Meet KPU: Erika Eliason

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Erika Eliason is Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s associate dean in the faculty of science who’s naturally drawn to fish and nature. 

Growing up fishing and being in the great outdoors, she has a passion for fish biology, and has researched the impacts of environmental stressors, like climate change on fish, investigated how fish respond to environmental challenges, and helped policymakers conserve fish ecosystems. 

Earlier this year, Eliason was awarded the 2024 Fisheries Society of the British isles (FSBI) medal, an award that recognizes early-career scientists’ work in fish biology and fisheries science. She will be presented the medal in July at the FSBI’s annual symposium in Bilbao, Spain. 

Eliason holds a bachelor of science in biological sciences from Simon Fraser University, along with a master’s of science in zoology and a PhD in zoology from the University of British Columbia. She is a panel member on the salmonid specialist group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and sits on the editorial board of fish biology journals like the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 

When did you join the KPU community and why?

I joined KPU in September of 2023. I’ve been here for eight months now, so I’m still relatively new to KPU. I spent the last seven years at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where I was a tenured professor in biology. I taught undergraduate students and lots of graduate students and postdocs in a very active research program. But I’m not from California, I’m from Port Coquitlam. 

It’s really exciting for me to come home and join KPU, where I’m able to contribute to the bigger mission. I really love how KPU is very student-centered, and they really put students first. I value the small class sizes and the hands-on learning that are polytechnic aspects of this institution, so that’s been great. I have been able to continue some research. I still go out in the field and I’m writing papers, so I’m just balancing that with my role at KPU. I just love that the students here emerge with a degree, diploma, or certificate, and they’re ready to take on the world. I value the approach to higher education that KPU embodies.

What is your favourite story of your time at KPU?

I think my favorite part has been whenever I get to see students’ end-of-term projects or their research projects. That’s when I get to see students really thriving and getting to speak about what they learned and engaged with at KPU. For example, I’ve gone to the department of biology and the department of health science research symposiums. It’s been wonderful to see these students who have been working so hard on their projects and research. They’ve been trained well and have worked closely with their mentors, developing amazing research projects. Getting to see them shine and show their final projects and present their research and everything they learned is really exciting.

What is something you’d like to say to people new to KPU?

KPU really cares about individuals. They are here to support you on your learning journey, and I’m impressed with the amount of support that KPU has for students. Other institutions I’ve been at, particularly big universities, you really feel like a number, and that’s not the case at KPU. Here, you feel like a person, and the education approach is much more individualized. I think you’re going to enjoy KPU. Come here, you’ll love it. 

What are you working on or doing right now?

I collaborate with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and we’re interested in trying to understand how fast salmon can actually swim. We don’t know this, which is really surprising, but it’s important for understanding fish migration and passage upstream. About 250 kilometers upstream from the mouth of the Fraser River, there’s a place called Hell’s Gate, and it’s a restriction of the Fraser Canyon. The river is really narrow there, so it flows extremely fast. When there’s a lot of flow, salmon can’t even make it upstream, it’s really difficult. 

In 2019, there was a landslide at Big Bar further upstream. It was a natural landslide but it completely blocked fish passage and salmon migration. A lot of money and effort went into blowing it up and making it so fish could pass again. But with that, there are a lot of questions about how fast fish can swim and a lot of questions around, “If a fish doesn’t make it, why?” 

My research is looking at how fast they can go, understanding swimming mechanics, and how the heart supports swimming. Just like when you go for a run, your heart is crucial for oxygen delivery to your muscles. It’s the same for salmon, too. We think one of the major reasons why salmon are dying or not making it upriver is because their hearts fail. I study the cardiovascular system in salmon during migration. 

I’m also working on projects about nutrition in fish and how what they eat can impact their response to warmer temperatures, low oxygen, or other environmental stressors. If fish eat a big meal or have more nutritious food, we’re trying to determine if their diet enables them to better cope with environmental change. It’s interesting because climate change is impacting food and the environment. So, it’s an interesting avenue of research to understand if fish can choose a better meal that might help them cope with climate change. 

I also do research all over the world. I work with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. I do a lot of research on climate change adaptation of endemic freshwater fish species in Oregon. Through that project, I was asked to participate in a research trip to Mongolia. I do research in Mo’orea, French Polynesia, studying how coral reef fishes are coping with climate change and how their energy budget changes. 

We just finished a project on fish poop, looking at how poop might be critical for cycling nutrients to support corals. I have lots of projects in California, looking at how changing environmental conditions affect fish acclimation. I have one project on kokanee salmon, looking at the local adaptation of different populations of the salmon and genetic architecture. I also have one on recreational fisheries out of Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, focusing on how Chinook salmon recover from recreational angling.

What is something you’d like people to know about you?

I grew up in Port Coquitlam. It is surrounded by three rivers — the Fraser River, the Coquitlam River, and the Pitt River. So, I grew up surrounded by fish, salmon, and all salmon were very diverse. I lived in Maple Ridge as well and we had Kanaka Creek right behind us, which is another very diverse area for salmon. 

My whole childhood, I grew up around fish and salmon. My grandfather, my father, and my whole family love to fish. I did a lot of fishing, camping, hiking, and all that kind of stuff when I was a child, a teenager, and to the present day. It was really just by spending time with family and friends outdoors that my love for biology in general grew. I specifically love fishing because I loved going fishing with my grandpa. 

I’m a mom of two little boys, they are eight and 11. We have a new puppy that I’ve been telling everyone about, which is really exciting. It’s been great for me to have a full life. Spending time with my kids, hiking, and camping, doing for them what my parents and grandparents did for me, has been a lot of fun. We really value time in nature and time spent together. That makes me a happy, healthy person.