department of biology

Faculty of Arts and ScienceQueen’s University Kingston, Ontario k7l 3n6 www.queensu.ca/biology

QUEEN’S – KINGSTON CHAPTER OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGYThe Kingston Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology was founded by BiologyDepartment students and faculty in 1994. Since that time, the Chapter has been veryinvolved in local and global conservation initiatives. Our main activities include naturalizingschool grounds (including planning, fund-raising, and coordinating plantings by children),hosting public presentations and workshops by guest speakers (e.g. Elizabeth May onenvironmental activism; Lorraine Johnston on native gardening; Guy Dauncey on solutionsto climate change), organizing all-candidates debates on the environment during federaland provincial elections, and presenting an annual photo contest and silent auction. Inaddition to our regular activities, one of our major accomplishments was a successfulenvironmental conference, People and the Planet, in June 2001 – now a semi-annual eventhosted by the Sierra Club of Canada. We won the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority’sEnvironment Award in 1999, and now include over 100 members.

http://biology.queensu.ca/%7escbExternal Awards since 2000Canada Council Killam Fellowship R.D. Montgomerie 2002Canada Research Chair I C.W. Hawryshyn 2006Canada Research Chair I J.P. Smol 2001Canada Research Chair II L. Campbell 2004Canada Research Chair II S. Regan 2004Canada Research Chair II P. Grogan 2003Canada Research Chair II A.K. Chippindale 2002CSZ Public Awareness Award B.L. Tufts 2005

Internal Awards since 2000Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching B.L. Tufts 2004-05ASUS W.J. Barnes Teaching Excellence Award A.K. Chippindale 2005-06ASUS W.J. Barnes Teaching Excellence Award C.G. Eckert 2003-04ASUS W.J. Barnes Teaching Excellence Award S.C. Lougheed 2002-03Baillie Family Chair in Conservation Biology R.J. Robertson 2002Biology DSC Award for Excellence in Teaching A.K. Chippendale 2005-06Biology DSC Award for Excellence in Teaching W.A. Snedden 2004-05Biology DSC Award for Excellence in Teaching A.K. Chippindale 2003-04Biology DSC Award for Excellence in Teaching S.C. Lougheed 2002-03Biology DSC Award for Excellence in Teaching K.E. Wynne-Edwards 2001-02Biology DSC Award for Excellence in Teaching J.P. Smol 2000-01Chancellor’s Research Award A.K. Chippindale 2005Queen’s Research Chair R.D. Montgomerie 2005Queen’s Research Chair W.C. Plaxton 2004-09Queen’s Research Chair V.K. Walker 2003Queen’s Research Chair D.B. Layzell 2002Queen’s Staff Recognition Award – Team F. Phelan and F. Connor 2004Queen’s Staff Recognition Award J. French 2003T. Geoffrey Flynn Advancement Champion Award R.J. Robertson 2005

1997 Biosciences Complex

1966-1997 Earl Hall

1880-1965 Old Arts building

Biology Fast Facts1216 number of enrolments in

100 level courses, 2006-071299 200 level1182 300 level212 400 level230 500 level

4 FRSCs, (Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada)2 Tier I CRCs, (Canada Research Chair)4 Tier II CRCs,1 NCIC Research Scientist (National Cancer

Institute of Canada)1 Baillie Family Chair in Conservation Biology1 Herzberg Award1 NSERC Steacie Prize in the Natural Sciences4 Killam Fellowships 4 Steacie Awards7 Premier’s Research Excellence Awards

18 Number of editorial boards of internationalscience journals on which Queen’s Biologists serve

95 Average number of substantial papers published per year in international ISI-indexedpeer reviewed literature by the 33 Biology professors over the past 10 years (peak of 112 in 2005).

$8.9 million – total research funding in Department of Biology for 2005.For more information on the department, see

http://biology.queensu.ca

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Greetings from Queen’s Biology to all our alumni. We hope this newsletter will serve to remind you of your friends and experiences

at Queen’s and to bring you up-to-date on recent events in our department. A few of you will have experienced your entire Queen’s

Biology program in the new Biosciences Complex (opened in 1997), while many more of you will be familiar with the old Earl Hall that

served Biology from 1966 to 1997 and is now integrated into the new building. And, we hope to reach many of you who graduated

before the mid ‘60’s and thus even pre-date Earl Hall, when the Biology Department occupied part of the old Arts building (1880-1965).

