Dr. Emily Choy shares what its like spending her summers on remote Coats Island in Nunavut studying the thick-billed murre and how they are affected by climate change. In the winter, she studies tree swallows in the industrial heartland of Hamilton, Ontario.
Dr. Emily Choy was recognized with the society’s Early Career Research Award, courtesy of her outstanding work on the effect of climate change (and other anthropomorphic stressors) on seabirds. Emily is an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Read more about her work in the far north.
Emily Choy - Moment, Mentor, Memento transcript
Dr. Emily Choy:
Hello, I'm Dr. Emily Choy, and I'm a new assistant professor in the Department of Biology at McMaster University.
Jeff Goodes:
And I'm Jeff Goodes. I'm the journalist in residence here at McMaster's Faculty of Science, and I am looking forward to talk to Emily about a mentor, a moment, and a memento. Thank you so much for sitting down in the chair and talking to us on the 3M Moment, memento, memento show.
Dr. Emily Choy:
You're very welcome. Thank you for the invitation.
Jeff Goodes:
Let's start. Could you tell me a little bit about your research?
Dr. Emily Choy:
So most of my research over the past 15 years has actually taken place in the Arctic. So I'm an Arctic biologist and I've had, you know, I've worked across the Arctic. I've worked in the Northwest Territories. So I did my PhD on beluga whales as part of a community based monitoring program with communities in the Inuvialuit settlement region where I studied beluga whales as sentinel species for changes in the Beaufort Sea ecosystem. So I looked at the impacts of changes in prey abundance on their diet, their physiology, as well as their physical condition. And now, as an assistant professor, I've been continuing some of my seabird work. So after working on belugas, I started working on thick -billed murres, where I looked at the direct and indirect effects of climate change on murres on Coats Island in Nunavut in the Northwest Territories.
Jeff Goodes:
How far north is Coates Island?
Dr. Emily Choy:
Coats Island is in northern Hudson Bay, so it's below South Hampton Island. And so we would take basically a twin otter from Iqaluit to land on the beaches of Coats.
Jeff Goodes:
My gosh. What's that like?
Dr. Emily Choy:
It's pretty amazing. So we would start our field season in June and it would finish in August. So we were basically there when the birds were breeding. So they spend their summer on Coates Island, but they spend their winter off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. And we would be dropped off by Twin Otter on the beach. And then we would have to basically...
Jeff Goodes:
How rough were the landings?
Dr. Emily Choy:
The landings? There's kind of a beach, kind of a man -made landing site. And then we would have to haul up all of our equipment using a pulley up to the top of the seabird cliffs where our cabin was located.
Jeff Goodes:
My gosh. And how long would you stay there?
Dr. Emily Choy:
When I was last there, we were there for two months.
Jeff Goodes:
That is amazing. That must be, honestly, that must be remarkable.
Dr. Emily Choy:
It is. It's quite, I think, some of the most amazing wildlife experiences I have had. I've been on coats. Like I was, I remember sitting on my spot on the Seabrew Cliffs and having about 200 beluga whales pass under me. Nearby the cliffs is actually a walrus hollow where you could actually… There's about like hundreds of walruses that lie on this part of the beach and you can smell them from about a kilometer away. There's polar bears, there's arctic foxes, there's all kinds of incredible arctic wildlife.
Jeff Goodes:
So lots of wildlife up there and you're focusing on the thick -billed murres, is that correct?
Dr. Emily Choy:
The thick -billed murres, they're kind of known as the penguins of the north. They're black and white, they can weigh up to a kilogram. and they're amazing because they can dive up to 200 meters, but they also spend four hours a day flying, which is very difficult for seabirds and for birds in general.
Jeff Goodes:
And why is it important from a climate change standpoint? Why are they the birds that you want to study?
Dr. Emily Choy:
Well, over the past 30 years, their diets have shifted from about 50 % Arctic cod to 50 % capelin with the warming of Hudson Bay. And so long -term, The monitoring program that I've been a part of started about over 30 years ago by Tony Gaston. And through this long -term monitoring program, we know that the diets have shifted, but also myrtle chicks have also declined in body mass, which is believed to be due to the shift in prey. And these birds, as I said, because they fly and they die, they have very, very high energy demand. So there's some concern that this shift in diet could impact the energy and the reproductive success of the population.
Jeff Goodes:
Okay, so these are, I don't even want to use this metaphor, but they're canaries in the coal mine in a way, aren't they?
Dr. Emily Choy:
They're canaries in the coal mine. So they're not only affected by indirect effects of climate change, but my past research showed that they have one of the, they're very, very intolerant to heat. So they have the lowest evaporative cooling efficiency or ability to dissipate heat of all birds. They're very sensitive to increases in air temperature and Arctic warming.
Jeff Goodes:
So this research is ongoing.
Dr. Emily Choy:
It is, yes.
