As changing climates cause Arctic ice to recede, allowing for more ship traffic, the noise from anchored and moving vessels is another stress on the region’s sea life, including a key species in the ecosystem — Arctic cod.

A study led by the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research and published in the journal Ecological Applications indicates the disturbance not only causes the fish to relocate, but alters their natural behaviours.

The shift in distribution impacts food availability for other marine wildlife and, in turn, native Arctic communities, suggesting a need to develop international conservation management strategies to protect the region’s future, says lead author Silviya Ivanova.

“Our results imply that if the Arctic ecosystem and its human inhabitants are to remain resilient to the pressures of climate change, consideration of underwater acoustic disturbance as an environmental stressor will be required,” says the doctoral student.

In August and September of 2012, while seven vessels visited Resolute Bay, Nunavut, the research team used acoustic telemetry and sound scape modelling to quantify the effect of their presence and movement on the home ranges and movement behavior of Arctic cod — a vital species in the region and preferred source of food for seabirds and marine mammals, such as beluga whales and ringed seals.

The researchers found that the cod chose to move away to areas with lower noise levels outside of their preferred habitat.

Professor Aaron Fisk notes that climate change is causing warmer ocean temperatures, Arctic ice is melting and, with it, the barrier to travelling by boat to the region. Cruise ship traffic has doubled in the past 20 years, and the number of days vessels spend in the Arctic has quadrupled. This increase is expected to continue, bringing with it an increase in acoustic noise.

“Our results identify yet another stressor to consider in the rapidly changing Arctic ecosystem,” says Dr. Fisk. “The noise associated with increasing ship traffic needs to be considered in management and conservation efforts.”

Read the full study, entitled “Shipping alters the movement and behavior of Arctic cod, a keystone fish in Arctic marine ecosystems.”

A forum organized by Windsor Law students will invite the public to discuss how Windsor's proposed 2020 municipal budget tackles climate change, 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, in the SoCA Armouries.

The Climate Café is the first in a series presented by the Cities and Climate Action Forum, led by law professors Anneke Smit, director of the Centre for Cities, and Patricia Galvão Ferreira, director of the Transnational Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, and supported by federal government funding.

“The project is geared at promoting meaningful and collaborative climate policy action in local communities across Ontario,” Dr. Smit says.

Thursday’s discussion will open with a presentation by third-year law student Sarah Gulas entitled “Climate Science 101.” Gulas has a background in resource and environment management and will provide a primer on climate change facts, science, and terminology.

Following that, “A Climate Lens on Windsor’s 2020 Municipal Budget” promises analysis by Frazier Fathers, director of continuous improvement and advocacy at the Windsor-Essex United Way.

Windsor city council will debate its budget on Jan. 27, its first since declaring a climate change emergency on Nov. 18. Fathers will consider how well the proposed budget addresses that declaration and the community energy plan.

Attendees will have a chance to ask questions and engage in informal conversation over coffee following the formal programme. Find more information and register on the event.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) will be rolled out at UWindsor starting Jan. 30.

MFA combines two or more independent credentials or “factors” — what you know (e.g. your password) with something you have (e.g. your phone) — to create a second layer of security for your UWin account.

Fiction: MFA will be in effect all the time.

If you are on campus using a campus network — working in your office, teaching in a classroom, or conducting research in a lab — you will not be asked for a secondary authentication token. MFA comes into effect only when you are working or travelling off campus and trying to access Blackboard, Office 365, UWinsite Finance, or UWinsite Student.

Fiction: I need a smartphone to use MFA.

You can receive a verification code to a landline phone. You may use your home phone if you wish to use a landline with the caveat that you will not have access to it while travelling.

Fiction: MFA makes it more difficult to access systems.

With the implementation of MFA for faculty, staff, and students, the University will decrease the requirement for changing your password from 120 days to 365 days. You will also get prompted for a secondary token only once every 30 days per device.

Fact: Registering for MFA is easier if I do it before MFA is enabled on my account.

After MFA is enabled on your account, the first time you try to access Blackboard, Office 365, UWinsite Finance, or UWinsite Student from off-campus, you will be asked to set up your MFA options. This set-up process is trickier to navigate and more frustrating because it interrupts the task you want to complete.

Instead, IT Services strongly recommends you set up your MFA options before the rollout of MFA begins following these steps:

1. Navigate to myprofile.microsoft.com in a web browser and sign in with your UWinID@uwindsor.ca and UWin Account password.
2. In the Security info box, click the UPDATE INFO link.
3. Click the + Add method button to add an authentication method. Authentication methods include Phone — text or call and Microsoft Authenticator App — verification code or notification.

To learn more about MFA, visit www.uwindsor.ca/itservices/multifactor. You can also ask a question or open a UWin Account ticket.

—Ericka Greenham

The Hatch Studio Theatre in the Jackman Dramatic Art Centre is the setting for a screening of a documentary Friday, Jan. 24.

Voices, directed by Windsor native Jarrod Ferries, showcases animal rescue by interviewing the founders of several farm sanctuaries. A panel following the film will feature Ferries, producer Amanda Scully, and the founders of Charlotte’s Freedom Farm in Comber and Dara Farm Sanctuary in Wheatley.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. In lieu of an entrance fee, organizers are inviting donations in support of the local sanctuaries. Learn more on the Facebook event page.

The University has declared a corrosives cabinet for sale by bid as Disposal File 1020. With a capacity of 30 gallons, it is designed for the safe storage of acids and corrosive liquids. Click here for details.