Greetings from the Head

I’m very pleased to be addressing you in this our inaugural issue of what will

be an annual Biology Alumni Newsletter. The intent of the newsletter is to keep ouralumni informed about the current stateand future prospects of the Department,particularly with respect to the previousyear’s activities. To some extent this issuewill be slightly different because of theneed to provide a broader overview of wherewe are as context for succeeding issues. Asyou will find out elsewhere in these pagesthe Department is in excellent health andcontemplating an exciting future.

Many of you will be familiar with“Queen’s Biology: an academic history ofinnocence lost and fame gained 1858-1965”by Smallman, Good and West (1991) whichconcludes with an updating epilogue byDennis and Colgan. Thus my own briefupdate will start where this fascinatinghistory ends. Gerry Morris took over the

Headship from David Dennis in 1992 andpresided over a period of harsh budget cutsthroughout the early 1990s that reducedour faculty complement and challengedour ability to offer a high quality under-graduate experience. He also successfullyled us into unionization and the establish-ment of the Collective Agreement betweenQueen’s University and the FacultyAssociation in 1995. Towards the end ofhis tenure the financial situation becameless bleak and an indication of this was the extensive renovation and extensionthat converted Earl Hall into the currentBiosciences Complex (completed 1997).Peter Boag was appointed Head in 1999and his Headship can be characterized as a period of consolidation and significantgrowth when we learned how to deal withthe Collective Agreement and filled our newbuilding with bright young researcherswho will have a positive impact on ourresearch and teaching programs for manyyears to come. Depending on how thecount is made, Peter recruited an impressive9 or 10 new faculty members in his five yearterm, effectively capitalizing on the newfunding available in the Canada ResearchChairs and Canada Foundation forInnovation programs. He also oversawour first Internal Academic Review thatgave the Department an excellent rating

and a strategic plan for future improvements.My own term as Head started in July

2004 and you will learn in future issues of this publication how well I succeed inleading the Department further into the21st century. In spite of our new building,a significant challenge facing us pertains to space; vigorous research enterprises anda young faculty complement results inincreased demand for space of all descrip-tions (laboratory, office and storage). Thismessage is repeatedly delivered to upperadministrative levels and I am confidentthat we will find acceptable solutions thatwill allow us to grow appropriately. As Iwrite this we are in the process of a searchfor an Aquatic Biologist who will strengthena research initiative in Freshwater Fisheriesand Aquatic Science. In the near future we anticipate opening a search for a newincumbent for the Baillie Family Chair inConservation Biology as Raleigh Robertsontakes on other responsibilities, notably asEditor of this newsletter. I look forward toletting you know how we progress withour various missions in next year’s issue.

Mel Robertson, HeadDepartment of Biology

Queen’s Biology Autumn 2006, Volume 1

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The Queen’s University Phytotron!Overlooking Lake Ontario, the Queen’s University Phytotron is a state of the art plant growthfacility built as part of the new Biosciences Complex in 1997. The Phytotron includes 6 autonomous,climate controlled greenhouse zones, 26 environmental growth chambers, a plant work area,and a seed collection/sorting room. Users are able to maintain precise environmental conditionsfor plant growth and other biological applications – specific environmental control functionsinclude temperature and humidity regulation, supplemental lighting, irrigation, and ambientcarbon dioxide control.

The Phytotron supports the research of 9 principal investigators, and serves as a resourcefor a host of graduate and undergraduate students for both research and laboratory courses.

RESEARCH Examples of recent Phytotron researchinclude Sharon Regan’s (photo at bottom)studies of genetic expression in hybridpoplar; W.C. Plaxton’s work on metabolicpathways of the castor bean, and ChrisEckert’s research into the evolutionaryconsequences of self-pollination duringrange expansion in plant populations.Some other notable work that has takenplace here includes endangered speciesrecovery (deerberry) for Parks Canada andinvestigations into the migratory habits ofmonarch butterfly (Barrie Frost, Psychology).

