Canadian National Sportsmen's Show Grants $10,000 in Scholarships to Trent University Graduate Students
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ten grad students enrolled in Environmental & Life Sciences Program each awarded $1,000 scholarship
Wednesday, March 17, 2010, Peterborough
At the Canadian National Sportsmen's Show held in Toronto today, a cheque for $10,000 was presented to Trent University to award ten $1,000 scholarships to graduate students focusing their studies on the cause of protecting wild animals of the fields, the forests, the waters and the skies.
“As dean of Graduate Studies I want to thank the Canadian National Sportsmen's Show for their generous support,” said Dr. Douglas Evans. “These grants will enable our students to enhance their research in fish and wildlife studies, work that is important to Canadians and to our economy.”
A total of 63 scholarships are being awarded to graduate students enrolled in fish and wildlife or marine biology in five schools, including Trent University and Fleming College. The Trent winners of the 2010 Canadian National Sportsmen's Shows Scholarships are all enrolled in the Environmental & Life Sciences Graduate Program. They are:
- Andrew Eccleston, M.Sc. – research focuses on the protection of Lake Sturgeon, a threatened endemic fish species of the Great Lakes. Mr. Eccleston will monitor four habitat attributes at thee different spawning sites within the Pic River during the spawning season.
- Ryan Hill, M.Sc. – work reviews population viability of Lake Trout in Ontario. His work tests two populations of lake trout from the experimental Lakes Area near Kenora Ontario against genetic measures of effective population size.
- Megan Hornseth, Ph.D. – researching the implication of habitat fragmentation, a multi-scalar approach to understanding the impact of landscape change on Canada Lynx at the southern extent of their range.
- Jennifer Knopp, Ph.D. – research examines baseline aquatic ecosystem biodiversity with a focus on Arctic Char gain.
- Agnes Pelletier, Ph.D. – international Ph.D. student looking at Black bears habitat preferences and the impact of fragmentation by studying how the gene flow of black bears can be affected by contrasting landscape features in Ontario.
- Zi Hua Lin, M.Sc. – international graduate student focusing on the conservation of the habitat for cold-water fish species, (lake trout, whitefish lake herring).
- Erica Newton, M.Sc. – research project examines the population decline and range shift of the Pen Islands migratory caribou herd in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, Ontario.
- Larissa Nituch, M.Sc. – research is to assess the extent of the ecological impact of domesticated mink on wild American mink as a result of the transmission of Aleutian Disease.
- Aaron Walpole, M.Sc. – investigates habitat associations and areas of occupancy of Canada Lynx in Ontario the protection of which is essential in preventing further lynx population decline in Canada.
- Joanna Zigouris, Ph.D. – working to understand how large home ranges and low population densities make Ontario wolverines vulnerable to habitat changes. Ms. Zigour’s project will help determine multi-scale habitat requirements and species adaptability to changing environments in Ontario wolverines, resulting in recommendations of management initiatives.
The Canadian National Sportsmen's Shows raises funds to ensure that generations of young Canadians benefit from Canada's outdoors. Since the first show held in 1948, more than $31,000,000 has been committed to this cause. The Canadian National Sportsmen's Shows is a non-profit Corporation and the largest producer of boat, fishing, sportsmen's, ski and outdoor shows in Canada, founded in the vision of outdoorsman, author and dedicated conservationist, Frank Kortright.
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For more information, please contact:
Jane Rennie, Scholarships & Bursaries Officer, Office of Graduate Studies, Trent University, 705-748-1011 ext. 7075
