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Andrea Kirkwood

Andrea Kirkwood
PhD, BES, Msc

Professor

Biological Science
Faculty of Science

Dr. Kirkwood's research and teaching focus is on environmental biology. In addition to research and teaching, Dr. Kirkwood is actively involved in community-based environmental stewardship initiatives.

Contact expert

Andrea is available for:
  • Graduate student research supervision
  • Media inquiries
  • Partnerships

andrea.kirkwood@ontariotechu.ca
905.721.8668 ext. 3622

kirkwoodlab.weebly.com/

Social media

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Areas of expertise


  • PhD - Environmental Microbiology University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario 2003
  • Master of Science - Aquatic Ecology McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario 1996
  • Bachelor in Environmental Science - Environment and Resource Studies and Biology - Joint Honours (Co-op) University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario 1994
Invited Speaker (Most Recent):
  • Nature Guelph Public Seminar (2023)
  • University of Calgary Ecology and Evolution Seminar Series (2023)
  • A Framework for Inclusive Science Communication in Canada (speaker & panelist), Society of Canadian Aquatic Sciences Conference (2023)
  • Canadian Federation of University Women (Whitby/Oshawa Chapter) (2022)
  • Age-friendly Speaker Series, Ontario Tech University (2022)
  • Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON (2021)
  • Canadian Federation of University Women (Ajax/Pickering Chapter) (Virtual) (2021)
  • Pickering Naturalists Speaker Series (Virtual) (2021)
  • Troubled Waters Webinar Series co-hosted by Vale Living with Lakes Center, Greater Sudbury Watershed Alliance, and the Federation of Ontario Cottager Associations (Virtual) (2021)
  • Starry Stonewort Collaborative Meeting, hosted by the Nature Conservancy (Virtual) (2021)
  • Healthy Lake Scugog Steering Committee, Township of Scugog, ON (Virtual) (2020)
  • Scugog Lake Stewards Annual General Meeting, Port Perry, ON (plenary speaker) (Virtual) (2020)
  • Limnology Seminar Series, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario (Virtual) (2020)
  • Federation of Ontario Cottager Associations Annual Spring Meeting, Toronto, Ontario (plenary speaker) (2020)
  • Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Seminar Series, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON (2019)
  • Department of Biology Seminar Series, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON (2019)
  • Kawartha Lakes Stewardship Association Annual General Meeting, Buckhorn, ON (plenary speaker) (2019)
  • North Kawartha Lakes Association Spring Meeting, Apsley, ON (plenary speaker) (2019)
  • Ontario Tech Women in Science Speakers Series, Oshawa, ON (2019)
  • Aquatic Research Group Seminar Series, York University, Toronto, ON (2019)
  • Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Symposium on biosecurity and transnational environmental crime, Toronto, ON (2019)
  • Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (Laurentian Chapter), Queens University, Kingston, ON (Plenary speaker) (2018)
  • Queen’s University Biological Station Public Seminar Series, Elgin, ON (2018)
  • Ontario Tech Graduate Student Conference, Oshawa, ON (2018)
  • Department of Biology and Chemistry Seminar Series, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON (2017)
  • McNabney, D.W.G., Mangal, V., Kirkwood, A.E., and Simmons, D.B.D. 2023. Phytoplankton metabolite profiles from two Lake Ontario Areas of Concern reveal differences associated with taxonomic community composition. Science of the Total Environment https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162042.

  • Harrow-Lyle, T.J., Chomicki, K. and Kirkwood, A.E. 2023. Modelling the influence of seiche-events on phosphorous loading dynamics in three Lake Ontario coastal wetlands. Journal of Great Lakes Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2023.01.010.

  • Harrow-Lyle, T.J., Ginn, B, Kirkwood, A.E. and Melles, S. 2023. First report of female gametangia in the non-native invasive macroalga starry stonewort (Nitellopsis obtusa) in North America. Botany https://doi.org/10.1139/cjb-2022-0096.

  • Cooke, S.J., M.L. Piczak, J.C. Vermaire and A.E. Kirkwood. 2023 On the troubling use of plastic “habitat” structures for fish in freshwater ecosystems - or - when restoration is just littering. FACETS Journal 8:1-19 https://dx.doi.org/10.1139/facets-2022-0210.

  • Smith, E.D. and Kirkwood, A.E. 2022. Nearshore plankton and macroinvertebrate community structure is strongly associated with macrophyte abundance in a large lake with high shoreline development. Fundamental and Applied Limnology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1127/fal/2022/1476.

  • Arnott, S.E., Fugere, V., Symons, C.,…Kirkwood, AE and 43 co-authors. 2022. Widespread variation in salt tolerance within freshwater zooplankton species reduces the predictability of community-level salt tolerance. Limnology and Oceanography Letters https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10277.

  • Lara-Jacobo, L., *Islam, G., Desaulniers, J.P., Kirkwood, A.E. and Simmons, D. 2022. Detection of SARS CoV-2 proteins in wastewater samples by mass spectrometry. Environmental Science & Technology https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c04705.

  • Costello, D.M., Tiegs, S.D.,…Kirkwood, A.E. and 89 additional co-authors. 2022. Global Patterns and controls of nutrient immobilization on decomposing cellulose in riverine ecosystems. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 36(3), p.e2021GB007163 https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2021GB007163.

  • Hintz, W.D., Arnott, S.E.,…*Hassal, E., Kirkwood, A.E. (plus 39 additional authors). 2022. Current water quality guidelines across North America and Europe do not protect lakes from salinization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119(9) e2115033119. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2115033119. 

