Dr. Zoë Lindo - Professor 

Dr. Zoë Lindo is an expert in soil biodiversity and ecosystem function.  They have worked extensively in Canadian forests including the mixed-wood boreal of Alberta, the subarctic taiga of Quebec, the coastal temperate rainforest of British Columbia, and the black spruce / peatlands of Ontario.  In their spare time, Dr. Lindo discovers and describes new species of soil arthropods.

The overall focus of my research aims to mitigate biodiversity loss in association with anthropogenic environmental change and maintain ecosystem functioning in Canadian forest and soil ecosystems. I describe myself as a biodiversity scientist to encompass the breadth of my research in the areas of community ecology, soil ecology, and taxonomy.

 Students, Postdocs, and Research Assistants

  Holly Deighton – Ph.D. student (since 2021)

I received my B.Sc. in Biology from Western in 2017 and my M.Sc. in Environmental and Life Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Shaun Watmough from Trent University in 2020. For my master’s thesis I studied the effects of wood ash application on temperate forest soils, soil water leachate and vegetation. Since 2020, I have worked remotely as a forest research intern for the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry in the Forest Research and Monitoring Section (FMRS). Since joining FRMS, I have contributed to several projects in both the boreal and mixedwoods programs, specifically looking at the effects of release treatments in jack pine plantations and how aspen regenerate in small forest openings over time. In fall 2021 I will leave FRMS and begin my Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Zoë Lindo, where I will explore the effects of soil texture and litter decomposition on soil organic C sequestration in three boreal forest sites in Ontario.

Trevor Pettit – M.Sc. student (since 2021)

I was first introduced to soil ecology as an undergraduate student of Dr. Lindo (2020-2021), when I sought to model soil carbon sequestration in a boreal peatland system under a suite of model scenarios. Since graduating last spring, I had my first experience with fieldwork, working in boreal peatlands soils; I am excited to synergize these experiences as a part of my MSc, starting in the fall of 2021. I am interested in modelling warming-related changes in soil carbon sequestration for individuals of varying trophic levels, and comparing the subsequent effects on total soil carbon sequestration in bacterial and fungal energy channels.

Welcome to our summer '22 Research Assistants: Sam Hopkins and Devdutt Kamath.

Three new M.Sc. students will be starting Fall 2022!

Lab Alumni

Postdoctoral Fellows, Postdoctoral Assistants and Visiting students

Dr. Robert Buchkowski - 2019-2021

Katy Faulkner - 2021 Visiting Mitacs Ph.D. student

Dr. Mari Könönen - 2019-2020

Dr. Laurent Rousseau - 2018-2019

Dr. Asma Asemaninejad - 2017-2018

Ph.D.

Matthew Meehan - Ph.D. (2018-2022)  Thesis: From individuals to communities: the effect of climate change on ectothermic predators

Carlos Barreto - Ph.D. (2016-2021) Thesis: Diversity and drivers of oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) in boreal peatlands

Asma Asemaninejad - Ph.D. (2013-2016 co-supervised with R.G. Thorn)  Thesis:  The impacts of climate change on communities of fungi in boreal peatlands

Catherine Dieleman - Ph.D. (2012-2016 co-supervised with B. Branfireun)  Thesis: Ecosystem level effects of climate change on northern peatlands

M.Sc.

Madelaine Anderson - M.Sc. (2018-2020)  Thesis: Foliage type controls mercury input, storage and release in the Boreal forest

Grace Carscallen - M.Sc. (2018-2019)  Thesis: Arthropod diversity in contrasting Ontario peatlands

Caitlyn Lyons - M.Sc. (2017-2019)  Thesis: Above- and belowground community linkages in boreal peatlands and climate warming implications

Jordan Kustec - M.Sc. (2017-2018)  Thesis: Top-down and bottom-up effects on Collembola communities in soil food webs

Julia Palozzi - M.Sc. (2015-2017)  Thesis: Peatland plant-soil feedbacks dictate ecosystem properties and processes

Rachel Chambers - M.Sc. (2015-2017)  Thesis: The influence of adjacent forest and agriculture on restored grassland diversity and composition

Rosa Del Giudice - M.Sc. (2014-2016)  Thesis: Decomposition dynamics under climate change conditions in boreal peat

Paul George - M.Sc. (2013-2014)  Thesis: A comparison of community compositional analyses for the assessment of responses to wood-ash soil amendment by free-living nematodes

Matthew Turnbull - M.Sc. (2012-2014)  Thesis: The effects of global climate change on Canadian Boreal forest Collembola communities

Danielle Griffith - M.Sc. (2012-2014)  Thesis: Exploring climate change factors on nitrogen fixation and growth in the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme

Rachel Darvill - M.Sc. (2012-2014)  Thesis: Comparing and mapping ecosystem service use across interest groups in the Peace River Valley

B.Sc. Honour's

Eileen Reinke – Honour's B.Sc. student (2021-2022)  Thesis: The interactive effects of acute temperature change and prey body size on ectotherm predator feeding behaviour and rate

Trevor Pettit – Honour's B.Sc. student (2020-2021)  Thesis:Modeling soil carbon cycling in boreal peatlands under future climate warming  

Shae-Lynn Dehens – Honour's B.Sc. student (2020-2021)  Thesis: Comparing vegetation survey methods for peatland communities under warming

Divya Ramachandra - B.Sc Honour's (2019-2020)  Thesis: Predation rate in Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Womersley) (Acari: Mesostigmata) in response to short-term acclimation

Aejah Blesch - B.Sc Honour's (2020)  Thesis: Assessing boreal peatland invertebrates (Diptera and Araneae) for mercury contamination

Emily Purvis - B.Sc. Honor's (2018-2019)  Thesis: Agricultural field margins as bumblebee (Bombus spp., Hymenoptera; Apidea) habitat in Southwestern Ontario

Devdutt Kamath - B.Sc. Honor's (2017-2018)  Thesis: Nematode functional diversity in contrasting boreal peatland sites

Nicole Pepe - B.Sc. Honor's (2016-2017)  Thesis: The effects of poly(ethyl)glyoxylate on microbial activity

Shauna Taylor - B.Sc. Honor's (2014-2015)  Thesis: The interactive role of edge effects and habitat quality in maintaining biodiversity

Matthew Meehan - B.Sc. Honor's (2014-2015)  Thesis: The effect of patch configuration disturbance for the recolonisation of mesofauna

Margaret Sawatzky - B.Sc. Honor's (2013-2014)  Thesis: Looking past the trees: The ecological significance of moss-associated cyanobacteria in response to climate change

Jamie Fraser - B.Sc. Honor's (2012-2013)   Thesis: Does functional diversity matter? Evaluating community responses of Collembola after Cd contamination and phytoremediation