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Principle Investigator
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Dr J Scott MacIvor 
Assistant Professor​
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto St. George

Phone: 416-208-8191
Office: SY364 UTSC
email: scott(dot)macivor(at)utoronto.ca
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macivorlab.ca
@jscottmacivor


We are looking for differently skilled and highly-motivated people to join our lab. If interested, please contact us!

Post Doctoral Fellow
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Dr. Alessandro Filazzola

Alex is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for Urban Environments, working with local conservation authorities to support urban biodiversity. He is broadly interested in the effects of extreme climate events on ecosystems.  He is trained as a community ecologist, but frequently uses data science techniques to answer questions to protect and promote biological conservation. 


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PhDs
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​Charlotte de Keyzer co-supervised by Dr. James Thomson

My PhD research focuses on plant-pollinator interactions and understanding how these interactions, especially plant-pollinator phenologies, are altered by urbanization and climate change. I combine diverse methods to answer my research questions, including manipulative experiments in controlled environment chambers, advanced statistical modelling, and city-wide field observations through a network of citizen scientists. 

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Website
Google scholar
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​Nicholas Sookhan
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Urbanization is often linked to the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF). But urban areas are spatially heterogeneous and therefore may support BEF. My thesis explores how the amount and configuration of semi-natural habitat relates to pollinator diversity and service in urban areas. I’m also interested in the application of LiDAR data and UAV imagery to quantifying pollinator habitat quality in urban and peri-urban areas.

Linkedin
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​Garland Xie
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Cities are hotspots for biological invasions, where non-native species degrade native biodiversity and ecosystem services. Urban green spaces in cities benefit people, but also act as a source (or sink) for invasive species. My thesis explores how invasive plants can establish and spread within and across a mosaic of different urban green spaces. I also get to try out new quantitative tools since I'm a big fan of data analysis :).

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​Github

Google scholar

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Adriano Roberto co-supervised by Dr. Marney Isaac
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Fertile crop land is being lost by growing urban spaces, and with the implementation of green infrastructure becoming central to urban policy, green roofs are a great way to recover that lost land. My thesis explores the effects of environmental stressors on plant diversity, resource facilitation and productivity of food crops on extensive green roofs. Outside of academia I enjoy gardening, hiking and rock climbing.
 
Google scholar


Masters ~~
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Madison Marshall

Urban areas are heterogeneous landscapes, challenging the persistence of local biodiversity. Bees and wasps are central place foragers, relying on resources in the local landscape to build their nests and provision their offspring. My thesis investigates how the urban landscape affects cavity-nesting bee and wasp community diversity and foraging behaviour. You can find me in your neighbour’s backyard, engaging them in community science and taking lots of photos of bees!

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Sisley Irwin

Wild bees benefit from local-scale habitat creation in urban green spaces and this is important because they are critical pollinators that visit native plants and contribute to food security.  My thesis explores wild pollinator communities in The Meadoway, a 16 km  Hydro-Corridor in Toronto. I work closely with the TRCA to develop plant-pollinator interaction networks in order to rank plants used in restoration and understand the role of management practices and urbanization in shaping communities. 

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Andrew Nichols co-supervised with Dr. Marney Isaac

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Thesis: 'Plant-Microbe Diversity and Drought Stress on Extensive Green Roofs' 


Undergraduate Honours Thesis Students ​(2019-2020) 
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​Krishan Sivanathan

Traditional techniques used to measure pollen deposition require the removal of a flower's stigma, which causes the inability to draw a direct comparison between pollen deposition and reproductive success. My thesis explores how "stigmagraphs" and macrophotography can be used to quantify pollen deposition without the removal of the stigma and determine whether Lobelia siphilitica is pollen limited in a semi-natural urban green space. I enjoy working with others in the field and listening to music!


Current Research Technicians
Antonio Lorenzo
​Shannon Underwood
Tim Lee

Alumni
Defended!!

​MSc
 (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology)
2018-2020      Julie Wang

Masters of Applied Environmental Science
2020      Carolyn Thickett (Current: BEEc at YorkU)
2019       Miranda Klymiuk
2018       Galila Wondwessen
2017        Vickie Do


​Undergraduate honours thesis (BSc)
2019-2020      Shannon Underwood
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2018-2019       Waqqas Khalid (Current: M Anth, UTSC)
                          Zhuo Wei (Current: MStat UofT)
                          Stephen Grabinsky (Current: NSERC USRA)
                          Praveen Jayarajan

​2017-2018        Bruce Malloch (Current: PhD., Western)
                          Antonio Lorenzo (Current: MSc., UofT)
                          Chet Greene
                          Inkar Artygalina *UTSC top undergraduate award 
                          Kabir Plahay
                          Mandy Yuen

2016-2017        Menilek Beyene (Current: PhD., UTSC)
                          Vicky Nguyen (Current: Architecture)
                          Caroline Mitchell

2015-2016        Anushree Bhatt
​                          Shameek Das
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