The influence of natural and anthropogenic disturbance on wildlife diversity, demographics, and distributions.

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Natural and anthropogenic disturbances influence the environment in a variety of ways. By investigating the influence of disturbance on biodiversity, wildlife demographics, and spatial behaviours, significant and novel contributions can be made to landscape, population, and spatial ecology. My research program seeks to understand the effects of natural (climate change, etc.) and anthropogenic (infrastructure, etc.) disturbance on wildlife, and incorporates several taxa including herpetofauna, birds, and mammals. My research also incorporates Indigenous Knowledge (IK) (aka: Traditional Ecological Knowledge) to strengthen ecological investigations of wildlife response to altered environments. I aim to answer specific questions such as: Do trade-offs associated with least effort pathways for wildlife in disturbed environments exist? How do differences among anthropogenic linear disturbance feature characteristics relate to changes in biodiversity, and wildlife demographics and spatial behaviour? What are the predicted effects of climate on wildlife population trajectories? By combining IK with existing habitat, climate, harvest, and population data, my research program will work towards producing predictive population models and will develop novel protocols for integrating IK into future scientific research projects. This research is not only important in contributing to wildlife conservation and ensuring the sustainability of important species as economic and cultural entities to Indigenous communities, but also contributes substantially to our basic understanding ecological principals through the investigation of areas underrepresented in science.