Previous Students
Marissa Berard
Marissa joined the Davoren Lab in May 2018, and completed her B.Sc. (Honours) with a focus in Ecology and Environmental Biology in the Winter of 2019. The objective of her research was to determine the diet of Atlantic Cod in northeastern Newfoundland, using both stomach content analysis and stable isotope analysis.
Amy Irvine
Amy completed her B.Sc. honours project research in the winter of 2020 which looked at how nest site qualities within Murre colonies along the northeastern coast of Newfoundland influence the reproductive success of individuals in small versus large colony population. Amy is currently working on completing her M.Sc. at Dalhousie University.
Lauren Lescure
Lauren joined the Davoren Lab in the Fall of 2019 after completing her B.Sc. at Texas A&M University and spending time in the field working with seabirds. Specifically, she is interested in understanding the diving behaviour of alcids in the Northeast Atlantic and how that relates to Capelin arrival along the coast which was the focus of M.Sc. research at the University of Manitoba. Lauren graduated in the summer of 2021 and has moved on to a job in her field.
Scott Morrison
Scott started his Master's in the fall of 2019 after completing his B.Sc. (Honours) at the University of Manitoba. His thesis research was conducted off of the northeastern coast of Newfoundland and was interested in the distribution and abundance of sand lance. Following Scott's graduation in December 2021 he started working in biological consulting.
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Tommy Pontbriand
Tommy joined the Davoren lab in May 2020 after his undergraduate degree in biology at Laval University where he did an honours thesis on zooplankton communities in Hudson Bay. From zooplankton, he went to bowhead whales as a subject for his M.Sc. thesis. He studied inter-individual diet variation in bowhead whales of the Eastern-Canada & Western-Greenland population using stable isotopes and fatty acids. His project aimed to find the mechanisms responsible for diet variation within the population in order to assess the potential of bowheads to cope with large-scale changes in zooplankton composition and abundance resulting from climate change. Tommy graduated in the Fall of 2022 and has since moved to a job with the department of fisheries and oceans.
Mika Athayde
Mika joined the lab in Fall 2019. In the fall of 2021 they moved to Memorial University to complete their B.Sc. with a focus on Marine Biology. Mika has done work in video analysis for capelin spawning sites and humpback whale behaviour, capelin egg dating, and processing feathers for stable isotope analysis on the non-breeding ecology of razorbills, puffins, and murres. They also have experience subsampling fishes and performing lipid extraction for lipid and stable isotope analysis. Mika co-authored the feather processing protocol used by the Davoren Lab and is looking forward to continuing in marine predator ecology research.
Shu ting Zhao
After completing her B.Sc. at the University of Manitoba in 2016 She joined the Davoren lab in September 2017 to do her M.Sc. that she completed in Winter 2020. Her project was interested in understanding narwhal weaning and dietary variation within a population using stable isotope analysis of dentine from narwhal embedded tusks.
Kelsey Johnson
Kelsey is a PADI scuba instructor who fell in love with the ocean and developed a passion for conservation. She began her Honours (B.Sc.) in May 2015 with the Davoren Lab studying life history characteristics of spawning capelin. She then continued with her M.Sc. in May 2016 studying the diet and foraging behaviour of humpback whales.
Edward Jenkins
Edward is originally from the UK and has travelled widely working with seabirds and developed a keen interest in their ecology and conservation. His M.Sc. focused on the dietary niche dynamics of the seabird assemblage in northeastern Newfoundland throughout the summer, and the relationship between their diet and capelin biomass.
Paloma Carvalho
Paloma is a biologist with an M.Sc. in Biological Oceanography, completed in Brazil, where she is originally from. Her research focus has always been the marine environment. After finishing her M.Sc., she decided to pursue her Ph.D. abroad and started at the University of Manitoba in the Fall of 2013. She defended her Ph.D. thesis in Fall 2018 titled "Coexistence of two sympatric migratory shearwaters species during their non-breeding season on the East Coast of Newfoundland".
Julia Gulka
Julia defended her M.Sc. thesis in Fall 2018 titled "From populations to individuals: understanding foraging niche dynamics, individual specialization, and behavioural plasticity in the common murre and razorbill in Northeastern Newfoundland". She has since moved on to a job in her field.
Previous Students
M.Sc. & Ph.D. Students
Mikhailitchenko A (2020) Temporal patterns of humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, non-song calls on their Newfoundland foraging grounds. MSc, Biological Sciences.
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Zhao S (2020) Individual variation in nursing duration and resource use among narwhals (Monodon Monoceros) from eastern Canadian Arctic using stable isotopes (d13C and d15N) of dentine from embedded teeth. MSc, Biological Sciences.
