Past & contemporary patterns of marine biodiversity: making inferences from anadromous sea lamprey population genomics & publicly archived genetic data

Maintaining healthy oceans and the services they provide relies on safeguarding marine biodiversity. Genetic diversity is the foundation of biodiversity, underlying adaptive potential and population persistence, ecosystem resilience and stability. Planning for future genetic diversity conservation will be multifaceted. My thesis aims to uncover both patterns and drivers of global genetic diversity in marine fishes and the population genetics of a single species, taking a simultaneously global and single species approach to conservation genetics in the marine environment. I initially used a synthesis methodology, taking advantage of the large amount of publicly available genetic data. My aim was to determine global patterns of genetic diversity for marine fishes and their drivers. I found that global patterns of genetic diversity seemingly follow a west to east direction along global coastlines. I also uncovered human-caused declines in genetic diversity but not population differentiation. I detected variation in genetic diversity and gene flow levels connected to oceanographic parameters. I also found that species richness is correlated with higher genetic diversity, more genetically similar populations and lower effective population size. I then focused on a single species, anadromous sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus. The aim of my study was to apply a conservation genetics approach to this widely distributed species. As part of my study, I uncovered sea lamprey population genetic structure, status, demographic and evolutionary history, and likelihood of future maladaptation. I identified distinct sea lamprey management units across the species’ native range. I identified locations at which sea lamprey are vulnerable, both currently and under future climate change scenarios. I reconstructed deep demographic history and timed the split between sea lamprey populations on the two Atlantic coasts. I also uncovered that in recent evolutionary time, sea lamprey have faced population declines connected to human activity. My research has extended understanding of genetic diversity across global marine fish species, sea lamprey genetic structure, evolutionary trajectory and vulnerability across their native range. I interpret my results from a conservation genetics point of view, aiming to inform efforts for biodiversity conservation and show the importance in accounting for both the detail and the greater picture.October 2025University of Manitoba Faculty of Science Research Chair award to M.F.D., Faculty of Science Enhancement of Grant Stipends award to E.K

Manitoba connected: using MSNA-ID data to review social connections of people living with an intellectual disability

Loneliness is prevalent amongst people living with an intellectual disability (ID) and can lead to quality-of-life and health concerns. The goal of this study was to explore the structural and functional characteristics of social networks of people living with an ID in Manitoba, Canada. Data collected using the Maastricht Social Network Analysis for People with Intellectual Disability (MSNA-ID) were examined from 159 participants supported by St.Amant between 2020-2022. Participants averaged 11 relationships (M = 11, SD = 7.58, range 1 - 49), with anchor relationships generally rated highest across functional characteristics of affection (M = 4.41 out of 5), connection (M = 3.23), preference (M = 4.42), and resources (M = 3.63). Despite 57.6% reporting general satisfaction with their network, 30.2% of “step-up” wishes for network improvement mentioned opportunities to increase social connections. Exploring and understanding the social connections that people living with an ID currently have, as well as their satisfaction within those relationships, may help us to promote meaningful connections for this population.October 202

Redefining local space with mindfulness and movement: a design approach for an urban literary centre

This practicum explores a reimagination of the public library typology as a multi-use literary centre to become a beneficial destination for the urban community. While libraries have been around for millennia, their use in contemporary society has shifted, requiring them to expand their programmes and present greater adaptability. It is a beneficial endeavour to rethink how the public library can evolve to become a more utilised place for city locals and visitors. The purpose of this research is to analyse how interior design can enhance the public library to promote urban development, facilitate community connections, and improve individual wellbeing and experience through researched design initiatives. Theories and design strategies will be analysed, including social infrastructure, adaptable mixed-use, and holistic design, public space and social placemaking theories, as well as salutogenic design theory that examines sense of place, and biophilic design. Alongside the books, a design will be implemented to create spaces for several activities. These consist of a reader’s café and garden, gift shop, events area, galleries, multipurpose classroom, collaborative spaces, music rooms, and a wellness studio. This research will be implemented to create a model for a new vision of the public library within an existing building in the City of Winnipeg, ideally inspiring a brighter future for library design.October 2025University of Manitoba Faculty of Graduate Studies - University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship (UMGF) University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture - Roy C. Rettinger Graduate Scholarship for Interior Desig

