Faculty of Graduate Studies
Section 6: Programs in Graduate Studies
Head: J.E. Anderson
General Office: Z320 Duff Roblin Building
Telephone: (204) 474 9245
Fax: (204) 474 7604
E-mail: janders@cc.umanitoba.ca
Website: www.umanitoba.ca/science/biological_sciences
Academic Staff
Program Information
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
The department offers graduate training leading to Master of Science (M.Sc.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in a broad range of biological disciplines in both field and laboratory research. Programs in Botany and Zoology represent a unique concentration of expertise in whole-organisms, and a wide range of research in ecological, environmental, evolutionary, physiological, cellular and molecular sciences.
Expertise in all the major plant and fungal groups in grassland and boreal forest ecosystems of the Canadian prairie provinces are represented in the department: plant developmental biology, biotechnology, molecular biology and genetics, ecology and conservation biology, mycology, lichenology, bryology, algal biology, physiology, systematics and evolutionary biology feature prominently.
Expertise in sciences utilizing animal modelling and ecosystems is represented in: aquatic biology and aquatic organisms, ecology, evolution, fisheries, behavioural ecology, physiology, parasitology, cell and developmental biology, and muscle biology.
Graduates are equipped to embark on a career in botany, zoology and related fields, including environmental science, natural resource management, agriculture, forestry; fisheries and wildlife management, and biomedical sciences. Former students are successfully employed in research, teaching or administrative positions in academic, industrial or governmental settings, as biological consultants and in biomedical agencies in Canada and around the world.
The department is able to foster an informal atmosphere with good interaction between faculty and graduate students. Students are often successful in Commonwealth, NSERC, Faculty of Science, and University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship and Scholarship competitions.
Fields of Research
The Department of Biological Sciences was formed in July 2007 by merging former Departments of Botany and Zoology and the Biology Teaching Program. Pending the integration of two programs, the Department offers programs of graduate studies in Zoology and Botany.
BOTANY
- Evolutionary biology of plants and fungi: pollination biology, plant-plant interactions and plant-fungal interactions, co-evolution, phylogeny and molecular evolution.
- Plant biotechnology: applied bioremediation, genetic signaling and development, molecular techniques and ecology, plant structural imaging and analysis, proteomics, systematics and genomics, ultrastructural microscopy and microtechniques.
- Systematics: molecular, morphological, and phytogeographic studies of flowering plants, conifers, ferns and allies, mosses, liverworts, algae, lichens and fungi.
- Developmental anatomy and cytology of plant reproductive systems: cytochemistry and ultrastructure
- Stress physiology in forest ecosystems: plant adaptation to salts, pollutants and anthropogenic disturbance (mining, forestry).
- Applied and theoretical population and community ecology of forest and grassland ecosystems: mathematical and statistical ecology, ecological modelling.
- Ecosystem structure and function in freshwater wetlands: ecophysiology and ecotoxicology of benthic and planktonic algae, and aquatic macrophytes; paleolimnology.
- Plant and forest pathology; ecological and epidemiological aspects of plant disease relationships.
- Fungal ecology in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems: saprotrophs and nutrient release, fungi in forest ecosystems.
- Economic botany: native plant products and special (non-timber) forest products.
- Conservation ecology: habitat fragmentation, plant dispersal, effects of disturbance on biodiversity, ecological knowledge and ecosystem management, restoration of plant communities.
ZOOLOGY
Ecology, Evolution and Fisheries:
Fleet dynamics, fisheries management, fish population dynamics, interaction between behaviour and population processes; emphasis on quantitative analysis, mathematical and simulation modelling based upon historical data and field work when appropriate.
Wetland foodweb structure and dynamics, invertebrate grazer-algal interactions; Cladocera ecology, palaeoecology of communities in the littoral zone of lakes, systematics and evolution.
Collaborative multi-species, multi-scale ecosystem examination of search strategies of seabirds for fish; spawning habitat selection by a keystone forage fish.
Molecular systematics, biogeography, and conservation genetics of fish (particularly lampreys and salmonids) and other aquatic organisms (microsporean parasites and dreissenid mussels).
Circumpolar Aboriginal peoples and their domestic economies, hunting and trapping, land use, land claims, and impacts of northern development on their lifestyles.