The Phytotron is also the Kingstonhome of Performance Plants Incorporated,a crop genomics company founded by Dr. David Dennis investigating methods of improving crop performance in canola,soybean and corn.

CONSERVATORYOur tiny conservatory houses more than150 tropical, subtropical and Mediterraneanplant species from a wide range of taxonomiclineages and biogeographic regions, andincludes orchids, palms, bananas, bromeliadsand cacti. This remarkable display of evo-lutionary diversity is used to great effect in several undergraduate biology courses,and is the main attraction for visitors tothe Phytotron. It is also an inviting placefor faculty, staff and students to relax andenjoy the tropical ambience, particularlyover the winter months.

CANADIAN SOCIETY OFZOOLOGISTS HOLDS ANNUALMEETING AT QUEEN’SBIOSCIENCES COMPLEXThe Canadian Society of Zoologists heldits 2005 Annual Meeting in the BiosciencesComplex, organized by Biology’s BruceTufts and his team. The meeting broughttogether Canada’s top researchers in diversefields of Zoology: Comparative Physiologyand Biochemistry, Ecology, Evolution andEthology, Parasitology, ComparativeMorphology and Development.

The meeting was a huge success in everyrespect. It was the largest meeting in the 44 year history of the CSZ. Many of the350 attendees told the organizers that theywere drawn to the meeting at Queen’s toexplore the university, the city and the region.The Bioscience Building again showeditself to be an exceptional setting for suchmeetings. It hosted more than 150 oral presentations spread over 5 days. In adynamic evening session, students andfaculty visited more than 100 scientificposters displayed throughout the Atrium.A special session focusing on the careersand roles for women in science featuredQueen’s Biology, Assistant Professor, Dr. Shelley Arnott. Biology’s Steve Lougheedgave an entertaining and impassionedpresentation on the importance of FieldBiology in Education and Research in aspecial lecture sponsored by the ZoologicalEducation Trust.

www.queensu.ca/biology

JOHN SMOL, WINNER OF 2004 HERZBERG PRIZE – CANADA’S GOLDMEDAL FOR SCIENCE AND, AN OUTSTANDING TEACHER AS WELL!One of the world’s leading environmental scientists, Biology’s very own John Smol wasthe 2004 winner of Canada’s top science award – the Herzberg Prize. A Queen’s BiologyPh.D. supervised by Dr. S.R. (Ted) Brown, John, who now holds a Canada Research Chairin Biology, was the founder and co-director (with Brian Cumming) of the PaleoecologicalEnvironmental Assessment and Research Laboratory (PEARL) at Queen’s. PEARLresearchers study aquatic issues ranging from climate change to the impact of sewage andfertilizer run-off on lakes and rivers, and the effect of increased ultraviolet radiation onfreshwater life. John’s award citation commends his “efforts in bringing paleolimnology to world attention, and for discoveries, innovative techniques and research protocols thatare influencing public policy on issues related to climate change, water pollution and theprotection of the Arctic environment. “I think the real challenge is to ask the right questions,”says Smol with a chuckle. “Quite frankly, getting answers is often much easier.”

http://biology.queensu.ca/~pearl

Honours student Crystal Lai with Professor John Smol during theHonours Thesis “Poster Day”. The Biology Honours thesis programtruly integrates the Biology teaching program with the researchefforts of our faculty. Even our busy professors such as Dr. Smol,winner of multiple teaching awards, give a high priority to providingundergraduates with research experience. In 2006-07, some 90students will do a thesis and, based on past experience, the qualityof many will be sufficiently high to ultimately lead to a publicationin the scientific literature. Now that’s really doing science.

Departmental newsTroy Day winner of 2005 Steacie PrizeTroy Day, who holds a joint appointmentin Biology and Mathematics, was the 2005winner of the prestigious Steacie Prize,presented annually to a young scientist orengineer for outstanding research in Canada.Troy, who holds a Canada Research Chairin Mathematical Biology, studies the trans-mission and evolution of infectious diseasessuch as SARS and avian flu. His researchexamines how and why diseases appearwhen they do, as well as the reasons somediseases become deadly while othersremain relatively benign.

