Jean-Sébastien Moore
PI - Assistant professor

I am an evolutionary ecologist, with a particular interest in migratory fishes. My desire to work on applied problems led me to study anadromous salmonids. I've participated in projects on the three coasts of North America, but it is the Arctic for which I am especially passionate. I've now worked in Nunavut (and more recently Nunavik) for over 10 years and I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside Inuit harvesters. I am also a proud dad, an outdoors enthusiast, a mediocre guitar player, and a decent ultimate frisbee player. 
CV | Google Scholar profile | Research Gate profile

Anne Beemelmans - postdoctoral fellow

I am an evolutionary ecologist with a passion for marine life. During my Ph.D. and first postdoc, I studied how climate change-related challenges (high temperature, hypoxia) and/or biotic stressors (pathogen exposure) affect physiological stress and immune responses in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) and Pipefish (Syngnathus typhle). I conducted multi-stressor and trans-generational experiments with these fish species and explored epigenetic mechanism to get a better understanding about their phenotypic plasticity and potential to acclimatize and adapt to new environmental conditions. My current second postdoctoral position with Jean-Sébastien gives me the great opportunity to broaden my research scope and study population genomics of Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus), a fish species that is culturally and socio-economically important for Inuit fisheries and communities in the Arctic. I am part of the FISHES project ("Fostering Indigenous Small-scale fisheries for Health, Economy, and food Security") in which we aim to develop and provide genomic tools to northern Indigenous Peoples important to manage their local community fisheries. I am keen on developing genomic monitoring tools that can be used to explore the population structure of wild and hatchery Arctic Char populations and will help us to better maintain food security in the northern regions. In my free time, I enjoy outdoor activities to be close to nature and wildlife such as hiking, cycling, kayaking, and snorkelling. I am part of "Girls Who Fish", a woman association for traditional and recreational fishing. 

Xavier Dallaire - PhD student

During my bachelor’s degree at Université de Sherbrooke, I worked on the impacts of genetic introgression on parasitism in Brook Char (Salvelinus fontinalis) in the Garant Lab. This first contact with population genetics led me to pursue graduate studies in this field. My MSc project will focus on documenting genetic structure of Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) in Nunavik, Québec. This species is of great cultural and subsistence importance for local communities. My study is the first of its kind in the region, which raises the interest and promote participation of residents and regional government, without whom the sampling campaign would be impossible. A secondary objective of the project will be to investigate local adaptations in Nunavik Arctic char, due to contrasting oceanographic features. These analyses will rely on data collected during missions of the icebreaker Amundsen, as part of the BriGHT project (Bridging Global change, Inuit Health and the Transforming Arctic Ocean).

Yoan Awashish Soucy - MSc student
co-supervised with Maxime Geoffroy (MUN)

My interests for aquatic ecology and ichthyology have always been a part of my life. I remember the summers spent underwater exploring the river and fishing just behind my home. Over time, this interest turned into passion, which led me to pursue my studies in biological and ecological sciences at the University of Québec in Trois-Rivières. Their internship in lake and river ecology at the Gault nature reserve helped me to orient myself in my university choice. I then continued my graduate study here at Laval University, which offered me the opportunity to explore the Arctic on the scientific icebreaker, the CCGS Amundsen. My research project consists in determining, in a context where climatic changes is very present, how certain oceanographic parameters influence the relative abundance of the various ichthyological assemblages in the Canadian Northeast. In Hudson Bay, Baffin Sea and Beaufort Sea, species such as sand eel (Ammodytes spp), capelin (Mallotus villossus) and glacier lantern fish (Benthosema glaciale) have joined Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) which, until recently, was the dominant forage species of Arctic seas. This transition to new forage species is likely to alter the trophic fluxes of lipids into the marine food web. The Arctic cod is a specialist of polar seas that support the entire foodweb, consequently, to understand changes that operate in this environment sensitive to global warming is essential.

Sara Bolduc - MSc student
co-supervised with Mélanie Lemire

I completed my bachelor's degree in biology at Laval University. I had the opportunity to work in molecular biology during my studies but I realised that field work was missing to my training. That's what brought me to continue as a master's student in the Moore Lab, under the co-direction of Mélanie Lemire. With climatic changes, the characteristics of Arctic Char are changing and it affects the precious relation between Inuit and fishes. My research project, which is a part of the BriGHT project, will focus on the quality indicators of Arctic Char flesh and food preferences of Inuit in Nunavik. I will try to see how the characteristics of the fish (fatty acids, origin region, genetic, etc) are linked with the nutritional status of Arctic Char.

Louis-Philippe Collin - MSc Student
co-supervised with Michael Power

I decided to study biology after participating in a summer school in oceanography (UQAR), during which I got back in touch with a longstanding passion I had for fish and everything that lives underwater. I obviously followed (almost) all the available classes that covered aquatic ecosystems and the lifeforms that inhabit them. It was in one of those classes that I first met with Jean-Sébastien, and that I decided that I wanted to join his team! My project is on the Arctic char population of the Nepihjee river, near Kuujjuaq, Nunavik,  which was introduced by local Inuit to facilitate access to the ressource for the community. They then supplemented the population by importing mature fish from Bérard River (Tasiujaq) and George River (Kangiqsuallujjuaq) to the Kuujjuaq hatchery, and later releasing the smolts in the main lakes of the watershed. Despite these efforts, an uncharacteristically low genetic diversity was observed in the Nepihjee population. My objectives will be 1) to characterize regional population structure to assess genetic connectivity between populations, and 2) to characterize genetic diversity in the Nepihjee population, to compare it with natural populations from the region and to evaluate how it was affected by supplementation, genetic drift and a small effective population size.

Nathan Benoît - Undergrad student

I am a final year student in the BSc program in biology at Laval University. Growing up by the sea, I have always had an interest in marine biology, which is why doing a research project on an aquatic species interested me greatly. The goal of my research project is to determine whether environmental factors, the date of the ice melt, temperature and precipitation, are affecting the condition of Arctic Char in the Cambridge Bay area. With these results, it will be possible to create models, thus facilitating the management of fish stocks, which is important for the local Inuit populations.
Laurie Dufour - Undergrad student
I am currently completing the final year of my bachelor’s degree in biology at Laval University and am lucky enough to get a taste of what completing an actual research project mostly by myself is like before graduate studies. I am very interested in evolutionary biology and applied ecology, which makes the Moore lab a perfect fit to deepen those interests. The goal of my project is to determine, using acoustic telemetry, if oceanic habitat use of Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) in the Cambridge Bay area, Nunavut, has changed in response to warming temperatures and changing sea ice melt dates. I will determine if individuals have a tendency to move further away from the shore as the temperature rises. 

Alumni:

Maude Sévigny - MSc student
Current position: biologist with DFO

Isabeau Caza-Allard​ - Undergrad student - 2018-2019
Current position: MSc student in Louis Bernatchez's lab

Emile Gaumond - Undergrad student - 2018-2019