PATRICIA ANN CHAMBERS, Ph.D.

Personal Information
Date of Birth:
Citizenship:

September 17, 1955

Canadian

Employment
Chief, Human Impacts Project
Environment Canada

1996-present

Research Scientist
1989-present
Environment Canada (Burlington, ON and Saskatoon, SK)
Contact information: Environment Canada
867 Lakeshore Rd., PO Box 5050
Burlington, Ontario L7R 4A6 Canada
Telephone: 1-905-336-4529
Fax: 905-336-4400
Email: patricia.chambers@ec.gc.ca

Academic Appointments
Adjunct Professor
Department of Biology
University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB

2005-present

Associate

Canadian Rivers Institute

University of New Brunswick

2004-present

Adjunct Professor

Department of Biological Sciences,

University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

1990-2005

Sessional Lecturer/
Research Associate

Zoology Department,
University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

1986-1989

Post-Doctoral Fellow

Department of Biology, McGill University

Montreal, Quebec

1982-1986

Education
Ph.D.
Honours B.Sc.
(Biology)

Department of Botany, University of St. Andrews 1978-1982

St. Andrews, Scotland
Trent University,
Peterborough, Ontario

1974-1978

Vitae
Research

Patricia Ann Chambers

Interests

and

2
Experience

Effects of point and non-point source pollution on nutrient and dissolved oxygen dynamics in rivers
and lakes, and aquatic plant ecology. Research has included studies on:
effects of nutrient loading from agricultural activities on stream water quality;
effects of land use changes on the structure and function of stream ecosystems.
impact of pulp mill effluent on nutrients, oxygen and periphyton abundance in northern rivers;
roles of physical, chemical and biological factors in the control of biomass and species
composition of aquatic plant communities in lakes and rivers
impact of municipal sewage effluent loading and flow alterations on nutrient dynamics and
aquatic macrophyte abundance in rivers

Key Research Programs and Selected Publications

1. Development of Standards to Protect Water Quality and Quantity in Agriculturally-Dominated
Watersheds: Led multidisciplinary research teams to evaluate approaches and recommend
standards to protect ecosystem health of rivers from agriculturally-derived inputs of nutrients,
sediments and pathogens, or abstraction of water. My particular research resulted in nitrogen
and phosphorus standards to protect the ecological condition of Canadian streams.
CHAMBERS PA, C VIS, RB BRUA, M GUY, JM CULP & GA BENOY. 2008. Eutrophication of agricultural
streams: defining nutrient concentrations to protect ecological condition. Water Science and
Technology 58: 22032210.

2. Assessment of the effects of nitrogen and phosphorus on Canadian ecosystems: Led a federal
government review, requested by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Environment
and Sustainable Development, to assess the effects of anthropogenic nutrients on Canadian
ecosystems.
CHAMBERS PA, M GUY, ES ROBERTS, MN CHARLTON, R KENT, C GAGNON, G GROVE & N FOSTER. 2001.
Nutrients and their Impact on the Canadian Environment. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,
Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Health Canada, and Natural Resources Canada.
En21-205/2001E.
CARR GM, A MORIN & PA CHAMBERS. 2005. Bacteria and algae in stream periphyton along a nutrient
gradient. Freshwater Biology 50:1337-1350.
BOWMAN MF, PA CHAMBERS & DW SCHINDLER. 2005. Epilithic algal abundance in relation to anthropogenic
changes in phosphorus bioavailability and limitation in mountain rivers. Canadian Journal of Fisheries
and Aquatic Sciences 62: 174184.

3. Advances in the Ecology and Control of Aquatic Plants: Led national and international teams in
developing new insights into factors determining aquatic plant abundance and diversity,
developing quantitative models for river managers to predict plant biomass, and inventing new
non-toxic methodologies for controlling their excessive growth.
CHAMBERS PA, P LACOUL, KJ MURPHY & SM THOMAZ. 2008. Global diversity of aquatic macrophytes in
freshwater. Hydrobiologia 595:926.
CHAMBERS PA, EE PREPAS, ME FERGUSON, M SEREDIAK, M GUY & M HOLST. 2001. The effects of lime
addition on aquatic macrophytes in hard water: in situ and microcosm experiments. Freshwater
Biology 46: 1121-1138.