Eradicating violence against children: understanding the experiences of community activists and advocates in addressing child labor practices in Ghana

The persistent global nature of violence against children demands urgent attention. In Ghana, child labor significantly contributes to this violence, exposing children to hazardous conditions that undermine their safety, rights, and development. In response, community advocates play a crucial role in protecting children and challenging harmful practices. This study examined the experiences of these advocates, conceptualizing child labor as a form of violence and situating advocacy within the field of Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS). The study explored what can be learned from the lived experiences of advocates, how their efforts shape our understanding of child labor eradication, and what their work reveals about grassroots peacebuilding. A qualitative narrative research design was employed. Fieldwork was conducted in Ghana’s forest belt regions (Ashanti, Central, Western, and Western North), involving thirty community advocates selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and interpreted using thematic narrative analysis. The findings revealed that personal histories of suffering, a strong sense of responsibility, passion for social change, and spiritual convictions drive these advocates. Their strategies include awareness-raising, community empowerment, and collaboration with stakeholders. However, they also face persistent challenges, including entrenched poverty, community resistance, lack of funding and support, duplication of efforts, and limited sustainability after NGO withdrawal. The results indicate that child labor advocacy in Ghana begins with the role of community advocates as witnesses to the everyday atrocities faced by children, positioning themselves as ethical agents confronting normalized violence. It further emerges as a form of activism centered on securing children’s right to education, where schooling is framed as both a protective right and a pathway to peace. This advocacy also constitutes a direct confrontation with material constraints and systemic resistance, as advocates navigate poverty, institutional neglect, and entrenched socio-cultural norms. Many advocates approach their work as a spiritual and moral calling, positioning themselves as missionary peacebuilders committed to justice and transformation. At the same time, they act as local implementers of global child protection frameworks, translating international policies into culturally meaningful community action. The study argues that these intersecting roles of the advocates emphasize that grassroots advocacy is not separate from, but embedded within, liberal peacebuilding paradigms, offering a nuanced model of peacebuilding in non-conflict yet structurally violent settings.October 2025Berdie and Irvin Cohen Scholarship in Peace and Conflict Studies Faculty of Graduate Studies Research Completion Scholarshi

Assessing the feasibility of a virtual reality intervention for lower phantom limb pain in the acute postoperative period

Introduction. There are many individual and systemic barriers that prevent people with lower limb amputations (LLAs) from receiving effective nonpharmacological treatment for their phantom limb pain (PLP), such as low patient buy-in and long outpatient wait times. Early administration of effective treatments, such as graded motor imagery (GMI), via virtual reality (VR) may improve access and efficacy. To address this gap, our multidisciplinary team developed a VR GMI program using an iterative, patient-centered approach. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of administering a longitudinal VR GMI program immediately after LLA through one-month follow-up. Methods. I recruited inpatients who underwent a major LLA within two months of surgery at a large tertiary care hospital to trial the VR GMI program for 17 days. Feasibility was assessed across three domains: (1) procedural feasibility (interest, eligibility, retention, and follow-up rates compared to predefined thresholds); (2) intervention feasibility (acceptability, adverse events, and average session length); and (3) pilot outcomes (exploratory correlations between the number of sessions completed and/or PLP intensity/interference at follow-up). Qualitative description contextualized reasons for ineligibility, disinterest, and session/study withdrawal. Results. Of 111 patients screened, 54.44% were eligible and 48.33% were interested. Exclusions could primarily be attributed to patient preference to focus on recovery and physical comorbidities precluding VR engagement. Seventeen participants enrolled; only three (17.65%) completed the full recommended treatment dose (17 days) and nine (52.94%) responded at one-month follow-up. Participants generally rated the intervention as acceptable and engaged for the recommended amount of time. However, adverse events were more frequent than hypothesized. Low retention and follow-up rates yielded insufficient sample sizes to conduct pilot and exploratory analyses. Discussion. Findings suggest current recruitment and VR GMI administration procedures are not feasible in the immediate postoperative period and require significant modification. Procedural feasibility may be improved by addressing early discharge, shifting implementation timing, and improving the follow-up procedures. Future adaptations, including stage-specific gamification, may enhance engagement and retention for a future randomized controlled trial.October 2025Winnipeg Foundation Innovation Fund (PI: El-Gabalawy); 327146-340100-2000 Canadian Behavioural Interventions and Trials Network Scholars Program, 2024 - 2025 (Awardee: Crooks

