Participating departments and faculty members

McGill-STRI NEO Option

The McGill-STRI NEO option can be undertaken within any of the following departments:

• Anthropology
• Biology
• Bioresource Engineering
• Geography
• Natural Resource Sciences
• Plant Science
• Political Science

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Professors taking part in the NEO Option

McGill Departments

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Research areas & NEO faculty

NEO offers many opportunities for research in tropical environments. Select the name of the faculty member to learn more about their research interests.

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Researchers

Ehab Abouheif

Department of Biology

ehab.abouheif [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Our major goal is to understand the complex interaction and relationships between the genotype, phenotype, and environment, and the effect this complex interaction has on the generation of morphological diversity.

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Rowan Barrett

Redpath Museum

rowan.barrett [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

My work is motivated by a desire to understand the genetic basis of adaptation to changing environments. My research bridges theoretical and empirical approaches in population genetics, evolutionary ecology, and molecular biology to ask questions about the reciprocal interactions between ecological and evolutionary processes. I pursue this research program with a variety of key study systems, including stickleback fish, deer mice, and microbes.

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Yves Basset

STRI & Department of Natural Resource Sciences

bassety [at] si.edu (Email)

Research interests

Insect-plant interactions and herbivory in the tropics; biodiversity and host-specificity of insect herbivores; insect spatial and temporal distribution; community structure and taxonomy of arboreal arthropods; tropical forest canopies; community ecology; parataxonomist training; arthropod conservation.

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Jacqueline C. Bede

Department of Plant Science

jacquie.bede [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Research in this lab focuses on understanding plant-insect interactions. In the plant, we are interested in how plants regulate their defense responses to target generalist or specialist insect herbivores. This involves understanding the biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites, such as terpenoids, alkaloids etc. Also, we are interested in how insects detoxify these plant compounds and how they cope with nutritional imbalances.

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Sylvie de Blois

Department of Plant Science and MSE

sylvie.deblois [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Patterns and processes in plant populations and communities at the landscape scale; Conceptual development linking landscape and plant ecology; Ecology of rural (agricultural) landscapes; Spatial and temporal dynamics, biodiversity, ecological function and management of specific landscape elements; Integration of biological conservation with other land-uses.

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Peter Brown

McGill School of Environment

peter.g.brown [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

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Christopher M. Buddle

Department of Natural Resource Sciences

chris.buddle [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Terrestrial arthropod biodiversity, in particular spider and insect diversity in managed and unmanaged forests; the effects of downed woody material on arthropod communities; the role of generalist predators in detritus-based food webs; spider ecology, life-history, and taxonomy.

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Lauren Chapman 

Department of Biology

lauren.chapman [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Aquatic ecology and conservation, evolutionary and ecological consequences of respiratory strategies in fishes, ecophysiology, ecomorphology, adaptive divergence, tropical inland waters, Africa. Recent work focuses on divergent selection across oxygen gradients in fishes, the interaction of hypoxia with other environmental stressors (e.g., introduced species) and value of tropical wetlands in the maintenance of fish faunal structure and diversity.

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Grant Clark 

Department of Bioresource Engineering

grant.clark [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

One view of ecological engineering is the creation of a community of plants, animals, microbes, and inanimate and technological components, so that they provide services. A different view of ecological engineering is the study of existing ecosystems to learn how to manage the materials and energy that flows through them. We use this knowledge to manage or modify ecosystems to provide the services that we value.

Interested in Ecological Engineering? Visit: McGill Ecological Engineering

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Rachel Collin 

STRI & Department of Biology

collinr [at] si.edu (Email)

Research interests

Evolution of reproduction and mode of development in marine invertebrates.

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Oliver Coomes

Department of Geography

oliver.coomes [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Studying the relationship between environment and economy among traditional, 'resource-reliant' peoples of the Amazon, particularly in Peru. The nature and implications of natural resource use by traditional peoples - from swidden-fallow agroforestry to forest product extraction - for economic development and for environmental conservation. How to both improve the welfare of the rural poor and conserve natural resources.