Dr. Emily Choy:
And concurrently, you're also working many thousands of kilometers to the south studying tree swallows.
Dr. Emily Choy:
Yes. Much closer to where we are in the studio. Yes. So during my career, I had the opportunity to work on tree swallow colonies in Windermere Basin around the, in the Hamilton area.
And I'll be continuing some of this work to look at the impacts of multiple stressors on tree swallows. So the impacts of climate change. I know that tree swallows, like a lot of aerial insectivores, have been declining over the past 70 years, believed to be due to climate change. Unpredictable changes in the weather has been known to cause cold snaps, which affects insect populations, which are the main prey of these birds. And it has a negative impact on reproductive success. Tree swallows are also well known to be sentinels of contaminants, so I am also monitoring the impacts of other stressor contaminants and pollution from wastewater treatment plants on these birds as well.
Jeff Goodes:
Okay, and how do you do that?
Dr. Emily Choy:
So one of the ways that we're doing it is by looking at perfluorinated alcohol acids, which is a forever chemical, in their eggs. So we use their eggs to collect samples to look at contaminants. Another method that I am currently developing in collaboration with Rebecca Batstone in the Department of Biology is to look at their fecal microbiomes as a non -invasive indicator of pollution as well as climate change. So we collect fecal samples from the chicks.
Jeff Goodes:
So you're collecting bird poop.
Dr. Emily Choy:
Yes, essentially.
Jeff Goodes:
I have to ask how do you collect bird poop from a chick?
Dr. Emily Choy:
Well it's quite simple. So when you pick up a tree swallow nestling, their automatic response is to poop. So it's basically a predation response and so you could just collect, you just take a vial and stick it right under their bum and you can collect a fecal sample quite easily.
Jeff Goodes:
You lead a glamorous life.
Dr. Emily Choy:
Definitely.
Jeff Goodes:
That's excellent. So what have you found out from these two populations and what do you think that will lead you to continue to study?
Dr. Emily Choy:
Well, we've found so far with the thick -billed myrrh population, we found that they're very sensitive to several stressors. So they're feeling the indirect effects of climate change through their changes in their prey. They're very sensitive to heat stress, increases in temperature. I've also been studying contaminants in their blood plasma in adults. And we found that a lot of contaminants from the South are making their way to the diet, to the prey of the murres, and are found at quite high concentrations in their blood. So they're being impacted by multiple stressors, which really needs to be taken into consideration into the impacts of, long -going impacts of climate change as the Arctic keeps warming and human activities increase within their areas.
With the tree swallows, I mean, a lot of the work that I've been doing is quite new, so we're still developing methods to just extract the DNA from microbiomes to look at these samples and non -invasive indicators of pollution. But we do know from previous work from my colleague, Dr. Kim Fernie and Dr. Rob Letcher at Environment Canada, that they are also being exposed to a lot of pollution through wastewater treatment plants, like perfluorinated alcohol acids, microplastics.
And so they are a good indicator species like the mirrors of the impacts of multiple stressors on their health.
Jeff Goodes:
This work sounds exciting, it sounds interesting, and it sounds very pertinent to this whole issue of global warming and climate change that we're all dealing with and frankly trying to understand the impacts of as well as the speed of the impacts. So thank you for doing that research. And I'm excited to dive into a little bit more of you as a researcher. So are you ready to play our game?
Dr. Emily Choy:
Yes, I'm ready to play.
Jeff Goodes:
Moment, mentor, and memento. Let's start out with a defining moment on your journey to becoming who you are today as a researcher. So that's a tough question because I've had so many really amazing moments.
Dr. Emily Choy:
As I said, I was sitting on my cliff and 200 belugas passed by. My first trip at the Arctic, I was just a new master's student and I remember going over a hill and then being with a senior researcher and there was a polar bear about 30 meters away from us. So I had a lot of really amazing moments. But I think one that really just was awe -inspiring was when I was a Weston scientist on the Victoria Strait expedition to find the lost ships of Sir John Franklin. And that was...
Jeff Goodes:
Just throw that in.
Dr. Emily Choy:
So I was invited as a Weston scientist to be part of this journey. I remember basically going on a getting on a plane and next to me was the granddaughter of Sir Ernest Shackleton. So there were really a lot of amazing people from the Weston Foundation. Canadian Geographic, Dr. John Geiger, and it was just incredible to be on this exhibition for two weeks. Let's do the Canadian Arctic through Victoria Strait, through the Northwest Passage. I don't think I've ever seen so many polar bears. I saw mother polar bears with triplets, which meant that they had a really healthy summer. I saw lots of different seal species like ribbon seals, bearded seals, and lots of seabirds.
My ship wasn't the ship that found the Erebus, but we did, it was really incredible just to be part of the search and I really enjoyed sharing my research with a lot of the other scientists and people on board.
Jeff Goodes:
So that ignited your passion for northern field trips and research?
