Research - Dr. Michael Richardson
Dr. Michael Richardson
Department of Biology
Dr. Richardson's main current research efforts are directed towards a joint project with the Montreal Biosphere into the health of local fish communities and a study of the ambistomid salamanders in the Johnville Bog.
Biosphere Freshwater Fish Network
The Freshwater Fish Network represents a community-based organization of over 70 partners including schools, NGOs, municipalities, and private corporations, all dedicated to preserving the ecological integrity of the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. One of the key aspects of this project is the data collected by as many as 25 schools along the St. Lawrence during supervised sampling trips organized by the Biosphere. Dr. Richardson is attempting to use this data as a means of monitoring the health of fish communities within the St. Lawrence.
Acid Bogs and Salamanders
The Johnville Bog, located just ten minutes from the Bishop's campus, represents one of the best preserved examples of an acid bog habitat in Eastern Quebec. During an inventory of the amphibian species in 2001, a large number of yellow-spotted (Ambystoma maculatum) and blue-spotted salamander (A. laterale) eggs were found within the three main ponds that make up the bog. Although this species is common in the region, the finding was surprising, given that the acidity of the bogs (pH 3.4-3.8) is significantly lower than the lethal limit for the eggs and larvae of North American salamanders (pH 4.0-4.5). This raises the possibility that the bogs are acting like ecological sinks or traps, drawing in healthy adults from the surrounding "source" populations into the apparently suitable breeding habitats, only to have these young fail to successfully develop. The objective of this study is therefore to try and understand the dynamics of both the salamander species in the Johnville Bog.
