Research Staff
Valerie Ethier
Val is currently working as a member of the GAPI (Global Aquaculture Performance Index) team. Over the next year the GAPI team will be analyzing the major viable finfish species raised in cultured conditions around the world. The system is a standardized approach that can be used across a country-species level using six key indicators: sustainability of feed source, benthic impacts, energy use, broodstock source, escapes and disease/parasites. Val’s undergraduate thesis was a cost/benefit analysis of salmon hatcheries in the Pacific Northwest, both ecological and political. Her interests lie in taking a multidisciplinary approach to encourage change in policy and legislation with up to date knowledge of ecological sustainability.
Alina Fisher
Environmental Studies Research Manager
Alina manages the logistics, finances, strategic planning and contract negotiations of the department. Her interests lie in the area of mutualisms. She studied the effect of competition on yucca-yucca moth interactions for her undergraduate thesis research. For her MSc she then went on to study how the presence of below ground mycorrhizal fungi affects the distribution of the above ground vascular plants and hence the plant communities we see. Alina, our resident botanist, is interested in population and community ecology and the mutualistic relationships within them.
Jennifer Gee
Senior Research Analyst - GAPI
I lead the GAPI (Global Aquaculture Performance Index) team as the Senior Research Analyst. As a natural extension of being the longest serving member, my MSc thesis utilized GAPI to assess the interactions of social, ecological and economic factors in salmon farming systems. My research interests lie in the use of meta-data compiled from disparate research areas to enable big picture discussions. I love the thrill of chasing down obscure data and feel a great deal of satisfaction when the analysis work is done and a clearer picture of our state of knowledge emerges.