Chantalle Gervan, MSc Student, Thompson Rivers University

Biography:

Chantalle completed her Bachelor of Natural Resource Science with Honours from Thompson Rivers University in 2018. Her honours thesis explored grassland reclamation on an industrial ‘brownfield’ site in Lillooet, British Columbia. Additionally, during the summers of her undergrad, she had the opportunity to work as a research assistant for four years on various reclamation projects. The ongoing work led her to discover her passion for ecosystem reclamation studies. She is currently working on her MSc. of Environmental Science under the supervision of Dr. Lauchlan Fraser. Her project provides opportunities to gain on-site experience as well as develop new lab skills unique to DNA meta barcoding.

In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, camping and travelling. During her undergrad, Chantalle studied abroad in Sweden and Belize, as well as presented her honours thesis at an international conference, hosted in the United States. She looks forward to travelling and making connections at future conferences and events while she completes her masters.

Project: Invertebrate Response to Mine Reclamation: The Effects of Reclamation Age and Soil Amendment Treatment on Arthropod Assemblages

The purpose of her study is to further develop our understanding of the reclamation trajectory of vegetation and invertebrate composition over time. More specifically, this project investigates the effects of duration of time since reclamation has occurred and the effects of soil amendments on invertebrate assemblage. The various soil amendments include biosolids, fertilizer and wood mulch. Vegetation and invertebrate data were collected in summer of 2017 and 2018. Data was collected from four mines: Teck Highland Valley Copper mine, New Gold New Afton mine, Avino Bralorne Gold mine and Imperial Metal Mount Polley mine. Invertebrate samples are identified through DNA meta barcoding.