Applied Conservation Ecology Lab - UofA

04/05/2026

Congratulations to Alexa MacDonald for successfully defending her MSc!

Alexa’s work examined the differentials between free-air temperature and ground-layer temperature in alpine habitats. She found localized temperatures experienced by alpine plants differed from free-air temperatures, and spatial differences in microclimate can affect alpine plant diversity. And her thesis was nominated for a distinguished thesis award!

Congrats Alexa!

17/04/2026

Congratulations to the newly minted Dr. Garrett Rawleigh!

Garrett worked with the Ronald Lake wood bison herd to better understand patterns and drivers of habitat selection within their home range. He found that their key winter forage source, awned sedge, was reliant on fluctuating hydrology across multiple years, and that bison showed spatial memory when accessing patches of known high quality sedge.

Congrats Garrett!

🦬🦬

18/12/2025

Lots of new papers in the lab this fall!

Leonardo examined the composite effects of human disturbance and fire on the spread of non-native plants in the oil-sands region. He found that seismic lines facilitate the spread of non-native plants into forests. But when combined with wildfires, establishment of non-native plants on lines is reduced, suggesting natural disturbances like fire may enhance forest resilience.

For more info, read the full paper here:

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article/21/12/20250369/364696/Composite-effects-of-fire-and-seismic-lines-reduce?searchresult=1

18/12/2025

New paper!!

For her undergrad thesis, Kate examined the tree rings of black spruce trees to determine how well they were regenerating on seismic lines.

She found that black spruce regenerated at the same rate regardless of peatland type, and that radial growth rates increased on recently burned sites.

Publishing an undergraduate thesis is a huge accomplishment! Congrats Kate!

Read the full paper here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112725009454

12/12/2025

New paper!!

Former ACE Lab MSc student Alex found that peatlands can help buffer the effects of post-fire drought conditions. Trees adjacent to peatlands regenerated more successfully due to groundwater connections. Neat!

Alex’s paper was also chosen as November’s Editor’s Choice paper in Canadian Journal of Forest Research. Great job Alex!

Link to full paper:

https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10.1139/cjfr-2024-0312

27/11/2025

Our work on old growth forest refugia in BC was covered by Folio!

Check it out:

U of A researchers have developed a new tool that can help preserve old forests in British Columbia by focusing conservation efforts on areas predicted to be stable in the face of climate change.

27/11/2025

New paper!!

MSc student Alexa examined the effects of wind speed and solar radiation on microclimates in alpine environments, and found sites are highly decoupled from free-air temperature. Her work helps us better understand how microtopography impacts microclimate, allowing for more accurate predictions of temperature change on alpine communities!

Read the full paper here:

Recent studies suggest that local topography drives spatial patterns in near-surface microclimates of the alpine that scale with patterns in alpine plants. We compared summer daytime surface temperat...

03/10/2025

New paper alert!

PhD student Molly examined the risk of black bear predation on bison in the neonatal range of the Ronald Lake bison herd. She found that bear diet consisted mostly of fruiting and herbaceous plants, suggesting that bears in the area are not feeding on young bison, despite an overlap in occurrence.

For more information, read the full paper here:

https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72161

28/08/2025

Another new paper!

PhD Candidate Colleen Sutheimer examined tree regeneration on seismic lines in peatlands, uplands, and transition zones. She compared regeneration rates after single and successive disturbances, and found that fire as a secondary disturbance resulted in an increase in tree regeneration.

Read the full paper here:
https://doi.org/10.3390/f16081333

28/08/2025

New paper!

We predicted regions of British Columbia where old growth forests are likely to persist, and the probability these regions will serve as climate refugia. We also assessed how well BC's current protected areas overlap with these projected refugia.

Check out the full paper here:
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70373

18/07/2025

Congratulations to Danique Boissonneault on a successful MSc defence!

Her work on the effect of edge habitat on upland forest structure and composition has interesting implications for forest management practices and forest monitoring!

Great job Danique!