Joubin has been investigating the effects of nitrate pollution on fish. It is a common practise on Prince Edward Island farms to add nitrogen-based fertilizer to agricultural fields to produce higher growth rates in the crop. Unfortunately, excess nitrogen from fertilizer can form nitrate, which can leach from soil to groundwater. High nitrate in drinking water can affect a number of organisms, including fish, and is known to blue-baby syndrome in infants.
Joubin’s research involved exposing fish to varying levels (low-to-high) of nitrate in aquarium studies. He worked with early stages of Japanese Medaka fish (Oryzias latipes), a guppy-like fish that is a common test animal for evaluating toxins in the water. He exposed the fertilized eggs to different solutions, ranging from an “embryo rearing solution” which was designed to have a good chemical balance for early development, to this same solution with different levels of nitrate added to it. The Medaka eggs were examined daily during development until they were 3-4 months old, and Joubin compared how many died and how long they took to hatch. These studies will help researchers in PEI understand some of the potential effects of nitrate pollution on fish in PEI streams.
Student Research