Robin is an aquatic science technician with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. A big part of her job is to study how big ships travelling internationally can bring invasive species to Canada. Sometimes these critters are in ships’ ballast water, and sometimes they are stuck on the outside of the ship’s hull. Over the last few years, she has been travelling to Canada’s coasts to collect hull fouling samples from all kinds of commercial ships, working with divers and cool tech to answer big questions about hull fouling and invasive species.
In Robin’s talk, she will explain what is biofouling, discuss invasive species and the impact they can have on local ecosystems. She will also go through what biofouling research looks like in the field, back in the lab, and discuss how our biofouling research is making a difference in how Canada is working to reduce the risk that vessels might accidentally introduce and spread aquatic invasive species.
