Projects 2015

• Avian community and species monitoring
• Seed Collection for Native Plant Community Restoration Following Invasive Plant Removal
• Mating patterns and sex ratio of Rumex
• Ecological and evolutionary consequences of mating system transitions in Arabidopsis lyrata
• Remote sensing of Canadian grasslands: using vegetation biochemistry to monitor grassland health
• The relative importance of above- and belowground interactions on the performance of Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense
• Population isolation allows for local escape of an invasive plant from biocontrol agents
• Spillover of bacterial pathogens from an invasive thistle to native species
• The role of life history in the evolution of unreduced gametes (Brassicaceae)
• Amphibian Coexistence in a Metacommunity Context
• Why does pollen colour vary in trout lilies (Erythronium americium)?
• Flight testing of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Aerospace Research
• Community Assembly in Newly Created Ponds
• Consequences of oviposition behavior of Rhyssomatus weevils on insect communities
• Dragonfly Eggs in the Cold
• Effects of terrestrial conditions on dragonfly movement behaviour
• Project Breadcrumb: Safe Navigation of UAS in GPS-denied environments
• Niche interactions between dominant and subdominant species in old-field communities
• Non-random gene flow caused by local adaptation in flowering time: implications for assisted gene flow as a conservation measure under climate change
• Ecophylogenetics of plant-pollinator interactions
• Community assembly and function in the light of evolutionary history
• Selection and constraints in the evolution of sexual dimorphism in ambush bugs
• Coevolution of defenses and reproductive traits in Trifolium repens L. (Fabaceae)
• Merging genetic mechanisms with movement ecology
• The effects of social interactions on dispersal in an insect
• Habitat size, movement and extinction in an experimental community
• Monitoring milkweed insects
• Inbreeding depression under field conditions in Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife)
• Ecological aspects of coexistence in asexual-sexual Ambystoma
• The phenology of dispersal in the semi-aquatic insect, Notonecta undulata
• Investigating the impact of forests on adult dragonfly dispersal and larval performance
• Dominant-subdominant plant interactions under a soil moisture gradient
• The ecological timing of seed dehiscence and ant foraging behaviour
• Biodiversity of Caenorhabditis nematodes
• Do dragonflies, by preying upon pollinators, alter selection on floral traits?
• Techniques for nighttime rover navigation
• Influences of road salts on larval amphibian susceptibility to parasitism
• Influences of aquatic vegetation complexity on larval amphibian susceptibility to parasitism
• The effect of environmental warming and variation on dragonfly larvae growth and species interactions
• 2nd Data Set on Farming Solitary Bees and Wasps
• Quantitative genetic variation for disease resistance in tomato varieties used by urban gardener
• Automated tracking of energy balance in wild hummingbirds
• York Region Active Tick Surveillance Program
• Hybridization—interspecific gene flow in he aggressive invasive crop-wild radish hybrid

Projects 2014

• Avian community and species monitoring
• Genetic architecture of fish fitness as it relates to supportive breeding programs
• Affect of stress on plant dominance relationships
• Community assembly and function in the light of evolutionary history
• Niche interactions between dominant and subdominant species in old-field communities
• Habitat size, movement and extinction in an experimental community
• A test of island biogeography with milkweed insects
• Local and regional impacts of warming on the milkweed insect community
• Reciprocal interactions of an invasive weed, Cirsium arvense, and its natural enemies
• Molecular evolution of visual pigments as a function of foraging ecology across three families of true spiders
• Predictors of male success in a mate-guarding jumping spider under shifting competitive contexts
• Selection and constraints in the evolution of sexual dimorphism in ambush bugs
• Trees of the future – A field experiment simulating future climate to understand how conifers will respond to climate change
• The ecological effects of an invasive seed-dispersing ant
• Local adaptation of Ascplepias syriaca to the biotic and abiotic environment
• Climate change and Crop-weed hybridization
• Forest Fire Monitoring Using UAVs
• Assessing the diversity of natural rhizobia communities using a novel multi-locus sequencing approach
• Assessing the role of partner choice exhibited by the widespread legume Medicago lupulina on natural rhizobia communities
• York Region Active Tick Surveillance Program
• Defining the core plant root microbiome
• The evolution of mating systems in small populations of Lythrum salicaria
• Remote sensing of Canadian grasslands: using vegetation biochemistry to monitor grassland health
• Malaise trap collections of insect for student collections in EEB 356 (Insect Biology)
• Coevolution of defenses and reproductive traits in Trifolium repens L. (Fabaceae)
• Merging genetic mechanisms with movement ecology
• Female-biased predation and its impact on sexually dimorphic behaviour and morphology
• Biodiversity of Caenorhabditis nematodes
• Automated tracking of energy balance in wild hummingbirds
• Beech bark disease and its impacts on mast production and mortality in American beech, Fagus grandifolia
• The effects of food availability on aging and reproduction in semi-naturalliving water striders
• Ecology and evolution of sexual dimorphism in newts
• Carryover effects of resource availability on adult dispersal of backswimmers
• Data Set on Farming Solitary Bees and Wasps
• Adaptation in common ragweed
• The role of habitat selection in structuring community structure in aquatic insects: response to a large scale landscape change in canopy cover
• Effects of habitat structure on matrix permeability for adult dragonflies
• Testing an RFID system for individual identifications of aquatic insects
• Community Assembly in Newly Created Ponds

