River Institute researcher in Cornwall awarded Liber Ero fellowship
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A scientist with the Cornwall-based River Institute has been awarded with a prestigious fellowship that’ll support her world-class research on wetlands.
Dr. Mary Ann Perron was recently awarded a Liber Ero post-doctoral fellowship that supports early-career scientists in conducting and communicating research that informs conservation and management issues relevant to Canada; the fellowship will support her project to assess changes in wetlands along the Upper St Lawrence River, providing insights into the effectiveness of wetland conservation across different jurisdictions.
“The project focuses on historic changes in wetlands (in the river), this is one of the indicators of the Great River Rapport so still part of the same project I’ve been working on since starting at the institute in 2020,” Perron said. “I’m super excited to get back into the wetland work, which is my specialty.”
Perron explained that when growing up in the North Bay area, she would go trapping with her dad in wetlands.
“I fell in love with these ecosystems,” she said. “I would see so many animals and plants at these places that I wouldn’t see anywhere else. Wetlands are the main reason why I got into this field of work and I have been training most of my life for this opportunity. They are critical ecosystems for our well-being and support (approximately 40 per cent) of all animal and plant species worldwide, but unfortunately are currently disappearing at rates three times faster than forests.
“The work we are planning to do throughout the next two years will help us identify the main drivers of wetland cover change in the watershed to help us better protect these ecosystems moving forward.”
Perron said research will start Sept. 1, and it’s a fully paid two-year post.
The Great River Rapport, a collaborative, community-engaged ecosystem health report for the Upper St. Lawrence River, was launched in 2018 and is a partnership between the River Institute and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne.
“I am so thrilled so have this funding and the support of this amazing fellowship program to move the Great River Rapport project forward,” Perron said.
It’s an exciting time in her life in several ways. This spring, she’s just coming back from maternity leave – her son Harrison was born last June.
And soon, her outside the home work will become very hands-on. The research will involve developing watershed-based management methodologies and informing wetland-related policies in Canada, and guided by the Haudenosaunee principles of Two Row Wampum, the project emphasizing collaboration while respecting individuality and autonomy.
The wetland research is in partnership with the MCA Environment Program currently being led by Kayla Sunday. Abraham Francis will also be involved in mentoring Perron throughout the project, along with Dr. Leigh McGaughey (River Institute) and Dr. John Kovacs (Nipissing University).
Outstanding post-doctoral researchers from any country who are based at a Canadian institution are eligible for the Liber Ero fellowship, with multiple dimensions such as leadership, accomplishments, community building, and being agents of change being considered when selecting recipients.
The four 2024 Liber Ero Fellows include Sara Cannon, who for her project will develop a comprehensive overview of the threats that transboundary marine mixed-stock fisheries pose to sockeye and Chinook salmon that spawn in BC and the Yukon.
As for Perron’s project, she’ll be broadly looking at the entire wetland cover of the Upper St. Lawrence watershed.
“However, I’ll (also) be focusing on fine-scale changes in a number of specific wetlands of interest to the local communities including Akwesasne,” Perron said. “So if anyone has any suggestions on locations of wetlands that are important to them, they could send me an email maperron@riverinstitute.ca. I would love to chat!”
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