Where Do New Species Come From?

Samantha Renshaw's research looks at determining the effectiveness of marine protected areas for elasmobranch species like sharks, skates and rays. These areas typically exclude fishing and boat travel, but we do not necessarily know how efficient these are at conserving the species within them. Did you know we had shark species off the east coast of Canada? Well Samy will tell you a whole lot about it. Growing up, Samy was a huge fan of shark week, but did not really see many female representation in shark science. Being a former basketball player, she did not shy away from the potential challenge it could be to pave her way in the field. But it would not take long for Samy to realize that she was not alone. During an undergraduate internship in South Africa, she met with a female Canadian scientist who was running the project and whose team was mainly composed of women. A similar situation also arose during a research project in the Bahamas. With the PhD being the next step for Samy, we are not done hearing about sharks and conservation.  If you would like to get in touch with Samy, send us an email at [email protected] Twitter: @SamSavesSharks

Peter Soroye is a PhD student looking at climate change, habitat loss and how both factors affect ecosystems around the globe. He primarily focuses on pollinators (i.e bees and butterflies) as model species. As a conservation biologist, he primarily asks a lot of ecological questions based on broad patterns and what we can do to mitigate the impacts of climate change and design protected areas and implement practices that would be more environmentally friendly for wildlife. As a nature enthusiast, Peter likes to go out with his DSLR camera and take pictures of different wildlife he bumps into. He is also quite active on social media and has many cool stories to share! He proudly considers himself a Lebron James bandwagonner and can talk for hours about rap, hip hop, and R&B music. If you would like to get in touch with Peter, send us a quick message at [email protected]. Twitter: @PeterSoroye

The main goal of Ève's research is to better understand how tree swallows choose their nest site, and to determine if the installation of nest boxes can lead to non-ideal habitat choice. Tree swallows are aerial insectivores who usually breed in secondary cavities (i.e. tree cavities excavated by another species). Because those cavities are quite rare, they readily use nest boxes, which is why we often install them as a conservation tool. Ève is a talented science communicator and artist. She recently completed her Master's degree and now spends lots of her time illustrating everyday ecological concepts using her quickly improving graphic design skills. Go visit her Facebook page (Ève Courtois - Illustration) or website (evecourtois.com) to see her most recent work. 

Anne-Sophie studies trophic interactions related to forest pest species with cyclical outbreaks. She more precisely looks at the Forest Tent Caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria), a pest species known to affect aspen and maple trees, among others. She is interested in the impacts that different sources of mortality have on Forest Tent Caterpillar colonies during and just after outbreaks. Her PhD aims to provide more information on what causes the crash of a population and what keeps it at low density. Anne-Sophie spends most of her free time doing science communication work with different organisations like 500 Women Scientists MTL, Symposium for Women Entering Ecology and Evolution Today (SWEEET), The Beagle from Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science (QCBS) and ComSciCon-QC.  Twitter: @AnneSoCaron If you would like to get in touch with Anne-Sophie Caron by any other means, feel free to message us at: [email protected]

Episode 12 of the Ecology Everywhere Podcast. This week we’re talking about Mendel’s Laws and killer genes. Nunez, M.A.B., Nuckolls, N.L., Zanders, S.E. (2018) Genetic Villains: Killer Meiotic Drivers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2018.02.003 Join the conversation at wildarun.com! Background soundscapes provided by the National Park Service.

Episode 11 of the Ecology Everywhere Podcast. This week we’re talking about life history strategies, domestication of dogs, and animal development. Geiger, M., Evin, A., Sanchez-Villagra, M.R., Gascho, D., Mainini, C., Zollikofer, C.P.E. (2017) Neomorphosis and heterochrony of skull shape in dog domestication. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12582-2 Join the conversation at wildarun.com! Background soundscapes provided by the National Park Service.

Episode 10 of the Ecology Everywhere Podcast. This week we’re talking about adaptive radiation and humans as a driver of speciation. Herrera, J.P. (2016) Testing the adaptive radiation hypothesis for the lemurs of Madagascar. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1098%2Frsos.161014 Join the conversation at wildarun.com! Background soundscapes provided by the National Park Service.

Episode 9 of the Ecology Podcast. This week we’re talking about how we define a species and how it impacts conservation. Zachos, F. E. (2014) Taxonomic inflation, the Phylogenetic Species Concept and lineages in the Tree of Life – a cautionary comment on species splitting. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jzs.12088 Join the conversation at wildarun.com! Background soundscapes provided by the National Park Service.

Episode 8 of the Ecology Everywhere Podcast. This week we’re talking about how life originated, artificial life forms, what’s worth conserving, and the possibility of life on other planets. Glade, N., Bastien, O., Ballet, P. (2017) Diversity and survival of artificial lifeforms under sedimentation and random motion. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12064-017-0254-1 Join the conversation at wildarun.com! Background soundscapes provided by the National Park Service.

Episode 7 of the Ecology Everywhere Podcast. This week we’re talking about the history of evolutionary theory and the debate between natural selection and group selection. Traulsen, A., Nowak, M.A., (2006) Evolution of cooperation by multilevel selection. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0602530103 Join the conversation at wildarun.com! Background soundscapes provided by the National Park Service.