Graduate Defences

Sean Neave - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• February 25
• Effects of turbulence on fertilization success and embryo development: Insights from quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis)

Matthew Orton - PhD Bioinformatics Defence

• January 23
• Advancing Automated Taxonomic Classification Methods for COI Barcode Data

Reilly O'Connor - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• January 15
• Biostructure and Stability Across Scales in Changing Ecological Systems

Nathan Zeinstra - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• December 17
• Using eDNA to Detect Native Lamprey Species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and Upper St. Lawrence River Basins

Jennifer Claus - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• December 12
• Home is Where the Bugs Are: Effects of Permethrin on Nest-Dwelling Arthropod Community Composition in Galapagos Finch Nests

Coleman Olenick - MSc Bioinformatics Defence

• December 11
• SacTrace: an Interpretable Architecture for Assessing Contributions of Saccade Trajectories to Fixation Prediction

Nida Ansari - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• November 27
• Learning in Context: A Transdisciplinary, Systems-Level Understanding of Contextualized Skill Development in Higher Education

Charlotte Ward - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• November 18
• Resilient and Rewired Food Webs in an Era of Rapid Global Change

Corinne Jackson - MSc Bioinformatics Defence

• October 3
• Predicting Biofilm Formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Using Machine Learning

Andrew McCarthy - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• September 5
• Their Youth, Our Future: investigating the impacts of climate, landscape, and diet on the fecundity of cavity-nesting bees and wasps across Canada

Julia Mellary - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• September 4
• Exploring the Relationship Between Undergraduate Students’ Achievement Goal Orientations and Their Use of Generative AI

Liam Wilson - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• September 3
• Arthropod Appetizers: Using DNA Metabarcoding to Assess the Arthropod Diet of Neotropical Hummingbirds

Eleanore Lebeuf-Taylor - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• August 13
• Much Ado About the Microbiome: Sociality and Gut Microbial Communities in Wild Vertebrates

Jacob Hambly - MSc Bioinformatics Defence

• August 11
• Developing a high throughput in silico screening pipeline for the discovery of novel antifungals

Sarah Mueller - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• August 7
• From Nest to Recruitment: Understanding Juvenile Ecology and Population Dynamics in Savannah Sparrows

Lindsey Kitchenham - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• July 23
• Environmentally Induced Stereotypic Behaviours in Laboratory Mice: Normal Animals in Abnormal Environments? Or Pathology?

Alexandre Loureiro - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• July 21
• Thermal Ecology of Hyperdiverse Taxa in Environments Characterized by Abiotic Variability

Travis Banks - PhD Bioinformatics Defence

• July 18
• Construction, Characterization, and Application of an 8-Parent Magic Population in Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum L.)

Kyle Madden - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• June 18
• Relationships between energy reserves, thermal tolerance, and the transcriptional response to acute thermal stress in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) 

Sharon (Xueqi) Wang - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• May 27
• From Individuals to Ecosystems: Bridging Theory with Empirical Research in Emerging Scientific Fields and Global Challenges

Danielle Nowosad - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• May 12
• Indigenous-driven monitoring of Arctic invertebrates: DNA barcoding, climate change & vector risks

Sophia Stoltz - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• May 9
• Genetic Diversity and it's Implications for Evolutionary Rescue of the Endangered American Chestnut

Shay Forget - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• May 8
• Treatment-Resistant Stereotypic Behaviours in Laboratory Mice (Mus musculus): Investigating Causes and Behavioural Correlates

Suma Bala Dabi - MSc Bioinformatics Defence

• May 1
• Analysis of gene expression variation among wheat cultivars gives insights into duplicate gene diversification in polyploids

Katherine Tieman - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• April 23
• Non-canonical thyroid hormone signaling in sea urchin skeletogenesis

Brett Pauli - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• April 22
• Context-Dependency in Environmental Drivers of Coral Reef Benthic Communities in the Caribbean

Michael Dube - PhD Bioinformatics Defence

• April 15
• Epidemics, Proteins, and Evolution: Searching Solution Spaces with the Self-Driving Automaton Representation

Thanuja Fernando - PhD Bioinformatics Defence

• April 14
• Exploring Evolutionary Relationships of Ray-finned Fishes Through a Nested Tree-Building Approach

Reanna Moore - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• April 11
• Evaluating the potential for vascular and non-vascular co-planting to promote boreal plant establishment on mine-impacted substrates

Michelle Polley - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• April 11
• Advancing Reintroduction Practices for an Endangered Butterfly, the Mottled Duskywing (Erynnis Maritalis)

Jessica Castellanos-Labarcena - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• April 10
• A multidimensional and multiscale approach to understanding insect biodiversity

Aleksandra Dolezal - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• March 21
• What regulates insect pests and predators in agricultural landscapes?

