The research we undertake evolves with funding opportunities, partnerships, and the interests of our group, reflecting the dynamic and interdisciplinary nature of our work.
A unifying theme across all of our current projects is the commitment working closely with non-academic partners such as Indigenous Nations, conservation organizations, and government agencies. By weaving together diverse perspectives, including Indigenous Knowledge, land user observations, and Western science, we tackle pressing questions and challenges in wildlife ecology and conservation.
Areas of interest span foundational studies on wildlife ecophysiology—examining how animals respond to environmental stressors and seasonal extremes—to applied projects that inform culturally-relevant wildlife management and/or sustainable habitat conservation. Whether we're investigating the causes of population declines, developing biocultural monitoring frameworks, or advancing tools to study free-ranging wildlife, our work is rooted in ecological inquiry, collaboration, and creating actionable, inclusive conservation solutions that bridge ecological science and socially-relevant outcomes.
Some areas of focus include:
moose ecology and conservation.
This work centres on co-producing ecological knowledge with Indigenous Nations and wildlife managers. Moose are declining across much of their range, with little data and poorly understood mechanisms, particularly at the scale of Indigenous territories. Current projects include supporting commuity-based monitoring of moose in Manitoba and Ontario to understand and address regional declines; these projects are led by First Nations partners and supported by academic (Guelph, MUN), government (ON), and ENGO (Nature United) partners. Projects also focus on moose health, including the impacts of winter tick and meningeal worm, and are exploring strategies to mitigate meningeal worm transmission in Cape Breton moose. The goal is to develop monitoring approaches and management strategies that are both data-driven and locally relevant.
pronghorn movement.
This project is led by the Alberta Conservation Association, and focuses on pronghorn movement patterns in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, and region known as the Northern Sagebrush Steppe. Critically endangered at the turn of the 20th century, pronghorn have since seen population rebounds throughout much of their range. However, these iconic prairie ungulates continue to face mounting pressure from habitat loss and fragmentation within the working landscapes they inhabit. Using GPS collars, current projects examine habitat connectivity, seasonal movements, and movement barriers of pronghorn to understand how landscape features and human activity influence migration and habitat use.
ecological and cultural dimensions of wood bison recovery.
Wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) are the largest land animal in North America–though they occupy a fraction of their historical range and exist at less than 5% of their historical numbers. Many wood bison are managed as free-roaming herds throughout northern Canada. Some herds are reintroduced, following a century of absence from the landscape. Other herds have persisted for decades, preserving a cultural connection with Indigenous communities that have stewarded, and continue to steward, their recovery. Our research seeks to deepen understanding of both ecological and cultural dimensions of wood bison recovery across these contexts. We work with Indigenous communities to co-create research projects that apply multiple knowledge systems using quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Our goal is to elevate Indigenous-led stewardship by co-creating knowledge on the critical habitat and critical relationships needed to enable wood bison recovery.
supporting cree way monitoring in eeyou istchee.
This project brings together Cree communities, land users, organizations, and researchers to co-develop tools for monitoring coastal wildlife and habitats in Eeyou Istchee. Grounded in Cree ways of living and knowing, the work supports community-led conservation, strengthens local monitoring capacity, and helps sustain culturally important species, relationships, and harvesting practices. This work occurs within a larger Coastal Habitat Comprehensive Research Project, in partnership with Murray Humphries (at McGill University), Niskamoon Corporation, Cree Nation Government, Eeyou Marine Regional Wildlife Board, the Cree Trappers Association, and Hydro Quebec.
Indigenous-led conservation.
Our research supports Indigenous-led monitoring and conservation initiatives, emphasizing reciprocal partnerships and community priorities. This approach transcends many projects, guiding much of our work while also serving as a distinct research focus—exploring how to work respectfully across cultures and support Indigenous sovereignty in research and management. It includes building capacity for land-based learning, ecological monitoring, and culturally relevant conservation planning. Additionally, we support the development of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) through ecological monitoring, and through involvement in the advanced IPCA planning certificate program.
mammal ecophysiology.
While not the central focus of current projects, mammal ecophysiology and winter ecology remain ongoing interests, with elements influencing current work. Past research has explored hibernation physiology and behavior of cave-dwelling bats, winter adaptations in squirrels, snowshoe hares, and Canada lynx, the seasonality of boreal food webs, and predicted climate change impacts on predator-prey dynamics. This work relied on and developed diverse tools—such as animal-borne dataloggers, trail cameras, and non-invasive sampling.
