Andrea E. Kirkwood

Andrea Elizabeth Kirkwood is a Canadian environmental microbiologist and aquatic ecologist, and a professor in the Faculty of Science at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Ontario. She leads research on freshwater ecosystems, with emphasis on algal ecology, aquatic invasive species, and urban water quality, and serves as Research Excellence Chair in Urban Water for 2023–2025.

Early life and education Kirkwood was raised in Scarborough, Ontario. She completed a joint-honours Bachelor of Environmental Studies and Biology at the University of Waterloo in 1994, followed by a Master of Science in aquatic ecology at McMaster University in 1996 and a Doctor of Philosophy in environmental microbiology at the University of Toronto in 2003. At Ontario Tech she teaches courses including conservation biology, environmental research methods, and aquatic ecology.

Research Kirkwood directs the Collaborative Laboratory in Environmental Aquatic Research (CLEAR) at Ontario Tech, which investigates aquatic community structure and function across landscapes influenced by urbanization, land-use change, and invasive species, spanning lakes, wetlands, rivers, creeks, and stormwater systems. Projects include community science-based water quality monitoring, ecological responses to invasive macrophytes, and algal biotechnology applications such as biofuel and wastewater studies.

Selected publications

Harrow-Lyle, T.J. & Kirkwood, A.E. (2022). *The non-native charophyte Nitellopsis obtusa (starry stonewort) influences shifts in macrophyte diversity and community structure in lakes across a geologically heterogeneous landscape*. **Aquatic Ecology**. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-022-09950-0