Patricia Chow-fraser

Professor, Biology

Dr. Chow-Fraser is Professor in the Department of Biology, where she conducts research and teaches on ecology, conservation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems, primarily in the coastal zone of the Laurentian Great Lakes. A primary goal of her research is to develop simple tools to monitor impacts of human activities on the long-term health of wetlands and streams throughout the Great Lakes. These rely on use of remote sensing techniques to predict the effect of water level, invasive species, and human disturbance on the quality and quantity of marsh habitat in the Great Lakes, especially those in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron. She led development of ecological indicators using fish, plant and water quality information to assess the ecological status of streams and coastal wetlands, and uses interdisciplinary approaches to classify and identify habitat for at-risk freshwater turtles (Blanding's turtle, Snapping turtle and the Spotted turtle) and important sportfish (pike and muskellunge). She and her students have developed bioassays with benthic algae (periphyton) that can be used by local farmers and citizens to assess phosphorus runoff in agriculturally disturbed streams and for cottagers to monitor eutrophication in nearshore waters in recreationally impacted regions of the Great Lakes. She has dual overarching goals of increasing capacity for citizen science and community-based volunteering as well as fully empowering undergraduate and graduate students in community engagement and outreach.