New international research study asks: Is COVID-19 changing the way we cook and eat?

It might sound familiar: flour, pasta and yeast are more difficult to find than in the past, and you cannot ignore the photos of homemade bread or desserts circulating on social media. It seems for many that the approach when it comes to meals is completely different than before the emergence of the coronavirus. This has not escaped the notice of several researchers, either.

This change in cooking habits has led to a partnership between Saint Mary's University and the Food, Media & Society (FOOMS) at the University of Antwerp in Belgium to launch a research study into the matter. The Corona Cooking Survey is a large-scale international survey study into the impact of COVID-19 on how people deal with food and food-related media. This study allows the shifts brought on by the coronavirus in terms of buying, cooking and eating habits, to be identified. More than 30 countries have already confirmed that they will participate in the research project. 

Dr. Maryanne Fisher

"This is a really exciting project to be involved with for many reasons. Academics around the world have very quickly come together to explore one of the most basic parts of our daily life: eating," says Dr. Maryanne Fisher, a professor of Psychology at Saint Mary's and part of the study's project team. "The number of people who have turned to baking bread - one of the most basic skills that has endured for centuries - is simply amazing. But how did they learn how to make that bread, and what prompted them to do so?"

In Belgium, the survey has received more than 6,000 respondents in less than two weeks.

"We know from previous research that family and friends play an important role in people's relationship with food. Just think of the typical "family classics" or all the tips that friends and colleagues share about food," says Dr. Charlotte De Backer, an Associate Professor at the University of Antwerp and the study's project leader. "Other sources, such as influencers on social media, celebrities on television or recipes in magazines also have an impact on our food choices. That's why we want to use this study to investigate whether our habits have changed since the preventative measures were taken, and what role various media and people play in these changes."

Interested in participating in the survey? Click here.

Preventing burnout among front-line care workers during COVID-19 focus of new Saint Mary's research project

Dr. Debra Gilin

Dr. Debra Gilin, a professor in Saint Mary’s University’s Faculty of Psychology, is leading a study that will rapidly develop tailored screening and intervention tools to support mental health and prevent elevated job burnout or safety risks in COVID-19-responding health care staff in Nova Scotia.

“For Nova Scotia to successfully fight COVID-19, front-line health care workers must be physically and mentally well, and feel safe at work over the long haul,” says Dr. Gilin.

Dr. Gilin’s research team is comprised of leading Canadian experts in occupational health psychology, patient and occupational safety, and job burnout (Dr. Lori Francis, Dr. Mark Fleming, and Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley). A recent grant from the Nova Scotia COVID-19 Health Research Coalition will now help propel their work forward.

The team is poised to rapidly deliver research that will screen and intervene for job burnout among front-line health care workers and deliver a “COVID Pulse” staff screening tool to identify those at high risk of burnout. Currently, the team is actively collecting job burnout data from health care and trauma exposed front-line workers during the peak of the COVID-19 escalation in Canada and the US. From there, they will mine the data, finding the most diagnostic factors of workload, stress, personality, and life demands that predict elevated burnout. Partner groups can use “COVID Pulse” to triage the most at-risk employees for earlier and greater support and mitigation. The hope is that this tool will be available by summer.

“We know that the protection of our health care workers’ emotional well-being and safety is a critical priority to succeed in the fight against COVID-19 long-term,” says Dr. Gilin. “By leveraging in-progress research resources, we will deliver these important outcomes with minimal research burden on the front-line workers who are already shouldering a heavy toll for the good of all Nova Scotians.”

Dr. Gilin’s study will use physically-distant, confidential interview and survey methods to listen to emerging sources of stress, trauma, safety risks, and needs among key staff groups on the front lines. The team will then tailor a set of resources, supports, and direct brief interventions, to leaders and their staff.

“The healthcare system response to COVID-19 in Nova Scotia will be a marathon, rather than a sprint,” she says, “And our front-line health care workers’ physical and mental well-being is perhaps the most critical resource we must preserve to be successful in the fight.”

