MSc. Candidate, Department of Biology

Birthplace: Ontario, Canada

B.E.S.: University of Waterloo

Co-supervisor: Ann McKellar

Project: Impact of land-use and climate change on shorebird populations at interior staging sites

Shorebirds are experiencing steep population declines due to habitat destruction and climate change. Wetlands and saline lakes in the prairie pothole region (PPR) provide stopover and breeding habitat to many shorebird species, but this region has historically received less focus than coastal stopover sites. The goal of my project is to better understand population trends at known stopover sites in relation to land-use changes in the PPR of Saskatchewan. This project involves surveying shorebirds at lakes throughout Saskatchewan during spring and fall migrations.