“Troy Day is an exemplary model for ournew generation of researchers, many of themworking at the frontiers of interdisciplinaryscience,” says Queen’s Vice-Principal(Research) Kerry Rowe. “The Steacie Prizeis a well-deserved recognition of his abilityto navigate difficult mathematical problemsto find solutions to compelling biologicalquestions, and his potential to enrich ourknowledge in the future.”

Chris Eckert awarded FulbrightChris Eckert was recently awarded aFulbright Visiting Research Chair at UCSanta Barbara where he will conductresearch on the evolutionary biology of the beach evening primrose Camissonia

during his well-earned sabbatical.

Adam Chippindale – winner of W.J.Barnes Teaching Excellence AwardAdam Chippindale was the recent winnerof the W. J. Barnes Teaching Excellence Awardfrom the Arts and Science UndergraduateSociety for his outstanding teaching inBIOL-210 (Biology of Sex) and BIOL-206(Evolution and Population Genetics). Two or three awards are made annuallyfrom amongst the 600 odd members of the faculty of Arts & Science. Biology hasfared very well in this award with recentrecipients including Chris Eckert (2003-04),Steve Lougheed (2002-03), and John Smol(1999-2000).

Queen’s Biology Adjunct Profs teamwith Cataraqui ArchaeologicalResearch Foundation to explore fishpopulation history via remains in local archaeological sitesAdjunct professors, Drs. Jonn Casselmanand Bev Scott, both well known fish biolo-gists who have made Queen’s Biologytheir ‘home’ during a very active retirement,are working with local archaeologists toshed light on use of fish populations twocenturies ago. “There are fish remainsfrom the latrine at the Fort Henry navalyards ca. 1812, also Market Square ca. 1870and from the gun floor of Fort Frontenac,”says Casselman. “We have good commercialharvest data that begins in the late 1870sbut really know nothing from this area priorto that. We’re pretty sure we have salt codand some haddock – very interesting howtastes persist. But it looks as if there was abroad range of fish use. Lots of centrarchids(sunfish), smallmouth bass, and at least onevery large muskellunge.”

MOYES’TEXTBOOK HITS THEBOOKSTORES AND STUDENTBACKPACKSDr. Chris Moyes is co-author of a verypopular textbook in Animal Physiology.The book was published in August 2005and in its first term 20,000 copies wereprinted, with placements in 60 universitiesacross North America, as well as Europeand Australia. With thorough coverage ofthe cellular and molecular basis of animalphysiology, an overarching evolutionarytheme, and an emphasis on the integrationof physiological systems, Drs. Moyes andSchulte present animal physiology in acurrent, balanced, and accessible way,allowing students to understand and retainthe information. Large, carefully designed,full-color artwork guides students throughcomplex systems and processes while in-textpedagogical tools help them learn andremember the material. The book includesthe most up-to-date research on animalgenetics and genomics, methods and models,and offers a broad range of vertebrate and invertebrate examples, with a student-friendly writing style that is consistentlyclear and engaging.

http://wps.aw.com/bc_moyes_animalphys_1

When there is a touch of frost in the air, askim of ice forms on the surface of ponds,demonstrating the natural outward growthof ice. If you added antifreeze proteins madeby certain overwintering organisms to thatpond, these proteins would bind to anyforming ice crystals and arrest their growth.That’s how some insects and fish surviveat below zero temperatures; the outwardgrowth of ice that would damage their cellsis stopped by a loose coat of these proteins.

Biologists at Queen’s are studying howthese antifreeze proteins stick to ice. Thisisn’t easy. You have to work in a walk-infreezer room a lot of the time; otherwise allof your samples will melt. Virginia Walker’sstudents were always complaining that theywere shivering with cold. And they good-naturedly told her that she should be smartenough to think of something warmer thatantifreeze proteins would stick to. She tookon the challenge and after a few missteps,decided to try gas hydrates.