Dr. Emily Choy:
Cemented it maybe? It helped cement it, that it was really an exciting area of research that I really wanted to be a part of and then I got to meet a lot of amazing people that were just involved with Arctic work.
Jeff Goodes:
You go to such extraordinary environments. Very few people have the privilege of being able to go to these places. It's one thing to perhaps visit for an afternoon, but you're spending months in this environment. You're immersed in it in a way that few people ever have that opportunity.
Dr. Emily Choy:
Yes. No, it's pretty cool. It's definitely every place in the Arctic that I've visited has been unique. So.
I spent my masters up on Cape Farah, Devon Island, which is just below Ellesmere Island in the high Arctic, which is a, was basically a polar desert, except for this one area where there was a large seabird colony, which through their guano, they were basically feeding the, they're basically creating a polar oasis where there was a bunch of Arctic foxes and lemmings and saxifragas and ponds and wildlife near the seabird cliffs.
And so that was amazing. And then working with the Inuvialuit communities in the Northwest Territories and the Inuvialuit region, and I basically went to my field site by going up the Mackenzie River. There were lots of conifer trees and lots of very beautiful landscapes. And we saw, you know, there were not polar bears, but there were lots of grizzly bears and of course beluga whales. So that was amazing. And Coates Island was just, was breathtaking with all of the 30 ,000 breeding pairs of MERS that were on the cliffs.
Jeff Goodes:
If you ever wrote a book, I would love to read it.
Dr. Emily Choy:
Thanks.
Jeff Goodes:
Okay, let's move on to your mentor. And I know this is always a difficult question when I talk to researchers or academics or anyone really, because there are so many people on your journey that help you get to where you are. So, you know, that's the ground rules. But who did you choose?
Dr. Emily Choy:
You know, I was just about to say it was a very difficult Choyce because I've been very fortunate that I've had so many. amazing mentors along my way. But I think the mentor that basically stands out for me was my very first research mentor of my undergraduate honours thesis, Dr. Peter Hodson. And so that was an Arctic research. It was actually work on fish in the St. Lawrence River where I was looking at spot -tailed minnows as basically an indicator species of mercury in the St. Lawrence Cornwall area of concern.
But Dr. Hudson really was always a very positive mentor who has supported me throughout my career and was just always very willing to meet. I think at the time he was a professor close to retirement, but he always made time for his undergraduate honor student, which at the time, which now I realize is such a, it's like an amazing quality and a professor and a mentor.
And even now, I just got an email from him last week that he's always kept in touch with me about my career and following my career and has always been very positive, has positive things to say and encouraging. So I think that he has been basically a mentor that has shaped my career and encouraged me to follow an academic path and be where I am today.
Jeff Goodes:
And as you become a professor now, you're carrying the lessons that he gave you to the next generation.
Dr. Emily Choy:
Yes, I hope to always be a very positive mentor that is supportive of my students.
Jeff Goodes:
Okay, and let's move on to number three, the memento which you have in front of you. It's beautiful. Describe what it is.
Dr. Emily Choy:
So this is a necklace that was beaded for me when I lived with the Rogers family on Kendall Island. So, Sarah Rogers beaded it for me. So when I was doing my PhD, I was part of a community based monitoring program in partnership with communities in the New Vialewitt settlement region. And the Rogers family hosted me. So they are in New Vialewitt. And the mother, the woman, Sarah Rogers beaded necklaces for every one of my team, which was very, very generous of her.
I think it's very important when you're in the Arctic to consult with the communities in the North and to work with them. So when I lived as part of the, I lived with the family, I participated in many activities with them. So there was a games night, I played card games with them. There was, basically when you're in the Arctic, there's no access to internet or Wi -Fi. So we had to play games like card games to stay entertained. So I would play Snirt, which was an Inuvialuit card game based on speed where you had to get rid of all of your cards in your hand and there was beating. So it's a very important cultural activity in the North. So we participated in a lot of beating and we would also play baseball.
So it was interesting. All of the families once in a while would radio each other so we were all on different islands and we would get together and play baseball on an island and these games would start at around 11 p at night and go to 4 a in the morning because we were above the Arctic Circle and it was 24 hours of daylight. My experience working with the people of North had a tremendous impact on me. It's something that I really want to continue with my work and so I brought this necklace beaded by Sarah Rogers as part of my momentum.
Jeff Goodes:
It's gorgeous. That must be a very important keepsake.
Dr. Emily Choy:
it is. Thanks.
Jeff Goodes:
Everything you say resonates with me, the respect for the land, the respect for the people, the respect for generations of researchers. And I just want to say, I really appreciate you coming down and sitting down and sharing your wisdom and knowledge with us. Thank you.
Dr. Emily Choy:
Well, thank you very much for having me.
Jeff Goodes:
Emily Choy is an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at McMaster University.