Professor Lee Jackson

Dr. Leland (Lee) Jackson

Professor Emeritus of Aquatic Community and Ecosystem Ecology
Pronouns: he/him/his

Contact information

Phone number

Office: +1 (403) 220-6790

Background

Educational Background

BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences, Queen's University, 1984

PhD Biological Sciences, McGill University, 1992

MSc Oceanography, University of British Columbia, 1988

Research

Areas of Research

Activities

My research interests centre on processes that affect (1) the stability of aquatic communities and ecosystems, and (2) relationships between sustainable growth and water quality and quantity. I am particularly interested in the role of biota and their interactions on the flux of energy and materials in food webs. My NSERC sponsored research considers the role of rooted aquatic macrophtyes and food web structure on the state in which shallow prairie lakes are found. Macrophytes may be stabilizing commponents of shallow lakes that allow them to exist in a relatively clear state. However, macrophyte biomass is also correlated to the rate and occurrence of winter anoxia, with implications to fish populations. Collaborative research is examining water quality and quantity in South Saskatchewan headwater rivers, and how this might change with future development. Ecologic and economic models will be coupled to create an expert system to allow evaluation of "what if" scenarios of change in light of full-cost accounting. This project considers land use and the delivery of material to rivers, as well as in-stream processes by biota.

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
ECOL 417 Aquatic Communities and Ecosystems Fall 2022
ECOL 439 Ecology of Populations Winter 2023

Awards

  • IUCN Ecosystem Redlisting, International Union for the Conservation of Nature. 2019
  • Sustainability Award - Campus as a Learning Laboratory, University of Calgary. 2017
  • Keynote Address, 2015
  • Scientific Director, Advancing Canadian Wastewater Assets, 2014
  • Scientific Director, Advancing Canadian Wastewater Assets, The University of Calgary. 2018
  • Faculty of Science Award of Excellence in Community Outreach, 2012
  • Board of Directors, Alberta Lake Management Society. 2005

Publications

  • Emerging contaminants cause adverse health effects in native species of fish in Southern Alberta rivers. A* Zare; H Habibi; C Maier; A Weljie; J* Jordan; S* Henderson. (2012)
  • Effects of an urban nutrient footprint on periphyton and macrophyte biomass, and diel oxygen cycles in the Bow River, Alberta (Canada). C* Chung; Leland Jackson. (2012)

In the News

  • Citizen science project with Trout Unlimited to collect Didymo.. Canada Broadcasting Corporation. (2016)