Past Award Winners
CSEE EXCELLENCE IN DOCTORAL RESEARCH AWARD
2023
Jillian Dunic
Simon Fraser University
Seagrass as a model system: understanding multiple stressors
Takuji Usui
University of British Columbia
On the Origins of Coexisting Species (and the Curious Paradox of the Duckweed)
Alexander Hare
University of Guelph
What does the squirrel say: understanding the role of individual physiology in social information
Andrea Wishart
University of Saskatchewan
Oh look, a squirrel! Studying variation in resource acquisition by red squirrels, and other doctoral distractions
Laurence Feyten
Concordia University
Uncertainty of risk and information limitations shape neophobic responses in prey
2022
Tia Harrison
University of Toronto
Variation in mutualism: across invaded ranges, latitude, and genomes
Ariel Greiner
University of Toronto
Consequences of Multiple Stability and Connectivity in Coral Reef Ecosystems
Mason Stothart
University of Calgary
Selection and transmission of the feral hindgut fermenter microbiome
James Santangelo
University of Toronto
Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover
Allison Binley
Carleton University
TBD
2021
Chloé Schmidt
University of Manitoba
Linking population processes to biodiversity patterns
Peter Soroye
University of Ottawa
Climate change and land-use effects on bumblebees
Francisco Henao Diaz
University of British Columbia
Reconstructing the historical dynamics of lineage diversification, macroevolutionary features and scaling
Amber Gigi Hoi
University of Toronto
The place of vectors in vector-borne disease ecology and evolution
Mike LaForge
Memorial University
Migration, parturition, and forage selection in a changing world
2020
Anne McLeod
Memorial University
Food webs: a case for space
Sarah Amundrud
University of British Columbia
Drivers of species distributions and ecological communities
Ken Thompson
University of British Columbia
Patterns, predictors, and consequences of dominance in hybrids
Quinn Webber
Memorial University
Social behaviour in a spatial context: from individuals in groups to populations
Ruth Rivkin
University of Toronto
Effect of urbanization on species interactions
2019
Celina Baines
University of Toronto - Mississauga
Ecological determinants of social patterns
Kaylee Byers
University of British Columbia
Movement ecology of disease vectors
Angela Fuentes-Pardo
Dalhousie University
Conservation and evolutionary genetics
Melissa Guzman
University of British Columbia
Ecology and persistence of food webs
Julia Kreinern
University of Toronto - St George
Genomics of adaptation to herbicides and agriculture
2018
Carly Ziter
University of Wisconsin
Effects of landscape structure, historical land-use, and biodiversity on urban ecosystem services
Julia Kilgour
University of Guelph
The role of group composition and resource availability on selection for aggression
Danielle Claar
University of Victoria
Reslience and change: coral symbioses under stress
Rebekah Oomen
Dalhousie University
The spatial scale and molecular basis of variation in thermal response of Atlantic cod
2017
Tess Grainger
University of Toronto
Multi-scale responses to warming in an experimental metacommunity
Tiago Simões
University of Alberta
Reptile phylogeny and the origin and early radiation of lepidosaurs
Norah Brown
University of British Columbia
Altered competition under ocean acidification influences species but not community-level response to food supply
Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe
Université du Québec à Montréal
Leaf bacterial diversity mediates plant diversity-ecosystem function relationships
Evelyn Jensen
University of British Columbia Okanagan
Looking through the bottleneck: Genomic analysis of historical and contemporary population genetic variation in the Pinzon Island Galapagos tortoise
2016
Stilianos Louca
University of British Columbia
The ecology of microbial metabolic pathways
Diana Rennison
University of British Columbia
Survival in a cutthroat world: Estimating natural selection on armor phenotypes and genotypes in threespine stickleback
Rachel Germain
University of Toronto
The spatial structure of metacommunities: a multiscale decoupling of distance and environment
Kyle Artelle
Simon Fraser University
Ecology of Conflict: Bear-human conflict in British Columbia, and the role of science in wildlife management
Krista Oke
McGill University
(Non) Parallel evolution in fishes: investigating potential drivers of non-parallelism in stickleback and salmon
EARLY CAREER RESEARCHER AWARD
2023
** Quinn Webber**
University of Guelph
Understanding biodiversity and ecosystem services across urban landscapes
** Rebekah Oomen**
University of Oslo
Towards genomic forecasting of species responses to environmental change
2022
** Joey Bernhardt**
University of Guelph
Predicting biological responses to environmental change at multiple scales
** Laura Melissa Guzman**
University of Southern California
Development of metacommunity theory & trophic food webs
2021
** Tess Grainger**
UBC
** Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe**
Université de Sherbrooke
Challenges of microbial ecology
2020
** Diana Rennison**
University of California San Diego
Uncovering the genetic and ecological underpinnings of parallel adaptation Link to award talk: https://youtu.be/iw7b1ygux2g
** Kiyoko Gotanda**
University of Cambridge