Evolution of hemoglobin oxygen affinity in mammals in relation to exploitation of aquatic, northern, and subterranean habitats; molecular evolution of beta-globin gene cluster in eutherian mammals; mammalian molecular phylogenetics.
Behavioural Ecology:
The impact of environmental variation and life histories (modified through transgenic manipulation) on predator-prey interactions in aquatic ecosystems, use of behavioural and physiological information to generate individual-based population models, sensory compensation.
Behavioural and evolutionary interactions between the parasitic cowbirds and their passerine hosts. Cowbird selection of host nests; host quality; nest defence; host tolerance of parasitism; nest placement; consequences of parasitism.
Physiology:
Thyroid function in fish; particularly regulation of peripheral metabolism of thyroid hormones and determination of thyroidal status. Metabolic, thermal and respiratory physiology of moles and shrews.
Thermal biology, diving physiology and bioenergetics of northern semiaquatic mammals, mainly muskrat and beaver; physiological problems encountered during swimming and diving in cold water; seasonal bioenergetics and nutritional studies of these species.
Endocrine regulation of salt and water balance in fish, particularly the physiological actions of the rennin-angiotensin system, natriuretic peptides and neurohypophysial peptides on cardiovascular, renal and extra-renal function.
Parasitology:
Comparative immunology of fish and mammals, particularly mucosal immunity. Host-parasite interactions, including transmission of fish parasites and the role of host immune responses in protection and regulation of parasite populations.
Host-parasite relationships of metazoan parasites of invertebrates. Life history strategies of free-living triclad flatworms. Zoogeography and community ecology of Unionidae.
Cell and Developmental Biology:
Oogenesis, early development and cell differentiation in invertebrates. Origin and fate of germ cells. Cellular mechanisms that regulate oogenesis and the establishment of polarity.
The roles of the cytoskeleton, bioelectrical properties and ions in oogenesis and development using an array of microscopical and electrophysiological techniques.
Early development in zebrafish, specifically the genes and gene interactions involved in early developmental decision-making processes. Genetic control of vertebrate (mainly zebrafish) embryonic development.
Cellular mechanisms directing the formation of tissues and organs, using molecular, cellular, morphological and physiological techniques.
Molecular genetic control of reproduction in insects, with emphasis on mosquitoes; molecular basis of sex determination and sexual differentiation in invertebrates.
Role of RNA interference and microRNAs in regulating gene expression and development. Role of transposable elements as sources of genetic variation and mutation.
Cellular mechanisms directing the normal and pathological physiology of muscular dystrophy and age-related atrophy, muscle satellite cell activation, and impact of disease and regeneration on tissue and animal structure and function including testing of potential treatment modalities, using molecular, cellular, biochemical, morphological, and functional assays.
Research facilities
The Department has facilities in Buller and Duff Roblin Buildings on the Fort Garry Campus including an extensive, modern, nationally and internationally recognized herbarium collection housed within the university’s herbarium (WIN). The Department also has special facilities for animal sciences research including a large animal colony for small terrestrial and aquatic animals. Both animal housing and plant growth facilities are operated by trained technical staff with experience and expertise to support research and teaching.
Facilities include greenhouses and growth chambers; a scanning-transmission electron microscope; plant tissue, fungal and algal culturing facilities; research areas fully equipped for study of plant development, ecophysiology and plant interactions; modern instrumentation for molecular, genetics and evolutionary biology studies; interference, fluorescence and transmission electron microscopes; tissue culture; cellular biology investigations; patch-clamping facilities; digital image analysis equipment; quantitative biology; and ecological analysis computerized facilities.
Field station facilities are provided at the University Field St
tion (Delta Marsh) which provides year-round research facilities and accommodation for biological research in the 17,000 hectare Delta Marsh on the southern shore of Lake Manitoba. Other field station facilities are available to faculty members and their graduate students at Star Lake (Whiteshell), Taiga Biological Station (Wallace Lake), the Experimental Lakes Area (NW Ontario) and the Churchill Northern Studies Centre. The location of the facilities permits work on a variety of prairie, marsh and woodland habitats and on a wide spectrum of inland lakes and rivers, as well as Arctic tundra and marine habitat along the coast of Hudson Bay. The University Field Station, fully equipped with living accommodations and laboratory space, is 80 km away at Delta Marsh on the south shore of Lake Manitoba. Additional field studies are conducted from the Taiga Biological Station on the Canadian Shield, 240 km north east of Winnipeg, and at the Experimental Lakes Area near Kenora, Ontario, in conjunction with the Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg. Broad collaborations with other scientists within and external to the University of Manitoba further enrich the access to training facilities for faculty and graduate students.
