Earth's Ecosystems in a time of Global Change: Six Ecologists discuss challenges and solutions.  Watch this video of six panelists from the two CIEE-CESAB working groups 'FISHGLOB' and 'REDBIO' discussing Earth's ecosystems in a time of global change.  The panelists include Bastien Mérigot (Montpellier University), Nicolas Loeuille (Sorbonne Université), Shawn Leroux (Memorial University of Newfoundland), William Cheung (University of BC), Nancy Shackell (Bedford Institute of Oceanography), and Isabelle Gounand (Sorbonne Université), moderated by CIEE-ICEE Director Diane Srivastava. This event was sponsored by the Embassy of France in Vancouver, the University of British Columbia, CIEE-ICEE and FRB-CESAB.  Watch here.

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Does participation in working groups catalyze the academic impact of researchers?  A new NSERC-funded study by CIEE and UBC Sociology discovers that working group participation accelerates the H-index of researchers. However, female researchers benefit less than their male counterparts despite similar rates of participation. These results provide a strong rationale for funding synthesis centres, but suggest that synthesis centres must also enact equity, diversity and inclusiveness policies beyond simple participation requirements. Full report here.

Funded Working Groups for 2025:

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Assembling and synthesizing data to predict the distribution and diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi across Canada
​
Jason Pither - University of British Columbia - Okanagan
Justine Karst  - University of Alberta

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Genetic consequences of extreme climate-related events and the implications for management under global change 

Julie A. Lee-Yaw - University of Ottawa
Ailene MacPherson - Simon Fraser University
Arne Mooers - Simon Fraser University

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Understanding how temporal variation in dispersal facilitates rapid range expansion

Graydon Gillies - Memorial University of Newfoundland 
Mia Akbar - University of Toronto
Carissa Brown - Memorial University of Newfoundland ​

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Fooδ-webs in the Anthropocene : a stable isotope synthesis to understand the global response of freshwater ecosystems

Marie-Josée Fortin - University of Toronto
Project led by Julien Cucherousset (CNRS), Michelle Jackson (Oxford), and Julian Olden (University of Washington)
Co-organized by FRB-CESAB 
Sponsored by the French Embassy in Canada 

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Previously Funded Working Groups:

2008-2013

Title

Year

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An interim scientific assessment of the present and projected effectiveness of the Canadian Species at Risk Act

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The Future of Scientific Field Research Stations in Canada

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Predicting Ecological Change:
Multi-Scale Analysis of Plankton Diversity and Dynamics

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Thermal scaling and body size: the next frontier in climate change ecological theory

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2008

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2010

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2011

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2013

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Organizers

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Arne Mooers (SFU), Dan Doak (U of Wyoming) and David M. Green (McGill)

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Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde (Laurentian Univ), Frank Phelan (Queen’s Univ), Mark Forbes (Carleton Univ), Art Weis (U of Toronto)

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Jeremy Fox (U of Calgary), Andrew Gonzales (McGill U), Bill Nelson (Queen’s U)

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Mary I. O’Connor (UBC), Hamish Greig (U. Canterbury), Benjamin Gilbert (U of Toronto)

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2014

Title

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The terra incognita of community ecology: understanding continental-scale variation of ecological networks 2014

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Forecasting groundfish biodiversity change in the Newfoundland shelf

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Canada’s phylogenetic diversity in a changing world

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Organizers

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Timothée Poisot (U de Montreal) and Dominique Gravel (Sherbrooke)

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Fred Guichard, Andrew Gonzalez, Patrick Thompson and Eric Pedersen (McGill University)

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Jana Vamosi (U. of Calgary), Jeremy Kerr (U. of Ottawa)

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2015

Title

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Understanding recent biodiversity change across spatial and temporal scales

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Adaptation versus maladaptation in response to environmental change

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Organizers

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Mary I. O’Connor (UBC); Andrew Gonzalez (McGill U); Jon Chase (iDiv, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Germany); Mark Vellend (Sherbrooke U)

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Andrew Hendry(McGill University); Rowan Barrett (McGill University); Alison Derry (Université du Québec à Montréal); Gregor Fussmann (McGill University)

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2016

Title

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Canadian protected areas in a changing climate:
A cross-ecosystem approach to designing effective networks of protected areas

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Genomic data in ecology, evolution and conservation:
the impacts of missing data in genotyping-by-sequencing datasets

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Diversity and structure of coastal eelgrass communities along environmental and human disturbance gradients

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Testing the conservation value of phylogenetic diversity Understanding recent biodiversity change across spatial and temporal scales.

