This text is part of the special section Les prix de l’Acfas
Preserving aquatic environments and understanding the effects of different factors is what Roxane Maranger has been doing for more than 20 years. Portrait of the 2022 winner of the Acfas Michel-Jurdant prize for environmental sciences.
For the full professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Université de Montréal, it is a source of pride to receive such a distinction. “Sometimes it’s hard to see our impact with all the work we do. It’s an honor to be recognized for this,” explains the woman who also holds the Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystem Science and Viability.
The Afcas prize rewards the quality of his research on aquatic environments, ranging from freshwater lakes to marine environments, but also for his involvement over the years. Mme Maranger evaluates and observes watercourses using different methods from several disciplines such as biogeochemistry, microbiology, biology of organisms or ecology.
Mme Maranger has also served as president of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), between 2020 and 2022. It is one of the largest scientific societies working on freshwaters and oceans. marine environments. “It has more than 3,500 members in 80 countries,” she says.
As far back as she can remember, the researcher from northern Ontario has always been fascinated by water. “I spent my childhood around the lakes in the region. But I had no idea that I could make a career out of it,” she says.
It was during her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in drama at McGill University that she understood that this possibility was offered to her. She also points out that her studies in an artistic discipline have allowed her to work “in a more creative way” in her work. “It helped me a lot to control my nervousness in front of people and to tell good stories,” she continues.
From viruses to climate change
Mme Maranger first conducted work on viruses in water as part of his master’s and doctoral studies at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). “I identified natural viruses in different aquatic environments for the first time,” she says.
The researcher points out that there are viruses in our waterways that play a role in controlling the populations of microscopic plants and bacteria, she explains. “They therefore have a helping function in the ecosystem”, sums up the professor.
This work on micro-organisms introduced her to a whole universe in aquatic environments. “It allowed me to work not only on fresh water, but also on marine environments. And that’s something I’ve done throughout my career,” she says.
His current research focuses on the influence of human activity and climate change on different waterways. “How do changes in the territory, in the development of cities and agriculture, have effects on the supply of nutrients to waterways? she asks herself. Nutrient inputs include the transfer of nitrogen and phosphorus from watersheds to lakes and rivers.
She cites the example of using fertilizer to enrich a garden. “If we put too much in our waterways, it can create harmful algal blooms,” which have an impact on water quality and potability, among other things, she says. “And this is not desirable”, sums up the researcher.
Mme Maranger also wants to understand the factors that influence the variable resistance of aquatic environments compared to others to different factors. “Some lakes are more resilient because they are deeper,” she says.
His team works in particular with the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change (MELCCFP) to identify hotspots in the supply of nutrients in Quebec. “We know that two major contributions come from the agricultural sector and from urbanization through wastewater discharges,” explains the researcher.
Understanding where and how to intervene remains crucial to be able to bring solutions in order to maintain the quality of the water, underlines Mme Manage. “In some watersheds, it may go through the reduction of nutrient inputs in wastewater. For others, it will be to try to have more sustainable agricultural practices, ”she illustrates.
“We need to develop more advanced methods to provide this information to the people who make decisions on the territories, continues the researcher. It is very important, in a context of sustainable development, to understand what are the limits or the tipping points of certain ecosystems to maintain their health. »
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