Lianna Gendall
MSc Geography, University of Victoria
BSc Biology, University of Alberta
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Lianna Gendall is a Master’s candidate with interests in kelp forest ecology, ecosystem-based management and the use of remote sensing to answer important ecological questions. Kelp forests are some of the most diverse and productive habitats on earth and provide many important ecosystem services to humans. Lianna’s research is focused on creating a baseline map of kelp forest distributions along the coast of Haida Gwaii and exploring environmental drivers of change in these ecosystems. This project is a collaborative effort between the SPECTRAL remote sensing laboratory, the Hakai Institute and the Marine Plan Partnership for the North Pacific Coast (MaPP) and will help to improve management strategies for kelp forest ecosystems in the future.
Lianna has a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Biology from the University of Alberta. Throughout her degree, Lianna’s curiosity and love for the ocean grew while working as a research assistant and Dive Master on several international marine research bases. She spent the last semester of her BSc. at Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, where she fell in love with the complex and beautiful temperate ecosystems of the west coast of Canada. Since graduating, she has worked as a coral reef ecology instructor in Mexico and with the Salmon Coded Wire Tag Laboratory of J.O. Thomas & Associated Ltd. All of these experiences have solidified her desire to identify and monitor long-term change in coastal marine ecosystems and she is excited for the new experiences and challenges that lie ahead.
Click HERE to learn more about Lianna’s Project