Sylvie de Blois

Associate Professor (jointly-appointed to the Bieler School of Environment)

T: 514-398-7581 |  sylvie.deblois [at] mcgill.ca (Email) |  Macdonald Campus - Raymond Building R2-021B  |  Downtown Campus - Bieler School of Environment, 3534 University St

Short Bio

Professor Sylvie de Blois received a PhD in biology from the Université de Montréal in 2001. She is an Associate Professor of ecology at the Department of Plant Science and former director of the Bieler School of Environment. She was an invited scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia and at the engineering School École des Mines de Nantes in France. She served as a scientific advisor on the European Union funded programme AGREENSKILLS aimed at supporting the international mobility of emergent researchers in agriculture and environment. She co-led the NSERC-funded CC-Bio project on climate change and biodiversity and the FRQNT-funded CC-PEQ project on invasive plant species in Quebec. She is a collaborator of the Quebec Center for Biodiversity Science. She is Chair of the Quebec Conservation Committee, member of the Regional Board, and member of the national Conservation Committee at Nature Conservancy Canada. Her research focuses on plant ecology, landscape ecology, climate change, biological invasion, and biodiversity science. She has co-authored an award-winning book on the impact of climate change on Quebec biodiversity.

Degrees

BSc (Agr) (McGill)
MSc, PhD (U Montreal)

Awards and Recognitions

Co-recipient of the scientific literary prize Hubert-Reeves (2015) for Changements climatiques et biodiversité du Québec : vers un nouveau patrimoine naturel

Active Affiliations

  • Chair, Conservation Committee, Nature Conservancy Canada (Quebec region)
  • Member, Regional Board, Nature Conservancy Canada (Quebec region)
  • Member, National Conservation Committee, Nature Conservancy Canada
  • Collaborator, Quebec Center for Biodiversity Science
  • Member, Scientific Committee AGREENSKILLS and AGREENSKILLS+, European Union international mobility programmes supporting excellence in agricultural and environmental research

Research interests

The major reshuffling of species distribution and habitats predicted by global change models in this century is expected to have unprecedented impacts on biodiversity and the countless benefits derived from nature. Yet, our ability to predict the combined effect of landscape changes and rapid warming on the realized niches of species remains limited. Understanding how plants respond to these changes is particularly important as plants structure habitats, provide resources to species, and regulate biogeochemical—including carbon— flows. How do key biological processes (e.g., reproduction, dispersal, competition) that determine the local persistence of a species, its potential for migration, and its ability to establish into new communities relate to the broader distribution dynamics of the forests or wetlands we aim to protect? Can we reconcile the time scale and spatial extent of these biological processes with those required to keep up with the increasing magnitude and speed of environmental changes at the regional or continental scale? Lessons from biological invasions can be informative in this respect as they underscore the potential for rapid adaptive responses of species, including climatic niche shifts, in facilitating range expansion. They also show, however, the risks of introducing new organisms beyond their natural range.

Professor de Blois’ research investigates the interrelations between the environment, landscape structure, and key biological processes that determine plant population and community persistence. Her research aims to develop an understanding of these interrelations from local to sub-continental scales, combining concepts and approaches from plant biology, landscape ecology, invasion ecology, and global change biology. Findings are relevant for biodiversity conservation both within and outside nature reserves, corridor function, species migration, range dynamics, the control of invasive plants, and sustainable forest and agricultural landscape management.

Current Research

Current research projects include:

  • Biodiversity and climate change modelling
  • Patterns and processes of range shifts in relation to rapid environmental change focusing on plant species of Eastern North America
  • Science for sustainable forest management
  • Application of community ecology principles to the management of biological invasion and habitat restoration
  • Agro-biodiversity of indigenous tropical landscapes and sustainable livelihoods

Courses

PLNT 460 Plant Ecology 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ENVR 202 The Evolving Earth 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ENVR 401 Environmental Research 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ENVR 421 Mtl:Envr Hist & Sustainability 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ENVR 650 Environmental Seminar 1 1 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ENVR 651 Environmental Seminar 2 1 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ENVR 652 Environmental Seminar 3 1 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

FAES 401 Honours Research Project 1 6 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

FAES 402 Honours Research Project 2 6 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

Publications

View a list of current publications

Select publications

Boisvert‐Marsh L., de Blois S. 2021. Unravelling potential northward migration pathways for tree species under climate change. Journal of Biogeography 48: 1088-1100. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14060

Byun C., de Blois S., Brisson J. 2020. Restoring functionally diverse communities enhances invasion resistance in a freshwater wetland. Journal of Ecology 108: 2485– 2498. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13419

Boisvert-Marsh L., Périé C., de Blois S. 2019. Divergent responses to climate change and disturbance drive recruitment patterns underlying latitudinal shifts of tree species. Journal of Ecology 107: 1956-1969. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13149

Berteaux D., Ricard M., St-Laurent M.-H., Casajus N., Périé C., Beauregard F., de Blois S., 2018. Northern protected areas will become important refuges for biodiversity tracking suitable climates. Nature Scientific Reports, 8: Article number: 4623. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23050-w

Beauregard F., de Blois S. 2016. Rapid latitudinal range expansion at cold limits unlikely for temperate understory forest plants. Ecosphere 7(11). https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1549

Berteaux D, Casajus N, de Blois S. 2014. Changements climatiques et biodiversité du Québec : vers un nouveau patrimoine naturel. Presses de l’université du Québec, Qc. 214 p. (« Un ouvrage unique sur la biodiversité du Québec… Fait rare: un livre à la fois savant et très accessible. » Les Années Lumière, Radio-Canada. « Une recherche d’une ampleur sans précédent…Le résultat est spectaculaire… » La Presse.) Prix littéraire scientifique Hubert-Reeves en 2015.

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