Scott is a professor of conservation biology in the Department of Renewable Resources. He has a BSc in biology and MSc in natural resources from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a PhD in ecology from the University of Alberta. His lab studies biodiversity conservation and endangered species issues by integrating field and geospatial data with landscape modeling approaches to assess and predict biotic responses to rapid environmental change. We use this information to understand the impacts of environmental change and to guide mitigation and management actions. When he's not working on his research projects, Scott enjoys canoeing, woodworking, experimenting with perennial agriculture, woodlot management and prairie restoration on his northwest Wisconsin farm, enjoying time at his cabin in NW Ontario, and of course spending time with his family.
Ashley is the ACE lab's coordinator and research assistant. She has a broad background in field research, and has spent many seasons in the boreal trudging through peatlands and swatting away insects. She spends most summers conducting plant surveys and measuring forest characteristics. Ashley is focussing on surveying lichen biomass in caribou ranges, in order to map important caribou winter forage habitat. She has also worked on numerous other projects, including establishing long term warming plots to observe the effects of climate change on terrestrial lichens, transplantation of terrestrial and arboreal forage lichens within Central Mountain caribou range in BC, and quantifying populations of disjunct alpine and arctic plant species that occur on the north shore of Lake Superior. When she's not in the field, Ashley enjoys birding, photography, and climbing mountains.
Jacqueline's focus is on culturally valued vascular plants in the Oil Sands Area, working with Indigenous communities and other partners to develop research projects focused on conservation and mitigation for these species in a rapidly changing, fragmented landscape. Her work includes developing online plant atlas' for species such as pitcher plant, as well as partnering in community-driven projects. She was previously involved in the Terrestrial Vascular Plant Monitoring Project for the Lower Athabasca, and completed her PhD in Conservation Biology at the University of Alberta in 2018.
Jessica's research is on conservation planning in the presence of climate change. Specifically, she is using environmental niche modeling to describe current species distributions for 200+ rare vascular plants and butterflies in Alberta and projecting changes in their distribution (potential habitat) with climate change. This will be used to identify gaps in the current conservation reserve design in Alberta and to recommend important sites in Alberta for future conservation. The output of this work will be posted on the Alberta Species Conservation Atlas page.
Zachary is studying what island traits (size, isolation, habitat heterogeneity, etc.) may be contributing to patterns of biodiversity (butterfly, plant and bird taxa) observed on islands occurring on Lake of the Woods, ON. The main focus of his research is on butterfly ecology—specifically on how butterflies perceive and utilize their island habitats. When dealing in matters of conservation, investigating how the taxa we wish to preserve perceive their environments is paramount. Though studying biodiversity on these naturally occurring islands, Zachary hopes to shed light on how habitat fragmentation may be affecting levels of biodiversity found on anthropogenic habitat islands, which are created through various human practices and developments. Apart from catching butterflies, Zachary enjoys both playing and coaching tennis, as well as travelling, mountain biking, backpacking, and fishing.
Co-supervised by John Acorn
Angelo is studying the recovery/regeneration of seismic lines created by oil sands exploration and extraction, the largest contributor of forest fragmentation in northeastern Alberta. Seismic lines contribute to changes in biodiversity and in particular, to declines in woodland caribou. However, natural rates of recovery on seismic lines are largely unknown. Understanding where natural recovery is occurring or is arrested, as well as how fire affects these processes, is therefore a priority. Lastly, Angelo is examining the effectiveness of active restoration treatments and where they will be most beneficial.
Christopher Souliere is a PhD student in the Applied Conservation Ecology (ACE) Lab at the University of Alberta. He obtained his Masters in Biology at Carleton University, which focused on simulating the detection patterns of birds flying past marine radars. His PhD research focuses on modeling and simulating grizzly bear food resource supply, distribution and behavior in the Alberta Foothills. In particular, he is examining the effects of fire and forestry clearcuts on bear food supply, as well as exploring optimization analyses that consider bottom-up factors within forest harvest planning tools. He is also interested in investigating methods that estimate population size; and developing agent-based models to simulate grizzly bear population dynamics and behavior in changing landscapes, with the aim of answering questions that remain pertinent to management objectives. Apart from research, he enjoys climbing, skiing, golf and flying RC aircraft. Prior to graduate school, he worked as a research assistant at the National Wildlife Research Centre (NWRC) in Ottawa.
