Yulia Egorova

I am a biological oceanographer in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. My main goal is to build the first midwater ecosystem model to answer several fundamental macroecological and applied questions:

1. What is the global horizontal and vertical distribution, density and diversity of mesopelagic plankton and micronekton;
2. What is the link between structure and diversity of mesopelagic food webs and overlaying productivity;
3. What is the role of the mesopelagic zone in transferring energy to upper trophic levels and fisheries production as well as carbon sequestration, and
4. Can we model effects of climate change on the midwater food web dynamics enabling us to make predictions of future fisheries productivity.

From the perspective of basic research, the project is envisaged to provide crucial insights into biological and biochemical processes within open-ocean ecosystems. In a changing world, with rising CO2 levels, more acidic waters, and overexploitation of nearshore resources, an improved understanding of the ecological and biogeochemical interactions in the mesopelagic realm is required to predict the impact of climate change on ecological diversity and ocean productivity that in turn affect global fish harvests. The major societal benefit of the proposed research will occur through increased understanding of the oceans connection to global climate as well as the ecological and economical effects on fisheries. These models may also help to explore the effects of mesopelagic fisheries and simulate ecosystem responses to greenhouse gas emissions and growing fisheries pressure. More realistic models will have direct impacts on governmental policy makers.

Prior to beginning my PhD, I completed an MSc in Biological Oceanography where I focused on studying spatial and temporal patterns of outmigration of juvenile sockeye salmon in Rivers Inlet and the effect of the climate change on growth and condition. During my BSc, I became interested in analytical chemistry and worked on designing a method for analysis of  cancerogenic 4-methyl imidazole in food products using HPLC. I am currently involved in two projects in the field of Computation Chemistry: 1) conducting theoretical investigation of acid-base equilibria of organic acids under normal and hydrothermal conditions in CANDU nuclear reactors and 2) predicting pKa constants of different acids in heavy and light water. 

Education:

MSc Biological Oceanography (2016) University of British Columbia

BSc Environmental Chemistry (2012) Thompson River’s University

BSc Chemical Engineering (2010) Mendeleyev University of Chemical Technology of Russia