A Kwantlen Polytechnic University researcher has won the 2024 medal from the Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI) for her work on how environmental stressors impact fish.
Dr. Erika Eliason is an associate dean in the KPU Faculty of Science. Her studies have focused in particular on how Pacific salmon populations have been impacted by climate change.
B次元官网网址淢y work has shown that populations of salmon differ in their thermal tolerance, which has important management implications,B次元官网网址� Eliason said in a statement after the award was announced. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e also shown that Pacific salmon may be dying en route to their spawning grounds because of heart failure.B次元官网网址�
She explained that most aquatic animals canB次元官网网址檛 regulate their own body temperature. If water temperatures rise by two degrees Celsius, then the fishB次元官网网址檚 temperature rises by the same amount.
B次元官网网址淔ish can only thrive within a specific range of temperatures, so heat waves B次元官网网址� or cold snaps B次元官网网址� can create huge problems for fish, even leading to death,B次元官网网址� Eliason said.
The FSBI noted that EliasonB次元官网网址檚 research has been used by policy-makers, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Pacific Salmon Commission, which used her paper on migrating salmon to help in the management of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 sockeye fishery.
B次元官网网址淓rikaB次元官网网址檚 contribution to fish biology is voluminous and broad, underscoring her exceptional productivity and dedication to the field of fish biology as well as the influence her work has had across the community,B次元官网网址� said Dr. Holly Shiels, FSBI honorary president and Professor of Integrative Physiology at the University of Manchester.
B次元官网网址淔ish are incredibly important for our economy, recreation, culture and ecosystems,B次元官网网址� she noted. B次元官网网址淲hen I decided to go to grad school, I was excited to bring together my curiosity about how the world works with my love of fish and nature.B次元官网网址�
Growing up fishing and being outdoors, Eliason was drawn into studying biology.
She joined KPU in 2023, after having worked as an Associate Professor of Ecological and Evolutionary physiology at the University of California Santa Barbara, where her research program resulted in more than 90 scientific publications. She worked to train researchers at the undergraduate, masters, and doctorate levels.
The award will be presented this summer at the FSBIB次元官网网址檚 annual symposium in Bilbao, Spain.
B次元官网网址淚t is such an honour to win this award,B次元官网网址� said Eliason. B次元官网网址淭ruly exceptional fish biologists and fisheries scientists have received this award in the past, and I am humbled and honoured to be included in their group.B次元官网网址�
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