Linda Campbell - Associate Professor

Research: Research in my laboratory encompasses a broad range of issues and topics related
to environmental contaminant biogeochemistry and aquatic ecosystems. Currently, we have several foci:

Mercury and metals in Ontario environments
We are using long-term monitoring databases and proxies (sediment, tree rings) to examine trends in environmental mercury across time and space.  In addition, we are investigating metal and mercury biogeochemistry and biomagnification in potentially contaminated sites, including Kingston, Cornwall and the Rideau Lakes.

Food web ecology
North American waterways have been impacted by alien species introduced to the Great Lakes via unregulated ballast water dumping. Many of those species come from the Ponto-Caspian region in Europe and include zebra and quagga mussels, round goby and Bythotrephes spp. These species are fundamentally changing the ecosystem and the food web structure in the Great Lakes and waterways.

Our research aims to investigate how the food web structure in regions impacted by alien species has changed over both time and space. Since many metals and contaminants also biomagnify through food webs, changes in food web structure can also affect the ultimate contaminant burden in top trophic fish. 

Aquatic metal biogeochemistry
Investigations into the biogeochemistry and food web transfer of mercury and other metals is a fast-growing field. Even so, many important questions remain unanswered. Our lab is carrying out key research into movement and transformation of metal and mercury species in the environment.

Biomagnification and biogeochemistry of alkali metals (rubidium, cesium, potassium, sodium) in lakes are also being studied. Despite the importance of Na and K to healthy biological functioning, little is known about how alkali metals interact in the environment or the sources of alkali metals to biological organisms. Several projects will take place around the world, including the Rideau Waterway, the large lakes of North America, Argentina and East Africa.

Human & ecosystem health
Research into metal and food web ecology is often artificially isolated from studies on relationships between aquatic ecosystem and human health. Humans often (but not always) contribute the bulk of environmental stressors on aquatic ecosystems, while contaminants, reduced fish biodiversity and poor water quality impact human populations.  Our current projects include vulnerable populations in sub-Saharan Africa and human consumers of fish in China.

»» Lab Website »« email: linda.campbell@queensu.ca »« telephone: 613-533-2940 ««

Some Recent Publications:

• Siwik, E, LM Campbell & G Mierle. 2010. Distribution and trend of mercury in deciduous tree cores. Environ. Poll. 2076-2073
• Manion, NC, LM Campbell & A Rutter. 2010. Historic Brownfields and Industrial Activity in Kingston, Ontario:  Assessing Potential Contributions to Mercury Contamination in Sediment of the Cataraqui River. Sci. Total Environ.408:2060-2067.
• Arribére MA, LM Campbell, AP Rizzo, M Arcagni, J Revenga & S Ribeiro Guevara. Trace elements in plankton, benthic organisms and forage fish of Lake Moreno, northern Patagonia, Argentina. Water, Air and Soil Poll. DOI: 10.1007/s11270-010-0330-3
• Siwik, E, LM Campbell & G Mierle. 2009. Fine-scale mercury trends in temperate deciduous tree leaves from Ontario, Canada. Sci. Total Environ. 407(24): 6275-6279
• Ridal, JJ. E Yanch, A Fowlie, NR Razavi, T Delongchamp, E Choy, M Fathi, P Hodson, LM Campbell, JM Blais, MBC Hickey, E Yumvihoze & DRS Lean. 2010. Potential Causes of Enhanced Transfer of Mercury to St. Lawrence River Biota: Implications for Sediment Management Strategies at Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. Hydrobiologia. DOI: 10.1007/s10750-009-9951-1. (Special Issue on the St. Lawrence River)
• Campbell LM, R Thacker, D Barton, DCG Muir, D Greenwood & RE Hecky. 2009. Re-engineering the eastern Lake Erie littoral food web: the trophic function of non-indigenous Ponto-Caspian species. J. Great Lakes Res. 35(2):224-231.
• Campbell, LM, P Verburg, DG Dixon & RE Hecky. 2008. Mercury biomagnification in the food web of Lake Tanganyika (Tanzania, East Africa). Sci. Total Environ. 402:184-191.
• Higgins S, S Malkin, T Howell, S Guildford, LM Campbell, V Hiriart-Baer, RE Hecky. 2008. An ecological review of Cladophora glomerata (Chlorophyta) in the Laurentian Great Lakes. J. Phycology. 44(4): 839-854.
• Daisuke U, C Darling, M Alaee, G Pacepavicius, C Teixeira, LM Campbell, R Letcher, A Bergman, G Marsh, DGC Muir. 2008. Detection of Hydroxylated Polybrominated Diphenylethers (OH-PBDEs) in the Abiotic Environment:  Surface Water and Precipitation from Ontario, Canada. Environ. Sci. Techn. 42: 1657-1664.
• Choy, E, P Hodson, LM Campbell, B Hickey and J Ridal. 2008. Spatial and temporal trends of mercury concentrations in Young-of-the-Year spottail shiners (Notropis hudsonius) in the St. Lawrence River at Cornwall, ON. Arch. Environ. Toxicol. Contam. 54(3): 473-481.
• Daisuke U, C Darling, M Alaee, LM Campbell, G Pacepavicius, C Teixeira & DCG Muir. 2007. Detection of hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PBCs) in the abiotic environment: surface water and precipitation from Ontario, Canada. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41:1841-1848.