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MSc, OCFThesis TopicEmploying environmental DNA to understand nearshore fish communities along urbanized coastlines SupervisorDr. Brian Hunt |
Degrees
B.Sc. in Natural Resources Conservation, Faculty of Forestry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (2022)
Research Unit
Pelagic Ecosystems Lab
Student Profile: Grace Melchers
Awards
NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship Master’s Award (2023)
Richard J. and Julia KREJSA Scholarship in Oceans and Fisheries (2023)
Wall Research Award (2024)
Lawrence Edward Hassell Graduate Field Research Award in Fisheries (2024)
David W. Strangway Fellowship (2024)
Contact Information
Email: g.melchers@oceans.ubc.ca
Biography
I am a Master’s student in the Pelagic Ecosystems Laboratory at the University of British Columbia, based in Vancouver, BC. I was born in England, raised in Ontario, and lured out to British Columbia for the mountains and a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources Conservation from the Faculty of Forestry at UBC. The vibrant people I have met and ocean ecosystems I have had the privilege to connect with convinced me to stay on the West Coast and pursue graduate studies in The Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries.
My research, in partnership with the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, focuses on employing emerging, non-invasive methods (environmental DNA, or eDNA) to study marine biodiversity and community interactions in urban and non-urban nearshore ecosystems, with a focus on Pacific salmon. The field component of my research involves collecting eDNA samples via paddleboard in various nearshore habitats around Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet, the traditional waters of the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish and Musqueam Nations. These habitats include eelgrass beds, kelp forests, mudflats, and urbanized habitats such as rip rap armouring and dredged deep-sea shipping areas. From these samples, we can study the nearshore fish and invertebrate communities during the spring and summer seasons while juvenile salmon migrate through these areas to the open ocean.
Outside of the office, lab, or field, I enjoy spending as much time in nature as possible in as many different ways as possible. I like to explore the outdoors with skiing, biking, hiking, kayaking, and surfing. I exercise my creative side with film photography, reading, and crafting.
Research Interests
environmental DNA, eDNA, nearshore habitats, Pacific salmon, fish communities, interactions, kelp forests, eelgrass, marine ecology, conservation, restoration
Selected Publications
Chalmers, P., Melchers, G., Tikka, K., & Richardson, J. S. (2023). Distribution of the grappletail dragonfly (Octogomphus specularis), a lake outlet stream specialist at its northern range limit. Fundamental and Applied Limnology, 197(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1127/fal/2023/1502