Julie Messier (She/Her/Elle)

Dr. Julie Messier is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology whose research is centered around the themes of plant trait integration and variation, plant performance, trade-offs, plant function, community assembly and climate change.

Messier studies the causes (i.e., the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms) and consequences (on plant performance and community diversity) of trait variation and integration across biological scales (from within individuals to among communities). An empiricist, she uses observational and experimental studies (field and lab) to uncover general principles governing patterns of phenotypic diversity. Study systems range from model plants like Arabidopsis thaliana to temperate understory perennial plants to tree seedlings, saplings and adults. A central goal of her program is to determine how traits constrain or enable plant performance under changing environmental conditions. For example, a recently published study on black spruce examined how trait combinations predict performance under warm, dry conditions. Other aspects of her research program examine trait covariation patterns.

Messier’s research has significant impact at a time of accelerating climate change. By linking trait variation to performance under climate stress, her work provides a predictive basis for identifying species and populations likely to persist under future conditions. This contributes to evidence-based decisions in biodiversity conservation, reforestation and urban forestry, supporting the development of resilient ecosystems in the face of climate change.

• Plant ecology

• Trait-based ecology / functional ecology

• Ecophysiology

• Community ecology

• Climate change

• Urban forestry

• Christmas tree farming

• Ecology and environmental biology

• 2015, PhD Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, United States

• 2009, MSc Ecology, McGill University, Canada

• 2005, BSc Biology/Ecology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

• 2018, National Science & Engineering Research Council (NSERC) – Postdoctoral Fellowship

• 2017, Ecology Letters & Ecological Society of America - Outstanding Publication award

• 2016, 2017, Quebec Center for Biodiversity Sciences - Excellence Awards

• 2016 – 2017, Fond Québécois Nature et Technologies (FQRNT) - Postdoctoral Fellowship

• 2015, U. of Arizona EEB department - Robert W. Hoshaw Memorial Scholarship

• 2014, 2015, U. of Arizona College of Science - Galileo Circle Fellowship

• 2014, Embassy of France in the U.S.A – STEM Chateaubriand Fellowship

• 2014, McGill University - Delta Upsilon Memorial Scholarship (2014)

• 2012, 2013, 2014, U. of Arizona Institute of the Environment & GPSC - Travel Award

• 2009 – 2010, Organization for American Studies (OAS) - Academic Studies Scholarship

• 2009 – 2011, NSERC - Canada Graduate Scholarship PhD

• 2009 – 2010, FQRNT - PhD Scholarship (2011 Declined)

• 2008, FQRNT - MSc Scholarship

• 2007 – 2008, NSERC - Canada Graduate Scholarship MSc

• 2026 – Present, Biology Executive Committee (Member)

• 2025 – Present, 2026 World Biodiversity Forum, Symposium Co-organizer

• 2024 – Present, Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution (CSEE), Head of Newsletter Committee; Head of EDI Committee; Elected Council Member

• 2024, R. Trejo. Doctoral Dissertation Defense, University de Montreal (Qc), External Examiner

• 2024, Austrian Science Fund (FWF), External Grant Reviewer

• 2023, A. Catling. Doctoral Dissertation Defense, University of Queensland (Australia), External Examiner

• 2022 – Present, Faculty of Environment Council, Science Representative

• 2022 – 2026, Biology Graduate Studies Committee (Member)

• 2022 – 2023, Biology Graduate Scholarship Committee (Member)

• 2021, UW Faculty Orientation – “Building Your Career”

• 2019 – Present, EcoEvo Journal Club (cross-departmental, graduate & undergraduate), University of Waterloo

• 2019 – Present, Graduate Supervisory Committee – 7 MSc; 6 PhDs (Member)

• 2019 – 2022, NSERC Selection Committee (Ecology & Evolution; PDF & PGS-D) (Member)

• 2019 – 2022, Biology Seminar Committee (Co-organizer)

• 2019 – 2020, Chair Renewal / Nomination Committee (Member)

• 2018 – 2019, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (Journal), Guest Associate Editor

• 2016 – 2018, Gordon Research Seminar – Unifying Ecology Across Scales, Chair

• 2010 – Present, Ecology, Ecology Letters, Folia Geobotanica, Functional, Ecology, Global Ecology and Biogeography, Nature, Nature Communications, New Phytologist, Oecologia, Oikos, PLOS ONE, Tree physiology (Peer Reviewer)

• Associate member, Centre for Forest Research, Québec

• Interdisciplinary Center for Climate Change (IC3) University of Waterloo

• Water Institute, University of Waterloo

• Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution (CSEE), Canada

• Ecological Society of America (ESA), USA

• British Ecological Society (BES), England

• Canadian Society for Plant Biologists (CSPB), Canada

• North American Plant Phenotyping Network (NAPPN)

• International Association for Wood Anatomists (IAWA)

• 2024 – Present, Université du Québec en Outaouais. Habilitation à la co-supervision / Adjunct appointement

• BIOL 352 - Populations and Communities
  • Taught in 2026
• BIOL 359 - Evolution 1: Mechanisms
  • Taught in 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025
• BIOL 451 - Advanced Ecology and Evolution
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• For the full list of Julie Messier’s publications, please see Google Scholar.

• Messier J †, S Henry †, CM Caruso, N Isabel, P Lenz, B Marquis, WC Parker and I Aubin. (2025). Selection for fewer, water- and carbon-conservative needles in black spruce trees under warm, dry climates. Annals of Botany. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaf332; † co-first author, equal contribution; * supervised student

• Messier J, A Becker-Scarpitta, Y Li, C Violle & M Vellend. (2024). Plant species and community changes over 40 years of warming are associated with biomass allocation and root traits. Ecology 105(10): e4389. 7 citations https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4389

• Aragon L, J Messier 1,3,4,5,6, N Atuesta-Escobar & E Lasso. 2023. Tropical shrubs living in an extreme environment show convergent ecological strategies but divergent ecophysiological strategies. Annals of Botany. 131(3): 491-502. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcad002

• Higham, TE, LA Ferry, L Schmitz, DJ Irschick, S Starko, PSL Anderson, PJ Bergmann, HA Jamniczky, LR Monteiro, D Navon, J Messier 1,5, E Carrington, SC Farina, KL Feilich, LP Hernandez, MA Johnson, SM Kawano, CJ Law, SJ Longo, CH Martin, PT Martone, A Rico-Guevara, SE Santana & KJ Niklas. (2021). Linking ecomechanical models and functional traits to understand phenotypic diversity. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 36(9): 860-873. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2021.05.009

• Messier, J, C Violle, BJ Enquist, MJ Lechowicz & BJ McGill. (2018). Similarities and differences in intrapopulation trait integration of trees: consistent hydraulic relationships amidst widely different integration patterns. American Journal of Botany. 105(9): 1477–1490. https://www.doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1146

• Laughlin D & J Messier. 2015. Fitness of multidimensional phenotypes in dynamic adaptive landscapes. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 30(8): 487–496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2015.06.003

• Messier et al. 2024 was Featured on Waterloo News, Radio-Canada’s Dans La Mosaique radio show and Le Devoir newspaper article*
• Messier et al. 2018 was featured in the American Journal of Botany September 2018 Highlights *
• This paper (Messier J, MJ Lechowicz B, J McGill, C Violle, & BJ Enquist. 2017. Interspecific integration of trait dimensions at local scales: the plant phenotype as an integrated network. Journal of Ecology, 105(6): 1775-1790.) was Featured as a video podcast on the Journal of Ecology blog *
• Télé Franco-Ontarienne (TFO). TV interview for International Day of Women in Science.