Faculty Profile
Kyle Artelle

Assistant Professor

311 Illick Hall

315-470-6935
kaartell@esf.edu

Overview

My group contributes to conservation, management, restoration, and stewardship approaches that support people, other species, and places. Much of this is in collaboration with First Nations (especially the Haíɫzaqv Nation where I live part-time) communities and governments in an area now commonly referred to as the Great Bear Rainforest of Coastal British Columbia, Canada.

Research Areas

• Ecology and stewardship of culturally important species, including wolves, black bears, and grizzly (brown) bears
• Place-based stewardship in support of people and biodiversity including the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) First Nation-led Xvíɫm̓ístaƛ h̓ákq̓áṃ qṇtxv bákvḷásu (“Our food will return”) program restoring multiple linked marine and intertidal species and ecosystems throughout their territory
• Inquiry into conservation and management approaches at scales from regional to continental

Current Students

Tyler Black
PhD candidate
Co-supervised with Dr. Ryan Prosser, University of Guelph
Project: Investigation the barriers to recovery in marine bivalves impacted by a marine diesel oil spill

My research seeks to investigate the impacts of marine oil spills to sensitive and important intertidal ecosystems, in collaboration with the Hai´?zaqv (Heiltsuk) First Nation in Bella Bella, BC. Using a blend of field and lab-based approaches, I have been evaluating health metrics on populations of manila clam (Venerupis philippinarum) in sites impacted by the Nathan E. Stewart oil spill that occurred in Hai´?zaqv Territory. In collaboration with the University of Guelph, and the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department, we are seeking to inform restoration efforts of the local clam populations. My previous work assessed the impacts of oil spills to invertebrate communities in a freshwater context at the IISD-Experimental Lakes Area in northern Ontario, Canada on Treaty 3 land and Anishinabewaki Territory.

Victoria Loor
MSc student
Co-supervised with Dr. Ryan Prosser, University of Guelph

My thesis research concentrates on investigating the effects of marine diesel oil (MDO) to the socio-ecologically important Manila clam (Venerupis philippinarum). To better understand this, I am assessing the toxicity of individual aromatic compounds which have been attributed to whole oil toxicity. With this, I can determine species-specific toxicity and contribute to risk assessment in future marine oil spills. This research is conducted as a part of a unique collaboration between the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department and the University of Guelph with hopes to provide an understanding to the negative effects of marine diesel oil to intertidal bivalves following oil spills. During my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at the University of Guelph, I was awarded a NSERC-USRA evaluating novel decontamination technologies to reduce food waste and single-use PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am passionate about environmental conservation, sustainability, and remediation, and love spending my free time camping, hiking, and birding!

Ana Strbac
MSc student
Co-supervised with Dr. Ryan Prosser, University of Guelph
Project: Developing critical target lipid body burden model of purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus)

The goal of my research is to assess how oil contamination impacts the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus). More specifically, I will be developing a critical target lipid body burden model by determining the effects of polycyclic aromatic chemicals (PACs) on sea urchin embryological development. This work is a collaboration between the University of Guelph and the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department. I previously worked with aquatic invertebrates at McMaster University, both as a research assistant and an honours thesis student. My honours thesis focused on the impacts of microplastics on a freshwater snail (Planorbella pilsbryi). In my free time I enjoy being outdoors and off-grid, playing sports, and listening to old music!

Milène Weibe
MSc student
Co-supervised with Dr. Stephanie Green, University of Alberta

My research focuses on the invasion ecology of European green crabs (Carcinus maenas). In particular, I am evaluating management strategies that aim to limit their negative effects on intertidal communities within the traditional territory of the Hai´?zaqv Nation on the central coast of British Columbia in collaboration with the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department. Previously I gained experience with invasive species with Parks Canada, working to stop the spread of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in Manitoba. My honours thesis at the University of Manitoba focused on determining if proximate body condition could be used as a predictor for fecundity in sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) within the Great Lakes. I am passionate about conservation and wildlife management, making science accessible, the outdoors, and dogs.

Recent Publications