Dr. Zoë Lindo - Full 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 2026, Dr. Lindo became Scientific Director of the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative.  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 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. From 2020-2021, I worked as a Forest Research Intern and Project Biologist for the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry in the Forest Research and Monitoring Section, where I contributed to several projects in both the boreal and mixedwood forestry programs. I began my PhD in the fall of 2021, where I seek to understand the drivers of SOM decomposition, formation, and stabilization in managed boreal forests, specifically looking at both abiotic and biotic processes that regulate microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE). I hope this research will improve microbial-biogeochemical models by providing accurate estimates of CUE to predict how soil texture and silviculture impact microbial activities such as soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition and, ultimately, the stabilization of carbon in the boreal forest.

Pedro Henrique Conceição – M.Sc. student (since 2022) - transfer to Ph.D (Jan. 2024)

Mites are amazing; I find this out five years ago when a beetle full of phoretic mesostigs mites landed on my breakfast table.  Since then I have worked extensively with the diversity of soil mites in caves in the state of Minas Gerias- Brazil.  In the acarology laboratory of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), I worked directly in the curatorship of the taxonomic collection, identification and description of new species of mites, and in the production of support materials such as identification keys.

Mites never fail to pique my curiosity and desire to learn more about life on earth! This fall (Sept/2022) I joined the Lindo Lab team for my Master's degree under the guidance of Dr. Zoë Lindo where I seek in the ecological approach to expand the knowledge about predator/prey relationships and distribution patterns of acarofauna in Canadian peatlands.

Harun Ali - Visiting B.Sc. Research student (Fall 2026)

I am an Environmental Law student with a multifaceted approach to climate advocacy, bridging the gap between scientific research and actionable environmental policy. My current research explores the "Effects of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) Strategies on Soil Organic Carbon and Microbial Respiration in Kenya and Canada." Drawing from my previous leadership experience as President of the General Assembly for the Kenya Model United Nations and my work within the Nairobi City County Government's climate sector, I am passionate about leveraging cross-cultural insights to drive sustainable environmental solutions and clean energy transitions.

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.

Emelie Obi - M.Sc. (2022-2024) Thesis: Effects of experimental warming and reduced moisture on oribatid mite communities in boreal peatlands

Samantha Hopkins - M.Sc. (2022-2024) Thesis: Experimental warming and its effects on Sphagnum traits and community composition in boreal peatlands

Cristina Turcu - M.Sc. (2022-2024) Thesis: Microbial community response to experimental warming in boreal peatlands

Trevor Pettit - M.Sc. (2021-2023)  Thesis: Changes in peatland soil fauna biomass alter food web structure and function under warming and hydrological changes

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

Jay Ing – Honour's B.Sc. student (2025-2026)  Thesis: Habitat specificity of predatory mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) in peatland bogs

Emily Laver-Shareski – Honour's B.Sc. student (2024-2025)  Thesis: Initial temperature matters: The contrasting effects of climate warming on microarthropod predator-prey interactions in two Ontario systems

Paige Ferguson – Honour's B.Sc. student (2023-2024)  Thesis: Disentangling the effect of temperature and moisture on boreal peatland microbial activity and function

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