Ecological effects of resource development on threatened wildlife

我的研究计划集中在快速环境变化对数量较少或不断减少的野生动物种群的累积影响，以及产生能够直接为这些种群的恢复提供信息的严谨科学。我特别感兴趣的是理清多重应激源对具有长世代时间的物种的持续或灭绝的影响。气候变化、入侵物种、新出现的传染病和栖息地改变正在以令人眼花缭乱的速度改变景观，迅速转移和重新转移对野生动物的选择压力。世代时间短、繁殖力高的物种有时可以快速适应这些变化，但繁殖力较低的长寿物种的种群可能无法足够快地做出反应以维持下去，而且通常从衰退中恢复得很慢。我的研究小组研究受威胁物种对次优和人为栖息地的利用，旨在告知和改进我们对栖息地的定义，以及我们在严重受影响的景观中管理野生动物种群的能力。例如，我们正在测试有关受威胁的海龟使用农田上的人工水道的假设，以及蝙蝠如何修改它们在空域的活动以适应风力涡轮机等新结构。我们还在调查可再生能源开发对爬行动物和两栖动物的影响。我的研究计划旨在直接告知我们对人类景观使用的生态影响的理解，以帮助加拿大司法机关在恢复受威胁的野生动物种群与不可避免的人类对自然资源的需求之间取得平衡时做出基于证据的决策。

My research program focuses on the cumulative impacts of rapid environmental changes on small or declining wildlife populations, and on producing rigorous science that can directly inform the recovery of these populations. I am particularly interested in disentangling the effects of multiple stressors on persistence or extinction of species with long generation times. Climate change, invasive species, emerging infectious diseases, and habitat alteration are transforming landscapes at a dizzying rate, rapidly shifting and re-shifting selective pressures on wildlife. Species with short generation times and high fecundity can sometimes adapt quickly to these shifts, but populations of long-lived species with lower fecundity may not be able to respond quickly enough to persist, and are typically slow to recover from declines. My research group studies the use of sub-optimal and anthropogenic habitats by threatened species, and aims to inform and improve our definitions of habitat and our ability to manage wildlife populations in heavily impacted landscapes. For example, we are testing hypotheses about threatened turtles' use of anthropogenic waterways on agricultural lands, and how bats modify their movements through the airspace to adjust to new structures such as wind turbines. We are also investigating the effects of renewable energy development on reptiles and amphibians. My research program aims to directly inform our understanding of the ecological impacts of human landscape use, in order to help Canadian jurisdictions to make evidence-based decisions when balancing recovery of threatened wildlife populations with unavoidable human demands on natural resources.