This research project was funded by the Nova Scotia COVID-19 Health Research Coalition. Partners include the Nova Scotia Health Authority, Dalhousie University, Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation, IWK Health Centre, IWK Foundation, QEII Health Sciences Foundation, Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation, and Research Nova Scotia. The Coalition is dedicated to leading and fostering a research environment that engages our academic partnerships and responds to the current needs of Nova Scotians and our health care system, in addition to maintaining the expertise in innovative research, discovery science, population/social sciences, and health system improvement. This funding partnership provides the opportunity to catalyze COVID-19 related research initiatives and achieve collective social impact.

Take the survey now

Researchers at Saint Mary’s are conducting this survey on empathy, burnout, and trauma among front-line workers during the COVID-19 response now, and they welcome your voice! Please consider responding, or sharing: https://traumaworksurvey.wordpress.com

For more information visit https://researchns.ca/covid19-health-research-coalition/

Note: This story originally appeared in the May Edition of the Research Nova Scotia Newsletter and has been republished with their permission.

Saint Mary’s researchers receive funding as part of Nova Scotia COVID-19 Health Research Coalition

In this unprecedented time of local and global uncertainty, there has never been a greater need to conduct medical and health-related research to collect real-time evidence to inform practice, policy and decision making. The Nova Scotia research community has come together to respond to the COVID-19 global pandemic with a collective investment of just over $1.5 million in COVID-19 focused research. 

Today, the Nova Scotia COVID-19 Health Research Coalition announced the lead researchers who are receiving funding. Among the recipients are two Saint Mary’s University researchers: Dr. Yigit Aydede, and Dr. Debra Gilin.

“The researchers receiving funding as part of this announcement are tackling the impacts and spread of the COVID-19 virus, turning their expertise to this global problem,” says Dr. Adam Sarty, Associate Vice-President Research and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. “Our researchers are tackling this problem with the tools of machine learning and data analytics to track the virus spread in one case, and the expertise of workplace training and interventions to prevent front-line burnout in the other case.  These projects provide a window into the breadth of the research we do at Saint Mary’s. We work collaboratively and engage in research that matters to our communities.”

This funding supports COVID-19 research that will inform health system decisions, facilitate vaccine development, identify novel treatments, develop devices, and influence social response to the pandemic. Funding will also leverage existing research capabilities to help rapidly respond to the urgent need to support further COVID-19 focused research right here in Nova Scotia.

The COVID-19 Health Research Coalition is dedicated to fostering a research environment that engages our academic partnerships and responds to the current needs of Nova Scotians and our health system, in addition to maintaining the expertise in innovative research, discovery science, population/social sciences, and health system improvement.

Dr. Yigit Aydede

Funding recipient: Dr. Yigit Aydede

Project: The Role of Environmental Determinants and Social Mobility in Viral Infection Transmission in Halifax

Description: This study will analyze the relationships between COVID-19 transmission rates, meteorological and air quality, and the fluctuations in social mobility in Nova Scotia to allow for better calibration of spatial spread in simulation models that are used to inform policy making.

Funding amount: $36,900

Dr. Debra Gilin

Funding recipient: Dr. Debra Gilin

Project: Preventing Burnout Among Front-Line Care Workers to Fight Covid-19: Screen and Intervene

Description: This study will rapidly develop tailored screening and intervention tools to support mental health and prevent elevated job burnout or safety risks in COVID-19-responding health care staff in Nova Scotia.

Funding amount: $47,640

Additional information:

• The full list of Nova Scotia COVID-19 Health Research Coalition funding recipients.  

Psychology researcher recruiting volunteers for online study on responses to the coronavirus pandemic

Survey: Canadian Responses to the Coronavirus Pandemic

A study designed by Dr. Jim Cameron, Department of Psychology professor and researcher at Saint Mary's University, will increase understanding of Canadians’ perceptions of the coronavirus pandemic and their actions in response to it.

Nations and communities are using social and physical distancing to slow the spread of the virus so that healthcare systems aren’t overwhelmed. The success of the physical distancing approach largely rests on individuals’ voluntary compliance with public health recommendations and legal regulations.

As the situation evolves in Canada, there have been concerns that physical distancing recommendations have been disregarded or not taken seriously enough by some individuals. National and provincial leaders have using various techniques to encourage public support for these initiatives.

“We hope that the study will contribute to social psychological science, and inform practices related to public health messaging,” said Dr. Cameron.

