Sarah Larocque
Ph.D. Student
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research
Research
I am generally interested in aquatic research that has a conservation focus. I have a varied background with academics, private consulting, and government providing me with lots of fisheries and aquatic experience. During my MSc, my research was on ways to mitigate freshwater turtle bycatch in a fyke net fishery in Ontario using aspects of fisheries catches and physiology. I have extensive experience with fish and fish habitat quantification and knowledge of legislation working as a fisheries biologist for consulting companies. I have also worked for and/or collaborated with both the federal and provincial government in terms of fisheries management and fish and fish habitat research. I draw upon my extensive
background and experiences to be multi-disciplinary, in which I am now pursuing my interests in movement and predator-prey interactions by using a combination of telemetry and stable isotope analysis to infer spatial and trophic niches and their dynamics.
My Ph.D. research focuses on the interactions of salmonid fish species for spatial and trophic niches and the influence on restoration efforts of the extirpated Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) in Lake Ontario. Specifically, I will be looking at these interactions at both the juvenile and adult life stages
in the river and lake environments, respectively. This research will provide insight on how seemingly similar niche species co-habit and partition the environment and resources. With respect to species restoration, I will discern whether niche overlap in a system of introduced and stocked non-native salmonids in Lake Ontario is preventing species such as the Atlantic Salmon from obtaining self-sustaining populations.
Background
Background
2016-2021
Ph.D. Environmental Science
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research
University of Windsor (Windsor, ON Canada)
Supervisors: Aaron Fisk (afisk@uwindsor.ca) & Dr. Tim Johnson (MNRF).
NSERC Scholarship Holder.
2015 - 2016
Fish Habitat Science Biologist
Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Science
Fisheries and Oceans (Burlington, ON Canada)
2012-2015
Fisheries/Aquatic Biologist
Various Private Consulting Companies
(British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario - Canada)
2012
Research Assistant
Fisheries and Oceans (Winnipeg, Manitoba - Canada)
2009 – 2011
M.Sc. – Biology
Carleton University (Ottawa, ON Canada)
Supervisors: Dr. Steven Cooke (Carleton University) & Dr. Gabriel Blouin-Demers (University of Ottawa).
NSERC and OGS Scholarship Holder.
2009
Fisheries Management Intern
Fisheries and Oceans (Yarmouth, NS Canada)
2007 – 2008
Fisheries Research Technician
Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Science
Fisheries and Oceans (Sault Ste. Marie, ON Canada).
2004 – 2008
B.Sc. (Honours) – Marine and Freshwater Biology
University of Guelph (Guelph, ON Canada)
Publications
8. Larocque, S.M., Hatry, C., and Enders, E.C. 2014. Development of habitat suitability indices and bioenergetics models for Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus). Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 3097: vi + 57 p.
7. Nguyen, V., Larocque, S.M., Stoot, L., Cairns, N., Blouin-Demers, G., and Cooke, S.J. 2013. Perspectives of fishers on turtle bycatch and conservation strategies in a small-scale inland commercial hoop net fishery. Environmental Species Research.
6. LeDain, M.R.K., Larocque, S.M., Stoot, L., Cairns, N., Blouin-Demers, G., and Cooke, S.J. 2013. An assessment of strategies for facilitating recovery of freshwater turtles exhausted from submergence in fishing nets using blood physiology and reflex impairment. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 12:172-177.
5. Larocque, S.M., Colotelo, A.H., Cooke, S.J., Blouin-Demers, G., Haxton, T., Smokorowski, K. 2012. Seasonal patterns in bycatch composition and mortality associated with a freshwater hoop net fishery. Animal Conservation 15:53-60.
4. Larocque, S.M., Cooke, S.J., Blouin-Demers, G. 2012. Mitigating bycatch of freshwater turtles in passively-fished hoop nets through the use of exclusion and escape modifications. Fisheries Research 125-126:149-155.
3. Larocque, S.M., Cooke, S.J., Blouin-Demers, G. 2012. A breath of fresh air: avoiding anoxia and mortality of freshwater turtles in hoop nets via the use of floats. Aquatic Conservation 22:198-205.
2. Larocque, S.M., Watson, P., Cooke, S.J., Blouin-Demers, G. 2012. Accidental lure: does the presence of decomposing fish alter the bycatch of freshwater turtles in commercial hoop net fisheries in inland waters? Environmental Management 50:31-38.
1. Robert, J.J., Larocque, S.M., Cooke, S.J. 2012. Influence of hook size and style on short-term survival of deeply hooked bluegill. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 32:869-874.