Recognition
Awards and Honours
2008 Environment Canada Citation of Excellence
2001 Environment Canada Citation of Excellence
1998 Environment Canada Citation of Excellence
1997 Environment Canada Citation of Excellence
1994 Technical Excellence Award from the North American Lake Management Society

Vitae
1994
1992
1978
1978
1978
1976

Patricia Ann Chambers

3
Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation
Environment Canada Award for Innovation in Human Resource Management
United Kingdom Commonwealth Scholarship
1967 National Research Council Science Scholarship. (Declined in favour of
Commonwealth Scholarship)
Trent University President Symons Medal
Goodhead Award in Biology

Key Invited Talks and Lectures

Eutrophication of Agricultural Streams: Defining Nutrient Concentrations to Protect Ecological
Condition. Invited Expert at the 12th International Conference on Integrated Diffuse
Pollution Management (IWA DIPCON 2008), August 2008, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
Managing Agricultural Impacts on Canadian Waters. Invited presentation at the UNU-INWEH
workshop Water and Ecosystems: Water Resources Management in Diverse Ecosystems and
Providing for Human Needs, June 2005, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Impacts and Control of Nutrient Loading to Lakes and Rivers. Invited expert at a World Bank Hai
River Basin Integrated Water Resources Planning Workshop, Nov. 2005, Tianjin, China.
The Role of Aquatic Macrophytes as Structuring Elements in Aquatic Ecosystems. Invited plenary
speaker by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences at a workshop A Global
Assessment of Animal Diversity in Continental Waters, Oct. 2005, Brussels.
Nutrients and their impacts on Canadian water resources. Invited seminar to the Institute of
Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Sept. 2003, Berlin.
Water quality and water management in Canada. Invited presentation to the Chinese State
Environmental Protection Agency, November 2002, Beijing.

Expert Witness Testimony

2002
Expert Witness at Manitoba Clean Environment Commission court hearings on the
effect of an agri-food development on the Assiniboine River watershed
1994
Expert Witness at the British Columbia Utilities Commission court hearings on the
effects of river regulation (Kemano Completion Project) on water quality and
aquatic plant abundance and distribution
Editorial Experience
1997-present Associate Editor of The Journal of the North American Benthological Society
1997-2001
Associate Editor of Journal of the American Water Resources Association
1994-1997
Associate Editor of the journal, "Wetlands"

Society Memberships
Society of Canadian Limnologists (Past President)
International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology (member and past Canadian
representative)
American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (member)
Society of Wetland Scientists (Past Associate Editor of "Wetlands")
North American Benthological Society (Associate Editor of The Journal of the North American
Benthological Society)

Vitae
Patricia Ann Chambers
4
rivers. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and
Peer-Reviewed Scientific Papers
CHAMBERS PA, C VIS, RB BRUA, M GUY, JM CULP
& GA BENOY. 2008. Eutrophication of
agricultural streams: defining nutrient
concentrations to protect ecological
condition. Water Science and
Technology 58: 22032210.
CHAMBERS PA, P LACOUL, KJ MURPHY & SM
THOMAZ. 2008. Global diversity of aquatic
macrophytes in freshwater. Hydrobiologia
595:926.
BOWMAN MF, PA CHAMBERS & DW SCHINDLER.
2007. Constraints on benthic algal
response to nutrient addition in
oligotrophic mountain rivers.
River
Research and Applications 23: 858876.
THOMAZ SM, PA CHAMBERS, SA PIERINI & G
PEREIRA. 2007. Effects of phosphorus and
nitrogen amendments on the growth of
Egeria najas. Aquatic Botany 86: 191196.
CHAMBERS PA, JM CULP, NE GLOZIER, KJ CASH, FJ
WRONA & L NOTON. 2006. Northern Rivers
Ecosystem Initiative: Nutrients and
Dissolved Oxygen Issues and Impacts.
Environmental
Monitoring
and
Assessment 113: 117-141.

Aquatic Sciences 62: 174184.

