (median 66.35 ng/g ww) observed for first time in killer whales from BC, followed by PFOS and PFOSA. For PAHs, C3-phenanthrenes/anthracenes (mean: 632 ng/g lw), C4-dibenzothiophenes (mean 334 ng/g lw), and C4-phenanthrenes/ anthracenes (mean: 248 ng/g lw) presented the highest concentrations across all tissue samples. PAH diagnostic ratios indicated a dominant petrogenic-sourced contamination for SRKWs (i.e., more contaminated with hydrocarbon coming from oil/petroleum sources) in comparison to Bigg's (transient) killer whale, which showed  a dominant signal of pyrogenic hydrocarbon sources (e.g., coming from vegetation and coal biomass burning and wildfires). A mother-fetus skeletal muscle pair revealed evidence of CECs, POPs, and PAH maternal transfer. Maternal transfer ratios indicated 4NP as the most transferred contaminant from mother to fetus (95%), while low molecular weight PAHs (C3-fluorenes, dibenzothiophene, and naphthalene) also exhibited higher maternal transfer rates. Our contaminant data serve to inform regulation and mitigate pollutant sources and contamination by emerging chemicals (e.g., “forever chemicals” or PFASs) in SRKWs’ critical habitat and prevent oil spills by improving hydrocarbon emission regulations and transitioning away from fossil fuel consumption with the aim to conserve this iconic species.

More information and RSVP here.

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