Karen Kidd

is this year’s recipient of the Frank Rigler Award, the highest honour given by the Society of Canadian Limnologists.

Dr. Karen Kidd, Department of Biology and School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University

Karen is the Jarislowsky Chair in Environment and Health and a Professor at McMaster University. She moved to McMaster in 2017 after many years at the University of New Brunswick in eastern Canada as a Canada Research Chair in Chemical Contamination of Food Webs. Karen is an ecotoxicologist and her group studies the effects of forestry, agriculture, aquaculture and municipal wastewaters on aquatic ecosystems, and the accumulation of contaminants in freshwater food webs. She serves on a number of boards, committees, and panels for national and international organizations including the Canadian Water Network, International Joint Commission, and the International Institute of Sustainable Development Experimental Lakes Area. In her spare time, she is learning to fly fish. So far the fish are safe (her words)! More information can be found at www.karenkiddlab.com

The value, challenges and lessons learned from decades of whole ecosystem studies

It is an incredible honour for me to receive the Rigler award and to follow in the wake of so many renowned Canadian aquatic scientists. Thank you so very much to the Society and my colleagues for this recognition. Preparing for this talk gave me the chance to reflect on the scientific insights (and surprises) that arose over my career in ecotoxicology and on the wonderful people that have influenced my thinking and winding path. There have been many lessons learned from the inevitable ups and downs of the research projects and programs in my time with the federal government and in academia. In my presentation I will share some of the runner’s highs in my marathon, as well as some of my growth and the wisdom gained from whole ecosystem studies in the Yukon through to Nova Scotia in Canada and abroad.