You may not know much about gashydrates yet, but they are poised to be ournext energy source. Canada has vast reservesof gas hydrates along the continental shelvesand under the permafrost. They are formedwhen gases, such as methane and propanestabilize cages of water so that they formcrystals at moderate pressures and abovezero temperatures. Above zero! The studentswere happy and bought Virginia a take-outChinese dinner.

What nobody expected to happen, how-ever, was that these antifreeze proteins stuckso well to gas hydrates that they preventedtheir growth. Huang Zeng, a PhD student

in Biology, discovered that these proteinsmake even better inhibitors than currentcommercial inhibitors. What’s more, theystop the faster reformation that can happenafter hydrates are melted. No other inhibitorhas ever been reported with this property!

It turns out that gas hydrates are a kindof Jeckle and Hyde story- they are a greatsource of energy, but when they formunexpectedly in a pipeline, there can be ablowout and environmental damage. As a result, the world energy sector spends morethan $500 million dollars a year trying tostop hydrates from forming where they aren’twanted. To add to their troubles, the EuropeanUnion has just banned these chemicalinhibitors due to environmental concerns.

Now the work begins to try to produceenough antifreeze proteins to scale-up thetests. Genes from insects, a grass and evena microbe found in soil in Virginia’s backyard have been cloned into bacteria. Theidea is that the bacteria are tricked into“thinking” that these foreign genes belongto them and so produce lots of protein.Will these proteins provide green inhibitorsfor the gas industry? We hope so, but inany event the students are warming up tothis research.

Want to read more about it? See Zeng et al. (2006) Journal of the AmericanChemical Society 128:2844-2850.

Got gas? RESEARCH IN BIOLOGY MAY PROVIDE GREEN INHIBITORS

“Dr. Virginia Walker and graduate student,Joslynn Affleck, use insects as one source ofgenes that may have practical applications”

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Many of our Biology profs offer field coursesas part of the Ontario Universities Programin Field Biology. Several of these coursesinclude international travel to places suchas Costa Rica, Mexico, Thailand and China,while others focus on ecosystems in Ontario,especially at the Queen’s University BiologicalStation (QUBS). Field courses give studentshands-on experience with small class sizeproviding a wonderful opportunity forstudents to get to know the professor andvice versa. Field courses offered by Queen’sBiologists in 2006 include: Tropical Ecology

and Conservation Biology – in Mexico – Dr. Raleigh Robertson; Crustacean Aquaculture

– in Thailand – Dr. Bill Bendena; Aquatic

Ecology – QUBS – Dr. Brian Cumming; Applied

Fisheries Biology – QUBS – Dr. Bruce Tufts;Forest and Ecosystems Assessment – QUBS –Rob Snetsinger and Celine Muis-Griffin;Contaminants in the Human Food Chain –

St. Lawrence River Institute – Dr. PeterHodson; Limnology of Stressed and Recovering

Aquatic Ecosystems – Killarney Wilderness

Park – Dr. Shelley Arnott; The Effects of Human

Development on Aquatic Environments in China

– Dr. Yuxiang Wang and Dr. Steve Lougheed. To illustrate the internationalization

potential of field courses, Dr. YuxiangWang’s field course is designed to provideCanadian students with an appreciationof, and first hand experience with, theinteraction between immense humandevelopment and the environment, with a focus on selected aquatic ecosystems inChina. The course is also intended toequip students with essential biologicaland environmental skills to assess changesand perturbations in aquatic environments.An additional aspect of the course is toafford a medium for cultural and academicexchange between Canadian and Chinesestudents. Students not only learn about theeffects of human development, but alsoabout the differing attitudes and perceptionsabout development in the two cultures.Moreover, this course provides a bridgebetween young scientists from Canadaand China with potential to establish futurecollaborations in research and environmentalmanagement. This field course is the firstof its kind offered between Canadian and

The Biology Field Course Program LEARNING BY DOING – INTEGRATING RESEARCH INTO TEACHING –WITH INTERNATIONALIZATION OFTEN AN ADDED BONUS

Chinese institutions in which students andfaculty members from both countries areactively engaged in the class.