Canadian adults (18 years or over) are invited to participate in the survey, which takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Click here to start the survey: 

https://smuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dhGoFhUpLBUtCS1

(SMU REB file #20-095)

Dr. Maryanne Fisher named guest editor of prestigious Psychology journal

Dr. Maryanne Fisher

Congratulations to Dr. Maryanne Fisher, who was chosen to be the guest editor of the January edition of the American Psychological Association’s journal Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, a special edition which addresses women’s representation in evolutionary-based research and theory.

Dr. Fisher, a professor of Psychology at Saint Mary’s and an affiliate faculty member at the Kinsey Institute, is an evolutionary psychologist whose work explores human relationships through an evolutionary lens.

A well-known expert in her field, her primary research topic is the evolutionary foundations of human interpersonal relationships, female intrasexual competition, and women’s mating strategies. She is also interested in the intersection between feminist studies and evolutionary psychology.  

She was thrilled to take on the task of editing the special edition of the journal, a task she has some experience with; she was also the guest editor of the Oxford Handbook of Women and Competition in 2017 and Evolution’s Empress: Darwinian Perspectives on the Nature of Women in 2013.

When speaking about the selection process, Dr. Fisher said it was extremely difficult to narrow down the entries, even removing her own work from the contention.

“We had so many excellent papers submitted, we could have filled two journals,” said Dr. Fisher. “They were very good, very high quality.”

This special issue examines how women have been studied from an evolutionary perspective, and how the discipline both questions assumptions about women and has limited explorations of women and.

“Evolutionary perspectives have often been openly criticized in fields such as women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, to the point of being dismissed outright in favor of sociocultural explanations for behavior, motivation, emotions, and cognitions,” said Dr. Fisher.

“Collectively the articles show that women are not simply passive entities, but instead play significant and active parts in human evolution and theories about evolutionary bases of behavior.”

Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences publishes manuscripts that advance the study of human behavior from an evolutionary perspective, with an emphasis on work that integrates evolutionary theory with other approaches and perspectives from across the behavioral sciences, including the range of subdisciplines within psychology as well as the social sciences (e.g., sociology, political science, criminology) and humanities (e.g., history, literature studies).

Saint Mary’s researcher to study organizational response to disease outbreak with major new funding announcement

A closer look at how employers respond during disease outbreaks is part of a new research study underway at Saint Mary’s University.

A research team led by Saint Mary’s Professor of Psychology Dr. Kevin Kelloway has received a grant for $333,000 over two years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to study COVID-19.

Dr. Kevin Kelloway

“Dealing with a pandemic on this scale is a massive social challenge that has dramatically changed the nature of workplaces,” said Dr. Kelloway. “Our project examines the workplace changes and the effect that they have on individual employees.  How, for example, do organizational policies influence individual decisions such as decisions around hygiene or self-isolation? How is the mental health of employees affected by the disruptions and re-organizations, and what can organizations do to help employees cope at this time?”

This research funding is for a project titled “Organizational Response to Disease Outbreak,” which will look at how both public and private organizations are challenged with the need to protect and promote the health and health practices of their employees while maintaining operations during disease outbreaks.

The study will look at employee perceptions of their employers’ management of these two goals, with a focus on examining how the organizational response to disease outbreaks influences employees' own health and health-promoting behaviours.

Along with a large national survey representative of Canadian workers, which Dr. Kelloway says will be longitudinal, following employees as they go through this experience, the team is also planning more focused studies on the role of leaders (managers and supervisors) in managing this crisis as well as more in-depth studies of employees who have transitioned to working at home.

The research group will start the two-year study very quickly in order to get good data on how people are adjusting and reacting to the crisis as it unfolds.

“It’s a quickly changing environment, said Dr. Kelloway. “For example, when we wrote the grant, no one was thinking of social isolation on the scale that we are now experiencing.”

The team has launched a website (ohpdata.com) that will be continually updated with information for employers and employees on how to adapt to changing circumstances. As the results from the research start to emerge, they will be posted to that site as well.

This funding for this project is part of an investment of $25.8M from the Government of Canada to contribute to the global efforts to address the COVID-19 outbreak. This is a portion of the $275M in funding for research on medical countermeasures against COVID-19 announced by the Prime Minister on March 11, 2020.

