Kelly Munkittrick

Kelly Munkittrick is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Science, where he holds the Campus Alberta Innovation Program Chair in Aquatic Ecosystem Health. With over three decades of research experience, he develops field-based methods to assess ecosystem health and monitor anthropogenic impacts on aquatic environments.

His research examines how natural and human-induced stressors affect fish populations and ecological communities. Key areas include cumulative effects assessment, environmental monitoring frameworks, endocrine disruption in fish, and contaminant biomagnification. Dr. Munkittrick pioneered effects-based ecosystem health assessment approaches using fish life history parameters.

Recent publications focus on improving monitoring program design, including Indigenous community-based approaches, adaptive frameworks for industrial regions, and integrated watershed assessment. His 30-year study of white sucker populations established new methodologies for detecting endocrine disruption recovery.

Major awards include the SETAC IEAM Paper of the Year (2015) and SETAC Global Partners Capacity-Building Award (2012). He directs field studies across Canada, Chile, and Antarctica, examining impacts from pulp mills, oil sands, hydroelectric dams, and urban effluents.

As Scientific Director of the Canadian Water Network and co-founder of the Canadian Rivers Institute, Dr. Munkittrick promotes collaborative aquatic research. He teaches environmental monitoring design internationally and advises government agencies on environmental assessment frameworks.