The link between research and teaching,while present throughout the biologycurriculum, is especially evident in fieldcourses and is illustrated in Steve Lougheed’steaching philosophy. “My goal is to providecost-effective opportunities for students toask and answer their own research questionsrelevant to the specific themes of each courseand using the latest methodologies, and toexpose undergraduates to leading edgeresearch being undertaken at Queen’s bygraduate students and faculty. For me, theultimate goal here is to help train biologystudents who: 1. understand how scienceoperates, 2. are familiar with the latestadvances in evolutionary biology and conservation, 3. are aware of the social andpolitical contexts in which science operates,and 4. can think critically about a range ofissues, not simply biological.”

Recent Queen’s Ph.D. graduate, Javier Salgado-Ortizexamines a Mangrove Warbler with University ofCampeche students Eloy Victoria Chan and AntonioBustamante Cù while Queen’s students, Ann Ohama,Jen Duffy, Marina Neytcheva and Emily McKinnontake notes during the field course “Tropical Ecologyand Conservation Biology of Birds” taught by Queen’sBiologist Dr. Raleigh J. Robertson in Mexico duringFebruary 2006.

Dr. Steve Lougheed and Queen’s student Ramsey Wrightget a close-up look at Costa Rican reptiles in CorcovadoNational Park during the field course Tropical Ecology and Field Biology in Costa Rica taught with fellow biologist Dr. Chris Eckert during February 2005.

Feedback from alumni…From Field Course to Grad SchoolBy Emily Darling, B.Sc. Queen’s Biology 2005

A field course on coral reef ecology in Belize, part of the Ontario Universities Program in FieldBiology, was my first introduction to independent research – “ taught in the ocean, not in alecture hall”. This field course has led me to an internship on coral reef fisheries in Kenyaand I am beginning graduate work in coral reef ecology and conservation this September.”

From Queen’s Biology to a Fulbright Fellowship at YaleBy Kate Neville B.Sc. 2005

My initiation into the Queen’s world ofbiological research came in the form of awinter ecology field course over readingweek, at the Queen’s University BiologicalStation (QUBS). I had worked for a summerin the field for the Ministry of NaturalResources in Ontario, and the field coursewas a great chance to expand my ecologicalknowledge, and look at research from amore academic and analytical perspective.It was a course split between graduate andundergraduate students, and the researchprojects we carried out were mixed teamsof the two levels. This was a great intro-duction to designing research projects, andgave me insight into the level of academicexpectations faced by graduate students.The course led to two subsequent summersspent at QUBS as a field assistant, one ofwhich included research for my honours’thesis. The exposure to field research andproject design fed my interest in ecologicalresearch, and I was able to apply and furtherdevelop my skills through research on avariety of species and ecological questions,on plants, birds, and butterflies. The fieldprojects I worked on landed me in thegreenhouse and in the field, and took me

from Eastern Ontario to Costa Rica,Mississippi, and Nebraska.

The field course program at Queen’s isvaluable in its focus on exposing studentsto a variety of themes that are not examinedin school-year courses, and for doing so ina format that includes small class sizes,lots of student-professor interactions, andhands-on learning experiences.

I am currently at the School of Forestryand Environmental Studies at Yale University,where I am pursuing a Master’s degree inwater science, policy, and management.The confidence I gained through my researchexperiences at Queen’s have been invaluablein shaping my graduate program. Theencouragement I received to apply to theprogram and to follow my passion for theintersection between the natural and socialand policy sciences has been instrumentalin my academic career. The numerousresearch opportunities afforded to under-graduate students at Queen’s are importantin providing the chance for students todetermine their interests in biology, and fieldcourses offer an introduction to field researchthat is difficult to gain in other forms.

A Satisfying Career in Biology…By Jennifer Harker, M. Sc. 1976, Partner, Dillon Consulting Limited

From a young age, I knew I wanted to be a biologist. I completed my undergraduatedegree at Trent University, a great smalluniversity in central Ontario but without a graduate program in 1973. With aquaticbiology being my major interest, I becameaware of Queen’s and its wonderfulBiological Research Station in the heart ofthe Rideau Lakes. The practical skills andscientific knowledge learned there underthe supervision of Dr. Allen Keast and anumber of other well respected professorswould prove to be crucial to my future career.

