I'm an Assistant Professor with the Biology Department & the School of Climate Change & Adaptation at UPEI.  I studied a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University, a certificate in Environmental Management at the University of Toronto, a Master of Science in Conservation Biology at the University of Queensland with the Mayfield Lab in Brisbane, Australia, and a Ph.D. in Earth & Environmental Science at the University of Pavia in Italy (Part of a Marie Curie Initial Training Network - ITN) while based at the beautiful MUSE in Trentino.  I was a postdoctoral researcher at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) with the Biodiversity Synthesis and Physiological Diversity groups in Leipzig for 6 1/2 years before moving to UPEI in 2024. I am an Editor at Conservation Letters and Botany, the Journal. I am on the Editorial Board at the Journal of Vegetation Science.

Dardy is a research assistant at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and a MSc student in Environmental Science at UPEI. He is conducting his research under the supervision of Dr. McKenzie-Gopsill (weed scientist at AAFC) and Dr. Ladouceur. His study focuses on evaluating various cover crop termination methods preceding direct-seeded soybean (Glycine max L.) production with reduced soil disturbance in the agroecological context of Atlantic Canada. His research is funded by the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership and the Atlantic Grains Council.

Quinton is a multi-disciplinary wilderness expedition leader with over 15 years’ experience on 5 continents. He began his Master of Island Studies program at UPEI in January 2024 and is currently in the field researching grizzly bears in British Columbia. Quinton’s research project aims to analyze how an existing bear management plan in a world-renowned bear tourism area in British Columbia functions regarding wildlife conservation, environmental preservation and socio-economic development. This project is comprised of observations of human-human and human-wildlife interactions in the cove in 2025 and a robust interview process with involved stakeholders in the region.

Since 2008, Daniel has worked with the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project, a PEI non-profit group focused on native plant propagation, environmental education, and habitat restoration. Throughout that time, Daniel was involved in all aspects, from labouring at native species plantings, running children's nature camps, to ecological research and field surveys, as well as sustainable harvesting and forest stewardship planning. He began his Master of Environmental Sciences program at UPEI in September 2025, which will examine forest biodiversity across a variety of woodland habitats and states on Epekwitk (PEI).  (macphailwoods.org)

Parker is a new MSc student in Environmental Sciences at UPEI. He comes to us with a BScH in Biology with a concentration in applied ecology and conservation from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Last summer, he worked with the Nature Conservancy Canada, monitoring ecological communities and species at risk through field work across Newfoundland. For his MSc at UPEI, Parker is studying the effects of riparian forest disturbance and restoration on biodiversity and indicators across ecosystem boundaries.

Maddy is a Biology BSc graduate currently completing the post-undergraduate Honours conversion program at UPEI. Her research explores long-term changes in the early life stages of Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in Prince Edward Island, using historical monitoring data to better understand resilience and inform future restoration efforts. This work is being carried out in collaboration with her primary supervisor Dr. Emma Ladouceur (Conservation Ecology Lab), Pedro Quijón (Coastal Ecology Lab), and Jesse Kerr, Aquaculture Biologist, at the provincial government (Aquaculture Division, Department of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport, and Culture).  Research funding is provided by the Ocean Frontier Institute, led by Dalhousie University. 

Annalena is a BSc student in Biology completing an Honours at UPEI. She is conducting research for her Honours thesis on scale-dependent tree diversity across different forest states (old growth, disturbed, restored) on Prince Edward Island. Annalena's work is funded through a USRA Award and NSERC Discovery.

Leah is a fourth-year undergraduate student working to complete a Bachelor of Applied Science in Climate Change and Adaptation. This summer and fall, she is working in the Conservation Ecology Lab studying terrestrial orchids in Prince Edward Island. Her main focus is to determine the distribution of these orchids throughout PEI and record their blooming time, as well as what growth conditions are ideal for different specialist species. The hope is to continue this project with future students in future years to see how flowering dates are changing over time due to climate change. Leah's work is funded through a USRA award and a UPEI Internal Research Grant.

Donovan is completing his second year of the Bachelor of Wildlife Conservation, a two-and-two articulation program between UPEI and Holland College. For the past two summers, Donovan has worked as a Student Wildlife Technician for the Division of Forests, Fish and Wildlife within the Government of Prince Edward Island. While there, he gained valuable experience in survey methods, data collection and analysis, as well as maintaining and operating technical equipment in the field. This year in the Conservation Ecology Lab, Donovan will be primarily assisting on the various research projects of other members, gaining an array of experience in the different aspects of ecological research, while he works on plans for his own future research projects.