Profile of: Katelyn Augustine

Award received: NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship Masters - Indigenous Scholars Award and Supplement

Awarded for the project: Assessing Presence of Migjigj (Turtles) in Central Gespe’gewa’gi (Northern New Brunswick), Using Two-Eyed Seeing and Environmental DNA

Department: Biology

Supervisor: Dr. Charles Sacobie

The three turtle species in New Brunswick, wood turtle, common snapping turtle, and eastern painted turtle, are culturally significant to the Mi’gmaq People, and are listed on the Species at Risk Act. My research utilizes environmental DNA (eDNA) and Two-Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk) to detect the presence of turtle species on a watershed in northern New Brunswick.

Currently there are no recorded turtle populations on the watershed, but Mi’gmaq Knowledge indicates that wood turtles were present and may still be. In conjunction with this there are recorded sightings of individual eastern painted turtles and common snapping turtles.

The use of Mi’gmaq Knowledge cross-referenced with eDNA results and Western Science will be used to assess the status of turtles as well as potential habitat changes that may have influenced the population. eDNA is a non-invasive technique that detects organisms by analyzing genetic material shed in the environment through sources such as water, soil, or sediment.

The eDNA samples will be examined using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), which amplifies species-specific DNA sequences, enabling detection when the target species’ DNA is present. The project has an overarching framework of Two-Eyed Seeing, a guiding principle coined by Mi’gmaq Elder Albert Marshall.

Two-Eyed Seeing means to look through the lenses of both Indigenous Knowledge systems and Western Knowledge systems to understand a subject from both perspectives. Two-Eyed Seeing is integral to the project as it strengthens our understanding of turtles by providing historical and cultural context to the research, as well as building trust between Indigenous Peoples and Western Science.