Mark Vellend - Personnel

Madelaine Anderson (Ph.D. Student)
Madelaine.Anderson@usherbrooke.ca

Broadly, I am interested in how plant communities and landscapes are impacted by global change. Growing up, I spent all my summers in northern Canada, which inspired curiosity about and passion for northern ecosystems. The Arctic tundra biome is changing quickly with major implications on biodiversity, climate, and humans. My doctoral research is situated within the Arctic portion of the Canadian Airborne Biodiversity Observatory (CABO) project. Working with CABO and Team Shrub, led by Isla Myers-Smith and based out of the University of Edinburgh, I will explore biodiversity change in the tundra biome using remote sensing approaches and field-based surveys. I will ask questions about linking tundra plant spectral signatures to tundra plant phenology, plant traits and biodiversity.

Najwa Houmam (M.Sc. Student)
Najwa.Houmam@USherbrooke.ca

Je suis intéressée par la biodiversité des plantes et comment les écosystèmes répondent aux changements climatiques, pour mieux comprendre comment ces changements peuvent affecter le calendrier phénologique. Pour ma maîtrise, je vais effectuer un travail de terrain dans le Parc national du Mont Mégantic, Québec. Je vais utiliser la photographie en temps réel et autres méthodes pour répondre aux questions suivantes : (i) Comment les changements climatiques peuvent impacter la phénologie des arbres à travers le temps et l’espace? (ii) Comment les relations phénologie-climat varient-elles d'une espèce à l'autre et d'un environnement à l'autre?

I have broad interests in plant biodiversity and how ecosystems respond to climate change, with a particular focus on the timing of biological events (phenology). For my Master's degree, I will conduct field work in Parc national du Mont Mégantic, Quebec. Using repeat photography and field validation, I will address the following questions: (i) What is the impact of climate change on tree leaf phenology over space and time? (ii) How do phenology-climate relationships vary across species and environments?

Simon Petley (M.Sc. student)
Co-supervised at McGill (by Anna Hargreaves)
simon.petley@mail.mcgill.ca

I am a master’s student at McGill University in Montreal, co-supervised by Mark Vellend and Anna Hargreaves. My research interests land at the intersection of plant biogeography and soil science, bolstered by an appreciation for plant-microbe associations, conservation biology, and a bit of quaternary geology, too. My approach to research is bottom-up and holistic – I am a naturalist first. During my BSc at the University of Victoria, I conducted an honours project exploring the role of condensed tannins in the establishment of ectomycorrhizal symbiosis. For my master’s degree, I am investigating the influence of edaphic variability on the range limit of the at-risk perennial plant sundial lupine (Lupinus perennis). Through a combination of field, greenhouse and lab work, my project explores how soil properties influence the current and future range of sundial lupine.

Personnel

Past Graduate Students and Post-docs