Current lab members
Graduate Students
PhD Student: Ashley ParkI'm interested in how environmental change interacts with ecological and physical constraints to shape where species can live, move, and persist over time. My research focuses on how climate change and sea level rise are altering the distribution of coastal ecosystems, particularly eelgrass and salt marshes, across Canada. I use large datasets, species distribution models, and field validation to investigate the factors that drive or limit range shifts, with the aim of supporting more effective conservation strategies and climate mitigation planning.
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I am interested in the investigation of large-scale ecological questions, with a focus on threatened ecosystems and how they will be impacted by climate change. I am particularly interested in how climate change will alter the physical structure of ecosystems, and in turn what impact this will have on community composition and ecosystem function.
My past research has focused on Species at Risk conservation, identifying and developing applied solutions to conservation issues within Canada, and understanding how past experiences influence mate choice and maternal investment. |
PhD Student: Maggie Slein (she/her)
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PhD Student: Keila Stark (she/her)I am interested in understanding how temperature’s kinetic effect on organism metabolism influences processes of interest to community ecologists: population growth, species interactions, and dispersal. These temperature-dependent community assembly processes may jointly determine the emergent effect of temperature on patterns of species richness and abundance across spatial scales. My PhD work synthesizes the metabolic theory of ecology and metacommunity theory to inform quantitative theoretical predictions of how warming changes species richness and abundance. I also test predictions about the metabolic temperature dependence of dispersal in lab-based experimental protist metacommunities. My work offers insights into how biophysical constraints on organisms may manifest in the realm of changing biodiversity.
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MSc Student: Miranda MacGillivray
I am interested in understanding how large-scale global stressors, combined with local environmental and human-related stressors, are affecting marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and biological communities. I have spent several years in outdoor tourism and education, exploring the waters of British Columbia. This lead me to my research, aiming to identify the drivers of ecological change and understand how all components of a habitat— including organisms, microbes, and abiotic factors—interact. My research aims to look at these factors through studying our coastal eelgrass meadows and restoration providing insight for further restoration and conservation. |
PhD Student: John Merlo-CoyneI am interested in high-latitude ecology, North American native plants, and responsible land (and water) management and restoration techniques. I am glad to be part of the Eeyou Coastal Habitat Comprehensive Research Project, where I will work with Eeyou project partners to co-develop long-term eelgrass monitoring protocols in the face of climate change and increased regional development.
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MSc Student: Alexi Ebersole
I am inspired by the ocean and motivated to learn more about vulnerable and valuable coastal ecosystems. Particularly I want to engage in research that addresses threats of climate and human-driven change to the critical habitats that provide essential services for all life. I am excited to be a part of the Eeyou Coastal Habitat Comprehensive Research Project where my work will focus on the restoration methods of eelgrass meadows in James Bay, Quebec, through experimental transplanting.
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Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Associates
Nicole Knight, PhD (she/her)
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Deirdre Loughnan, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow I am a Sentinels of Change Alliance Postdoctoral Research Fellow working in the Hakai Institute and O’Connor Lab. I am working on developing a model to understand the relationships between habitat connectivity and biodiversity. I am particularly interested in understanding the effects of climate change on ecological communities and biodiversity in the Salish Sea. |
Jessica Garzke, PhD
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Undergraduate Thesis & Directed Studies Students
Bo Spencer
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Hazel Taylor
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Research Affiliates & Lab Technicians
Carling Gerlinksy, M.Sc. (she/her)
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Fruin Pow (he/they)
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Marin Netterfield (they/she)
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