Welcome

We study the causes and consequences of biodiversity change. Several key questions motivate what we do:
  • How fast  is biodiversity changing: where and why?
  • How does biodiversity change impact ecosystems?
  • What are the costs and benefits to human society, and what can we do to prevent irreversible loss of biodiversity?
With the support of the Liber Ero Chair in Biodiversity Conservation we translate this research into knowledge for conservation and policy in Canada. We are particularly focused on the restoration of ecological connectivity in human-dominated landscapes. 

We recently started a spin-off company (Eco2Urb) that is applying our science to the design of ecological networks for cities, like Montreal.

I also support collaboration and training in biodiversity science via the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, a large research network of 120 researchers and ~500 graduate students, we founded in 2009.
Lab News
On twitter @bio_diverse
  • August: Andy participated in an NSERC workshop to scope the need for a Canada Biodiversity Observation Network.
  • June: Andy gave a talk on biodiversity change in the Bacon and Eggheads series of the Partnership Group for Science and Engineering in Ottawa.
  • Congratulations to Alex Arkilanian for completing his MSc!
Recent papers:
Hebert, MP., et al. (2021) Widespread agrochemicals differentially affect zooplankton biomass and community structure. Ecological Applications (online)
Akira, S.M., Dee, LE, Gonzalez, A. et al. (2021) Biodiversity-productivity relationships are key to nature-based solutions. Nature Climate Change (online)
Loreau, M., et al. (2021) Biodiversity as insurance: from concept to measurement and application. Biological Reviews (online version) openaccess
van Moorsel, S. (2021) Prior exposure to stress allows the maintenance of an ecosystem cycle following severe acidification. Oikos (in press)