BURLEY KM, EE PREPAS & PA CHAMBERS. 2001.
Phosphorus release from sediments in
hardwater eutrophic lakes: the effects of
redox-sensitive and -insensitive chemical
treatments. Freshwater Biology 46: 10611074.
PREPAS EE, B PINEL-ALLOUL B, PA CHAMBERS, TP
MURPHY, S REEDYK, GJ SANDLAND & M
SEREDIAK. 2001. Lime treatment and its
effects on the chemistry and biota of
hardwater eutrophic lakes. Freshwater
Biology 46: 1049-1060.
REEDYK S, EE PREPAS & PA CHAMBERS. 2001.
Effects of single Ca(OH)2 doses on
phosphorus
concentration
and
macrophyte biomass of two boreal
eutrophic lakes over 2 years. Freshwater
Biology 46: 1075-1087.
PREPAS EE, J BABIN, TP MURPHY, PA CHAMBERS,
GJ SANDLAND, A GHADOUANI & M
SEREDIAK. 2001. Long-term effects of
successive
Ca(OH)2
and
CaCO3
treatments on the water quality of two
eutrophic hardwater lakes. Freshwater
Biology 46: 1089-1103.

CHAMBERS PA, R MEISSNER, FJ WRONA, H RUPP, H

GUHR, J SEEGER, JM CULP & RB BRUA.
2006. Changes in Nutrient Loading in an
Agricultural Watershed and its Effects on
Water Quality and Stream Biota.
Hydrobiologia 556:399415.

ZHANG Y, A GHADOUANI, EE PREPAS, B PINELALLOUL, S REEDYK, PA CHAMBERS, RD

ROBARTS. G MTHOT, A RAIK & M HOLST.
2001. Response of plankton communities
to whole-lake Ca(OH)2 and CaCO3
additions in eutrophic hardwater lakes.
Freshwater Biology 46: 1105-1119.

BOWMAN MF, PA CHAMBERS & DW SCHINDLER.

2005.
Changes
in
stoichiometric
constraints on epilithon and benthic
macroinvertebrates caused by low-level
eutrophication of cold-water rivers.
Freshwater Biology 50: 18361852.

CHAMBERS PA, EE PREPAS, ME FERGUSON, M

SEREDIAK, M GUY & M HOLST. 2001. The
effects of lime addition on aquatic
macrophytes in hard water: in situ and
microcosm experiments. Freshwater
Biology 46: 1121-1138.

CARR GM, A MORIN & PA CHAMBERS. 2005.

Bacteria and algae in stream periphyton
along a nutrient gradient. Freshwater
Biology 50:1337-1350.

MADSEN JD, PA CHAMBERS, WF JAMES, EW KOCH

& DF WESTLAND. 2001. The interaction
between water movement, sediment
dynamics and submersed macrophytes.
Hydrobiologia 444 (1/3): 71-84.

CARR GM, PA CHAMBERS & A MORIN. 2005.

Periphyton, water quality and land use at
multiple spatial scales in Alberta rivers.
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and
Aquatic Sciences 62: 13091319.
BOWMAN MF, PA CHAMBERS, AND DW SCHINDLER.
2005. Epilithic algal abundance in relation
to anthropogenic changes in phosphorus
bioavailability and limitation in mountain

CHAMBERS PA, AR DALE, GJ SCRIMGEOUR & ML

BOTHWELL. 2000. Nutrient enrichment of
northern rivers in response to pulp mill
and municipal discharges. Journal of
Aquatic Ecosystem Stress and Recovery
8: 53-66.
CHAMBERS PA, S BROWN, JM CULP, RB LOWELL &
A PIETRONIRO. 2000. Dissolved oxygen

Vitae

Patricia Ann Chambers

decline in ice-covered rivers of northern
Alberta and its effects on aquatic biota.
Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Stress and
Recovery 8: 27-38.

SCRIMGEOUR GJ & PA CHAMBERS. 2000.

Cumulative effects of pulp mill and
municipal effluents on epilithic biomass
and nutrient limitation in a large northern
river ecosystem. Canadian Journal of
Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57: 13421354.
YEE K, EE PREPAS, PA CHAMBERS, JM CULP & GJ
SCRIMGEOUR. 2000. The impact of
Ca(OH)2 treatment on macroinvertebrate
communities in eutrophic hardwater lakes
in the Boreal Plain region of Alberta: in
situ and laboratory experiments. Canadian
Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
57: 125-136.
CHAMBERS PA, RE DEWREEDE, EA IRLANDI & H
VANDERMEULEN. 1999. Management
issues in aquatic macrophyte ecology: a
Canadian perspective. Canadian Journal
of Botany 77: 471-487.
PREPAS EE, TP MURPHY, G LAWRENCE, PA
CHAMBERS, RD ROBARTS, WM TONN, JM
BURKE & S REEDYK. 1998. Eutrophication
management techniques for boreal plain
surface waters of western Canada.
Journal of Lake Sciences 10 (Suppl.): 2530.