Lee is a PhD student who is investigating the ecology of the Ronald Lake herd of wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) in northeastern Alberta. This small herd roams a home range that expands from the oils sands north to the south eastern tip of Wood Bison National Park, putting them at the front lines of conversation biology. Specially, Lee is exploring the herd's response to anthropogenic and natural (i.e., wild fires) disturbances, the selection of specific calving grounds, and the how wood bison transform their landscape. In his spare time, Lee enjoys backpacking, diving, skiing/snowboarding, playing basketball and soccer, photography, and biking. When he is adventuring, Lee is happy.
Project Title: Seismic lines and their edge effects on understory vegetation.
Laureen is studying the edge effects of seismic lines on understory vegetation in Alberta's boreal forest. Her thesis examines how these linear corridors affect the richness, composition, and population dynamics of the understory vegetation in the adjacent forest. In addition, she explores how regeneration on these linear clearings might be improved.
Michelle is researching how peatlands and other landscape factors may influence the persistence of upland boreal forest in the face of climate change (increasing drought and fire). The project is part of the new 'Alberta Refugia and Vegetation Transitions' group and the work will take place in northern Alberta using a combination of field sampling and remote sensing techniques.
Amy is interested in ecology and conservation of Rocky Mountain bears, her masters is focused on using DNA and stable isotope analysis to investigate the diet of bears in Glacier Park, Montana. In her spare time, she can be found hiking with her dog, cross country skiing, and traveling.
Graeme is working to compile data on invasive plant species in the fragmented forests of northern Alberta. Through existing vegetation counts and his own examination of soil seed banks, he hopes to demonstrate the extent to which these linear disturbances may act as corridors of invasion. When Graeme isn't stretching his nature-legs, he loves board games, craft beer, and going to the movies. If anyone can't remember the name of "that one actor who was in that movie about the thing", he's the guy to ask!
Lindsey’s research takes place between Wood Buffalo National Park and the Alberta oilsands investigating the top-down limiting factors of the genetically unique Ronald Lake wood bison herd. She will be developing a wolf predation risk model relative to seasonal bison habitat use, quantifying wolf predation on the herd relative to associated environmental conditions and analyzing wolf diet content within the Ronald Lake bison home range. Lindsey also guides wildlife trips, dabbles in photography and in her spare time, enjoys the outdoors with her trusty four-legged sidekick fishing, skiing, biking, running or climbing.
Melanie is studying the changes in vegetation composition and structure of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and moose (Alces alces) preferred winter browse (seral shrubs) and its implications on woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), in post-wildfire boreal forest of different successional stages in northern Alberta. The "apparent competition" between the three ungulate species has not been studied intensively in relation to limitations in winter forage. Melanie is hoping her research will help researchers and conservationists understand the recovery rules for woodland caribou following disturbances. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking with her boyfriend, and seeing new places across Canada.
Christine is studying drivers of the fire regime and fire-refugia in the Alberta boreal plain via remote sensing. Through her research, she hopes to increase our knowledge of what factors contribute to the creation of fire-refugia in areas with limited topography and vast peatland/upland complexes. She also plans to create a predictive map of areas considered most and least likely to burn under various climate conditions that can be used by industry for forestry, conservation, and safety planning. She has several years of field experience in the boreal and looks forward to developing skills in remote sensing. In her spare time she enjoys wildlife photography, aquascaping, and fostering for a local animal shelter.
Garrett is studying wood bison selection of wetlands in northeastern Alberta. This will involve classifying the diverse wetlands used by the Ronald Lake bison herd and modelling their preferences based off of GPS location data. Outside of research, Garrett enjoys watching and playing hockey, camping, and reading.
Li is pursuing a graduate degree in forestry, focussing on forest ecology, GIS, and remote sensing. This includes surveying ecological issues in Alberta and Canada in the form of GIS mapping. Specializing in wood science and engineering research during her undergradutate study at Beijing Forestry University, China, Li is keen to design and manufacture wooden furniture and woodworking products. In her leisure time, Li prefers to enjoy natural scenary and visit art galleries.
Complementary to Michelle's project, Alex is researching the role that peatlands play in maintaining hydrologic climate-change refugia for upland boreal tree and shrub species. His research involves studying structure, composition, and productivity, using field methods, in regenerating upland forests adjacent to peatlands that have experienced post-fire drought. Upland forest responses will be related to their hydrological connectivity to peatlands and hydrologic position on the landscape. Alex hopes to acquire knowledge of where and when the eventual northward retreat of upland boreal tree and shrub species are likely to lag behind the rest of Alberta's boreal forest with climate change.
