Imagine standing knee-deep in a fast-moving, frigid creek 20 metres from where it runs into a spectacular alpine lake. In front of you is a large fishing net strung between the creek's banks in which five enormous bull trout have been caught.
You are an ecologist and you've been here for two weeks gathering data on the endangered bull trout population.
Two decades ago, the province wanted to encourage sport fishing and tourism in the area, so it introduced rainbow and brown trout to the lake. These new species became direct competitors with the bull trout for food and habitat, sending the bull trout population into sharp decline.
Years of study and work have been dedicated to reviving the bull trout population by removing the introduced fish. You are here to see if these measures are working.
Several times a day, you wade out nets to grab the fish that have been caught and bring them to your mobile station on the bank. One at a time, you put the bull trout in a basin of water with a bit of anaesthetic that temporarily sedates the fish so you can work with each one for about 10 minutes.
When the fish is sufficiently calm, you take it out of the basin and check for an identification chip implanted just under the skin. Once you have identified the fish, you measure its length and weigh it. You then put the fish in another tank, where you will keep it until the anaesthetic's effects have worn off and the fish can be safely returned to the creek.
Then, you will compare the data from this year to years previous. The ID chip lets you track each fish individually so you can check if it is growing longer and gaining weight, indications of an abundant food supply.
The ID chip also lets you measure recruitment rates by counting how many new juveniles are caught without chips, as well as death rates by counting how many fish from last year didn't return to the creek. These factors will allow you to evaluate the recovery of the lake's bull trout population.
After a couple long weeks in the field, you will return to your office and begin analyzing all the data using statistical software to indicate the size and growth of the bull trout population and whether it is going to survive in the lake.
Duties vary significantly from job to job, but the following list includes typical duties that an ecologist might encounter:
If you are a high school student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, you should have a keen interest in:
If you are a post-secondary student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, the following programs are most applicable.
In most cases, the minimum education requirement to work as an environmental geophysicist is a graduate degree. Pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree in fields related to environmental geophysics can enhance your expertise, career prospects, and ability to contribute to the field. These advanced degrees offer specialized knowledge and skills highly valued in both the professional and academic worlds.
In many provinces, geophysicists must obtain registration and licensure with their provincial association as a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.). The certification process for geophysicists is similar to that of engineering professions and is typically overseen by the same regulatory body.
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers look for professionals who can combine technical knowledge with soft skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
As key executive leaders who shape their company’s sustainability policy, CSOs work in many different types of organizations. Common employers of CSOs include:
Search for jobs on the ECO Canada Job Board.
If you are a post-secondary student seeking a CSO role in the future, consider pursuing a university degree related to:
In addition to the educational fields mentioned above, you will also need extensive management experience to become a CSO, with well-developed human resources management and leadership skills. Consider educational seminars or post-graduate studies that will hone your analytical thinking, such as:
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers seek professionals who combine technical knowledge with personal and professional skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
Todd Fell works in an ecological consulting firm based in Guelph, Ontario. Todd's role as a restoration ecologist/ecological technician includes responsibilities that range from conducting inventories and analyses of vegetation and wildlife resources to restoration plans and working with computer-assisted design (CAD) programs. Many of these projects require a multidisciplinary approach, so Todd often works closely with engineers, hydrologists, botanists and other specialists. "Although I believe in conservation first, my real passion is ecological restoration, which means trying to repair the damage done to an area or a species.
The pace of development is so fast that I feel a responsibility to take an active role in restoring natural landscapes." Like many people, Todd followed a career path that wasn't exactly a straight line.
He graduated from the University of Guelph in landscape architecture, and through his involvement with environmental community groups like the Federation of Ontario Naturalists, Todd discovered the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER). Through the SER, Todd heard of a 1-year college program at Niagara College in Saint Catharines, Ontario, that specialized in restoration ecology.
Upon graduation, Todd was able to quickly get a contract with a firm that matched his career aspirations. "It's been 2 years since that first 6-month contract and I'm still here; sometimes all you need is a chance to get your foot in the door!"
In Canada, we have numerous ways of determining changes in the environment, especially when it comes to the weather. For example, flocks of birds migrating south are a sign that winter is coming. As an ecologist, you question, for example, how the behaviours of birds - such as migration - are stimulated by changes in the environment.
As an ecologist, you may also be invited to educate local communities about environmental issues and ecosystems in their area. Reports that you write will be used to influence environmental policy and offer expert advice to various organizations.
Climate change has increased natural disasters around the world. Despite the wreckage left behind, there are capabilities to rebuild. Natural disasters may be inevitable, but what about oil spills? When animals need to be removed from their habitats, how can this shift affect the behaviour of the environment that they leave behind?
As an ecologist, you will be able to answer these questions and more, while creating proactive solutions. Beyond working on natural disasters, ecologists observe changes to ecosystems and how organisms interact with one another after a disturbance has caused an imbalance.
Disturbances can come from various sources including increases in temperature, increased human activity as a result of urbanization, and many more. Ecologists’ understanding of these disturbances helps other ecologists and scientists make informed decisions on the best ways to mitigate the effects of these problems.
Ecologists’ work is used to answer questions about conservation and environmental protection, and management and environmental stewardship.
Marine geologists are classified into the following occupational grouping:
NOC Code: 21102 – Geoscientists and oceanographers
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) provides a standardized language for describing the work performed by Canadians in the labour market. It gives statisticians, labour market analysts, career counsellors, employers, and individual job seekers a consistent way to collect data and describe and understand the nature of work within different occupations.
See ECO’s Blue National Occupational Standard for a career competency profile for a marine geologist that outlines the specific skills, knowledge, and behaviours required for individuals to perform effectively in this particular role. This profile is a benchmark for training and development, ensuring consistency and quality across professions within the blue economy.
Dans un esprit de respect, de réciprocité et de vérité, nous honorons et reconnaissons Moh’kinsstis, le territoire traditionnel du Traité 7 et les pratiques orales de la confédération des Pieds-Noirs : Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, ainsi que les nations Îyâxe Nakoda et Tsuut’ina. Nous reconnaissons que ce territoire abrite la Nation métisse de l’Alberta, la région 3 au sein de la patrie historique des Métis du Nord-Ouest. Enfin, nous reconnaissons toutes les nations qui vivent, travaillent et se divertissent sur ce territoire, et qui l’honorent et le célèbrent.
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth, we acknowledge that we live, work, and gather on the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7, including the Blackfoot Confederacy—comprising the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations—as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina Nations.
This land, known as Moh’kinsstis in the Blackfoot language and encompassing what is now Districts 5 and 6, is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3, within the historical Northwest Métis homeland.
We recognize and honour the deep connection these Nations have to the land, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share in its stewardship.
As we continue our work, we commit to learning from Indigenous knowledge systems, uplifting Indigenous voices, and fostering relationships rooted in equity, understanding, and reconciliation.
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