Investigating how homeopaths and chiropractors navigate patient requests for vaccination information in Ontario, Canada: a qualitative study

Background. Chiropractors and homeopaths are trusted sources of health information for many Canadians, including around vaccination. However, within Ontario, Canada, the College of Chiropractors of Ontario and the College of Homeopaths of Ontario regulations state that vaccines are not within their scope of practice and providers should not express views, treat, or advise patients with respect to vaccination. The aims of the present study were to: (1) describe the attitudes and beliefs regarding vaccination held among participating chiropractors and homeopaths; (2) identify the sources of information about vaccination they trust and use to guide their personal vaccination decisions; and (3) describe how they navigate patient requests for guidance on vaccine decision-making within the current regulatory landscape. Methods. Semi-structured interviews (N = 16) were conducted between February 2020-March 2021 and explored participants’ opinions on vaccination, sources of information they trust and recommend to their patients, and how they navigate vaccine conversations with patients. Results. Providers’ personal beliefs regarding vaccination were described as reinforced by social and professional networks, through their personal experiences, and in consultation with clients. Various strategies were used to support patients while abiding by regulations (e.g. referring patients to providers for whom vaccination is within their scope of practice); however, other strategies described (e.g., stating personal beliefs) could be interpreted as a breach of regulation. Conclusions. This research reinforces existing literature suggesting that patients using chiropractors and homeopaths have questions about vaccination and are looking for trusted information. Public health services should consider engaging with chiropractors and homeopaths to facilitate communication between patients and immunization providers

The Kerzman-Stein operator on Smirnov space and an analogue for Dirichlet space

When defined on the $L^2$ space of a smooth Jordan curve in $\mathbb{C}$, the skew-adjoint part of the Cauchy integral operator $\mathbf{C}$, called the Kerzman-Stein operator, is notable both for its compactness and role in the Kerzman-Stein formula relating $\mathbf{C}$ to the Szeg\H o projection $\mathbf{P}$. We investigate various identities and properties of the Kerzman-Stein operator on the Smirnov space of harmonic half-order differentials, as well as introduce a natural analogue of the operator for the homogeneous Dirichlet space of harmonic functions, and show that it is related to the Grunsky operator. Working over Ahlfors-regular Jordan domains in the Smirnov setting, we derive adjoint formulas for the Cauchy operators that allow us to generalize the Kerzman-Stein formula to this new analytic setting. Further, we provide sufficient $C^{n,\alpha}$ curve conditions for the Kerzman-Stein operator $\mathbf{A}$ to belong to the Schatten $p$-classes for all $p\geq 2$. An extension of $\mathbf{A}$ is also considered, which is an isomorphic map between the spaces on the complementary components of the curve. This mapping is related to $\mathbf{A}$ through overfare, and has the property of being unitary precisely for disks. Alongside this, we show that the Smirnov space Grunsky operator recently introduced by Kristel et al. (2025) is in the Schatten class $S_p$ precisely when $\mathbf{A}$ is in $S_p$. As a consequence of this new perspective, we apply our results to show that all $C^{1,1/2+\varepsilon}$ Jordan curves are Weil-Petersson class quasicircles. Adjacent to this is our work in the Dirichlet space setting, where we define an analogue of $\mathbf{A}$, which we denote $\dot{\mathbf{A}}$, that shares many similar properties as its Smirnov space counterpart. In particular, we show that a Kerzman-Stein formula with $\dot{\mathbf{A}}$ holds for quasicircles, and we compute identities which closely relate these operators with overfare. From here, we show that the (classical) Grunsky operator is in $S_p$ if and only if $\dot{\mathbf{A}}$ is in $S_p$. In particular, the independent results of Jones (1999), Takhtajan and Teo (2006), and Shen (2007) imply that Hilbert-Schmidtness of $\dot{\mathbf{A}}$ is met precisely for Weil-Petersson class quasidisks.October 202

Desire lines: mapping well-being and ecological care through life writing practices

