PhD Candidate (2022-present; co-advised by Dr. Elizabeth Gow)

I am investigating the factors that influence variation in predation rate among outdoor domestic cats. Not all cats hunt the same amount of animals when they are outside, I am interested in why that might be. I am accomplishing this by attaching animal-borne cameras (CatCams) and GPS trackers to owned domestic cats residing in southern Ontario and the south Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. The CatCams allow me to see the world from the point-of-view of a cat, allowing me to accurately estimate predation rates and investigate the various factors that lead to variation in predation rates between my study cats. In addition to this field and community science-based work I am also conducting a review in order to update the estimates of the number of birds killed by outdoor cats in Canada.

I completed my BSc (Honours) and MSc at the University of Toronto where I studied how bird wing morphology influences migration arrival timing advance (undergraduate thesis) and dispersal distances (MSc thesis). Through these projects I learned to use community science data, banding data, museum records and spatial data. I also worked with museum specimens, I learned how to prepare bird study skins, spread wing specimens and how to photograph then digitally measure spread wings.

In addition to my research activities I am also the co-director of FREED @ Guelph, an organization whose goal is reducing the barriers to ecological field research for Black, Indigenous and Racialized undergraduate students.

Outside my work I like to stare at birds through binoculars, stare at tiny hands moving in a circle on my wrist, cook things to fill my stomach, and cook strangers online at fighting games.

Personal Website: http://www.jonathanjojochu.com/

Publications

Chu, J. J., Norris, D. R., Bourque, J., Roy, C., Wilson, O., & Gow, E. A.. An updated estimate of the number of birds killed by outdoor cats in Canada. In review: Avian Conservation and Ecology

Chu, J. J., Claramunt, S. (2023). Determinants of natal dispersal distances in North American birds. Ecology and Evolution, 13(2), e9789. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9789

Fu, H., Su, M., Chu, J. J., Margaritescu, A., & Claramunt, S. (2023). New methods for estimating the total wing area for birds. Ecology and Evolution, 13(9), e10480. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10480

Chu, J. J., Gillis, D. P., & Riskin, S. H. (2022). Community science reveals links between migration arrival timing advance, migration distance and wing shape. Journal of Animal Ecology, 91(8), 1651– 1665. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13755

Weeks, B. C., O’Brien, B. K., Chu, J. J., Claramunt, S., Sheard, C., & Tobias, J. A. (2022). Morphological adaptations linked to flight efficiency and aerial lifestyle determine natal dispersal distance in birds. Functional Ecology, 36, 1681– 1689. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14056