Dr. Kelloway’s team also includes Dr. Jane Mullen (Mount Allison University), Dr. Stephanie Gilbert (Cape Breton University) and Dr. Jennifer Dimoff (University of Ottawa) as well as PhD students Tabatha Thibault, Rachael Jones Chick and Vanessa Myers – all PhD students in the Industrial/Organizational Psychology program at Saint Mary’s.

Speak to the people behind the research at the Saint Mary’s University Research Expo

What do black holes, spelling, the search for the size and shape of the universe’s smallest thing, and responses to climate change have in common? They are all research areas being discussed this Friday, March 6, at the 2020 Saint Mary’s University Research Expo.

“The Research Expo is a unique event at Saint Mary’s. Talk with our professors and graduate students, and listen to three-minute research pitches as they explain their work,” said Dr. Adam Sarty, Associate Vice-President Research and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. “It’s an opportunity to learn about the exciting research happening across our campus, from our Science and Arts faculties, and the Sobey School of Business.”

The research being presented at the expo covers a wide range of disciplines in business, the arts and humanities, and science, including:  

• Toxic metals and invasive species;

• community adaptations in the face of climate change; and

• a qualitative approach to nursing staff shortages in emergency rooms.

These are only a handful of examples of the topics being investigated by researchers at Saint Mary’s, and many more topics will be discussed at the expo.

The expo is taking place at the Loyola Conference Hall and begins at 1 p.m. From 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.; researchers will be centre stage for a series of short three-minute pitches on their work.

To learn more about the expo visit http://www.smu.ca/research/research-expo.html

Communities looking for expert advice receive a boost through latest CLARI investment

Communities looking to connect with experts to address issues and solve problems received a boost today, March 5, after a new investment for research projects through the Change Lab Action Research Initiative (CLARI) at Saint Mary’s University.

“We are working more with business, academia and communities to create the conditions for opportunity, growth and social well-being in our province,” said Labour and Advanced Education Minister Labi Kousoulis. “This initiative lays the groundwork for Nova Scotians to bring forward their ideas and work with post-secondary experts to help our communities grow and prosper.” 

Recent projects have covered a wide breadth of topics from exploring and documenting the life and history of Mi’kmaw Elder Sister Dorothy Moore to improving food security for seniors in Cape Breton.

 “CLARI has gone from an idea for greater connection between post-secondary institutions and community groups to a shining example of the strength of that collaboration,” said Adam Sarty, Associate Vice-President Research and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. “This latest investment is an affirmation of the importance of connecting researchers with our local communities to find solutions and opportunities in challenges.”

The funding for the projects comes from the Province of Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour and Advanced Education. The $150,000 investment will support 20 campus-community projects, connecting post-secondary experts with communities in need of their expertise. The Province also helps to support CLARI’s operations.

The CLARI network spans across Nova Scotia, combining the talents and resources of its seven founding partners. Those partners include Acadia University, Cape Breton University, Mount Saint Vincent University, St. Francis Xavier University, Saint Mary’s University, Université Sainte-Anne and the Nova Scotia Community College’s 13 campuses. CLARI partners assist communities in all parts of the province to develop social and economic change projects while providing enhanced learning opportunities for students.

For more information about CLARI, visit https://actionresearch.ca/

Competition to solve freshwater issues through technology and entrepreneurship begins in Atlantic Canada

Solving freshwater issues across Atlantic Canada through technology and entrepreneurship is the theme of a new competition that began this week at Saint Mary’s University.

“We are extremely proud to establish AquaHacking in Atlantic Canada,” said Dominique Monchamp, interim CEO of AquaHacking. “We hope that our partnership with Saint Mary's University Atlantic Water Network will open the doors to new technological solutions. We are calling on the creative and committed minds of young Atlantic innovators to take up this challenge and develop sustainable water tech solutions.”

The AquaHacking Challenge brings students, developers, designers, scientists, programmers, engineers, technology enthusiasts and entrepreneurs together to form interdisciplinary teams to tackle five different water challenges.

The five issues they’ll be focusing on are:

•              algal blooms;

•              agricultural runoff;

•              drinking water treatment;

•              well water testing; and

•              microplastics.

“At RBC, we believe in the power of innovative technologies to address and scale solutions to some of the most pressing environmental issues of our time,” said Valerie Chort, vice-president, Corporate Citizenship, RBC. “We’re proud to be working alongside AquaHacking to develop real-world, scalable solutions to tackle the challenges that continue to plague our environment.”

