LAB MEMBERS

Professor Jeremy Kerr

My work is focused on big questions in ecology and conservation, particularly on how species respond to climate change and extreme weather events. Much of my work has been at macroecological scales - considering species across countries, continents, or the globe. Whether working at macroecological or smaller spatial scales, citizen/community science data is something I value and try to use in my work. This has led to a collaboration on a community butterfly monitoring website.

Scientific discovery can only be truly impactful if it is communicated to the right people. Throughout my career I have been committed to communicating my results, and scientific results more generally, to the public. I also connect with political decision-makers whenever I can, and pursue opportunities to improve science-based policy in Canada.

Click here for more information.

jeremy.kerr(at)uottawa.ca

Olga Koppel

PhD Candidate

I study how evolutionary history and climate have historically influenced the distribution and phenology of bumblebees, and what this may tell us about their future. However, I’m passionate about ecology for the ‘big picture’, interdisciplinary approach it allows for answering all sorts of questions about our planet. In the past, I’ve delved into marine ecosystem dynamics, mycology, invasive plant interactions, and phylogenetics. I’m interested in gaining insight into how scientists, media, policy makers, and legislators interact to deliver science to the public. I’m super invested in Ottawa’s thriving arts/culture scene and love directing music ensembles. Follow me on twitter @oak_ottawa.

Matthew Watson

PhD Candidate

I have always enjoyed being in nature and have followed that passion through my education and professional career. I completed my Undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Windsor where I studied communication in birds and how sources of artificial light affect nocturnal bird migration. I then completed my Masters degree at the University of Western Ontario studying how immune function genes contribute to migration survivorship in song sparrows. Following my Masters I worked in the field of environmental science at a non-profit organization focusing on assessing the health and biodiversity of the St Lawrence River ecosystem. I also taught as a professor at St Lawrence college in their science program.

I joined Jeremy’s lab in the fall of 2021 to pursue my PhD studying the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on range dynamics of vertebrates. My hobbies include playing piano/guitar, hiking as many new trails as possible, and getting overly competitive with board games.

Gabrielle Ednie

PhD Candidate

Growing up, I would spend my summers working on my grand-parents’ farm. My love of the outdoors and passion for protecting the environment only grew from there. I completed my Bachelor’s degree at McGill University in Environmental Biology with a specialization in applied ecology. During my time there, I had the opportunity to participate in semester long field courses in East Africa, work at a biology field station, and complete my honours thesis with Dr. Kyle Elliott. It is through these opportunities that I found my passion for macroecology, remote sensing, and finding solutions to real world problems through research.

For my thesis project, I will be evaluating habitat capacity to provide microclimate refugia at ecologically relevant scales using ultrahigh resolution remote sensing. In other words, I will be using cutting edge remote sensing tools (e.g. thermal cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles - UAVs) to create maps of the thermal profile of local habitats and assess how small-scale changes in temperature influence the presence-absence of butterflies. I hope that my work may contribute to our understanding of how changing climates will impact species distributions on local scales.

In my free time, you can find me in rinks around the country being a goalie for the Gatineau National Ringette League team and coaching the next generation of players. The rest of my free time is spent in movie theatres or other dark rooms binging new and old movies/tv shows.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielle-ednie-97a286127

Susan Gordon

Postdoctoral researcher

I started my undergrad as an arts student at the University of Toronto, but my minor in biology led me to fall in love with ecology and evolution. I developed a passion for research through my undergrad thesis on beaver herbivory, and built on this by studying an ant-plant seed dispersal mutualism with Dr. Megan Frederickson after graduation. I continued to explore mutualisms as a lab manager and research technician in Dr. Marjorie Weber’s evolutionary biology lab at Michigan State University, working on a plant-mite defense mutualism. After finishing my PhD in the Kerr lab studying butterfly metacommunities, I’m excited to stick around and ask questions about butterfly populations and communities at a macroecological scale. When I’m not science-ing or science communicating I love to read, hike, and knit.

@SusansScience

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susan-gordon-3875561

Here is a partial list of Kerr lab alumni. These and their predecessors have gone on to great things! Many of these students have been nominated for prizes and awards as well.

PDFs:
Dr. Shawn Leroux - Professor, Memorial U
Dr. Barbara Frei - Wildlife Biologist, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Dr. Maxim Larrivée - Director of Research, Montreal Insectarium
Dr. Paul Galpern - Professor, U Calgary
Dr. Manisha Kulkarni - Professor, uOttawa
Dr. Alana Taylor-Pindar - Research scientist, UoGuelph

PhD:
Dr. Susan Gordon*
Dr. Kirsten Crandall - Expert Scientific Advisor for Zoonoses, Institut national de santé publique du Québec
Dr. Catherine Sirois-Delisle - Project Coordinator, Nature Conservancy Canada Dr. Peter Soroye* - Key Biodiversity Areas Assessment and Outreach Coordinator, WCS Canada Dr. Adam Algar - Professor, Nottingham
Dr. Rachelle Desrochers - Data Analytics, CIHR
Dr. Laura Coristine - Liber Ero Fellow (PDF) and Research Scientist at Environment and Climate Change Canada
Dr. Juan Zuloaga - Research Associate, McGill University

* National award from the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution for doctoral thesis

MSc:
Sarah Chisholm - Spatial Ecologist, Apex RMS Anouk Paradis - Environmental Science PhD, l'Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue Marie-Bé Leduc - Parks Canada, Réserve de parc national de l'Archipel-de-Mingan
Emily Acheson - Spatial Epidemiology PhD, UBC
Cassandra Robillard - Museum of Nature
Rosana Soares - Environment and Climate Change Canada
Heather Kharouba - Professor, uOttawa

We have been lucky in having extraordinary research visitors:
Professor Diane Debinski, Iowa State University
Dr. Bronwyn Rayfield, McGill University