OUR TEAM

CO-LEADS

Wiley Evans
Ocean Acidification Program Lead
Hakai Institute

Wiley received a PhD in oceanography from Oregon State University in 2011. He presently manages Hakai research on the globally important issue of ocean acidification and the marine carbonate system.

Wiley's research on ocean chemistry in the North Pacific is integrated with other oceanographic research at the Hakai Institute, and helps monitor British Columbia’s ever-changing oceans. Prior to joining Hakai, Wiley was a post-doctoral scientist at University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and a research associate at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.

Helen Gurney-Smith
Research Scientist, Biological Effects
Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Helen graduated from Bangor University with a B.Sc in Marine Biology and Biochemistry. She obtained her M.Sc in Bioprocessing from the University College London, and received her PhD in Marine Ecology from the University of St Andrews. Helen is currently a Research Scientist in the Biological Effects Section in the Coastal Ecosystems Science Division of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Her research focuses on the biological effects of climate change on marine organisms and ecosystems. She is currently active in both the Atlantic and Pacific, working with lobsters, shellfish and plankton species.

COORDINATOR

Kristina Barclay
Coordinator
Tula Foundation

Kristina graduated from the University of Alberta with a Ph.D. in Palaeontology at the University of Alberta in 2020. Her research examines the effects of OA on mollusc shells, as well as the consequences of OA on predator-prey interactions between molluscs and shell-crushing predators (crabs) in both modern and fossil systems. Kristina is also experienced in science outreach and education, having worked in museums and science centres in Alberta in Saskatchewan, and serving as Treasurer and Collaborator for the geoscience outreach non-profit, Time Scavengers. Kristina served as the OA CoP Coordinator from 2020 - 2021, and recently returned to the role after completing a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Victoria examining crab population abundances through time using fossil, archaeological, and modern datasets.

Stay tuned for more updates in 2025 as we continue to re-launch Canada's OA Community of Practice!

STEERING COMMITTEE

MEOPAR Communities of Practice (CoPs) bring together researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, and community members to share expertise, to learn, and to provide a space for discussion and co-production of knowledge. This priority is underscored by the selection of a Steering Committee representing multiple sectors (government, academia, industry, non-profit), multiple disciplines (chemistry, biology, technological development, social vulnerabilities, policy development) and all regions within Canada (Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific). Members of the

Ocean Acidification Community of Practice Steering Committee (2023) are listed below.

Piero Calosi
Professor of Marine Biology
Université du Québec à Rimouski

Piero has been a member of the Global Ocean Acidification Open Network (GOA-ON) Biological Working group since 2015, he has been responsible for the Quebec Center for Biodiversity Science at UQAR since 2016, responsible for the Ocean Acidification Research Axe for the Québec-Ocean FRQ-NT Research Network since 2017, Director of the Institutional Research Group on Nordic Studies BORÉAS since 2018, Invited Lecturer on the «Marine Evolution Under Climate Change» Advanced Course – CeMEB, University of Gothenburg (Sweden), Higher Education Academy of the UK Fellow since 2010, Royal Entomological Society Fellow since 2008. Piero is a member of the Editorial Board for Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, invited editor for Philosophical Transections of the Royal Society B for the special issue on ‘The effect of ocean acidification and climate warming on species potential for adaptation and ecological interactions’ and Evolutionary Applications for the special issue on ‘Transgenerational Plasticity, Epigenetics and the Evolution of Marine Species Under Climate Changes’.

Piero is currently a professor at Université du Québec, Rimouski Campus (UQAR) in the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Geography. His current research focus is the investigation of invertebrates' physiological and life-history responses, and the determination of their scope for further adaptation, to multiple global environmental drivers (primarily ocean warming, ocean acidification, de-oxygenation, and changes in salinity).

David VanderZwaag
Director, Marine & Environmental Law Institute
Professor of Law, Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) - Ocean Law & Governance, Dalhousie University

David is Director of the Marine & Environmental Law Institute, Dalhousie University, where he is Professor of Law and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Ocean Law and Governance. He is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law and its Specialist Group on Oceans, Coasts and Coral Reefs. His research interests include: ocean acidification law and policy, adaptive fisheries and aquaculture governance, climate mitigation, marine spatial planning and marine species at risk protection.

Nico Prins
Executive Director
B.C. Shellfish Growers Association

Biography coming soon...

Name
Position
Insitution/Affiliation

More members and updates coming soon...

OA COP ALUMNI

Brent Else
(Co-Lead)
Professor of Geography
University of Calgary, MEOPAR

Courtenay E. Parlee
(Steering Committee)
Research Scientist, Ecosystems and Ocean Science
Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Denise Joy
(Steering Committee)
Manager
Aquatic Climate Change Adaptation Services, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Jim Russell
(Steering Committee)
Executive Director
BC Shellfish Growers Association

Darlene Winterburn
(Steering Committee)
Executive Director
BC Shellfish Growers Association

Austin Pugh
(Coordinator)
Climate and Ecosystems Coordinator
NERACOOS

Alyssa Dunbar
(Steering Committee)
Research Scientist, Ecosystems and Ocean Science
Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Joseph Needoba
(Steering Committee)
Senior Staff Scientist
Ocean Networks Canada

Heather Almeda
(Coordinator)

Barbara Paterson
(Steering Committee)
Research Associate
St. Mary's University

Patrick Duke
(Steering Committee - Student Rep.)
Head of Field
CarbonRun

Kumiko Azetsu-Scott
(Steering Committee)
Research Scientist
Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Jennifer Silver
(Steering Committee)
Associate Professor
Geography, Environment, and
Geomatics, University of Guelph

Richard Dewey
(Steering Committee)
Associate Director Science Services
Ocean Networks Canada

CANADA'S