Community Research Partner/
Analytical Support
The
over-riding goal of any resource
management plan is the long-term sustainable use of natural resources.
This is possible only when socio-economic and ecological factors are
understood and accounted for during initial planning stages. Aquatic
resources such as fish are particularly difficult to accommodate in
that fish are not easily observed or captured and are among those
species most heavily impacted by improper resource extraction
activities.
Over the past few years, our lab has been developing an analytical
support capacity to assist with this process and act as a research
partner to industry and community groups in British Columbia.
Services we currently provide:
- Assistance with the design of sampling
protocols required for genetic analyses.
- Genetic species identification
for juveniles and morphologically ambiguous adults, including hybrids
(salmon, trout, char, whitefish, minnows, etc.).
- An estimate of population structure and
impacts of barriers or barrier removal on migration and gene flow.
- A regional context for biodiversity
related issues.
Note that we are NOT contractors. Generally, we offer this
service on a cost-recovery basis, provided that we retain access to the
data for scholarly pursuits. We believe this ultimately benefits the
environmental review process by helping to ensure ecological and
biodiversity-related concerns are highlighted and properly accommodated
early in development planning.