Brett Culbert - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• March 5
• Osmoregulatory Contributions of the Corticotropin-Releasing Factor System in Salmonid Fishes

Kayley Head - MSc Integrative Biology Defence

• February 28
• Finding topeka: A methodological comparison of species-specific qPCR and metabarcoding for eDNA detection of the endangered Topeka shiner (Notropis topeka)

Abir El Guweidi - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• February 28
• Ribosomal DNA variation and recombination in natural populations and mutation accumulation lines of Daphnia

Leah Turner - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• February 14
• Transcriptomic and physiological responses to abiotic stressors in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Jessica Schultz - PhD Integrative Biology Defence

• January 6
• Towards a DNA-based monitoring approach for nearshore benthic invertebrates

Arya Horon's MSc Defence

• Dec. 11 from 1 to 4 p.m.
• Do Caribou Surf? An Empirical Test of the Green Wave Hypothesis for Woodland Caribou in Ontario, Canada
• Advisors: Dr. Nicholas Bernier and Dr. John Fryxell

Emma Mably's MSc Defence

• Dec. 10 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Squirrels and the City: Exploring the development of the gut-brain axis via maternal effects in response to urbanization in wild eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis)
• Advisor: Dr. Mehrdad Hajibabaei

Maysa Niazy's PhD Bioinformatics Defence

• Dec. 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Statistical Methods for High-Dimensional Complex Data with Application for Microbiome Studies
• Advisor: Dr. Steffen Graether

Kendra Gardner's MSc Defence 

• Dec. 6 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Assessing Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) Diets in Canadian Sea Cages Using Morphological and DNA Metabarcoding Analyses
• Advisor: Dr. Tess Grainger

Juni Rechter's MSc Defence

• Dec. 4
• Improving the domain generalisation of camera trap image classifiers using inserted animal cutouts

Teya Mathews' MSc Defence

• Dec. 4
• The effect of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on ectoparasitism in big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) maternity colonies.

Hayley Spina's PhD Defence

• Dec. 3
• Causes and Consequences of Double-Brooding in 
Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus Sandwichensis)

Laura Dutheil's MSc Defence

• Nov. 28
• Taxonomic resolution and the implementation of molecular methods for benthic invertebrate identifications in bioassessment

Ben Schultz' PhD Defence

• Nov. 25
• Disentangling the hybridization dynamics between Chrosomus eos, the northern redbelly dace, and Chrosomus neogaeus, the finescale dace

Amanda Semenuk's MSc Defence

• Nov. 15
• Nature's Pitfall Trap: Are salamanders integrated by carnivorous plants in a nutrient-poor bog ecosystem

Jelany Duali's MSc Defence

• Aug. 22
• Range-wide post- and pre-breeding migratory networks of a declining Neotropical-Nearctic migratory bird, the blackpoll warbler

Annika Wilcox's MSc Defence

• Aug. 16
• Limiting Factors of Restored Agricultural Wetlands for Migratory Birds

Christopher Farrow's PhD Defence

• Aug. 15
• Determining the dominant biological and hydrodynamic factors affecting passive dispersal in rivers

Amanda Whitehead's MSc Defence

• Aug. 8
• Nutrient Addition does not Strengthen Selection for Extended Floral Longevity in Response to Simulated Pollinator Decline in Lobelia siphilitica

Eric Bonk's MSc Defence

• July 25
• Assessment of Fish Communities in Small Streams Adjacent to Agricultural Activity from a Community Level Perspective

Carolyn Trombley's PhD Defence

• May 15
• Wrongfully Accused? Investigating the Role of an Invader in a Native Fish Species Decline

Josip Rudar's PhD Bioinformatics Defence

• April 30
• Applying Multivariate Decision Trees to Visualize, Select Features, and Gain Insights into Biodiversity Genomics Datasets

Jianfei Shao's PhD Defence

• April 29
• Experimental studies on the effects of soil nutrients, AM fungi and drought on the evolution of root morphology and function

Pria Mahabir's PhD Defence

• April 29
• Environmental and ecological factors, but not agricultural activity, are associated with brain form in a wild stream fish