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Epp M (2019) The call repertoire of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) on a Newfoundland foraging ground (2015, 2016) with comparison to a Hawaiian breeding ground (1981, 1982). MSc, Biological Sciences.
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Gulka J (2018) From populations to individuals: understanding foraging niche dynamics, individual specialization, and behavioural plasticity in the common murre and razorbill in northeastern Newfoundland. MSc, Biological Sciences.
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Johnson K (2018) Humpback whale foraging ecology under shifting prey abundance. MSc, Biological Sciences.
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Carvalho Calabria P (2018) Coexistence of two sympatric migratory shearwaters species during their non-breeding season on the east coast of Newfoundland. PhD, Biological Sciences. Science Without Borders Scholarship
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Jenkins E (2018) Dietary niche breadth and niche overlap of multiple marine predators under shifting prey abundance. MSc, Biological Sciences.
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Scharffenberg (2018) Passive acoustic monitoring to identify drivers of Beluga whale habitat use in the Mackenzie Estuary. MSc, Biological Sciences.
Magnaye M (2018) Growth and post-spawning survival in capelin (Mallotus villosus) on the Northeast coast of Newfoundland. MSc, Biological Sciences.
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Ogloff W (2018) Climate change-related shifts in species interactions and diet in an Arctic marine ecosystem. MSc, Biological Sciences.
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Maynard L (2018) Internal and external factors influencing foreign ecology of North Atlantic large Laridae. MSc, Biological Sciences.
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Loeppky A (2016) Otolith chemistry as a natural tag indicating natal habitat of capelin (Mallotus villosus). MSc, Biological Sciences.
McNicholl (2016) Life history of capelin Mallotus villosus and dietary overlap with Arctic Cod Boreogadus saida in the Canadian Beaufort Sea. MSc, Biological Sciences.
Crook K (2015) Investigating the impact of green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) predation on capelin eggs at deep-water spawning sites in coastal Newfoundland. MSc, Biological Sciences.
Maxner E (2014) Intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing the timing of arrival of capelin (Mallotus villosus) to the spawning grounds. MSc, Biological Sciences.
Penton P (2013) Life history variation in capelin – a forage fish in the North Atlantic. PhD, Biological Sciences.
Sheppard K (2013) Food web dynamics in Lake Winnipeg: trophic linkages among invasive rainbow smelt and commercially important piscivorous fish. MSc, Biological Sciences (co-supervisor with Dr B Hann).
Olynyk A (2013) Food web dynamics in Lake Winnipeg: trophic linkages among zooplankton and the invasive rainbow smelt along with intraguid competition among planktivores. MSc, Biological Sciences (co-supervisor with Dr B Hann).
Elliott K (2007) Foraging behaviour of Thick-billed Murres in northern Hudson Bay. MSc, Zoology.
Harter B (2007) Black Guillemots as indicators of change in Arctic marine ecosystem. MSc, Zoology.
Penton P (2006) Demersal spawning in capelin on the northeast coast of Newfoundland. MSc, Zoology.
Undergraduate B.Sc Honours Students
Berard M (2019) Influence of capelin (Mallotus villosus) availability on the diet of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in coastal Newfoundland. BSc Honours, Biological Sciences.
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Epp M (2017) Characterization of non-song vocalizations of humpback whales on their North Atlantic foraging grounds. BSc Honours.
Johnson K (2016) Variation in growth and age of sexual maturity in spawning capelin (Mallotus villosus) on the northeast Newfoundland coast. BSc Honours.
Bone B (2015) Egg cannibalism at spawning sites of capelin (Mallotus villosus) in the Northwest Atlantic. BSc Honours.
Genier G (2015) Growth rates of Arctic charr Salvenius alpinus among various stocks within the Cumberland Sound region determined by back-calculation from otoliths. BSc Honours.
Woloschiniwsky C (2014) Investigating natal philopatry in Newfoundland capelin (Mallotus villosus) using otolith elemental chemistry. BSc Honours.
Crook K (2013) Underwater foraging behaviour and search strategies of common murres (Uria aalge) and the influences of capelin (Mallotus villosus) density and antipredator behaviour. BSc Honours.
Wild K (2013) Relationships between predator density and prey density: multiple marine predator species and capelin (Mallotus villosus) in coastal Newfoundland. BSc Honours.
Sheppard K (2010) Trophic study of invasive rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) and native walleye (Sander vitreus) in the north basin of Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba. BSc Honours.
Olynyk A (2009) Prey selection of the invasive rainbow smelt in Lake Winnipeg. BSc Honours.
Arlt M (2007) Historical distribution of boreal caribou in the Prince Albert Greater Ecosystem in relation to landscape change. BSc Honours.
Reinfort B (2006) Biotic and abiotic factors affecting egg and pre-emergent larval mortality of capelin on a northeast Newfoundland beach. BSc Honours