Throughout the challenge, teams will have access to a variety of workshops and resources, as well as a dedicated group of mentors to help them develop their solutions and refine their pitches. The top teams will be determined at the AquaHacking semi-final in May 2020, after which successful teams will continue working on their solutions to present for a Dragon’s Den-style final in September 2020.

“We are thrilled to see AquaHacking come to the Atlantic Provinces,” said Emma Wattie, director of Saint Mary’s University’s Atlantic Water Network. “Our work with community-based monitoring organizations throughout the region has helped identify some of the water issues for this year's challenge. AquaHacking is a clear next step to help find solutions to some of the most pressing water issues facing Atlantic Canadians.”

The AquaHacking Challenge is an initiative of Aqua Forum that was founded by the de Gaspe Beaubien Foundation in 2015 to support technology and business development addressing environmental problems related to freshwater. After five successful years in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Basin, AquaHacking went national for 2020 with regional competitions across Canada.

The AquaHacking Challenge 2020 in Atlantic Canada is powered by the RBC Foundation, with support from the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation along with other national and local sponsors.

Developing comprehensive mental health services for those attracted to minors

As a researcher and psychologist, I’ve always had a strong interest in violence prevention, particularly the prevention of sexual violence against children. Although it is a difficult subject that impacts many, we must conduct research on the causes of childhood sexual abuse if we want to reduce its occurrence.

Risk for sexual abuse can never be explained by one single factor, and we need a multi-pronged approach to prevent it. An example of one risk factor is a sexual interest in children; however, research shows that this is not the same as child sexual abuse. Not everyone with a sexual interest in children offends against children or is destined to do so.

The area my team and I have focused on is individuals with a sexual interest in children who reside in the community and are not involved in the criminal justice system. While it’s not common knowledge, there are people with a sexual interest in children who desire mental health services. It bears stating that there are others who are not struggling, are coping with this reality, and live offence free lives.

Of those interested in treatment, some seek support to help them avoid offending. Others would like treatment to address various mental health concerns.  Both treatment needs are important. Helping people to develop healthy coping strategies is vital so that people can live meaningful and offence free lives. Unfortunately, outside of the criminal justice system, there are significant barriers to accessing mental health services for this group.

My research has more recently focused on understanding treatment needs and barriers to treatment. The aim is to develop mental health programs for people with a sexual interest in children who are not involved in the criminal justice system. One of the areas that have been identified as a significant barrier for people who may desire these services is concern about negative attitudes that influence their desire to seek treatment and how these attitudes might impact their care.

We are currently conducting a survey to determine how to accurately measure the attitude of the general public on this topic. This survey is part of an unfunded study conducted by myself and two students. We hope that this will advance research in the area.

We can create an environment where people who are dealing with a sexual interest in children and want mental health services can access those services. I believe we have a moral and ethical responsibility to help anyone who wants these services, regardless of their identity.

I recognize that this topic evokes strong emotions in others, which is understandable given the nature of this matter. Sadly, strong emotions can prevent the tough conversations we must have if we hope to develop effective responses that can prevent sexual abuse.

Written by Skye Stephens, Ph.D. R.Psych, a psychologist and Assistant Professor at Saint Mary's University.

Coastal communities and their preparations for climate change at heart of new short film

The coastal community of Clare, Nova Scotia, that is featured in the film.

A new short film about coastal communities and how they are preparing for the impacts of climate change and other hazards from the sea was released today, Feb. 11. The film, Coastal Communities… At the Ready, combines global perspectives with the experiences of two communities on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Canada. 

“Most of the world’s people live by the sea and are under the threat of a variety of marine hazards,” said Dr. Tony Charles, a professor at Saint Mary’s University and the director of the Community Conservation Research Network.  “Marine hazards are not new on the coast but they are becoming more common and more intense under the pressures of climate change. Where the sea meets the land in coastal communities, developing good responses to the impending threats is vitally important.” 

This 13-minute film is important for all those concerned about our oceans and coasts, our communities and the impacts of climate change and ocean hazards. This includes communities and community associations, citizen organizations, governments and policymakers. The film also serves as a starting point for climate change discussions in school and university classrooms.

The film was produced by the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response Network (MEOPAR), the Community Conservation Research Network (CCRN), and Saint Mary’s University, with support from the Networks of Centres of Excellence Canada.