5
BUSNARDA, KS MUNGER, K ADARE, C
JEFFERSON, RA KENT & MP WONG. 1997.
Impacts of municipal wastewater effluents
on Canadian waters: a review. Water
Quality Research Journal of Canada 32:
659-713.

PREPAS EE, TP MURPHY, WP DINSMORE, JM

BURKE, PA CHAMBERS & S REEDYK. 1997.
Lake management based on lime
application and hypolimnetic oxygenation:
the experience in eutrophic hardwater
lakes in Alberta. Water Quality Research
Journal of Canada 32: 273-293.
SCRIMGEOUR GJ & PA CHAMBERS. 1997.
Development and application of a nutrientdiffusing bioassay for large rivers.
Freshwater Biology 38: 221-231.
BOTT TL, JT BROCK, A BATTRUP-PEDERSEN, PA
CHAMBERS, WK DODDS, KT HIMBEAULT, JR
LAWRENCE, D PLANAS, E SNYDER & GM
WOLFAARDT. 1997. An evaluation of
techniques for measuring periphyton
metabolism in chambers.
Canadian
Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
54: 715-725.
FRENCH TD & PA CHAMBERS. 1996. Habitat
partitioning in riverine macrophyte
communities. Freshwater Biology 36:
509-520.

PIETRONIRO A, PA CHAMBERS & ME FERGUSON.

1998. Application of a dissolved oxygen
model to an ice covered river. Canadian
Water Resources Journal 23: 351-368.

HANSON JM & PA CHAMBERS. 1995. Review of

effects of variation in crayfish abundance
on macrophyte and macroinvertebrate
communities in lakes. International
Council for the Exploration of the Sea
Marine Science Symposium 199:175-182.

CARR GM & PA CHAMBERS. 1998. Macrophyte

growth and sediment phosphorus and
nitrogen in a Canadian prairie river.
Freshwater Biology 39: 525-536.

CHAMBERS PA. 1994. Submersed macrophytes in

the Canadian prairies: dealing with homegrown problems. Lake and Reservoir
Management 10:5-8.

CHAMBERS PA, GJ SCRIMGEOUR & A PIETRONIRO.

1997. Winter oxygen conditions in icecovered rivers: the impact of pulp mill and
municipal effluents. Canadian Journal of
Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 54: 27962806.

CHAMBERS PA, JW BARKO & CS SMITH. 1994.

Workshop synthesis. Lake and Reservoir
Management 10:57-59.

FRENCH TD & PA CHAMBERS. 1997. Reducing

flows in the Nechako River (British
Columbia, Canada): potential response of
the macrophyte community. Canadian
Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
54: 2247-2254.
CHAMBERS PA, M ALLARD, SL WALKER, J
MARSALEK, J LAWRENCE, M SERVOS, J

BARKO JW, CS SMITH, PA CHAMBERS. 1994.

Perspectives on submersed macrophyte
invasions and declines.
Lake and
Reservoir Management 10:1-3.
SCRIMGEOUR GJ, TD PROWSE, PA CHAMBERS & JM
CULP. 1994. Ecological effects of river ice
break-up: a review and perspective.
Freshwater Biology 32:261-276.
BABIN J, EE PREPAS, TP MURPHY, M SEREDIAK, PJ
CURTIS, Y ZHANG, & PA CHAMBERS. 1994.
Impact of lime on sediment phosphorus

Vitae

Patricia Ann Chambers

release in hardwater lakes: the case of
hyper-eutrophic Halfmoon Lake, Alberta.
Lake and Reservoir Management 8:131142.