Humans influence on adaptation on the Galapagos islands Link to award talk: https://youtu.be/gnIoLX2SwgA
2019
** Anna Hargreaves**
McGill University
Local adaptation, biotic interactions, and species’ range limits
** Stilianos Louca**
University of Oregon
Microbial ecology and evolution, a field’s coming of age
2018
** Patrick Thompson**
University of British Columbia
Dispersal and the maintenance of biodiversity, ecosystem function, and food web structure in a changing world
** Stephen De Lisle**
Lund University
Origins of diversity in sexual organisms
2017
Emily Darling
University of Toronto, Canada and Wildlife Conservation Society Canada
Integrating climate risk and refuge into data-driven portfolios of protected areas
Sean Anderson
University of Washington
Data-driven approaches to quantifying population status and extremes
2016
Njal Rollinson
University of Toronto
Maternal effects and the evolution of body size
Isla Myers-Smith
University of Edinburgh
Data-driven approaches to quantifying population status and extremes
PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE
2023
**Stephen Wright**
University of Toronto
Adaptation and maladaptation in plant genomes
2021
** Lenore Fahrig**
Carleton University
Are weak dispersers more vulnerable than strong dispersers to land use intensification? Proc. R. Soc. B. 290: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0909
2019
** Marie-Josée Fortin**
University of Toronto
Network ecology in dynamic landscapes Proc. R. Soc. B. 288: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1889
2017
** Sarah Otto**
University of British Columbia
Adaptation, speciation and extinction in the Anthropocene Proc. R. Soc. B.285: 20182047 http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.2047
2015
** Graham Bell**
McGill University
Experimental macroevolution. Proc. R. Soc. B 283: 20152547. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.2547
2013
** Pierre Legendre**
Université de Montréal
Statistical methods for temporal and space–time analysis of community composition data. Proc. R. Soc. B 281:20132728., http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2728
2011
** David W. Schindler**
University of Alberta
The dilemma of controlling cultural eutrophication of lakes. Proc. R. Soc. B. 2012 279 1746 4322-4333, doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.1032
2009
Charles J. Krebs
University of British Columbia
Of lemmings and snowshoe hares: the ecology of northern Canada. Proc. R. Soc. B. 2010 278:481-489, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.1992
PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR SOCIETAL ENGAGEMENT
2022
John Reynolds
SFU
Community Science and Species at Risk
2020
Justina Ray
Wildlife Conservation Society Canada
Galvanizing transformative change to address the Biodiversity Crisis: The Essential Role of Scientists
PRESENTATION AWARDS
2019
Faye Manning
Award: First place oral presentation
An experimental assessment of freshwater diatom dispersal via waterfowl feathers.
Chelsey Paquette
Award: Second place oral presentation
Investigating individual and environmental determinants of parasitism in a wild eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) population
Kathern Standen
Award: Third place oral presentation (tie)
Environmental Drivers of Plant Community Composition and Function Across a Boreal Productivity Gradient
Charlotte de Keyzer
Award: Third place oral presentation (tie)
Spatiotemporal variability in bloom period supports greater bee diversity in cities
Regan Cross
Award: New Phytologist Prize
Long-term persistence of a species beyond its natural range
Carling Bieg
Award: Computational Biosciences Prize
Multiple stressors and alternate states in coral reefs
Aleksandra Dolezal
Award: First place poster
Habitat-based drivers of arthropod abundance and richness in an intensively farmed agricultural landscape
Samuel Deakin
Award: Second place poster
Development and validation of a high density SNP array for genomic studies of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep
2018
Jalina Bielaska Da Silva
Award: First place oral presentation
Genetic mechanisms of aggressive sperm-mediated gametic isolation in Caenorhabditis nematodes
Quentin Kerr
Award: Second place oral presentation
Temporal stability of genomic differentiation between seasonal spawning components in Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus)
Frances Stewart
Award: Third place oral presentation
Protected area networks are only as valuable as the working landscapes they conserve
Samuel Deakin
Award: First place poster presentation
Spatial genetic population structure of Alberta’s bighorn sheep
Katie Birchard
Award: Second place poster presentation
Circadian gene variation with latitude and breeding season in allochronic populations of two pelagic seabird species complexes
Jamie Bain
Award: Third place poster presentation
The effects of agricultural intensity on stream metabolism
2017
Sean Goodwin
Simon Fraser University
Award: Student presentation award
Reduced growth in wild juvenile sockeye salmon infected with sea lice
Shannon Meadley Dunphy
University of Toronto
Award: Student presentation award
Population genetics and invasion history of the invasive European fire ant, Myrmica rubra, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Kathryn Andersony
University of British Columbia
