Media releases

• Brock Indigenous research to be highlighted at community event

  Wednesday, August 16, 2023 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: Aug 16 2023 – R0069

  An upcoming community event will highlight how Indigenous ways of knowing and understanding are being embedded into Brock University research, and how this approach can be applied to other areas of work.

  “Healing Circles of Engagement, Weaving Relationships in Research,” a one-day interdisciplinary Canadian Institutes of Health Research Scientifique Café, will be held Wednesday, Aug. 23, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Brock’s Goodman School of Business Atrium.

  Hosted by the Department of Nursing Research Committee, the event will focus on knowledge mobilization, highlighting Indigenous methodologies and protocols to ensure research is taking place in a culturally safe way intended to build respectful relations.

  Through the café, participants will gain practical knowledge though real-world examples of health and social issues being addressed in culturally appropriate contexts.

  “Health and culture are central to one’s overall well-being,” says Connie Schumacher, Assistant Professor of Nursing and Nursing Research Committee Co-chair. “We look forward to showcasing groundbreaking work taking place across Brock as we talk about ways of doing Indigenous research.”

  The event will include panel presentations and two panel discussions with Indigenous and Indigenous-ally scholars.

  Topics being discussed will include Indigenous language renewal and impact on cultural identity, sociocultural contexts that influence health and wellness, culturally appropriate knowledge translation and mobilization, meaningful Indigenous engagement in remote communities and working with patient partners.

  The afternoon will also explore ways student researchers can engage with Indigenous communities as well as best supports to benefit Indigenous students and scholars.

  “Our aim is to gather and engage in conversations around Indigenous health, culture and ways of knowing,” says Associate Professor of Nursing Sheila O’Keefe-McCarthy, who is also a Nursing Research Committee Co-chair. “By bringing researchers, students, Indigenous community members and health organization stakeholders together, we hope to strengthen partnerships and collaborations.”

  In addition to the presentations and discussion panels, the day will include an Indigenous luncheon and scholarly poster session with presentations and graduate student awards.

  The Nursing Research Committee is committed to ensuring the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization are embedded within all aspects of the event.

  “This café will create a safe space to allow open, respectful dialogue between all attendees and presenters,” says committee member and Assistant Professor of Nursing Vanessa Silva e Silva. “We are working with the presenters to ensure all information shared is understandable for those with or without scientific backgrounds.”

  This event is free, but advance registration is required.

  Students or faculty involved in Indigenous research and projects who want to showcase their work through a poster, display or presentation are invited to send a brief abstract or title by Sunday, Aug. 20 to sokeefemccarthy@brocku.ca

  For more information, including the event’s full schedule, visit ExperienceBU or email cshumacher@brocku.ca

  This event is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Maryanne St. Denis, Manager, Content and Communications, Brock University mstdenis@brocku.ca or 905-246-0256  

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  Categories: Media releases

• Rise in toxic algae blooms requires co-ordinated response, say Brock researchers

  Wednesday, August 16, 2023 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: Aug 16 2023 – R0068

  The prevalence of blue-green algae blooms in southern Ontario will become more frequent as temperatures rise, say Brock University researchers.

  The hot, dry periods from June to August create perfect conditions for harmful algae to grow, impacting fish populations and potentially putting human and pet health at risk.

  Brock researchers Vaughn Mangal, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, and Kelly Biagi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, are investigating what nutrients are entering the water that contribute to uncontrollable algae growth and the neurotoxins that shut down beaches and recreational water activities.

  “These harmful algae blooms are triggered by excess nutrients, primarily phosphorus and nitrogen, from agricultural activities, such as applied fertilizers that runoff from the land to waterways,” says Mangal. “The need for interventions and management from municipalities and provincial governments will continue to grow to help regulate how much fertilizer is used.”

  The Niagara region and Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area is a hub for human activity with a lot of agriculture, cargo ships and industrial effluents discharging inorganic pollutants and excess nutrients in harbours, lakes and waterways, Mangal says.

  Understanding how contaminants, including excess nutrients, move from land to water is a major focus of Mangal and Biagi’s research.

  With expertise in hydrology, Biagi studies how water physically moves through ecosystems, which includes all components of the water cycle from precipitation and evaporation to water flow through rivers, wetlands and groundwater.

  “Water drives the movement of contaminants, so we need to understand how water is moving through these agricultural landscapes to determine where excess nutrients are entering waterways and quantify their concentration,” she says. “Knowing this can help identify where to focus management strategies for problematic algae blooms.”

  Mangal — who has extensive experience looking at algae biomarkers, contaminant cycling and analytical chemistry — and Biagi are currently doing fieldwork at the Wignell Drain in Port Colborne as part of a study on factors contributing to algae blooms.

  This year’s rain has made algae blooms more sporadic, whereas the summer of 2022 was hot and dry. This led to one big algae bloom in 2022 that later subsided, he says.

  Recent research in southern Ontario shows that large rain and snowmelt events lead to some of the largest nutrient inputs to waterways.

  “Climate change is expected to increase the severity and frequency of storms, which will likely enhance the movement of excess nutrients to waterways, and subsequent harmful algae blooms will only continue to increase over time,” Biagi says.

  When algae die, the bacterial decomposition uses up oxygen from water that fish need to breathe. The decaying algae become slimy and odorous while removing oxygen from the water, ultimately shutting down the ecosystem.

  Mangal suggests municipal governments should begin to regulate fertilizer use and continue to explore alternatives to traditional synthetic fertilizers that wash from land to water.

  “If we don’t begin to regulate fertilizer use and the amount of nutrients going across the terrestrial, aquatic interface, conditions for harmful algae growth will continue,” he says.

  Mangal has conducted algae research in Hamilton Harbour, Bay of Quinte, Port Colborne and Dryden, Ont., as well as Churchill, Man.

  Biagi’s research into how human disturbances impact water quality has focused on southern Ontario, Nova Scotia and the Athabasca oil sands region in Alberta.

  Vaughn Mangal, Assistant Professor in Brock’s Department of Chemistry, and Kelly Biagi, Assistant Professor in Brock’s Department of Earth Sciences, are available for media interviews on the topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Maryanne St. Denis, Manager, Content and Communications, Brock University mstdenis@brocku.ca or 905-246-0256  

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  Categories: Media releases