General Information

Linking Microbial Connectivity with Hydrological Connectivity in Northern Landscapes through Coupled Metagenomics and Geomatics

Northern regions represent a vast portion of the Earth’s surface and host complex ecosystems undergoing significant changes due to climate warming. Permafrost thaw leads notably to landscape changes, including the formation of thermokarst ponds. These transformations impact the structure and function of microbial communities, with important consequences for biogeochemical cycles, notably greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and carbon dioxide.

This Master’s project aims to explore how hydrological connectivity affects gene propagation via bacterial dispersion and horizontal gene transfers in these changing environments. This project focuses on the geomatics aspects of the broader research and aims at characterizing hydrological connectivity from topographic and multispectral surveys from drones and satellites and geomatics analysis of the collected data. The selected student will take part in a field campaign planned for summer 2026 in Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuarapik, complementing an existing dataset.

The project will be carried out at the UQTR under the supervision of Professor Christophe Kinnard of the UQTR's Department of Environmental Sciences and co-supervised by Professor Jérôme Comte of the INRS' Centre Eau-Terre-Environnement.

How to Apply?

Candidate Profile: Bachelor’s degree in geography or ecology with skills/interests/aptitudes in geomatics.

Scholarship Offered: $22,000/year, for 2 years

Start Date: Summer term (May) 2026

Application: Send to Christophe Kinnard and Jérôme Comte:

• a CV,
• a cover letter and,
• contact information for two referees