The Three Planktoneers: Getting here...1 planktoneer arrived...2 to go

Well this edition of the blog is a spotlight on travel. There are many choices a researcher makes when planning a field season, some related to a project itself and others to logistics. One of the logistical choices I thought a lot about when planning this summer revolved around travel. Lately, I have been mulling over the implications of my research and have come to the conclusion that I want to be aware of both the academic impacts of my research (i.e. results and how I disseminate this information) but also the effect of how I do research. Doing research in Churchill when you are based at a southern Ontario university (actually when you are based at almost any university) means travelling substantially more than a short jaunt to get to your field sites. Churchill can be reached by air, train and sea travel (and technically by canoe as well...). Now as cool as I think arriving to Churchill via paddle or ship would be, neither seemed feasible this year so that left me with flying or the train. I opted for the train, and not just from Winnipeg to Churchill but from Toronto to Winnipeg as well.

(Map from VIA's website).

I felt this would be a good way to transition into fieldwork and get a chance to really appreciate the vastness that makes up the landscape between Guelph and Hudson Bay.

Here I attempt to share one an early morning scene on the tracks, just outside of Capreol, Ontario.
Guelph is about 1957 km from Churchill...but of course that distance is if you could travel in a straight line. The actual distance travelled by train takes in a few more turns.While some of these km may seem desolate, the history of the train line is far from sparse. At rest stops along the way I was able to learn a little more about the railway. For instance, I learned that starting in the early 1900s, most railway stations had elaborate railway gardens, set up as showpieces that would be the first thing passengers would see as they entered a new community. The point of this was to encourage passengers in rural parts of Canada. I enjoyed the train and really do feel that it is a method of transportation worth supporting.

Since arriving in Churchill, I have delved into another research season as a planktoneer...

(Photo: taken by Krista Hanis)

and have been slowly been regaining my bluff legs. As a recap, my project focuses on freshwater zooplankton communities along the coast of Hudson Bay and how they respond to changes in environment, most notably, the saltiness or salinity of the water. This year I am really interested in how the resting stages of zooplankton ( for example, this Daphnia ephippia below- I also like describe them as dumplings) may impact zooplankton's ability to recover from disturbance and stress.

The pouch like things pictured above are essentially dormant eggs released by mature Daphnia. And this is how our spotlight on travel fits in...Last year I spent a lot of time thinking about how zooplankton might "commute" around the rock bluffs without thinking much about the idea that sometimes it is easier to stay put and just wait out unfavourable environmental conditions- more on this later.

Well my arrival back at the CNSC has been filled with science, catching up with friends from last year and enjoying some very hot spring weather. I'm looking forward to the rest of the summer and many more planktoneer adventures in this place where there is always more to learn.

Below are some pictures of some coastal exploration with some of the other researchers from Guelph: Liz, Emily and Jinjing.