Award: Student presentation award
Calcified herbivore loss may disproportionately drive responses to ocean acidification in natural communities
Samuel Starko
University of British Columbia
Award: Best poster award
Allometric scaling in kelps: Size-dependent patterns, covariation, and the importance of habitat
Joseph Burant
University of Guelph
Award: Best poster award
Exploratory behaviour in red knots: A tale of ontogeny
2016
Rebecca Batstone
University of Toronto
Award: Oral presentation (tied first place)
Root foraging and mutualism-stabilizing traits in the model legume Medicago truncatula
Kira Hoffman
University of Victoria
Award: Oral presentation (tied first place)
A human-driven and climate-influenced fire regime over the past seven centuries in a coastal temperate rainforest, British Columbia, Canada
Ruth Rivkin
University of Toronto Mississauga
Award: Oral presentation (tied first place)
The role of sexual system and latitude on insect herbivory rates in Sagittaria latifolia (Alismataceae)
Hayley Alloway
Memorial University
Award: Poster presentation First Place
Physiological evidence for alternative reproductive strategies in men
Jesse Hoage
Laurentian University
Award: Poster presentation Second Place
Developing a metabarcoding strategy for soil mesofaunal communities to monitor the ecological impacts of intensified biomass harvesting in forestry
2015
Patrick Thompson
McGill
Award: Talk 1st prize
Anatomy of the collapse and onset of recovery in the North Atlantic groundfish community
Matthew Osmonde
UBC
Award: Talk 2nd prize
Crossing fitness-valleys without the help of Mendel: extending theory
Mallory Van Wyngaarden
Memorial University
Award: Talk 3rd prize - tie
Population connectivity and environmental drivers of adaptation in the sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus
Carly Graham
University of Regina
Award: Talk 3rd prize - tie
How degraded is too degraded? The effects of DNA quality on RADSeq in molecular ecology
Zoryana Shibel
University of New Brunswick
Award: Poster 1st prize
Synergistic and additive effects of water stress and clipping on S. altissima and S.gigantea
Marion Sinclair-Waters
Dalhousie University
Award: Poster 2nd prize
Genomic tools for the management of a marine protected area in coastal Labrador: the Gilbert Bay Atlantic Cod MPA
2014
Anna Hargreaves
Queen’s University
Award: Talk 1st prize (tie) ($500)
What range-edge population dynamics reveal about current and future range limits
Sarah Neima
Mount Allison University
Award: Talk 1st prize ($500)
Radiotelemetry of migrating Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) reveals new information on movement patterns, duration of stay and habitat use in the upper Bay of Fundy
Gina Conte
University of British Columbia
Award: Talk 2nd prize ($300)
How predictable are the genetics of adaptation?
Brock Harpur
York University
Award: Talk 3rd prize ($200)
Recognizing the signs of balancing selection in the honey bee genome
Josée-Anne Otis
Trent University
Award: Poster 1st prize (tie) ($500)
Ecological niche differentiation along the genetic gradient by hybridization of eastern wolf and coyote in Northeastern America
Sarah Loboda
McGill University
Award: Poster 2nd prize ($300)
Ecological and evolutionary responses of arctic flies to recent climate change at Zackenberg, Greenland
Gareth Hopkins
Utah State University
Award: Poster 3rd prize ($200)
Tidal newts: evolution in a stressful environment
2013
Dan Bock
University of British Columbia
Award: Poster Presentation 1st place
The Jerusalem artichoke – neither from Jerusalem nor an artichoke
Caroline Franklin
St. Mary’s University
Award: Poster Presentation 2nd place
Effects of moose browsing on vegetation patterns at spruce budworm-induced forest edges
Jillian Dunic
University of Victoria
Award: Poster Presentation 3rd place
Size matters? Gape size-body size relationships in coral reef fish communities
Robert Serrouya
University of Alberta
Award: Oral Presentation 1st place
Reversing apparent competition using a broad-scale manipulation
Barbara Frei
McGill University
Award: Oral Presentation 2nd place
The early bird gets the competition: Invasive species lowers breeding success of a threatened woodpecker
Holly Caravan
Memorial University
Award: Oral Presentation 3rd place
Social insect soldiers double up as medics
2012
Nathaniel Sharp
University of Toronto
Sexual selection can reduce mutation load in Drosophila melanogaster
Njal Rollinson
Dalhousie University
A key component of the physical environment drives the evolution of maternal reproductive strategies in Atlantic salmon
Aleeza Gerstein
University of British Columbia
Evolve or die: A characterization of adaptive mutations in yeast
Alexandre Martin
Université de Sherbrooke
Age-Dependent Effect of Testosterone on Social Rank in Bighorn Rams (Ovis canadensis)
Katherine Ostevik
University of British Columbia
Speciation, Sunflowers and Sand Dunes: Reproductive barriers between dune and non-dune ecotypes of Helianthus petiolaris
Anna Simonsen
University of Toronto
Evidence for ecological benefits of cheating symbiotic soil microbes in the face of insect herbivory
Ann McKellar
Queen’s University
Form, function, and consequences of density-dependence in a migratory bird
Emily Austen
University of Toronto
Flowering early or flowering big: which matters more for male and female fitness?