I am interested in a variety of areas of biology and teach many different courses offered in the curriculum. I teach first-year biology (BLG143 and BLG144) as well as fourth-year environmental biology (BLG340), and selected topics in chemistry and biology (CHY482). I have also recently developed a fourth-year elective Ecotoxicology (BLG401). I supervise one or two fourth-year thesis students every year. The major goal of all of the lectures, despite differing course contents, is to focus the student's attention on the living world around them, from an evolutionary, ecological, or environmental point of view.

I am an aquatic ecotoxicologist interested primarily in the assessment of Great Lakes pollution and remediation. I am a member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), and the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR). I am also a reviewer of publications for the Society of Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management (AEHMS).

Studies relating environmental contaminants to reproductive impairment have been recently documented, and dose-response effects and exposure impact are now being researched. A study in our laboratory is examining the impact on selected biota of chemical compounds present in the effluent from the Toronto Main Sewage Treatment Plant, alongside wastewater from the secondary lagoon of a bleached kraft pulp mill located in northern Ontario . Bioassays have been recently developed that incorporate organisms capable of showing either endocrine-modifying traits or easily-observable reproductive impairment and are being used in the current study. The female mosquitofish Gambusia affinis, which has shown physiological and behavioural trends towards masculinization when exposed to endocrine-modifiers, has been incorporated in bioassays in our laboratory, while the zooplankter Daphnia magna has been utilized in 21-day bioassays. The development of the masculine anal fin in female mosquitofish exposed to endocrine-modifiers is readily observable within a few weeks, while the number of live Daphnia offspring completing their lifecycle to sexual maturity are used to assess reproductive impairment. A second area of research is studying the impact of land-applied pulp mill and municipal sewage biosolids on a suite of bioassay organisms. Currently, biosolids management include landfilling and incineration, but these technologies are expensive and non-sustainable. Where it is technically feasible, agricultural, horticultural, or silvicultural land application of wastewaters and sludges have been a viable option as it can reduce environmental impacts by utilizing wastes formerly discharged to surface waters. However, there is a paucity of information on the fate and impact of the biosolid constituents themselves and a holistic environmental evaluation of the ecosystem receiving the biosolids is currently being conducted. Laboratory and field bioassays include earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris), Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa), zooplankters (Daphnia magna), benthic amphipods (Hyalella azteca), aquatic macrophytes (Elodea densa and Lemna minor), mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), and green algae (Selenastrum capricornutum).

McCarthy, L.H ., R.L. Thomas, and C.I. Mayfield. 2004. Assessing the toxicity of chemically-fractionated Hamilton Harbour (Lake Ontario) sediment using selected aquatic organisms. Lakes and Reservoirs: Research and Management. 9:89-103.

McCarthy, L.H ., I.V. Bostan, W. Choi, R. Ellis, K. Hardy, and S.N. Liss. 2004. Comparison of some studies assessing the androgenic potential of compounds in pulp mill and municipal effluents using the mosquitofish Gambusia affinis. In : D.L. Borton, T.J. Hall, R.S. Fisher, and J. Thomas (Eds.). Pulp and Paper Mill Effluent Environmental Fate and Effects . Pp. 361-373.

McCarthy, L.H ., I.V. Bostan, S.N. Liss, A. Spearin, E. Bandelj, and K. Yambao. 2004. Evaluation of land-applied pulp-mill biosolids: monitoring the fate of sludge constituents in forest ecosystems and assessing impact using ecologically-relevant organisms. In : D.L. Borton, T.J. Hall, R.S. Fisher, and J. Thomas (Eds.). Pulp and Paper Mill Effluent Environmental Fate and Effects . Pp. 244-257.

Van den Heuvel, M.R., E. Bandelj, R. Donald, R. Ellis, M. A. Smith, Finley, L.H. McCarthy , and T. R. Stuthridge. 2004. Review of reproductive-endocrine effects of a New Zealand pulp and paper mill effluent. . In : D.L. Borton, T.J. Hall, R.S. Fisher, and J. Thomas (Eds.). Pulp and Paper Mill Effluent Environmental Fate and Effects . Pp. 55-76.

Ellis, R.J., M.R. van den Heuvel, E. Bandelj, M.A. Smith, L.H. McCarthy , T.R. Stuthridge, and D.R. Dietrich. 2003. In vivo and in vitro assessment of the androgenic potential of a pulp and paper mill effluent. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 22(7):1448-1456

McCarthy, L.H. , K.R. Munkittrick, B.R. Blunt, G.J. Van Der Kraak, C.S. Wood, and J. Parrott. 2003. Steroid levels in goldfish exposed to pulp mill effluent. In: T.R. Stuthridge, M.R. van den Heuvel, N.A. Marvin, A.H. Slade, and J.S. Gifford. (Eds). Environmental Impacts of Pulp and Paper Wastestreams Proceedings from 3rd International Conference on Environmental Fate and Effects of Pulp and Paper Mill Effluents . SETAC Press, Pensacola , Florida . Pp. 342-351.

K.R. Munkittrick , M.E. McMaster, L.H. McCarthy , M.R. Servos, and G.J. Van Der Kraak. 1998. An overview of recent studies on the potential of pulp mill effluents to impact reproductive function in fish . J. Toxicol. Environ. Health. Part B. Vol. 1:101-125.

McCarthy, L.H. , T.G. Williams, G.R. Stephens, J. Peddle, K. Robertson, and D.J. Gregor. 1997. Baseline studies in the Slave River , NWT, 1990-1994: Part I. Evaluation of the chemical quality of water and suspended sediment from the Slave River (NWT). Sci. Total Environ. 197 (1-3):21-53.

McCarthy, L.H. , G.R. Stephens, D.M. Whittle, J. Peddle, S. Harbicht, C. LaFontaine, and D.J. Gregor. 1997. Baseline studies in the Slave River , NWT, 1990-1994: Part II. Body burden contaminants in whole fish tissue and livers. Sci. Total Environ. 197(1-3):55-86.

McCarthy, L.H. , K. Robertson, R.H. Hesslein, and T.G. Williams. 1997. Baseline studies in the Slave River , NWT, 1990-1994: Part IV. Evaluation of benthic invertebrate populations and stable isotope analysis. Sci. Total Environ. 197(1-3):111-125.