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Melania E. Cristescu

Department of Biology

melania.cristescu [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

My research addresses fundamental questions about the evolution and maintenance of biological diversity in aquatic ecosystems. I am studying the genetics of aquatic invasions and habitat transitions, the nature and scale of recombination and mutation rate variation across genomes, populations and species, and speciation in ancient lakes

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Kyle Elliott

Department of Natural Resource Sciences

kyle.elliott [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Avian conservation and ecology; ornithology; birds, especially seabirds, as indicators of environmental change; movement ecology; evolutionary ecology of senescence.

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Andrew Gonzalez

Department of Biology

andrew.gonzalez [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Broadly focused on the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss. As a corollary I hope to gain a better understanding of what it will take to slow extinction and mitigate its effects. In my lab we use experiments (field and lab), theory, and databases to tackle the various research projects: dispersal and extinction in fragmented landscapes, population and community stability, metapopulation and metacommunity dynamics in changing and variable environments, and the impacts of economy on biodiversity loss.

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David Green

Department of Biology

david.m.green [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Examining chromosomal, biochemical and molecular genetic variation in frogs and toads to decipher the relationships of species, the structure of populations, and mechanisms of evolutionary change. Evolution, biosystematics, conservation biology, geographic variation, population biology, cytogenetics, and molecular genetics of amphibians.

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Frederic Guichard

Department of Biology

frederic.guichard [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Theoretical ecology and complex system theory applied to intertidal ecosystems and to marine reserve design. Emergence of large scale patterns and dynamics from local interactions among individuals. Multidisciplinary approach involving mathematical modeling, field experiments and remote sensing.

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Mélanie F. Guigueno

Department of Biology

melanie.guigueno [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

I am interested in animal behaviour, neuroscience, and cognition in non-model organisms, how they are linked, and what influences them, whether it be ecology and evolution or environmental toxins. A focal topic of the lab is neuroecology, also known as cognitive ecology, which examines adaptive specialization of cognition and the brain. I primarily work with birds (songbirds, raptors, quail), but also with fish.

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Hector M. Guzman

STRI & Department of Biology

GUZMANH [at] si.edu (Email)

Research interests

Ecology and population dynamic of coral reefs; taxonomy of corals, sclerochronology; marine conservation biology; human impacts on marine ecosystems, coastal management, fisheries and marine pollution.

Current projects include: Long-term monitoring of coral reefs, population dynamic and taxonomy of octocorals, migratory patters of large pelagic species in the eastern Pacific, shark fishery, marine reserves networking.

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Anna Hargreaves

Department of Biology

anna.hargreaves [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Ecology and evolution of species interactions and species distribution. Especially: when interactions (e.g. herbivory, competition, pollination) limit species distributions; local adaptation and the conservation importance of edge populations; dispersal evolution at stable and shifting range limits; geographic patterns in interactions.

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Andrew Hendry

Department of Biology

andrew.hendry [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

The major direction of research in my lab is to examine the interaction between selection, adaptation, gene flow, and reproductive isolation in natural populations. Selection, gene flow, and adaptation may interact with each other in a series of complicated feedback loops that have yet to be investigated in natural populations. Our goal is to begin untangling these relationships through the use of theoretical modeling and empirical investigations in exemplary natural systems. We also work on a diversity of other subjects including rates of microevolution, evolution of egg size, isolation-by-time, adaptation-by-time, and applying evolutionary theory to conservation.

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Gordon M. Hickey

Department of Natural Resource Sciences

gordon.hickey [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Sustainability of the natural environment. In particular, forest management, natural resource policy, regulation and assessment and associated international programs. Research draws upon numerous disciplines to integrate science-based knowledge with socio-economic considerations. This is done to inform strategic decision-making at a range of scales and support innovative resource-based policies.

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Hans Larsson

Redpath Museum

hans.ce.larsson [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Vertebrate palaeontology and developmental evolution. Palaeontological work focuses on terrestrial Mesozoic vertebrates in the Canadian arctic and explores signatures of ancient climate shifts in palaeo-faunas. Developmental evolution work addresses what developmental mechanisms (morphological and molecular) are responsible for changes in the evolution of vertebrate morphology.

