DR. JEREMY T. KERR

Selected Publications

  • Kerr, J. T., S.C.C. Gordon*, I-C. Chen, G. Ednie*, W. Foden, T. Newbold, A.R. Reynolds*, A.J. Suggitt, J.S. Terblanche, M.J. Watson*. 2025. Effects of microclimate variation on insect persistence under global change. Nature Reviews Biodiversity. Full text link: https://rdcu.be/ew5ju

  • Watson*, M., and J. T. Kerr. 2025. Climate-driven body size changes in birds and mammals reveal environmental tolerance limits. Global Change Biology. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.70241

  • Sirois-Delisle*, C., S.C.C. Gordon*, J. T. Kerr. 2024. Range geographies, not functional traits, explain convergent range and phenology shifts under climate change. eLife https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/101208v1

  • Gordon*, S., and J. T. Kerr. 2022. Floral diversity increases butterfly diversity in a multitrophic metacommunity. Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3735

  • Soroye*, P., T. Newbold, and J. T. Kerr. 2020. Climate change contributes to widespread declines among bumble bees across continents. Science 367: 685-588. Perspectives piece here.

  • Soroye*, P., N. Ahmed*, and J. T. Kerr. 2018. Opportunistic citizen science data transform understanding of species distributions, phenology, and diversity gradients for global change research. Global Change Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14358

  • Kerr, J. T. 2017. A cocktail of poisons. Science 356: 1332-1333. DOI: 10.1126/science.aan6713.

  • Kerr J. T., Pindar* A, Galpern* P, Packer L, Roberts SM, Rasmont P, Schweiger O, Colla SR, Richardson LL, Wagner DL, Gall LF, Sikes DS, Pantoja A. 2015. Climate change impacts on bumblebees converge across continents. Science 349: 177-180.

    *indicates HQP (trainees at undergraduate, graduate, and PDF levels).

Teaching

Lifetime Honours

  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science

  • Fellow, Royal Society of Biology

  • Fellow, Sigma Xi Scientific Honours Society

 

Biography

I held the University Research Chair in Macroecology and Conservation for its full term, from 2013 to 2023. I am a past President of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution, where I led work on EDI and on policy engagement. I am an alum of the Global Young Academy and have had research successes that are important to me, including Young Researcher of the Year, Early Researcher Award from Ontario, Science Ambassador for Canada (from Partners in Research), the Excellence in Media Relations prize for Research, and the University of Ottawa Leadership Award for Teaching for work on inclusive and online teaching practices during the pandemic. I was recently recognized as the Faculty of Science Researcher of the Year in 2024.

I did my undergrad at U of O in Biology and my honours project with David Currie and my PhD at York with Laurence Packer. I went on to a postdoc in Oxford with Bob May and Dick Southwood. I can't do either of these legendary scientists justice here. I ended up back in Ottawa as a research scientist in remote sensing with the stellar Josef Cihlar, and then full circle to Biology at University of Ottawa. I returned to Oxford for sabbatical as an elected Senior Research Fellow in Mansfield College and the Institute for Environment.

I try to give back more than I use. I am strongly engaged in public science and at the science-policy interface. Activities I’ve helped lead include improving endangered species legislation in Canada and Ontario, the development of federal policies around equity, diversity, and inclusion in research, boreal conservation, malaria challenges in East Africa and as a voice opposing the Orwellian perversion of facts and evidence at the federal level in Canada during a previous government. I worked with then Minister of Science, the Hon. Dr. Kirsty Duncan, to champion the proposal and development of Canada’s Chief Science Advisor, serve as an executive of NSERC Council as Chair of Discovery Research. I serve on NSERC Council Executive, a Governor-In-Council appointment (approved by Federal Cabinet and the Governor General).