GLER researcher heads Arctic study
By Nick Olynyk
News Reporter
March 12, 2008
 A Windsor professor will hunt down answers to Arctic environmental problems in Norway during two animal studies in June 2009.
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) professor Aaron Fisk will collaborate with Norwegian professors on two separate studies. Fisk’s primary study focuses on the deaths of baby Svalbard harbor seals in Norway, which may be due to overeating by invasive Greenland sharks. Additionally, Fisk will assist in a chemical tracer study of predatory, great skua birds.
“Norway supports a lot of Arctic research, obviously, because a third of their country is above the Arctic Circle,” said Fisk, whose main duty will be catching the six metre, prehistoric looking Greenland sharks.
During Fisk’s two week tenure, he hopes to catch 200 sharks using long-lines. Long-lines have baited hooks attached every five feet along a cable. After waiting an afternoon, the cable is hauled into the 40-foot research vessel to examine the catch.
“We find lots of marine mammals in [the sharks], so we are pretty sure that they are active predators,” said Fisk of the cold water hunters. “And really that is the main focus of the project...to find if these Greenland sharks are eating the harbor seals.” Fisk says that the sharks have a small gills and fins, and swim methodically through the ocean.
The Svalbard harbor seals, named after the city they nearest inhabit, are experiencing a lifespan shorter than normal and a high juvenile mortality rate. Fisk committed to the project after past colleagues from the University of Georgia contacted him.
In April, Fisk is returning to a project on Baffin Island.
“It’s nice. We are working in the community of Pangnirtung [population 1,300]…and we work with local Inuit fisherman and stuff, so we’re not that far away from civilization. We’ll go out on the land and sleep in tents and shacks and stuff like that, but you’re only a couple hours away from the community.”
Fisk says there are many Arctic opportunities because of climate change and the 2008 International Polar Year, resulting in increased funding for studies.
Fisk’s second Norwegian study concerns the great skua, a brown, seagull-like bird. The birds are migrating to Norway from Scotland, becoming an “invasive species,” says Fisk.
Another concern with the predatory birds is contaminant ingestion. Fisk explained that external contaminants, such as mercury and pesticides, may be hurting the birds.
“Pesticides [get sprayed] into the environment and they move around, so you may apply a pesticide in, say, Ontario, but it moves around in the atmosphere and goes to the Arctic.”
The three year project is funded by the Norwegian Research Council. Through these studies, Fisk hopes to find answers to Arctic climate problems while representing Windsor.
“I think [this study] brings some prestige to the university and shows we have people here who can do work and get funding from the best agencies on the planet...There is direct financial benefit for the university.”
Although the bulk of his GLIER work is research-oriented, the professor still finds time to teach in the earth and environmental science program.
The eight faculty member GLIER institute focuses on the areas of conservation and evolutionary genetics, chemical tracers, and invasive species.
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