Latest news with #UniversiteLaval
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
What's slimy, green and flourishing thanks to climate change?
If you guessed algae, you're right. New research published in Communications Earth & Environment suggests algae growth is increasing in Canada's lakes — even remote ones — and climate change is the main culprit. A team led by researchers at McGill University in Montreal and Université Laval analyzed sediment cores taken from 80 lakes across the country and found that algae has been increasing in the majority of them since the mid-1800s. For lead author Hamid Ghanbari, the most interesting finding was a spike in the rate of the increase in algal growth: since the 1960s, it increased sevenfold. "This was something very surprising for us and when we compared our data with other historical records, we found out that rising temperature is a major factor," Ghanbari said. Aside from climate change, excess nitrogen and phosphorus can also contribute to algal growth when they are carried into waterways through runoff from animal manure and chemical fertilizers, stormwater and wastewater. Algae, along with bacteria and phytoplankton, are essential for the aquatic food web. But too much algae can be a bad thing. The recently published peer-reviewed study looked at algal growth overall and didn't analyze for blooms. While some lakes see some algae as a part of their cycle, Ghanbari said the concern is what will happen if the increase in algae leads to growth outside of what's normal. "That's where the problem starts," he said. "We don't know at the moment what that threshold is, but we know the increasing chlorophyll or algae levels in the lakes could lead to several problems." Ghanbari said excess algae growth can harm aquatic life and even human health — reducing water quality, depleting oxygen in the water and creating blooms that can release dangerous toxins, as residents along the shores of Lake Erie know all too well. Daryl McGoldrick, head of water quality monitoring and surveillance for the Great Lakes for Environment and Climate Change Canada, said while increasing algal growth doesn't necessarily mean more toxic blooms, there is a risk to aquatic life. "The study is in line with what we see and [what we] suspect are impacts of warming," McGoldrick said. Global and local action can help Maëlle Tripon, a project manager with Quebec freshwater advocacy group Fondation Rivières, said her team has noticed first-hand that when it's warmer, they see more algae on lakes. She said her takeaway from the research is that tackling algal growth cannot solely rely on local action. "We already knew we need to change locally — like farming practices and also, for example, we need less paved and waterproof surface in the cities," she said. "But what the study shows is that we also need global policies to alleviate climate change." Ghanbari agreed, but added that individual choices can still help reduce algal growth. "Simple acts such as reducing the fertilizers … or properly disposing of household chemicals, these simple acts could really help the lakes," he said.
CBC
4 days ago
- Health
- CBC
What's slimy, green and flourishing thanks to climate change?
If you guessed algae, you're right. New research published in Communications Earth & Environment suggests algae growth is increasing in Canada's lakes — even remote ones — and climate change is the main culprit. A team led by researchers at McGill University in Montreal and Université Laval analyzed sediment cores taken from 80 lakes across the country and found that algae has been increasing in the majority of them since the mid-1800s. For lead author Hamid Ghanbari, the most interesting finding was a spike in the rate of the increase in algal growth: since the 1960s, it increased sevenfold. "This was something very surprising for us and when we compared our data with other historical records, we found out that rising temperature is a major factor," Ghanbari said. Aside from climate change, excess nitrogen and phosphorus can also contribute to algal growth when they are carried into waterways through runoff from animal manure and chemical fertilizers, stormwater and wastewater. Algae, along with bacteria and phytoplankton, are essential for the aquatic food web. But too much algae can be a bad thing. The recently published peer-reviewed study looked at algal growth overall and didn't analyze for blooms. While some lakes see some algae as a part of their cycle, Ghanbari said the concern is what will happen if the increase in algae leads to growth outside of what's normal. "That's where the problem starts," he said. "We don't know at the moment what that threshold is, but we know the increasing chlorophyll or algae levels in the lakes could lead to several problems." Ghanbari said excess algae growth can harm aquatic life and even human health — reducing water quality, depleting oxygen in the water and creating blooms that can release dangerous toxins, as residents along the shores of Lake Erie know all too well. Daryl McGoldrick, head of water quality monitoring and surveillance for the Great Lakes for Environment and Climate Change Canada, said while increasing algal growth doesn't necessarily mean more toxic blooms, there is a risk to aquatic life. "The study is in line with what we see and [what we] suspect are impacts of warming," McGoldrick said. Global and local action can help Maëlle Tripon, a project manager with Quebec freshwater advocacy group Fondation Rivières, said her team has noticed first-hand that when it's warmer, they see more algae on lakes. She said her takeaway from the research is that tackling algal growth cannot solely rely on local action. "We already knew we need to change locally — like farming practices and also, for example, we need less paved and waterproof surface in the cities," she said. "But what the study shows is that we also need global policies to alleviate climate change." Ghanbari agreed, but added that individual choices can still help reduce algal growth. "Simple acts such as reducing the fertilizers … or properly disposing of household chemicals, these simple acts could really help the lakes," he said.
National Post
14-06-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Amid upheaval abroad, universities urge Ottawa, Quebec to invest in attracting talent
Four major Quebec universities are proposing initiatives to make the province a landing spot for high-level researchers and urged the federal and provincial government to step up at a unique moment to attract talent from around the globe. Article content 'As political and social tensions weaken the global research ecosystem, Quebec and Canada have a unique opportunity to position themselves as havens for rigorous and independent research,' the group, calling themselves Polaris, said in a statement released Saturday that highlights a number of moves, including co-ordinated steps at the provincial and national level to attract talent. Article content Article content The four universities — Universite Laval, McGill University, Universite de Montreal and Universite de Sherbrooke — hope to leverage political and social tensions affecting researchers around the world to lure them to Canadian schools. Article content Article content The group of universities have put together a series of proposed options and opportunities under the Polaris platform and argue both Quebec and Ottawa have a role to play in making them happen. Article content Vincent Poitout, vice-rector of research and innovation at Universite de Montreal, says there is a window to transform a very unfortunate situation in science, particularly in the United States, into an opportunity for Canada. Article content 'The goal is to reposition Canada as a superpower in research and innovation and to restore its place among the world leaders,' Poitout said in an interview. Article content 'Canada must seize the moment, and the moment won't necessarily last very long (…) It's a global competition, so the time to do it is now.' Article content The universities note a recent survey published in the journal Nature that found 75 per cent of researchers in the United States are considering leaving the country. Article content Article content The Quebec institutions are suggesting the creation of new research chairs in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence, health and biodiversity. There is also a call to offer targeted scholarships in order to recruit prospective doctoral and post-doctoral students. Article content Article content In addition, the group is calling for supports for early-career researchers and investment in modernizing research infrastructure. Article content Dominique Berube, vice-president of research and innovation at McGill University, said there has been much discussion in Canada's research community about how best to support American colleagues and maintain collaboration while balancing provincial and national priorities of ensuring sovereignty in research and other domains. Article content The universities describe their proposals as 'well-considered' and 'scalable.' Article content 'As much as we do recognize that there are a lot of priorities that need to be addressed — and we don't want to diminish in any in any way the many challenges that the governments are facing — nevertheless, all nations across the world are investing massively at this moment in technologies and in science,' Berube said.
