Profiles

Filter by:

Limit to profiles where the name matches:
Limit to profiles where the type is one or more of:
Select All

Andrii Kramarenko

MSc. Student

I earned my bachelor's and first master's degrees in Environmental Studies from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine, where I worked in the field of bioremediation. Russia's invasion interrupted my studies, and I served in the Ukrainian army for eight months. After my service, I joined the Waterloo Wetland Lab as a Summer Field Technician through a student exchange program supported by Mitacs. After an intense summer of fieldwork, I decided to pursue a second master's degree in the laboratory, and I am currently a graduate student at the University of Waterloo, working under the supervision of Dr. Rebecca Rooney. My research focuses on the dynamics of changes in wetland forage value for key waterfowl species following the removal of invasive Phragmites australis from Ramsar-designated wetlands and internationally recognized birding sites at Long Point and Big Creek National Wildlife Areas on the northern shore of Lake Erie. Invasive Phragmites australis poses a significant threat to waterfowl habitats by displacing native plant species and altering the availability of high-quality forage, as its increasing dominance in the ecosystem impacts the composition of waterfowl diets. My work aims to assess these changes to inform wetland restoration and conservation strategies.

Claire Schon

PhD. Candidate - she/her

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.

Émilie Montreuil Strub

PhD Candidate - she/her

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.

Gab Izma

PhD. Candidate - they/them

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.

Hayden Epp

MSc. Student - he/they

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.

Jersey Fontz

PhD. Candidate - she/her

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.

Josh Pickering

PhD. Student - he/him

Josh Pickering is a community ecologist interested in spatio-temporal trends and trophic interactions influencing bird communities. His current research focuses on evaluating long-term trends and response of breeding birds to adaptive white-tailed deer management at Long Point, Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada, following a prolonged period of deer overabundance.

It is well-known that overabundant white-tailed deer populations in North America have significant and often detrimental effects on ecosystems, yet few studies have examined the recovery of ecological communities - especially a breeding bird community - after a period of deer overabundance. It is the goal of this research to; assess trends in breeding bird species over time, evaluate community responses to changes in vegetation, local climate, and regional bird populations, and analyze regional differences to inform bird conservation efforts in Ontario.

This research at the University of Waterloo is supported by Birds Canada, Mitacs, an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), and a President's Graduate Scholarship.

Liahm Ruest

MSc. Student - they/them

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.

Megan Jordan

Research Technician - she/her
I completed my Master's degree in the Waterloo Wetland Lab from 2020-2022, focusing on the impacts of water levels on native wetland plant restoration following herbicide application in Lake Erie Coatsal Wetlands. I am now working behind the scenes on many projects in the lab, helping everyting run smoothly.

Rachel McNamee

PhD. Candidate

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.

Ashlyn DeBoer

Senior Honours Thesis Student

Ashlyn is a fourth year Environmental Science student at UW. This summer she worked as a co-op student on the Meadoway project studying the interaction between adult butterflies and native plant species in meadow and turf sites. Now as a Senior Honours Thesis Student, her thesis is on how survey methods differ in terms of their resulting abundance and richness of butterfly-plant interactions. Ashlyn will be joining the lab as a Master's student in the summer of 2025.

Ryan Graham

Field Technician - he/him

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.

Robyn Larkin

Co-op Student

I’m a third-year undergraduate in Environment, Resources and Sustainability returning to the lab as a co-op student. My work in the lab focuses on supporting our projects through benthic invertebrate identification, soil core processing, microplastic counts, and general maintenance with lab cleanliness and plant care. In my studies, I often focus on exploring topics such as water quality, eutrophication, biodiversity loss and invasive species from a combined socio-ecological perspective. I’m excited to be back at the lab and look forward to experiencing the field season with the team!

Molly Lu

Senior Honours Thesis Student

Molly is a BIOL 499 (Undergraduate Honours Thesis) student studying the effects of urban restoration practice on the butterfly population and community in the Meadoway. She has completed a summer field season assisting with butterfly-plant interaction as well as working alongside Toronto and Region Authority Conservation Authority (TRCA) on butterfly and caterpillar surveys. Her work largely consists of analyzing historical survey data, and she is presenting these results at the 2024 Ontario Entomology Society Annual Meeting. 

Lilhac Medina

Postdoctoral Fellow - she/her

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.

Kiernan Phillips

Senior Honours Thesis Student

As a fourth-year ERS student, my research project focuses on the highly invasive wetland grass Phragmites australis subsp. australis and its impacts on aquatic ecosystems. I’m particularly focused on comparing seed-cleaning methods to better understand the plant's reproductive potential. My project involves a combination of fieldwork and lab-based experiments, aiming to refine techniques for studying seed biomass, viability, and quantity. Beyond this specific research, I’m also interested in the broader applications of restoration ecology, particularly in the use of native Phragmites species for wetland recovery and sustainable surface water management.

Jennifer Zhou

Senior Honours Thesis Student

I’m a fourth-year Environmental Science student, and my project is focused on larval Chironomidae (non-biting midges) and their role in the incorporation of microplastics into the sediment of a lake in the IISD-Experimental Lakes Area.