Projects 2013

• Herbivore dispersal experiment
• Adaptation in microcosms and the maintenance of sex in rotifers
• The evolution of mating systems in small populations of Lythrum salicaria
• Community assembly and ecosystem processes in the light of evolutionary history: the formation and function of plant communities
• The effect of soil moisture on hybridization rates and hybrid demography
• Anti-predator behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster
• A genetic link between foraging tactic and dispersal
• Comparing the natural diversity of rhizobia in the soil with rhizobia in the nodules of legumes
• The ecological effects of an invasive seed-dispersing ant
• Trait convergence and divergence: using phytometers to test the roles of traits in establishment
• Experimental metacommunities: scaling between local and regional processes
• Extension of the KSR Data Set on Farming Solitary Bees and Wasps
• Ecology and Evolution of Plant-Herbivore Interactions
• The effects of plant evolution on the below-ground ecosystem
• Interactions between invasive plants and their natural enemies
• U of T Aeronautics Team Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Flight Testing
• Forest Fire Monitoring Using UAVs
• Carry-over effects between life-history stages can link local and regional processes: examining how warming aquatic environments can shape dispersal behaviour in dragonflies
• Effects of canopy cover on habitat selection and performance in aquatic insects
• Avian Monitoring: a) Migration Monitoring b) Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS)
• Temporal Ammonium and Nitrate at Koffler (T.A.N.K.)
• Pilot field experiment at KSR: Do specific strains of rhizobia associate with host plant genotype and if so is there spatial variation?
• Selection and constraints in the evolution of sexual dimorphism in ambush bugs
• Condition- and phenotype-dependent dispersal in an aquatic insect
• Community structure and the expression of sexual dimorphism
• Additive genetic variance in populations of Ambrosia artemisiifolia (ragweed)
• Automated tracking of energy balance in wild hummingbirds

Before 2013

• Climate change, range expansion and evolution of flowering phenology
  

  As climate changes, many of the plant species found in more southerly regions are expected move northward with their “climate envelopes.” Although northern latitudes may eventually provide warmer temperatures and longer growing seasons, other environment

• The influence of local conditions and landscape context on the dispersal behavior of aquatic insects
  

  This project asks how habitat conditions and landscape structure affect the dispersal behavior of aquatic insects including both dragonflies and backswimmers.

• Effectiveness of Pollination by Ontario Bees

  Among all floral visitors, bees are the most abundant and proficient animal pollinators of plants worldwide. However, in bee pollinated plants, pollen can serve a dual purpose .

• Female-biased predation and its impact on sexually dimorphic behaviour and morphology

  Tree crickets (Oecanthinae) are common insects to hear on late summer nights in Ontario. Males sing to attract females by rubbing together specialized structures on their wings.

• Pathogen evolution and counter-adaptation to resistance and tolerance in frogs

  Frogs that do not succumb to the emerging infectious disease, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, may be resistant (avoid infection), or tolerant of the disease (mitigate the negative effects of infection).

• The effects of rhizobia on plant defense

  Legume plants form intimate symbiotic relationships with soil bacteria called rhizobia. Rhizobia are essential for plants because they convert nitrogen into a form that legumes can use for growth and reproduction.

• Relative importance of environmental factors, density dependence and dispersal on distribution of invasive garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

  How do invasive species spread across the landscape? What factors/processes contribute to their success in the new environment? We are studying garlic mustard, a noxious invasive species of North American forest understory, to address the above questions.

• Patterns of evolutionary history and diversity in plant communities: their effect on the recruitment and activities of arthropods

  Plants are the basal resource in most ecosystems, and so it is not surprising that their diversity has many repercussions for ecology, such as the diversity of animals in an ecosystem.

• How do the benefits of myrmecochory vary between ant associates?

  Many well-known plants of Ontario – including the violet, trillium, and bloodroot – have their seeds dispersed by ants in a mutualism called myrmecochory.

• Data Set on Farming Solitary Bees and Wasps

  Only two of the local solitary bee species are commercially important in Canada, but understanding the propagation of all local bees and wasps may be useful in maintaining or regenerating natural habitat.

