17 Farrah Chan
Farrah Chan |
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Time period:20th century – present Subject:Biology: conservation, invasive biology, aquatic ecology |
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Biography:“I help organizations make evidence-based decisions. I conduct quantitative research to support the development of standards, guidelines, and policies.” Dr. Farrah Chan is an Asian-Canadian conservationist with over 15 years of experience in aquatic ecosystem research and natural resource management with specialties in aquatic invasive species, fish habitat, northern development, ships, and risk assessment. Dr. Chan has worked with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Transport Canada, Grand River Conservation, as well as Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (GLLFAS), Fisheries and Oceans Canada in many different capacities.
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Summary of their contributions:Dr. Farrah Chan has released several publications regarding invasive species, saline requirements for fish, as well as multiple risk assessments. In particular, she has multiple publications on different invasions through ship vectors and ballast fouling specifically into Canadian waters and their effects on native species in the area. Her paper, “Climate change opens new frontiers for marine species in the Arctic: Current trends and future invasion risks” was the most downloaded paper from the journal Global Change Biology in 2018-2019. Dr. Chan’s work can help to encourage inquiry-based learning, field-based investigations, and data analysis. Her work provides opportunities for students to engage with real-world questions about marine biodiversity, climate change, ecosystem health, and human impacts on that. Students can gather data of their own in local ecosystems and compare it to the data gathered by Dr. Chan and her team and see if their results are similar. This can also allow students to engage in critical thinking as there is no clear answer, but rather inferences that must be made in order to analyze her work and conclusions and how they can be applied in a way to reduce human impacts and bolster the environment and ecosystem’s resilience. It can also communicate the importance of research and how to communicate that research to others. |
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Integration with the BC Secondary Science Curriculum:Earth Science 9: The biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are all interconnected, as matter cycles and energy flows through them. Students learn about how systems on earth are connected and affect each other, and a growing part of learning about that is learning of the human impacts on these systems, and how things can move between systems. So, Farrah Chan’s work on the vectors of invasive species, invasive species, and recovering the biosphere is applicable to the ideas of interconnectedness and the biosphere in Earth Science 9. Life Science 11: Evolution occurs at the population level Students begin learning about evolution in LS11, and part of talking about evolution is competition and speciation, of which invasive species exemplify. One of the ways this can be applied is by looking at Farrah Chan’s work in regards to marine communities and their make-up, and the effect that introducing different species can have on the ecosystem that is there presently. This can also make it more relatable as these ecosystems are local. Environmental Science 11: Human practices affect the sustainability of ecosystems. Humans can play a role in stewardship and restoration of ecosystems. Environmental Science 11 takes a look at the bigger ecosystem and environment, where Farrah Chan’s work truly shines. Most of her papers talk about the human influence, through shipping vectors, or invasive species which can threaten the health and sustainability of local ecosystems. Specifically by mentioning the human aspect, we can turn to look at her papers and recommendations for how humans can limit their impacts on the ecosystem. |
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References:https://ca.linkedin.com/in/farrah-chan |
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