Trevor Pitcher

By Sara Elliott 

A rare and remarkable fishy find is turning heads at the University of Windsor’s Freshwater Restoration Ecology Centre (FREC). 

Among thousands of newly hatched Chinook salmon eggs this fall, graduate students discovered a pair of conjoined twins—an uncommon phenomenon that occurs in just one in every 10,000 eggs. 

Lurking in the depths of the Great Lakes are massive “living fossils” that have been a vital part of the ecosystem for millions of years, but due to human intervention, have long been considered at risk.

That’s why Master of Science student Olivia Galloway is focusing her research on lake sturgeon. These prehistoric, scaleless fish are the largest freshwater fish in Canada, growing up to two metres long and weighing up to 200 pounds. She is working to improve their environment and help reintroduce these “dinosaurs” back into their habitats.