Profiles

I received my bachelor's in Environmental Studies from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine.
Now I am a participant in a research exchange program in Canada. 

I’m researching the impacts of beaver dams on wetlands in the Columbia Valley in BC, looking at how the presence of beaver dams and the characteristics of those dams affects the characteristics of wetlands and their use by migratory and breeding birds.

Invasive Phragmites australis is a threat to wetland biodiversity and integrity across North America. My project is investigating the use of insect-based biological control for suppression of invasive Phragmites australis using two stem-boring moths. My research is part of the broader pilot program in North America for the biological control of invasive P. australis.

Microplastics are one the most abundant forms of aquatic pollution in the world today, with studies indicating that every level of the food web interacts with this manmade contaminant. My research focuses on how freshwater invertebrates are affected by microplastics and how they, in turn, may affect microplastics in the environment.

Urban stormwater ponds can simultaneously harbour incredible biological diversity and heavy contaminant loads, but are largely neglected by water monitoring and ecological assessment efforts. My research will help to develop a new and biologically-relevant tool for detecting the presence and concentration of pollutants in stormwater using biofilm (a.k.a. microbial slime!) sampling across a gradient of urbanization.

In my research, I investigate the use of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) or “drones” as a method to apply herbicide to treat invasive Phragmites australis in wetland environments. My project uses a combination of field collected data and remote sensing techniques to assess the efficacy and accuracy of this application method.

I will be studying carbon storage and sequestration in The Meadoway, a restored meadow along a hydro corridor in Toronto. Specifically, I will be trying to determine the degree to which turfgrass-to-meadow restoration enhances carbon storage and sequestration. Before starting here as a student, I worked in the Waterloo Wetland Lab as a technician for most of the year after finishing my undergrad in Biology also at UW. Outside of this work, I enjoy birdwatching, reading, listening to music and playing board games among other things.

My project involves using trait-based ecology to promote the active restoration of Long Point wetlands after the removal of invasive Phragmites australis. I’m hoping to help the native seed bank by creating and adding seeding prescriptions onto them to bolster their natural biotic resistance against P. australis.

My current research focuses on the response of breeding bird communities during a period of adaptive white-tailed deer management following a prolonged period of overabundance at Long Point, in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada.

My project focuses on using eDNA metabardocing to better understand biodiversity in urban ecosystems. I focus on stormwater ponds and working with the Residential development Impact Scorecard for the Environment (RISE) to induce ecological best practices in urban developments.

I am investigating the fate and effects of microplastics on freshwater algae. My research involves intensive field work during the spring and summer months at the Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA), as part of a multi-disciplinary collaborative project known as PELAstics. Freshwater lakes are our greatest resources, yet they are currently inundated with plastic and microplastic pollution.

I am a third-year Environment, Resources and Sustainability student at UW. I love being out in the field collecting macroinvertebrates, identifying plants, and getting my hands dirty. I am excited to spend the summer in waders to support the Waterloo Wetland Lab team's ongoing research projects.

I am a fourth year Environmental Science student at UW. This summer I’m excited to be working on the Meadoway project studying the interaction between butterfly larvae and native plant species. I am also going to be studying the interaction between adult butterflies and native plant species, and I plan to use this data for my senior honours thesis. I am interested to see how butterfly presence in the Meadoway is altered by the bloom period of differing plants and seeing how many larvae I can find on a single plant!

My role as Research Technician is primarily to help support the numerous on-going projects across the Waterloo Wetland Lab. I have a range of experience in fieldwork environments and have participated in numerous research projects during my time in academia, with topics ranging from; invasive vegetation, soil, social sciences, water quality, benthic macroinvertebrates, fish, and freshwater mussels. I’ve worked in some beautiful environments across southern Ontario and can’t wait to explore more as a part of this team.

I am working on Meadoway conservation project focusing on plant-butterfly interaction. I look at past records and participate in this year’s field monitoring of butterfly population and their plant visitation pattern.

The Meadoway project is converting a Toronto hydro corridor from turfgrass to meadow to promote urban green spaces, increase biodiversity, and mitigate the effects of climate change. I am synthesizing the data collected from this project to develop a multi-criteria tool to identify other potential urban areas that can undergo a turfgrass-to-meadow conversion to support biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation on a national scale.