Research Team >> M.Sc. Students >> Lisa Duke

Lisa Duke (2008-2013)

My interests lie in understanding how aquatic ecosystems function, and specifically I am facinated by organisms that can only be seen with the aid of a microscope. Previously, I studied zooplankton communities in freshwater and marine ecosystems. More recently however, I have been studying an organism that might be severely altering our beautiful mountain streams. Unfortunately for me, my research requires many days at the base of a mountain watching wildlife and collecting samplesJ. The organism wreaking havoc is a microscopic algae that has recently emerged with the capacity to alter the physical, chemical and biological aspects of Alberta’s river systems. Its highly indigestible stalks for a mat that covers stream bottoms and potentially alters the benthic invertebrate community normally found there. Didymosphenia geminata (‘Didymo’ or more commonly, Rock Snot) was first observed in the upper Bow River in the late 1990’s and since then its range appears to have spread throughout Southern Alberta. Although it is suspected that Didymo is endemic, rates of nuisance blooms continue to increase, yet why these blooms occur remains unknown. How Didymo spreads throughout mountain streams and the conditions that promote Didymo blooms are the main questions fueling my research. Through in situ nutrient manipulation experiments and genetic "finger-printing", I hope to better understand this enigmatic alga that is challenging our conventional views on nuisance blooms of algae. Note: Lisa is currently employed as the Public Programs Cordinator at Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, which is situated on the north side of the Bow River, east of Cochrane, AB.