Paleoecology of Western Canada: vegetation dynamics and paleoclimate during the Quaternary and Eocene.

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My research program aims to reconstruct patterns of change in vegetation and ecosystem structure in Western Canada, and to use this information to assess how environmental factors, in particular, climate, are responsible for those changes. Within this framework, we are focusing on several research topics. The first area of study is the glacial and biological history of Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands), also known as the "Canadian Galapagos." The origin of the unique fauna and flora of the Haida Gwaii is controversial, and centres on glacial history and the likely existence of glacial refuges during the last and previous glaciation. Prior to the last glacial maximum (~20,000 years ago), there was an earlier, larger glaciation that is too old to study by radiocarbon dating methods. We will use new dating techniques and employ pollen and plant fossils on Graham Island to reconstruct plant communities and climatic conditions, and to understand the effects of climate change and disturbance on plant survival and local extinction.