Fanny Vermandele, a biologist, has been awarded the BORÉAS Discovery Award for her doctoral research project at the Université du Québec à Rimouski. Her work, conducted with a team, focused on the differences between male and female copepods – tiny crustaceans – regarding their vulnerability to environmental stressors, such as heat waves.
Vermandele explains that a better understanding of the differences between males and females across various aquatic species could help refine marine protected area planning, for example.
The researcher, currently pursuing postdoctoral studies at Université Laval, has harbored a passion for marine biology since a young age.
Originally from Belgium, Vermandele immigrated to Quebec with her parents. When it came time for her university studies, the Université du Québec à Rimouski was her first choice due to its recognized expertise in marine sciences.
She is also actively involved in promoting science, particularly to young women.
Fanny Vermandele has received the prestigious BORÉAS Discovery Award for her groundbreaking research into the resilience of marine organisms facing climate change. The award recognizes her doctoral work at the Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), where she investigated how male and female copepods – modest crustaceans vital to the marine food web – respond differently to environmental stresses like heat waves and oxygen depletion. This research offers valuable insights into the potential impacts of climate change on ocean ecosystems. Vermandele’s study, published in Global Change Biology, revealed that female copepods exhibit greater tolerance to combined heat and low-oxygen conditions than their male counterparts. This finding suggests that sex-specific physiological responses could play a critical role in the ability of these organisms to adapt to a changing ocean. “The jury was impressed by the concrete demonstration of the results as well as the potential scope of the study’s impact beyond the scientific community,” said Luc Sirois, director of BORÉAS, according to UQAR. Vermandele, now a postdoctoral researcher at Université Laval, has been passionate about marine biology since childhood. Originally from Belgium, she immigrated to Quebec with her family and chose UQAR for its strong marine science program. She also dedicates time to encouraging the next generation of scientists, with a particular focus on inspiring young women to pursue careers in STEM fields. The research team included collaborators from the UQAR, the University of Aveiro in Portugal, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and the University of Connecticut. The award also recognized the work of three other teams within UQAR’s research group on northern environments.
