See the lab's latest news here.
June 2026
Our research in the Media !
Landslide in Nunavik: An Ecosystem Under Watch
A new feature from our lab is now available in ULaval Nouvelles!
The article highlights Gabriel St-Pierre's (MSc) research on the recovery of mercury and lead concentrations, as well as benthic insect communities in the sediments of the Great Whale River.
His study investigates the ecological consequences of a major landslide that occurred upstream of Kuujjuarapik and Whapmagoostui in northern Québec, and examines the resilience of this Arctic ecosystem following this large-scale natural disturbance.
📄 The study was recently published in Open access in Environmental Research (Open Access).
👈 Take a look at the Infographic of the study!
May 2026
Fieldwork in Resolute Bay !
Last May, members of the lab travelled to Resolute Bay, Nunavut, Canada, to sample Small Lake as part of the FROST project and Félix Cloutier-Artiwat's PhD research on the sulfur cycle in High Arctic lakes. With 2.2 m of ice covering the lake, the team drilled multiple holes through the ice to collect water, sediment, and biological samples.
The team was joined by local collaborator Debbie Iqaluk, who caught all the Arctic char needed to support FROST's research on how warmer winters are transforming Arctic lake ecosystems and the cultural practices that depend on them.
A heartfelt thank you to the Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP) for their outstanding logistical support, accommodations, and field resources, which made this campaign possible.
Congratulations to the field team for a successful sampling campaign: Félix Cloutier-Artiwat, Marie-Christine Lafrenière, Prof. Catherine Girard, and Denis Sarazin (Centre for Northern Studies – CEN).
April 2026
Congratulations Félix!
Congratulations to Félix Cloutier-Artiwat, who has received an NSERC Canada PhD Scholarship! His research project, which focuses on the processes that control the speciation of sulfur in High-Arctic lakes, will contribute to a better understanding of how the sulfur cycle influences other biogochemical cycles and the distribution of microorganisms in these ecosytems, which differ from temperate lakes.
Mars 2026
Congratulations Santiago!
Congratulations to Santiago Mareque, a Master’s student in Chemistry, who has received an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship! His research project, Dynamics of rare earth elements along a productivity gradient in lake sediments, will contribute to a better understanding of how rare earth elements behave across lake ecosystems.
Mars 2026
Lakes as Life-Sized Test Tubes
Our team took part in the GRIL Public Outreach Evening hosted by the Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie (GRIL) in Quebec City on March 19.
During the event, Méliane and Santiago presented an engaging and hands-on activity titled “Lakes as Life-Sized Test Tubes.” Their interactive station invited the public to discover how lakes can serve as natural laboratories for understanding complex environmental processes.
Santiago also shared his research in a lively 180-second science talk titled “Which Lake Would Be Best for Throwing My iPhone Into?”. Through this creative and thought-provoking presentation, he explained how the quality of organic matter in lakes can influence the speciation of rare earth elements, critical metals widely used in digital technologies such as smartphones.
By connecting lake chemistry to everyday objects like iPhones, the presentation offered a compelling example of how limnology helps us better understand the environmental behavior of the critical metals that power modern life.
