Today@Dal

Brad Elliot (2015 Environmental Sciences major and aquaculture minor) uses his research skills to mentor grade ten students from Pugwash High School on their visit to the Aquaculture Centre on October 1, 2014 for a crustacean health lab conducted by Dr Fraser Clark.

Brad is conducting his fourth year RESM project under the direction of Dr. Fraser Clark and Dr. Sarah Stewart-Clark to determine the prevalence and intensity of infection by acanthocephalan parasite (Polymorphus botulus) in American lobsters (Homarus americanus) harvested from Nova Scotia.

Brad, who is a former graduate of Pugwash High school himself, helped to teach students how to take hemolymph samples from lobsters in order to assess their health status. While his research will contribute to the science required to ensure that lobster populations in Nova Scotia remain healthy, his leadership as a mentor to former students is contributing to the development of new young scientists in Pugwash.