Following graduation in 1976, I was hiredby the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resourcesto undertake a large research study, completewith an extensive field program, to determinethe effects of shoreline development onsensitive aquatic ecosystems in OntarioLakes. Once that project was completed, I was hired by Dillon Consulting Limited,a national multidisciplinary engineering,environmental and planning firm. The 25 years I have spent as an environmentalconsultant with Dillon have been both fascinating and rewarding. Protection ofenvironmental features in all of our projectshas become increasingly important and highprofile. We seek opportunities in each projectto enhance and restore degraded habitatsfor fish and wildlife. I also play a role inmultidisciplinary teams on large strategicprojects, such as watershed plans, wastemanagement master plans and urban andregional planning studies. Although I ambased in Toronto, I have been fortunate to work on interesting projects across thecountry. continued

Graduate students Jennifer Harker and Nancy Gerrish take seine-net samples at the Queen’s University Biological Station during the mid-70’s

www.queensu.ca/biology

My academic and practical traininggained in the biology department fromQueen’s has enabled me to excel in mycareer as an environmental consultant. It gives me great pleasure to be invited tospeak to students and show them that acareer in biology is both worthwhile andsatisfying. Participation as an executive in national scientific associations has alsoenhanced the profile of Dillon and Queen’sand I never lose an opportunity to be anambassador for both. I continue to returnto the University each year to renewfriendships and meet the next generationof professional biologists!

BIOLOGY THESIS (BIOL 537)STUDENTS EXPERIENCERESEARCH FIRST-HANDOn March 10, 2006 the BIO537 fourth yearhonours students hosted a Poster Day inthe Biosciences Atrium. Sixty-nine studentspresented posters based on their researchto faculty, staff, graduate students and fellowundergraduate students. Graduate studentsselected within the Biology departmentjudged the posters and awarded three prizes:1st place to Mike Wilton ($100) and 2ndplace shared by Rebecca Milne and EmmaGoodall ($50 each). The award winningposters will be displayed by the departmentfor one year. Following a reception hostedby the Department of Biology, Dr. PeterZandstra, a Canada Research Chair in StemCell Research at the University of Toronto

gave a public seminar on the generation offunctional tissue from adult and embryonicstem cells.

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We’re interested in YOUR feedback, your ownexperiences in our department, and your suggestions for what you would like to see infuture issues of Queen’s Biology. Please emailDr. Raleigh J. Robertson, Newsletter Editor, atrobertsr@biology.queensu.ca

Queen’s University Biological StationQUBS has provided field course and research experience for Queen’s Biology students andthose from many other Canadian universities, as well as international students, since itsinception in 1944 when it was founded by Dr. Wes Curran. It has grown from a seasonaloperation on a 65 acre peninsula in Lake Opinicon, to a year-round facility with more than6,000 acres of natural habitat, a new “Operations Centre” (lodge), and accommodation forabout 70 researchers. http://biology.queensu.ca/%7equbs

The Lodge 2001– built with funding from the CanadaFoundation for Innovation, and generous donations fromMrs. Hilda Pangman.

The original “lodge” 1945-2000.

After serving as Director of QUBS for 33 years (1972 – 2005),Dr. Raleigh Robertson (left) is happy to hand-over this roleto Dr. Bruce Tufts on 30 June 2005. Bruce plans to worktoward establishing a Centre for aquatic sciences and fisheries biology at QUBS.

With the acquisition of 9 separate parcels of land since 1976,QUBS now encompasses a wide array of terrestrial andaquatic habitat, providing enormous potential for fieldstudies on a wide range of organisms, habitats and speciesassemblages. The “Queen’s Land Trust” has been establishedto provide funds for acquisition of a few critical parcels ofadjacent lands, and to allow stewardship and teachingprograms based on these lands that simultaneously serveteaching, research and conservation.