  • Hébert, M. P., Symons, C. C., Cañedo‐Argüelles, M., Arnott, S. E., Derry, A. M., Fugère, V., *Hassal, E., Kirkwood, A.E…Beisner, B.E. (plus 34 additional authors) 2022. Lake salinization drives consistent losses of zooplankton abundance and diversity across coordinated mesocosm experiments. Limnology and Oceanography Letters https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/lol2.10239

  • Harrow-Lyle, T.J. and Kirkwood, A.E. 2022. The non-native charophyte Nitellopsis obtusa (starry stonewort) influences shifts in macrophyte diversity and community structure in lakes across a geologically heterogeneous landscape. Aquatic Ecology. https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/7911847

  • Islam, G., Gedge, A., Lara-Jacobo, L., Kirkwood, A., Simmons, D., & Desaulniers, J. P. 2022. Pasteurization, storage conditions and viral concentration methods influence RT-qPCR detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater. Science of The Total Environment https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969722003187

  • Harrow-Lyle, T.J. and Kirkwood, A.E. 2021. Pervasive changes to the lower aquatic food web following Nitellopsis obtusa establishment in a large, shallow lake. Freshwater Biology https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fwb.13860

  • Smith, E., Balika, D., and Kirkwood, A.E. 2021. Community-science based monitoring reveals the role of land-use scale in driving nearshore water quality in a large, shallow, Canadian lake. Lake and Reservoir Management 37:431-444 https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/7587964
  • Harrow-Lyle, T.J. and Kirkwood, A.E. 2021. Low benthic oxygen and high internal phosphorus-loading are strongly associated with the invasive macrophyte Nitellopsis obtusa (Starry Stonewort) in a large, polymictic lake. Frontiers in Environmental Science https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.735509/full

  • Harrow-Lyle, T.J. and Kirkwood, A.E. 2021. An ecological niche model based on a broad calcium gradient reveals additional habitat preferences of the invasive charophyte Nitellopsis obtusa. Aquatic Botany 172 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304377021000462

  • Harrow-Lyle, T.J. and Kirkwood, A.E. 2020. The invasive macrophyte Nitellopsis obtusa may facilitate the invasive mussel Dreissena polymorpha and Microcystis blooms in a large, shallow lake. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjfas-2019-0337

  • Gore, M.L., Braszak, P., Brown, J., Cassey, P., Duffy, R., Fisher, J., Graham, J., Justo-Hanani, R., Kirkwood, A.E., Lunstrum, E., Machalaba, C., Massé, F. Manguiat, M. Omrow, D., Stoett, P., Wyatt, T. and White, R. (2019) Transnational environmental crime threatens sustainable development. Nature Sustainability, Aug. 12 pp.1-3. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0363-6

  • Ussery, E., Bridges, K. N., Pandelides, Z., Kirkwood, A. E., Guchardi, J., & Holdway, D. (2019). Developmental and full‐life cycle exposures to guanylurea, and guanylurea‐metformin mixtures results in adverse effects on Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 38(5), 1023-1028 https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/etc.4403

  • Tiegs, S. plus 149 co-authors in alphabetical order, including Kirkwood, A.E. 2018. Global patterns and drivers of ecosystem functioning in rivers and riparian zone. Science Advances 5(1), eaav0486. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aav0486

  • Ussery, E., Bridges, K. Pandelides, Z., Kirkwood, A.E., Bonetta, D. Venables, B., Guchardi, J., and Holdway, D. 2018. Effects of environmentally relevant metformin exposure on Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Aquatic Toxicology 205, 58-65. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166445X18306179

  • Strangway, C., Bowman, M.F. and Kirkwood, A.E. 2017. Assessing landscape and contaminant point-sources as spatial determinants of water quality in the Vermillion River System, Ontario, Canada. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 24(28):22587-22601. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-017-9933-1

  • Ibsen, M., Fernando, D., Kumar, A. and Kirkwood, A.E. 2017. Prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes in bacterial communities associated with Cladophora glomerata mats in Lake Ontario. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 63(5): 439-449. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28192677/

Board of Directors

Friends of Second Marsh January 1, 2012

Since 2012, Dr. Kirkwood has been a member of the Board of Directors of Friends of Second Marsh, a not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to encouraging the protection and appreciation of Second Marsh, a coastal wetland located in Durham Region, other Great Lakes wetlands, our natural heritage system, and to promoting a healthy environment through education, communication, developing partnerships and fostering connections with all sectors of the community.

Scientific Advisory Board

Canadian Phycological Culture Centre April 30, 2014

The Canadian Phycological Culture Centre (CPCC) provides research quality cultures, culture medium, and other related services to educational institutions, government and commercial laboratories worldwide. Housed at the University of Waterloo in the Department of Biology, the CPCC is internationally recognized as a major service collection of living freshwater algal, cyanobacterial and Lemna spp. (duckweed) cultures.

Post-doctoral Fellow

University of Calgary January 1, 2005

Dr. Kirkwood completed her post-doc work and continued as a research associate supported by grants from the Alberta Conservation Association and Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.

Post-doctoral Fellow

Oklahoma State University September 1, 2002

Service Award

Society of Canadian Aquatic Sciences January 1, 2023

American Society of Limnology and Oceanography

Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution

Canadian Society of Microbiologists

Ecological Society of America

Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network

North American Lake Management Society

Phycological Society of America

Society of Freshwater Sciences

Society of Canadian Limnologists

Friends of Second Marsh

Canadian Phycological Culture Collection

University of Toronto

University of Toronto at Scarborough(PhD program in Environmental Science)

Trent University (Graduate program in Life and Environmental Sciences)

University of Waterloo (Graduate program in Biology)

  • BIOL 3660 Ecology
  • BIOL 3620 Conservation Biology
  • BIOL 4660 Aquatic Ecology
  • BIOL 4010 Introduction to Environmental Research Methods