This thesis maps the concept of desire lines as both a method and a metaphor for shaping well-being and ecological care. Desire lines—informal, intuitive pathways shaped by human and more-than-human movements (Ramsden, 2017)—provide a framework for mapping relational, reciprocal entanglements across ecological and experiential worlds. This study uses life writing and art-making practices to examine how personal and scholarly ways of being are reshaped through embodied, creative, and place-based engagements. Rooted in diffractive inquiry (Barad, 2007) and eco-pedagogy (Misiaszek, 2023), the research draws on multimodal life writing (Chambers et al., 2012) to investigate how memory, motion, and place map evolving ecological attunements. Guided by the question—In what ways do engaging in diffractive life writing, movement, and art-making practices open pathways for un/re-learning, expanding, and strengthening my relationship with the more-than-human worlds I inhabit and move with/in?—this study uses journaling, photography, eco-poetry, and seasonal creative practices to map the dynamic relationship between theory and lived experience. Here, more-than-human refers to the animate and inanimate presences and forces—animals, plants, weather systems, waterways, and landforms—that co-shape our worlds through mutual responsiveness and entangled relations (Barad, 2007; Haraway, 2016). This research invites new desire lines—ways of living, teaching, and writing that honour interconnectedness, cultivate ecological responsibility, and foster reciprocal relations with the more-than-human worlds we move with/in.February 202

Investigating the postprandial glycemic response to wild rice cakes using a randomized crossover controlled trial

Background: Diabetes is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, with a prevalence of ~11% in Canada, linked to poor diets and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, designing novel ready-to-eat foods that could manage blood glucose (BG) concentrations is of interest. Wild rice (WR), a traditional staple food for many Indigenous people in North America, contains higher levels of antioxidants, fibre, and protein, and lower fat and calorie content compared to white or brown rice, which may contribute to its satiety and potential for regulating BG. However, no study has investigated the effects of WR cakes on post-prandial BG and satiety responses in humans. Design: In a crossover trial, 18 healthy adults (9 males, 9 females) consumed test products. BG was measured at 0-120 min post-consumption. A dosing error in the white bread control led to a non-randomized fourth period with corrected carbohydrate matching (30 g). Test products included: 32 g white bread (15 g carb), 40 g BR cakes (100% BR), 40 g WR blend (25% WR, 75% BR), and 66 g white bread (30 g carb). All were consumed with 250 ml of water. Appetite and palatability were rated via visual analog scales. Results: Effects of time, treatment, and time-by-treatment interactions on blood glucose over 120 minutes (p ≤ 0.05) were observed for both the analyses with the white bread at 32 g and 66g. No differences in BG response were observed between the rice cakes (p >0.05). White bread consumption (32 g) resulted in lower BG at 30, 45, 60, and 90 minutes, as well as a lower blood glucose iAUC and appetite compared to the rice cakes (p 0.05). The blood glucose iAUC after bread was very linear in terms of carbohydrate content with the 32 g serving having approximately half the iAUC of the 66 g serving. Conclusion: Inclusion of 25% wild rice into a brown rice cake did not meaningfully impact blood glucose response.October 202

Estimation and evaluation of protein metabolism in a freshwater snail Planorbella duryi

Animal bioenergetics can be defined as the conversion chemical energy from food into forms that can be used in vivo for maintenance, development and growth as well as reproduction. Thus, metabolic strategies that maximize the efficiency of energy assimilation may be beneficial to animals, especially under changing environmental conditions like elevated temperatures. Protein metabolism is a major contributor to resting energetic costs in ectotherms and protein accretion is a central component of growth. Proteins are responsible as cellular catalysts, essential structural elements and are core to defense against heat damages. Hence, a thorough understanding of protein turnover can provide insights to how energy metabolism interacts with growth dynamics under temperature change. In this thesis, two developed methods are used to assess protein metabolism in adult as well as embryonic stages of the freshwater snail Planorbella duryi. Using a novel D5-phenylalanine tracer approach to protein metabolism to flood endogenous phenylalanine pools we measure protein metabolism in the adult snails and test the effect of temperature acclimation on both the kinetics of protein synthesis and degradation. A novel open-chambered respirometer was utilized for the estimation of protein metabolism cost during embryonic development. While biochemical processes are often associated with a 2-fold to 3-fold change per 10°C change in temperature, protein metabolism following acclimation suggests marked compensation for temperature effects in the adults. Embryonic snails showed a higher commitment of energy metabolism to protein synthesis, as may be expected given the rapid cellular turnover and growth during this life-stage.October 2025University of Manitoba, Faculty of Scienc