Roger Korth
MSc. Candidate

Roger graduated from the U of A (2002) with a B.Sc. in Environmental Biology. He spent the last six field seasons working for the Alberta Conservation Association on a number of fisheries projects.

Co-supervisor: Dr. Lee Foote, Dept. of Renewable Resources,
U of A

rkorth@ualberta.ca

     Conservation of lake sturgeon

Declining dramatically in the last century, Alberta 's lake sturgeon have recently been given a "threatened" status. Lake sturgeon exist in two populations within the province, and while demographic data exist for the North Saskatchewan River population, there remain significant gaps in our knowledge of this species. In particular, there is a paucity of data available for the population of lake sturgeon residing in the South Saskatchewan River , where basic biological data has not been collected since 1986. My research will provide scientific data pertaining to population estimates, age class distributions, growth rates, condition factors, age of first maturity, spawning potential ratio, catch rates and mortality rates of the lake sturgeon in the South Saskatchewan River . Analyses of these population parameters and the generation of a database referenced model to predict the population dynamics of lake sturgeon under various exploitation levels will offer insight into the long-term sustainability of the population and identify effective management strategies for conservation of this species.

Kathy St. Laurent
MSc. Candidate

Co-supervisor: Dr. Steve Cumming

kathys@ualberta.ca

The Remote Areas Project was a 4 year project (sampling completed in summer of 2004) designed as landscape level assessment of boreal breeding birds in northern Alberta . The project goals were to examine the impacts of industrial development on boreal bird communities and to develop multi-scale predictive bird habitat models. Sites ranged from landscapes that were relatively pristine containing large tracts of intact, old forest to landscapes that were highly fragmented and developed through oil and gas exploration and timber extraction. Both summer breeding bird surveys and winter resident surveys were completed.

With projected future increases in oil and gas development and harvesting levels in Alberta, impacts to boreal breeding bird communities is unknown. Many neo-tropical migratory species have shown significant declines in abundance over the past several years. With the data gathering complete, I plan to look at bird communities across a gradient of land-use intensity to compare the bird community in pristine landscapes to that in highly developed landscapes. Communities within specific habitat types will be described, particularly in habitat types most at risk to being lost from Alberta 's landscape through industrial development. Management options for the maintenance of integral bird communities in specific habitat types within the boreal region of Alberta is one of my main goals.