I’m an ecologist interested in the behaviour, population dynamics, and conservation of animals in seasonal environments, with a particular emphasis on migratory birds and butterflies. I obtained an MSc from York University in 2000, a PhD from Queen’s University in 2005 and was an NSERC/Killam Memorial Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Forest Sciences at the University of British Columbia from 2005-2006. I was appointed a faculty position in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph in 2006, promoted to Associate Professor in 2010 and received a University Research Chair in 2012.
Research in my lab focuses on the ecology & conservation of migratory animals and resident animals living in seasonal environments. In the field, I lead two long-term studies on individually marked populations: Savannah sparrows on Kent Island, Bay of Fundy, NS, which began in 1987 and Canada Jays in Algonquin Park, ON, which began in 1965. I also collaborate with Dan Strickland on a individually marked population of Canada Jays on Mount Washington, Vancouver Is, which began in 2017. In addition to these studies, I also collaborate with a number of people and organizations on the migratory ecology and behaviour of Blackpoll warblers, the effects of domestic cats on wildlife, and the conservation and migration of monarch butterflies. Finally, since 2019, I have been the lead scientist on a collaborative initiative to reintroduce the endangered Mottled duskywing butterfly into formerly occupied and newly created habitats in southern Ontario. See the “current study systems” and “research themes” pages for details on these topics and more.
For a full list of papers and citations, see my Google Scholar profile
Guelph Appointments
Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, 2011-present
University Research Chair, 2012-2017
Assistant Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, 2006-2010
Current Appointments outside Guelph
Academic Editor: Ecology Letters
Associate Editor: Canadian Journal of Zoology
Awards
Member, College of New Scholars, Artists & Scientists, Royal Society of Canada, 2014-2021
Robert G. Boutilier New Investigator Award, Can. Society Zoologists, 2011
Early Researcher Award, ON Ministry of Research & Innovation, 2008
AOU Young Investigator Award, American Ornithologists Union, 2006
Selected Grants
CFI Infrastructure Fund (2024-2029)
NSERC Discovery Grant (2022-2027)
NSERC Alliance Grant (2021-2026)
NSERC Alliance Grant (2020-2025)
NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement (2016-2019)
NSERC Discovery Grant (2016-2021)
CFI Leading Edge Fund (2014)
NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement (2011-2013)
NSERC Discovery Grant (2011-2015)
CFI Leaders Opportunity Fund (2009)
NSERC Strategic Grant (2008)
NSERC RTI Grants (2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013)
NSERC Discovery Grant (2006-2011)
Courses taught
ZOO*4070 Animal Behaviour (fall term: 2007-2011, 2014-2018, 2024)
ZOO*4410 Field Ecology in Algonquin Park (summer term: 2007, 2023-2025)
BIOL*3010 Lab & Field Work in Ecology (fall term: 2014-2016, 2021-2023, 2025)
BIOL*2060 Ecology (winter term: 2018, co-taught with A. McAdam)
ZOO*4070 Ornithology (fall term: 2009-2011)
IBIO*6000 (Grad): Measuring Effectiveness of Protected Areas (fall term: 2023)
