This year we are pleased to have four plenary speakers:
Dr. Barbara Rosemary Grant-Princeton University
Dr. Grant is interested in the diversity of individuals
produced by the interaction between genetics, ecology and behavior.
How natural selection acts on this variation; the evolutionary
response to natural selection and the bearing this has on the
process of speciation.
A fundamental problem in the study of evolution is to understand
the steps involved in the process of speciation, because the question
of how one species splits into two addresses the foundation of
the biodiversity we see around us today. Yet there is much controversy
about the process of speciation. Debates center around, the extent
of the role of genetic variation, past history and geography in
lineage divergence and the role of genetic variation, behavior
and learning as factors in the formation of reproductive barriers
to gene flow between closely related sympatric species, and whether
or not speciation can occur in sympatry.
Dr. Lynda Corkum-University of Windsor
Dr. Corkum studies the ecology of the bottom-dwelling exotic
Great Lakes fish, the round goby, Neogobius melanostomus. Her
research suggests that Neogobius, an aggressive multiple spawner,
is a threat to native fish species. The round goby eats the eggs
and fry of native species, resulting in a decline in the recruitment
of native fishes. The parent male round goby maintains and guards
a nest into which many females deposits eggs. The chemical communication
between male and female round gobies is crucial in controlling
their reproductive habits. In partnership with colleagues Dr.
Barbara Zielinski (University of Windsor), Dr. Weiming Li (Michigan
State University), and Dr. A.P. Scott (Centre for Enivironment,
Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Weymouth, UK), she is characterizing
the structure and function of a sex pheromone that guides female
round gobies to nests with parental males. The outcome of our
proposed research will eventually lead to a selective and benign
control of the round goby.
Dr. Ellie Prepas-Lakehead University
Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Water
Management and the Boreal Forest
Dr. Ellie Prepas is an internationally recognized expert on cyanobacterial
toxins, their occurrence and treatment options in lakes. Federal
and provincial governments are using her earlier work as a basis
for developing guidelines for use of water containing toxic phytoplankton
blooms for recreation and drinking.
Dr. Prepas focuses on the collection and organization of an appropriate
database on fresh water in the Boreal (northern) Forest and the
development of tools to link those data with current modelling
efforts for sustainable landscape or watershed management. The
intent is to develop strong linkages between surface water quality,
bioindicators and landscape management models.
The modelling approach to be used in the research will be integrated
into detailed forest management plans of forest companies over
the next five years
Dr. Marie-Josee Fortin-University of Toronto
Management decisions regarding conservation reserve
design are dependent on
our ability to characterize landscape spatial heterogeneity and
its effects
on species biodiversity and persistence. Understanding speciesspatial
habitat requirements in fragmented forested landscapes can increase
our
ability to maintain species biodiversity at the landscape scale.
Here, I
present a method of using spatial graph theory to identify a network
of
patches that maximizes habitat connectivity in multi-use forested
landscapes with a fixed conservation area budget. A case study
in a forest
management unit in Québec is presented to illustrate the
utility of
combining spatial graph measures with geomatic approaches to prioritize
patches for inclusion in a spatial reserve network.