ONGOING PROJECTS
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BIODIVERSITY PATTERNS IN CANADIAN GREAT LAKES WETLANDS
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Coastal wetlands play crucial ecological, economic and social roles that stem from their rich biodiversity. They provide essential habitat for a large variety of species, mitigate climate change and offer coastal protection and water purification. However, the Great Lakes (GL) wetlands are being degraded at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic stressors, climate change and invasive species. Exotic and invasive plant species are particularly problematic, and are suggested to be responsible for many ecosystem changes in the GL. Working with the Great Lakes Protection Initiative (GLPI), this study examines the current biodiversity and distribution of plant species across the Canadian GL wetlands' hydrosere.
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FINISHED PROJECTS
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COMPENSATORY IMMIGRATION FROM PROTECTED AREAS Immigration from protected (or "source" areas) into exploited areas (process called "spillover") is suggested to partially compensate harvesting and thus can be beneficial for harvesters on the short-term. Very little is known about the factors and mechanisms affecting the magnitude and rate of immigration from a protected to an exploited area, and on the impact of immigration on the whole metapopulation. However, to be effective, spatial ecosystem management requires an understanding of the behavioral mechanisms modulating demographic processes in a complex mosaic of habitats, as well as the effects of anthropogenic pressures on populations and on their habitat.
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BEHAVIORS IN COMPLEX LANDSCAPESFish use tactics when moving in complex landscapes. Projects in this theme cover anti-predators behaviors (flight initiation distance; FID), functional connectivity from the perception of the fish and habitat selection depending on activity levels.
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