People
Jean-Philippe Lessard
Associate Professor in Biology – Concordia University
Research Chair in Biodiversity & Ecosystem Functioning
Editor-in-Chief: Ecological Monographs
MSc (2021-present) – Concordia University
BSc Honours (2017-2021) – University of Ottawa
Dana is interested in how plant-herbivore interactions influence pollinator communities
Lilian Sales
Banting Postdoctoral Fellow
Postdoc (2020 – present) – Concordia University
Postdoc (2018 – 2020) – University of Campinas
PhD (2014 – 2018) – Universidade Federal de Goiás
Lilian’s research aims to develop quantitative models to improve forecasts of biodiversity response to global changes and to generate conservation-relevant information.
Érik Plante
(co-supervised by Ehab Abouheif)
MSc (2020-present) – Concordia University
BSc Honours (2018-2020) – Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Érik investigates the factors driving variation in the caste composition of ant colonies along climatic gradients. Previously, he studied geographic variation in colour patterns on the wings of Catocala moths (Erebidae)
PhD (2018-present) – Concordia University
MSc (2015-2017) – Universiteit van Amsterdam
BSc (2008-2013) – Universidad San Francisco de Quito
Gabriel is interested in the processes underlying the assembly of interaction networks and how their structure varies geographically
(NSERC CREATE Scholarship; co-supervised by Tanya Handa)
PhD (2016-present) – Concordia University
MSc (2014-2016) – Universidade Estadual de Campinas
BSc Honours(2007-2012) – Universidad de El Salvador
Javier is interested in how the functional structure of ant communities varies across environmental gradients
MSc (2019-present) – Concordia University
BSc Honours (2018-2019) – Concordia University
Serena is working in the lab of Carly Ziter and in collaboration with our lab on a project related to plant-pollinator interaction in urban ecosystems.
Victor Renaud
(FRQNT Scholarship, co-supervised by Anouk Simard)
MSc (2018-present) – Concordia University
BSc (2015-2018) – Université Laval
Victor’s project aims to use large spatial scale data on the community composition of insects to develop indicators of climate change. This project is part of a collaboration with the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, Québec
Tonia De Bellis
Lab Associate (FQRNT CEGEP Teacher Grant)
Professor (2005 – present) – Dawson College
PhD (2002 – 2007) – Concordia University
Tonia is working on multiple projects exploring mutualistic interactions between plants and root-associated fungi in the context of biological invasions
Lab Alumni
Postdoc
Shaun Turney (FRQNT Postdoc Fellow)
Postdoctoral Fellow (2019-2020) – Shaun used trait-based approaches to infer the processes underlying the structure of ecological communities and networks along environmental gradients
MSc
Isaac Eckert (co-supervised by Martin Nuñez)
MSc (2018-2020) – Isaac’s project aimed to understand the effects of the Lodgepole pine invasion on microbial communities of alpine ecosystems in Patagonia, Argentina
Frédérique La Richelière (co-supervised by Ehab Abouheif)
MSc (2016-2018) – Frédérique investigated the evolutionary and ecological trends that lead to caste development in ant species on a global scale
François Brassard
MSc (2016-2018) – François worked on caste-specific determinants of morphological variation along abiotic gradients in North American ants
Sarah Ouimette (NSERC PGS M, co-supervised by Piero Calosi)
Msc (2016-2018) – Sarah worked on life-stage related differences in thermal tolerance of odonates and how they relate to their geographic distributions
Sergio Vega (MITACS Scholarship)
MSc (2016-2018) – Sergio’s research aimed to determine how land use affects native bee communities in Quebec blueberry fields
Katherine Hébert (NSERC PGS M, co-supervised by Virginie Millien)
MSc (2015 – 2017); BSc Honours (2012 – 2015) – Katherine investigated the mechanisms underlying the assembly of insular mammal communities across the globe. She is now doing a PhD with Dominique Gravel at University of Sherbrooke.
Julie Arrowsmith
MSc (2014 – 2016) – Julie worked on the maintenance of regional diversity in Odonates. Specifically, she is interested in how habitat associations might mediate the relative importance of stochastic and deterministic processes in driving among-community variation in species composition.
BSc
Jake Harvey
BSc Honours (2020-2021) – Jake worked in collaboration between our lab and that of Eric Pedersen to elucidate the drivers of ecological and evolutionary specialization in host-parasites
Maggie Blondeau (CUSR Award)
BSc Honours (2019-2021) – Maggie studied the relationship between odonate immune response and rates of parasitism, as well as how those dynamics play out along broad-scale environmental gradients
Tania Groleau (Mitacs Award)
BSc Honours (2019-2020) – Tania worked in collaboration between our lab and that of Eric Pedersen to uncover phenotypic adaptations of dragonflies and damselflies permitting life in cold climates
Holly Thaler-Soppit (Berti Farag award for best thesis in Arts and Sciences)
BSc Honours (2019-2020) – Holly studied the broad-scale latitudinal variation of functional traits between ant castes across the Americas
Kelly MacDonald (CUSR Award)
BSc Honours (2018-2019) – Kelly studied the effects of fish predation on the community structure and size distribution of dragonfly larvae. She is now an MSc student with Shawn Leroux at Memorial University
Daniella LoScerbo (NSERC USRA)
BSc Honours (2016-2017) – Daniella studied the effects of mite parasitism on odonate community structure
Sean-Anthony Di Paolo
BSc (2012 – 2016) – Sean asked whether spatial variation in the community structure of odonate adults can be predicted by that of larvae
Victoria Pompa
BSc Honours (2012 – 2016) – Victoria was interested in comparing the functional diversity of endomycorrhizal fungi on native and invasive Maple trees.