• Comparative anatomy and morphology of Maianthemum above- and underground stems

  Canada mayflower and false solomons-seal are both placed in the genus Maianthemum on the basis of morphological evidence and results from analyses of DNA sequence variation. We are investigating variation in rhizome structure within the group.

• Survey of invasive earthworms

  Ontario has no native earthworm species. Eurasian worms invading Great Lakes region forests are believed to be disrupting natural soil structure, eliminating some native wildflowers and seedlings of forest trees.

• Biotic interactions at invaders’ range limits

  Ragweed is an abundant weed in southern Ontario, but disappears in northern Ontario. Plants near the edge of its range may escape many of the natural enemies that attack it further south.

• Selection on phenology through male function

  Climate change will extend the growing season and place selection on the timing of flowering. How much will selection act through female (seed production) and male (pollen deposition) reproductive success?

• Sexual selection, phenology and demographic variation in the spider Phiddipus clarus

  Understanding how demography affects the intensity and form of sexual selection is a major goal of behavioural ecology. Phiddipus clarus is an ideal model for illucidating such links because there is evidence for inter-and intra-sexual selection during a

• Seasonal flux of fungal spores at Lower Pond

  Spores of aerobic fungi preserve as fossils in the mud of Crawford Lake where transport from the upland is (and was) via wind and Canada geese. Twice-monthly collections of goose droppings, pond water and sediment will quantify fungal spore type, frequen

• Evolution of purple loosestrife along a latitudinal gradient in eastern North America

  The purpose of this experiment is to directly test for local adaptation and measure selection on life history traits of Purple Loosetrife in three environments: northern Virginia, Timmins, ON, as well as KSR.

• Assessment of poplar clones for biomass and drought tolerance

  This project involves assessing 9 different poplar clones for their growth parameters in a Southern Ontario environment.

• Age- and sex-related trends in reproductive allocation in White Ash, Fraxinus americana

  This project aims to investigate reproductive allometry in Fraxinus americana. F. americana is a dioecious species, facilitating the investigation of sex-related trends in reproductive allocation. On branch sampling of reproductive structures will be used

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flight Test

  The purpose of this project is to verify unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) guidance and control algorithms through real flight test. Five battery powered small UAVs, equipped with advanced autopilots and various sophisticated onboard sensors, will be used fo

• Diversity Survey of Rhizobial Soil Bacteria

  Rhizobial bacteria form mutualistic associations with leguems, providing plants with nitrogen. Thus project is surveying Rhizobial diversity in soils supporting different vegetation types and land use histories.

• Exploring a potential link between foraging with dispersal via the foraging gene

  Dispersal has important ecological and evolutionary consequences for all animals, yet little is understood about the mechanisms affecting dispersal. We are testing whether the genes that influence foraging behaviour in fruit flies …

• Life history trade-offs and the shape of senescence in the wild

  Understanding the evolution of senescence is a central question in evolutionary biology. Senescence is marked by age-specific declines in survival and fecundity, and as a decline in fitness would seem maladaptive …

• Postinvasion community recovery: is there a difference between native and invasive dominants?

  Non-native plants are a problem in many ecosystems around the world. However, one of the basic, unanswered questions of invasion biology is whether such plants behave differently in their home and invaded regions.

• The interaction of frequency and density-dependence on sex ratio in an annual dioecious plant

  The effects of pollen competition may be particularly important for dioecious species with sex chromosomes as male and female-determining pollen grains may differ in their fertilization success, which can influence offspring sex ratios.

• The interaction of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata Beib. Cavara & Grande) invasion with soil nutrient stoichiometry and water status and the resulting impact on plant performance in sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.)

  This study will measure the interaction of garlic mustard invasion with soil nutrients and water to determine if reduced colonization of sugar maples by mycorrhizae are more sensitive to drought and nutrient stress.

• Sperm Competition in Alternative Mating Tactics of Chinook and Coho Salmon

  Swimming performance and competitive ability of sperm from male salmon exhibiting contrasting mating tactics will be evaluated.

• Butternut Monitoring and Recovery Program

  The Butternut Monitoring and Recovery Program aims to find healthy butternut trees despite the presence of theButternut Canker fungus. Trees are assessed for health and monitored for seed production.

• Flying Squirrel Distribution Study

  Ministry of Natural Resources is determining the presence/absence of Southern Flying Squirrels in the Aurora District.

• Maple leaf gall forming mites, a comparative study of diversity and specificity with regards to tree and leaf patterns on native and non native species growing in different environments

  A comparative study of the specificity, distribution, abundance and other characteristics of the various eriophyid mites that form galls on the native and non-native maples.

• The relationship between acoustic mate attraction displays and sperm quality in the fall field cricket

  The goals of the study were to collect fall field crickets, monitor their acoustic mate attraction displays, and then quantify their sperm number, size, motility, and morphology.