CHAMBERS PA & EE PREPAS. 1994. Nutrient

dynamics in riverbeds: the impact of
sewage effluent and aquatic macrophytes.
Water Research 28:453-464.
CHAMBERS PA & JW BARKO, CS SMITH. 1993.
Evaluation of invasions and declines of
submersed aquatic macrophytes. Journal
of Aquatic Plant Management 31:218-220.
CHAMBERS PA, EE PREPAS & K GIBSON. 1992.
Temporal and spatial dynamics in riverbed
chemistry: the influence of flow and
sediment composition. Canadian Journal
of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
49:2128-2140.
CHAMBERS PA, JM HANSON & EE PREPAS. 1991.
The effect of aquatic plant chemistry and
morphology on feeding selectivity by the
crayfish, Orconectes virilis. Freshwater
Biology 25:339-348.
CHAMBERS PA, EE PREPAS, HR HAMILTON & ML
BOTHWELL. 1991. Current velocity and its
effect on aquatic macrophytes in flowing
waters. Ecological Applications 1:249257.
HANSON JM, PA CHAMBERS & EE PREPAS. 1990.
Selective foraging by the crayfish
Orconectes virilis and its impact on
benthic macroinvertebrates. Freshwater
Biology 24:69-80.
CHAMBERS PA, JM HANSON, JM BURKE & EE
PREPAS. 1990. The impact of the crayfish
Orconectes virilis on aquatic macrophytes.
Freshwater Biology 24:81-91.
CHAMBERS PA & EE PREPAS. 1990. Competition
and coexistence in submerged aquatic
plant communities. Freshwater Biology
23:541-550.
PREPAS EE, TP MURPHY, JM CROSBY, DT WALTY,
JT LIM, J BABIN & PA CHAMBERS. 1990.
The reduction of phosphorus, iron and
chlorophyll a concentrations following
CaCO3 and Ca(OH)2 additions to
hypereutrophic Figure Eight Lake, Alberta.
Environmental Science and Technology
24:1252-1258.
CHAMBERS PA, EE PREPAS, ML BOTHWELL & HR
HAMILTON. 1989. Roots versus shoots in
nutrient uptake by aquatic macrophytes in
flowing waters. Canadian Journal of

6
Fisheries
and
46:435-439.

Aquatic

Sciences

CHAMBERS PA & EE PREPAS. 1988. Underwater

spectral attenuation and its effect on the
maximum
depth
of
angiosperm
colonization.
Canadian Journal of
Fisheries
and
Aquatic
Sciences
45:1010-1017.
CHAMBERS PA. 1987. Nearshore occurrence of
submersed aquatic macrophytes in
relation to wave action. Canadian Journal
of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
44:1666-1669.
CHAMBERS PA. 1987. Light and nutrients in the
control of aquatic plant community
structure. II. In situ observations. Journal
of Ecology 75:621-628.
CHAMBERS PA & J KALFF. 1987. Light and nutrients
in the control of aquatic plant community
structure. I. In situ experiments. Journal
of Ecology 75:611-620.
CHAMBERS PA & J KALFF. 1985. The influence of
sediment composition and irradiance on
the growth and morphology of
Myriophyllum spicatum L. Aquatic Botany
22:253-263.
CHAMBERS PA & J KALFF. 1985. Depth distribution
and biomass of submersed aquatic
macrophyte communities in relation to
Secchi depth.
Canadian Journal of
Fisheries
and
Aquatic
Sciences
42:701-709.
CHAMBERS PA, DHN SPENCE & DC WEEKS. 1985.
Photocontrol of turion formation by
Potamogeton crispus L. in the laboratory
and natural water. New Phytologist
99:183-194.
CHAMBERS PA & DHN SPENCE. 1984. Diurnal
changes in the ratio of underwater red to
far red light in relation to aquatic plant
photoperiodism. Journal of Ecology
72:495-503.

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters

ROSENBERG DM, PA CHAMBERS, JM CULP, G
FRANZIN, PA NELSON, AG SALKIM, P
STAINTON, A BODALY & RW NEWBURY.
2005. Nelson and Churchill river basins.
In Rivers of North America (Edited by A
Benke and C Cushing). Elsevier. P. 852901.

Vitae

Patricia Ann Chambers

EDWARDS AC & PA CHAMBERS. 2002. Quantifying

nutrient limiting conditions in temperate
river systems. In Agriculture, Hydrology
and Water Quality (Edited by P.M.
Haygarth and S.C. Jarvis). CAB
International, Wallingford, UK. pp. 477493.
PINEL-ALLOUL B, EE PREPAS, A GHADOUANI, S
REEDYCK, Y ZANG & PA CHAMBERS. 1997.
Restauration des lacs hypereutrophes par
chaulage: principes physico-chimiques et
impacts cologiques. In La restauration
des lacs et retenues artificielles;
Septimes entretiens due Centre Jacques
Cartier. Collection Environnement de
luniversit de Montral 22: 85-114.
CHAMBERS PA. 1990. Aquatic Macrophytes. In:
Atlas of Alberta Lakes. (P. Mitchell and E.
Prepas, Eds.) The University of Alberta
Press, Edmonton, Alta. p. 37-40.