Stephanie Strachan

Environmental Studies Scientist - Biological Monitoring and Assessment of freshwater quality using benthic invertebrates and CABIN

Regional biomonitoring lead for Pacific and Arctic watersheds

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Current research and/or projects

Conducting biological monitoring and assessment projects to assess status and trends in water quality; developing and expanding the implementation of Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN)

Developing and implementing a biological monitoring program through the Canadian Aquatic Biological Monitoring Network (CABIN) to complement physical-chemical water quality monitoring for assessing and advising on the condition of freshwaters

Collaborating with CABIN partners to develop reference collections and basin-specific reference condition models to conduct consistent and comparable monitoring and assessment

Developing and implementing a CABIN training certification program available to other agencies, departments, governments and community groups

Professional activities / interests

Member of the Society for Freshwater Science Taxonomic Certification Committee (since 2003)

Education and awards

M.Sc. Dept. of Zoology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario

B.Sc. (Hon.) Biological Sciences and Great Lakes Studies, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario

EC-PYR Recognition Award (CABIN)

Key publications

Pappas, S., D.P. Shaw, L. Shrimpton, S. Strachan, K. Trainor, and A. Yeow. 2016. Baseline surface water quality in the Petitot River Basin and surrounding watersheds: Examining potential impacts of shale gas development in the Horn River Basin, British Columbia. Environment and Climate Change Canada. 105 p. (In production).

Reynoldson, T.B., S. Strachan, and J.L. Bailey. 2014. A Tiered Method for Discriminant Function Analysis Models for the Reference Condition Approach: Model Performance and Assessment. Freshwater Science 33:1238-1248

Strachan, S.A. and T.B. Reynoldson. 2014. Performance of the Standard CABIN Method: Comparison of BEAST Models and Error Rates to Detect Simulated Degradation from Multiple Data Sets. Freshwater Science 33:1225-1237.

Buss, D.F., D.M. Carlisle, T-S. Chon, J. Culp, J.S. Harding, H.E. Keizer-Vlek, W.A. Robinson, S. Strachan, C. Thirion, R.M. Hughes. 2014. Stream biomonitoring using macroinvertebrates around the globe: a comparison of large-scale programs. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment December 2014: 187:4132.

Environment Canada 2014. CABIN (Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network) Laboratory Methods: Processing, Taxonomy, and Quality Control of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Samples. March 2010. Environment Canada. Vancouver, BC. 36 p.

Environment Canada, 2012. CABIN (Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network) Field Manual for Wadeable Streams. March 2010. Environment Canada. Dartmouth, NS. 55 p.

Stribling, J., B. Sweeney, J. Morse, G. Corkum, G. Lester, S. Miller, R. Mitchell, B. Poulton, S. Strachan and M. Wetzel. "Taxonomic Certification versus the scientific method": a rebuttal of Rogers (2012). 2012. Zootaxa 3359:65-68.

Strachan, S., A. Ryan, H. McDermott and T. Tuominen. 2009. Benthic invertebrate and water quality assessment of the Quinsam River Watershed in British Columbia 2001-2006. Environment Canada, Vancouver, BC. EC/GB/07/85 114 p.

Sylvestre, S., M. Fluegel, and T. Tuominen. 2005. Benthic Invertebrate Assessment of Streams in the Georgia Basin using the Reference Condition Approach: Expansion of the Fraser River Invertebrate Monitoring Program 1998-2002. Environment Canada, Vancouver BC. EC/GB/04/81 194 p.

Sylvestre, S. and R.C. Bailey. 2005. Ecology of leaf pack macroionvertebrate communities in streams of the Fraser River Basin, British Columbia. Freshwater Biology 50:1094-1104.

Fluegel, M, S. Sylvestre, T. Tuominen, M. Sekela and G. Moyle. 2004. The effects of non-point source pollution on small urban and agricultural streams - Data Report. Environment Canada, Vancouver, BC. EC/GB/04/77.

Sylvestre, S., M. Sekela, T. Tuominen and G. Moyle. 2002. Water quality assessment of agricultural and residential run-off using the crayfish Pacifastacas leniusculus in British Columbia Canada. Freshwater Crayfish 13: 383-395

Yunker, M.B., R.W. Macdonlad, R. Vingarzen, R.H. Mitchell, D. Goyette, and S. Sylvestre. 2002. PAHs in the Fraser River basin: a critical appraisal of PAH rations as indicators of PAH source and composition. Organic Geochemistry 33:489-515