Kelly has TWO new papers from her master’s research at the University of Georgia published!  These papers include “Long-term comparison of invertebrate communities in a blackwater river reveals taxon-specific biomass change” (Murrary-Stoker et al. 2023) published in Freshwater Biology and “A lack of evidence that interactions among aquatic invertebrates are controlling assemblage structure in long-hydroperiod freshwater wetlands” (Riley et al. 2023) published in Fundamental and Applied Limnology with her undergraduate mentee as 1st author.

Great work Kelly!

I’m very excited to say that the paper “Breaking down the components of the competition‐colonization trade‐off: new insights into its role in diverse systems” (Ferzoco & McCauley) has been accepted by the Journal of Animal Ecology.  This paper explores how the competition-colonization trade-off has been tested and how more carefully defining what we’re measuring in terms of competitive dominance, and more explicitly considering the mode of dispersal, will improve our ability to make generalizations about the role of c-c trade-offs in facilitating species co-existence.  Congratulations Ilia on this exciting new paper.

UTM undergraduates interested in gaining research experience in ecology should consider applying for ROPs.  Here are a few affiliated with my lab that are available for summer 2022:  McCauley lab_2022_ROPs

Interested students should visit this site to apply

It was a tremendous pleasure to work with BMC student Brittany Cheung who created this video on highlighting some of the negative effects of road salt on aquatic ecosystems.  Fantastic work Brittany!

Kelly was recently interviewed by Rob Snowhite who hosts the podcast “Fly Fishing Consultant” about caddisflies and her community science project – The Caddisfly Collective.  Take a listen!

Rosemary Martin’s paper, “Risks for overwintering eggs of dragonfly Sympetrum vicinum in aquatic and terrestrial environments” has been accepted at the journal Hydrobiologia!  Female S. vicinum have been observed laying in both the water and in sediments near the water’s edge, with a single female often alternating between the two habitats as she lays a single clutch. Why they lay in both environments has not been clear but results from this paper suggest that this may occur because they are balancing risks that each environment poses to these eggs.  Exciting work and well done Rosie!

Kelly Murray-Stoker has received three grants/awards this year!  She has been awarded funding from the Centre for Urban Environments to support her citizen science research on how urbanization affects caddisflies communities in different bio-regions across North America. She has also received awards from the Toronto Entomologists’ Association and from the Entomological Society of Canada, both to facilitate travel related to her research.  This support is incredibly meaningful as these are independent grants that Kelly was able to obtain and which help support her exciting research initiatives!  Well done Kelly!

I have been slow to update this page lately but we have a lot of good news to share!

1. A new paper out of the lab!  This paper published in the International Journal of Odonatology and spearheaded by former undergraduate Lais Leite and former graduate student Sarah French followed the arrival of dragonflies at our experimental ponds.
2. Two highly successful appraisal exams in summer 2021!  Kelly Murray-Stoker and Ilia Maria Ferzoco both completed their appraisals and advanced to PhD candidacy this summer.  They both have ambitious and exciting research plans ahead!  Congratulations!
3. We have a new student who will be joining the lab in September!  Bianca Marcellino who completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph will be starting her MSc in the lab this fall and we’re all excited to have her join us.
4. There’s probably more that I am forgetting, but you know it’s been quite a year 🙂
5. Oh yeah – I remember!  Dr. Rosalind Murray, formerly a PDF in the McCauley and Rowe labs, is now an Assistant Professor in Biology at UTM (graduate appointment in EEB).  So exciting!

During her PhD Celina Baines spent time doing research with Dr. Justin Travis and Dr. Greta Bocedi at the University of Aberdeen.  Her first publication from this work has been accepted at the journal Evolution.  This paper “Negative density-dependent dispersal emerges from the joint evolution of density- and body condition-dependent dispersal strategies” uses individual based modeling to examine how density and body condition affect the evolution of alternative dispersal strategies.  Great work Celina!