Pamphlets giving details of graduate studies in botany and zoology programs (pending integration into a single Biological Sciences program) and a Graduate Students’ Information Booklet containing supplementary regulations and other information are available from the Department of Biological Sciences general office. Program requirements are listed separately, pending that integration.
M.Sc. in Botany
Admission
The normal requirement for admission is an Honours B.Sc. degree in Botany, or its equivalent. Students with other degrees or backgrounds may be required to complete a pre-Master’s program to the satisfaction of the department. Courses will be prescribed on an individual basis to help the student qualify for graduate work in botany. Contact the Biological Sciences department for information.
Students may begin their program on September 1, January 1 or May 1. For admission for each of these start dates, Canadian/U.S. students should send their applications with complete supporting documentation to the Department of Biological Sciences no less than four (4) months before the intended start date. Non-Canadian students should send their applications with complete supporting documentation to Department of Botany to arrive no later than seven months (7) before the intended start date.
Program Requirements
Minimum course requirements are those of the Faculty of Graduate Studies found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar. All graduate students are expected to participate in the departmental seminar program and demonstrate in undergraduate laboratories. For additional requirements contact the Biological Sciences department.
Second language requirement: none
Expected time to graduation: two years
M.Sc. in Zoology
Admission
Admission requirements are those of the Faculty of Graduate Studies found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar. If a student applies with a three-year general B.Sc. degree or equivalent, a pre-Master’s program must be taken which will be individually prescribed. Students with a four-year major or honours degree apply for direct entry into the M.Sc. program.
Application Deadlines: Applications must be received in the Department of Biological Sciences by the following dates:
Regular Session, Start Date: September, June 1 (Canadian/US), March 1 (International).
Winter Session, Start Date: January, October 1 (Canadian/US), July 1 (International).
Spring Session, Start Date: May, February 1 (Canadian/US), November 1 (International).
Summer Session, Start Date: July, April 1 (Canadian/US), January 1 (International).
Program Requirements
Minimum program requirements of the Faculty of Graduate Studies are found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar. The program requires completion of a research thesis and course work consisting of one or two Zoology 700/7000 courses and one or two ancillary courses, suitable to the candidate's research program from other departments or from Zoology 400/4000 courses. Study and research will extend to a minimum of twelve months. All students must submit a research-based thesis and defend it orally.
Second language reading requirement: none
Expected time to graduate: two years
Ph.D. in Botany
Admission
Admission requirements are those of the Faculty of Graduate Studies found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar.
The Department of Biological Sciences allows students to begin their Ph.D. program in Botany on September 1, January 1 or May 1. For admission for each of these start dates, Canadian/U.S. students should send their applications with complete supporting documentation to the Department of Biological Sciences no less than four (4) months before the intended start date. Non-Canadian students should send their applications with complete supporting documentation to the Department of Biological Sciences to arrive no later than seven months (7) before the intended start date.
Program Requirements
Minimum course requirements are those of the Faculty of Graduate Studies found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar. All graduate students are expected to participate in the departmental seminar program and demonstrate in undergraduate laboratories. For requirements contact the Biological Sciences Department.
Second language requirement: none
Expected time to graduation: three years
Ph.D. in Zoology
Admission
Admission requirements are those of the Faculty of Graduate Studies found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar. Candidates normally have completed a M.Sc. degree before entering the Ph.D. program; however under certain circumstances transfer from a M.Sc. to Ph.D. program and entry into the Ph.D. without a M.Sc. is possible. Individual qualifications other than these will be considered.
Applications must be received in the Department of Biological Sciences by the following dates:
Regular Session, Start Date: September, June 1 (Canadian/US), March 1 (International).
Winter Session, Start Date: January, October 1 (Canadian/US), July 1 (International).
Spring Session, Start Date: May, February 1 (Canadian/US), November 1 (International).
Summer Session, Start Date: July, April 1 (Canadian/US), January 1 (International).
Program Requirements
Program requirements are those of the Faculty of Graduate Studies found in the Graduate Studies Regulations Section of this Calendar.
Second language requirement: none
Expected time to graduation: three years
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