Carie Hoover

• PhD
• Research Associate at Dalhousie University

While mercury occurs naturally in the environment, human activity has significantly disturbed its biogeochemical cycle. Inorganic mercury entering aquatic systems can be transformed into methylmercury, a strong neurotoxicant that builds up in organisms and affects ecosystem and public health. In the Arctic, top predators such as beluga whales, an e...

Climate change impacts have been particularly acute and rapid in the Arctic, raising concerns about the conservation of key ecologically and culturally significant species (e.g. beluga whales, Arctic cod), with consequences for the Indigenous community groups in the region. Here, we build on an Ecopath with Ecosim model for the Canadian Beaufort Se...

The development of indicators as tools for ecosystem monitoring is a key step in the management of marine protected areas (MPAs). This study uses previously developed sex-specific body condition indices, blubber thickness, and girth, to assess temporal changes in body condition from 2000 to 2015 in harvested Eastern Beaufort Sea (EBS) beluga whales...

High levels of methylmercury (MeHg) have been reported in Arctic marine biota, posing health risks to wildlife and human beings. Although MeHg concentrations of some Arctic species have been monitored for decades, the key environmental and ecological factors driving temporal trends of MeHg are largely unclear. We develop an ecosystem-based MeHg bio...

Arctic ecosystems are at risk to climate impacts, challenging existing conservation measures such as protected areas. This study aims to describe the ecological dynamics of the Canadian Beaufort Sea Shelf (BSS) ecosystem and the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area (TNMPA) under historical changes in sea surface temperature and sea ice extent. Us...

Objectives Existing information on Arctic marine food web structure is fragmented. Integrating data across research programs is an important strategy for building a baseline understanding of food web structure and function in many Arctic regions. Naturally-occurring stable isotope ratios of nitrogen (δ ¹⁵ N) and carbon (δ ¹³ C) measured directly in...

Globally important services are supported by Southern Ocean ecosystems, underpinned by the structure, function, and dynamics of complex interconnected and regionally distinctive food webs. These food webs vary in response to a combination of physical and chemical processes that alter productivity, species composition and the relative abundance and...

Climate-driven impacts on marine trophic pathways worldwide are compounded by sea-ice loss at northern latitudes. For the Arctic, current information describing food-web linkages is fragmented, and there is a need for tools that can describe overarching trophic structure despite limited species-specific data. Here, we tested the ability of a mass-b...

A complex co-management system exists across Inuit Nunangat, whereby federal, provincial, territorial governments and Inuit organizations manage natural resources cooperatively. Under Inuit land claim agreements, Inuit knowledge, western science, and co-produced knowledge are to be used side by side to support decision-making. However, the mechanis...

The immense challenges associated with realizing ocean and coastal sustainability require highly skilled interdisciplinary marine scientists. However, the barriers experienced by early career researchers (ECRs) seeking to address these challenges, and the support required to overcome those barriers, are not well understood. This study examines the...

While hydrocarbon exploration and extraction in the Arctic ebb and flow, reduced sea ice has opened new travel routes across the Arctic. The opening of the Northwest Passage has allowed larger ships (including oil tankers) and higher traffic into remote regions. More ice loss is expected in the future. With this comes the potential for hydrocarbon...

The Arctic remains one of the most pristine marine regions in the world, however climate change and increasing favourable conditions is triggering increasing exploration and development of commercial fisheries. Canada's Arctic marine capture fisheries are currently small relative to fisheries in other regions in Canada but small scale, predominantl...

Monitoring marine protected areas requires simplifying complex marine ecosystems into a suite of indicators. The Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area (TN MPA), the first MPA in the Canadian Arctic is located in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT and is selecting indicators for monitoring. Proposed health indicators for the TN MPA species of int...

This study synthesizes results from observations, laboratory experiments and models to showcase how the integration of scientific methods and indigenous knowledge can improve our understanding of (a) past and projected changes in environmental conditions and marine species; (b) their effects on social and ecological systems in the respective commun...

Arctic Ocean Acidification: update of chemical changes

Two Arctic Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) (Tarium Niryutait and Anguniaqvia niqiqyuam) have been established in the Western Canadian Arctic, including the first in the Arctic, with conservation objectives directed to protect and maintain healthy beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) populations. The MPAs support the continued access of Inuvialuit (Western...

Polar cod (Boreogadus saida) is one of the most studied Arctic marine fishes given its circumpolar distribution and centralised role in the Arctic marine food web. In contrast, relatively little is known about two other Arctic Gadidae: saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis) and Greenland cod (Gadus ogac). Climate change is expected to have an effect on se...

Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are facing profound changes in their habitat, with impacts expected at the individual and population level. Detecting and monitoring exposure and response to environmental stressors is necessary for beluga conservation and management of human activities. Cortisol has proven as a useful tool to assess stress on...

The eastern Beaufort Sea beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) population aggregates in the Mackenzie Estuary every summer, and moves toward the continental shelf and offshore waters in the late summer. From 2007 to 2009, systematic aerial surveys recorded beluga whale locations beyond the estuary, over the Mackenzie Shelf and offshore waters; where distr...

Climate change is expected to impact Arctic marine mammals, as they may be particularly vulnerable to large annual variability in the environment. Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) occupy the circumpolar Arctic year-round, and seasonal movement patterns in this landscape are closely linked to sea ice and changing conditions. Here, we examine th...

Oceanic ecosystem services support a range of human benefits, and Canada has extensive research networks producing growing data sets. We present a first effort to compile, link, and harmonize available information to provide new perspectives on the status of Canadian ocean ecosystems and corresponding research. The metadata database currently inclu...

Canada's ocean ecosystem health and functioning is critical to sustaining a strong maritime economy and resilient coastal communities. Yet despite the importance of Canada's oceans and coasts, federal ocean policy and management have diverged substantially from marine science in the past decade. In this paper, key areas where this is apparent are r...

This document provides an overview of the Beaufort Sea Shelf Ecosystem Research Initiative for the Arctic Aquatic Research Division of the Central and Arctic region of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the research completed in association with this initiative. Multiple research projects are highlighted under this initiative as they contribute to th...

Hunting of narwhal (Monodon monoceros) and beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) in Hudson Bay is an important activity, providing food and income in northern communities, yet few studies detail the economic aspects of these hunts. We outline the uses of narwhal and beluga and estimate the revenues, costs, and economic use value associated with the hunt o...

Hunting of narwhal (Monodon monoceros) and beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) in Hudson Bay is an important activity, providing food and income in northern communities, yet few studies detail the economic aspects of these hunts. We outline the uses of narwhal and beluga and estimate the revenues, costs, and economic use value associated with the hunt o...

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s ‘Ecosystem Research Initiatives’ (ERIs) were conducted from 2007-2012. The program was comprised of seven large-scale ecosystem research programs that focused on how Science could support the Department’s implementation of an ecosystem approach to management (EAM). Delivery of the ERIs varied between DFO Regions but al...

An Ecopath with Ecosim model was created for the Antarctic Peninsula (FAO area 48.1) in order to recreate the past changes to the ecosystem. Through the use of environmental drivers; sea surface temperature, the southern oscillation index and ice cover used as forcing and mediation functions, past trends were able to be captured within the model. K...

In order to gain insight into the dynamics of the Hudson Bay ecosystem as well as past and future states, an ecosystem model was created using a static Ecopath model to represent the present day ecosystem in Hudson Bay. Simulations of past and future ecosystem states were used to gain insight to key trophic linkages within the system, with focus on...