The film is available at:

• www.communityconservation.net/coastal-communities-at-the-ready

• https://meopar.ca/news/watch-it-now-coastal-communities-at-the-ready

SMU researcher’s groundbreaking earthworm study on recent cover of Science Magazine

Dr. Erin Cameron, a researcher in the department of Environmental Science, has published a paper in the prestigious Science Magazine on her work studying the global diversity and biogeography of earthworms.

The study had two main findings: that local species richness (the number of earthworm species at a site) was higher in temperate regions of the world compared to tropical areas, and that climate is the strongest driver of earthworm diversity. This suggests that future climate change could significantly alter earthworm communities worldwide, threatening the many functions they provide.

“Having her research recognized by such a prestigious scientific publication is a testament to Dr. Cameron’s innovative work in the field of environmental science,” said Dr. Lori Francis, acting Dean of Science at Saint Mary’s University. “The huge scope of her collaboration with such a large international group of scientists is impressive, and this work will allow further collaborations with other leaders in this field and answer important questions about effects of global climate change on earthworm communities.”

“Having her research recognized by such a prestigious scientific publication is a testament to Dr. Cameron’s innovative work in the field of environmental science.”

— Dr. Lori Francis, acting Dean of Science at Saint Mary’s University

Dr. Cameron and her German collaborator Prof. Nico Eisenhauer were the senior authors on the paper, with their postdoc Dr. Helen Phillips as the lead author. The research, based at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University in Germany, used research compiled from 140 researchers from across the globe to create the largest earthworm dataset worldwide, encompassing 6928 sites in 57 countries.

First conceived in 2014 at a global earthworm conference after a workshop discussing questions concerning diversity patterns of earthworms, this report has been years in the making. The researchers looked at questions about what factors drive global patterns of earthworm diversity: soil properties such as pH and the organic carbon content of soil, or habitat cover, or climate: i.e. temperature and precipitation. Dr. Cameron had previously looked at earthworm distributions in the boreal forest of northern Alberta, and was intrigued by earthworms found further north than expected.

Earthworms substantially shape the way ecosystems function: their burrowing creates holes, mixes soil components and they eat organic debris. By doing so, they drive a wide range of ecosystem services, including nutrient provision, water infiltration and run-off, carbon storage, climate mitigation and seed dispersal.

“Earthworms are ecosystem engineers; they are species with a large impact on the structure of ecosystems,” said Dr. Cameron. “While the impact of earthworms on their local ecosystems is fairly well known, until now there has been no research or data on the distribution of earthworms at a global scale.”

“A surprising result of this study was that the biodiversity patterns in above-ground organisms do not match those of soil organisms, with a greater local diversity found in more temperate climates compared with tropical locations,” Dr. Cameron explained. “As typically the highest number of species in a local area is found in the tropics, this result was not expected, however we suspect that the total number of earthworms across the tropics is still higher than other regions due to dissimilarity among sites.”

“This is a seminal accomplishment in climate change research which Dr. Cameron has achieved so early in her professional career, with this being the first time Saint Mary’s research has been featured on the cover of Science Magazine,” said Dr. Adam Sarty, Saint Mary’s University’s Associate Vice-President Research.  “Her ability to lead this large international collaborative project, and provide a truly global perspective, makes us excited to see where her next projects will lead as she joins the growing team of Saint Mary’s University researchers focusing attention on the impacts of, and responses to, the effects of climate change.”

The research also found that the biggest driver of diversity in earthworm communities was climate, namely precipitation and temperature. “These organisms are an important part of our ecosystem, and below-ground biodiversity must be considered when considering the effects of climate change on our ecosystems,” said Dr. Cameron.

The study and its resulting comprehensive global map used as much data on earthworm diversity, abundance and biomass as possible. Future stages of this work will project earthworm diversity levels in the future.

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Dr. Erin Cameron is an assistant professor in the Environmental Science department at Saint Mary’s University. Her research examines effects of global change on species distributions, community composition, and ecosystem functioning. She uses a combination of field observations, experiments, citizen science, molecular approaches, data synthesis, and modelling to assess global change impacts across spatial and temporal scales. Dr. Cameron was recently awarded an NSERC Discovery Grant with a Northern Research Supplement.