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Yann le Polain de Waroux

Institute for the Study of International Development & Department of Geography

yann.lepolaindewaroux [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

My research addresses questions of land-use change in tropical deforestation frontiers, particularly in the Gran Chaco of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. I look at the links between people’s livelihoods and land-use decisions, and environmental and development outcomes. My principal research areas are: the expansion dynamics of agricultural frontiers and the role of large farms in these dynamics; the resilience of smallholder communities to the appropriation of land by large farmers in these frontiers; environmental policy in agricultural frontiers; and the role of culture in land-use changes, with particular attention to Mennonite colonies in Latin America.

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Harilaos A. Lessios

STRI & Department of Biology

lessiosh [at] si.edu (Email)

Research interests

Molecular phylogeography, population genetics, and speciation of marine organisms; reproductive barriers between species. Ecology of Caribbean coral reefs.

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Brian Leung

Department of Biology

brian.leung2 [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Biological invasions, ecology of diseases, anthropogenic stressors. Addressing environmental issues through the synthesis of models (mathematical, computational, and statistical) with empirical data (literature, field or lab studies). Creating models for ecological forecasting, given uncertainty and sparse data. Developing decision theory, using risk analysis.

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Thom Meredith

Department of Geography

tom.meredith [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Management of biological resources with a particular focus on environmental impact assessment and community response to environmental change. Active research on community-based environmental protection strategies with a particular focus on the blending of scientific and local or traditional information in environmental decision-making. Current research sites include mountain forest communities in Quebec, British Columbia. and Mexico.

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Virginie Millien

Redpath Museum

virginie.millien [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

The effects of environmental changes on the evolution of morphological diversity in mammals; rates of morphological evolution and rapid evolution on islands; morphological variation and climate change; the relation between the environment and morphology in mammals.

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Tim Moore

Department of Geography

tim.moore [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Relationships between soil and the environment, particularly the regulation of fluxes of gases, nutrients and elements between the soil and the atmosphere, the biosphere and the hydrosphere. Past research has focused on peatlands and wetlands and the controls on the cycling of carbon in these systems. Recent projects have focused on broader issues of carbon sequestration in soils - the effect of changes in land use, such as conversion from pasture to forest plantation, and tree growth under elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations on rates of organic matter decomposition and C accumulation in soils at a field site in Panama, affiliated with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

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Rachel Page

STRI – Gamboa Campus

PageR [at] si.edu (Email)

Research interests

In our lab, we investigate sensory and cognitive mechanisms underlying animal behavior. Animals use a wide array of cues and signals to glean information about their environment. An animal’s sensory and perceptual systems filter incoming stimuli and define an animal’s Umwelt, or the specific way it perceives the world. Bats are a highly diverse ecological group, and variation in their use of sensory modalities, foraging strategies, and social information makes them excellent candidates for in depth studies of sensory and cognitive ecology.

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Catherine Potvin

Department of Biology

catherine.potvin [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Physiological ecology; global change; photosynthesis and productivity; experimental design and biostatistics; conservation biology; tropical ecology. Currently the coordinator of a team of researchers committed to increasing the understanding of the role that the Tropics play in global carbon (C) cycling. TropiFACE is part of GCTE's elevated CO2 network with colleagues in Argentina, Panama, Mexico, USA, France and Canada.

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Simon Reader

Department of Biology

simon.reader [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

I study the mechanisms, development, and evolution of animal behaviour, with a focus on social cognition. I am interested in (1) how behavioural flexibility develops and allows adaptive responses to a changing environment, particularly through behavioural innovation and social learning, and (2) the evolutionary consequences of this behavioural flexibility. I work principally with tropical freshwater fish, but our lab’s work has also covered a number of bird and mammal species.

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Anthony Ricciardi

Department of Biology

tony.ricciardi [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

My research investigates the causes and consequences of species invasions. I focus on predicting the ecological impacts of exotic invertebrates and fishes on aquatic biodiversity and food webs. My students and I use a combination of approaches that include empirical modeling, meta-analysis, and field experiments. We are interested in questions such as why some species are better invaders, why some communities are more susceptible to invasion, and why some invasions produce greater impacts than others. Our recent studies have examined whether species traits can be used to predict successful invaders how invasion history can be used to predict an introduced species' impact; and the phenomenon of 'invasional meltdown' - in which exotic species increase each other's colonization success and impact.

