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Fall 2017

Redmond, Laura E

Concern is increasing over the future cumulative impacts of multiple stressors on freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem function, especially in alpine environments where climatic warming increases with elevation. Here, consideration of individual species traits enables translation of changes in...

Fall 2012

Blanchet, Guillaume

Understanding the factors influencing the distribution of species is one of the main goals of ecology. This thesis presents three contributions to better and more efficiently understand the factors defining the composition of ecological communities. First, I studied the impact of anthropogenic...

Fall 2014

Morissette, Julienne

Canada’s boreal forest is the breeding ground for some 288 species of resident and migratory birds. Approximately 65% of the species that are currently of highest conservation priority in the boreal region are associated with wetlands and riparian areas. Although estimates vary with scale and...

Spring 2020

Peers, Michael JL

Ecologists are under increasing pressure to predict the influence of climate change on species demography along with the broader impacts on community and ecosystem structure. Predicting community responses to climate change, however, is a formidable challenge, that can be ameliorated by...

Spring 2014

Mayor, Stephen J

The worldwide biodiversity crisis has intensified the need to better understand how biodiversity and human disturbance are related. Yet this relationship lacks both consensus in theoretical expectations and consistency in observed empirical patterns. I present one of the largest extent studies...

Spring 2018

Rheubottom, Sarah

Climate change will continue to affect the Arctic more intensely than other biomes. These changes can have dramatic effects on biotic interactions that influence the functioning of these systems, including plant-herbivore interactions. Invertebrate herbivores strongly depend on external...

Fall 2010

Clason, Alana

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is declining across its range due to disturbances such as mountain pine beetle and white pine blister rust. In this thesis, I assess the response and vulnerability of whitebark pine ecosystems to multiple stressors and disturbances at the northern edge of...

Spring 2017

Kirby, William A

Alberta law requires reclamation of lands disturbed by surface mining operations, such as those occurring at the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, however, reclamation rates lag far behind continued disturbance rates. Due to cost, mining companies must make use of the materials on site, of which the...

Fall 2011

Myers-Smith, Isla H.

With a warming climate, northern ecosystems will face significant ecological changes such as permafrost thaw, increased frequency of forest fires, and shifting ecosystem boundaries including the spread of canopy-forming shrubs into tundra communities. A growing number of observations show...

Fall 2010

Crisfield, Varina

Alpine tundra is notorious for its fragility and slow recovery following disturbance. Tourism is increasing in alpine areas, creating the need to improve our understanding of the impacts of recreation in these ecosystems. This study examined the impacts of hiking and off-highway vehicle use on...