Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

My research program focuses on the cumulative impacts of rapid environmental changes on small or declining wildlife populations, and on producing rigorous science that can directly inform the recovery of these populations. I am particularly interested in disentangling the effects of multiple stressors on persistence or extinction of species with long generation times. Climate change, invasive species, emerging infectious diseases, and habitat alteration are transforming landscapes at a dizzying rate, rapidly shifting and re-shifting selective pressures on wildlife. Species with short generation times and high fecundity can sometimes adapt quickly to these shifts, but populations of long-lived species with lower fecundity may not be able to respond quickly enough to persist, and are typically slow to recover from declines. My research group studies the use of sub-optimal and anthropogenic habitats by threatened species, and aims to inform and improve our definitions of habitat and our ability to manage wildlife populations in heavily impacted landscapes. For example, we are testing hypotheses about threatened turtles' use of anthropogenic waterways on agricultural lands, and how bats modify their movements through the airspace to adjust to new structures such as wind turbines. We are also investigating the effects of renewable energy development on reptiles and amphibians. My research program aims to directly inform our understanding of the ecological impacts of human landscape use, in order to help Canadian jurisdictions to make evidence-based decisions when balancing recovery of threatened wildlife populations with unavoidable human demands on natural resources.