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Brian Robinson

Department of Geography

brian.e.robinson [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

I am interested in the ways that ecosystem services contribute to human well-being. At the household level, I look at how people meet their needs through use of ecosystems and resources. At a lsndscape scale, I'm interested in how institutions mediate land use change and ecosystem service provision, such as through payment for ecosystem service programs or land tenure security. Methods draw from environmental and development economics, development geography, geographic information sciences, and ecology.

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Nigel Roulet

Department of Geography

nigel.roulet [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Hydrology, Climate and Biogeochemistry. Surface water-groundwater interaction; hydrological pathways and biogeochemical transport; runoff production in wetland and forested ecosystems; boundary layer studies of the flux of CO2, CH4,and H2O from northern peatlands; scaling land surface exchange processes.

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Daniel Schoen

Department of Biology

daniel.schoen [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Our lab does work on a diverse array of topics. The organizing theme that ties these topics together is evolutionary and population genetics. Much, but not all of the work we do, focuses on plants and their systems of reproduction.

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Marilyn Scott

Department of Parasitology

marilyn.scott [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Host-parasite population dynamics; impact of malnutrition on infections in human populations and model systems; ecohealth approaches to managing parasites and malnutrition; waterborne pollution and parasitism; energetic trade-offs; impact of transmission rates of host susceptibility/ resistance phenotypes; vectors transmitting malaria.

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Jennifer Sunday

Department of Biology

jennifer.sunday [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Understanding the role of climate, both directly and indirectly through species interactions, on the distribution of biodiversity. We use macroecology, natural experiments, and controlled experiments to connect processes to patterns across scales. Our work has contributed novel advances in understanding how physiological variables relate to species’ ranges and their climate vulnerabilities, and how climate change responses occur in the context of community interactions and temporally varying environments.

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Mark Erik Torchin

STRI and Department of Biology

TorchinM [at] si.edu (Email)

Research interests

Marine ecology, Biological invasions, Host-parasite interactions and disease ecology

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Ismael Vaccaro

Department of Anthropology

ismael.vaccaro [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

As an environmental anthropologist, my research has focused on understanding the historical formation and contemporary dynamics of social and ecological landscapes with special emphasis on the interactions between public policies and local communities. My current research analyzes land use, conservation policies and the social, economic and environmental sustainability of rural aras. I am in the process of assembling a methodological toolkit that should provide conservation policy designers and managers with vital information for their work. It aims to establish a bridge between ecology and social sciences to improve conservation policy design, local development and social and econological sustainability. I am also analyzing the possible historical connections brought about by the colonial bond between Spain (Natural Park of the High Pyrenees) and Mexico (Chamela Biosphere Reserve in Jalisco). The goal is to provide social data to inform public policies and foster social and ecological sustainability in and around the protected area. I am collaborating as an anthropological advisor on health issues to facilitate medical communication between health care professionals and local residents. I hope to use this expertise in relevant research work in Panama in the near future.

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Alan K. Watson

Department of Plant Science

alan.watson [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Professor Alan Watson's Weed Research Group has been developing biological weed control strategies in temperate and tropical environments using the weeds ' own natural enemies. The goals of our research program are to understand the processes involved in host (weed) pathogen interactions, to investigate mechanisms involved in disease development and weed host response, and to use this knowledge to select, develop, and implement effective, safe, and sustainable means to reduce the negative impact of major noxious weeds.

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Joann Whalen

Department of Natural Resource Sciences

joann.whalen [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

Research interests

Dr. Whalen's research focuses on soil ecology and fertility, particularly in agro-ecosystems. Her research interests include soil organic matter and nutrient dynamics, the ecology, diversity and activity of earthworms and soil microorganisms. Agricultural practices (tillage, fertilizer, crop rotations) that produce high crop yields and minimize greenhouse gas emissions are also studied.