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Organizers

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Cassidy C. D’Aloia (U of Toronto), Ilona R. Naujokaitis-Lewis (Environment Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, Carleton U)

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Jean-Sébastien Moore, Anne-Laure Ferchaud, Laura Benestan, Louis Bernatchez (Université Laval) and Thierry Gosselin (Independent consultant)

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Julia K. Baum and Josephine C. Iacarella (University of Victoria)

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Arne Mooers (SFU) and Caroline Tucker (U of North California)

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2017

Title

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Determining marine hotspots in Arctic Canada using tracking data from multiple species

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The evolution of microbial metabolic and genomic diversity at multiple scales

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Functional response of understory plants to climate, soil and disturbance regimes across Canadian boreal forest ecosystems

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Organizers

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Mark Mallory (Acadia), Marie Auger-Méthé (Dalhousie) and David Yurkowski (Manitoba). 

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Stilianos Louca, Dr. Laura Parfrey and Dr. Michael Doebeli from the University of British Columbia

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Alison Munson (Laval), Bright Kumordzi (Laval) and Isabelle Aubin (Canadian Forest Service)

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2018

Title

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Data and theory synthesis to resolve the effects of evolution on the predictability of range expansion

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Canadian aquatic ecosystems under threat: A meta-ecosystem approach to the protection of aquatic diversity and ecosystem services

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Incorporating phenotypic variation of thermal tolerance to improve projections of climate responses in Canada

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organizers

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Jennifer Williams (UBC), Tom Miller (RiceU)

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Éric Harvey (U of Toronto), Marie-Josée Fortin (U of Toronto)

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Jennifer Sunday (McGill University)

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2019

Title

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Responses of freshwater zooplankton to road salt pollution: A global perspective

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Forecasting boreal vegetation dynamics: Understory plants, state changes, and biome shifts 

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How does life deal with uncertainty in fluctuating environments?

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organizers

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Shelley Arnott (Queen's), 
Bill Hintz (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)

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Steven Cumming  (Laval), Josie Hughes (Carleton), Stephen Mayor, (Ontario Forest Research Institute), Jennifer Baltzer (Wilfred Laurier)

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Joey Bernhardt (UBC), Jennifer Sunday, (McGill), Mary O'Connor (UBC), Andrew Gonzalez (McGill)

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2020

title

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Creating a unified approach to evaluate regime shift detection methods

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Vulnerabilities of Canadian wetlands in a Changing Climate

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Forecasting in the Anthropocene: Addressing uncertainty in complex-systems using theory, modelling and applied science
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RED-BIO - Dynamic resource  landscapes, eco-evolutionary feedbacks ​and the emergence of meta-food webs

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FISHGLOB -Fish biodiversity under global change – a worldwide assessment from scientific trawl surveys
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Synthesizing fifty years of ecological change in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence

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GrassSyn - Biodiversity of Brazilian grasslands and savannas: patterns and drivers, ecosystem services, and strategies for conservation and restoration ​

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organizers

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Eric Pedersen (Concordia University), Jessica Burnett  (United States Geological Survey, Denver),
Gavin Simpson (U of Regina), Christie Bahlai (Kent State University)

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Courtney Robichaud (U of Waterloo), Scott Davidson (U of Waterloo), Rebecca Rooney (U of Waterloo), Maria Strack (U of Waterloo)
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Korryn Bodner (U of Toronto), Carina Rauen Firkowski (U of Toronto), Marie-Josée Fortin (U of Toronto
​
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Eric Harvey (Université de Montréal), 
Isabelle Gounand (Institut d’écologie et des sciences de l’environnement de Paris)
Co-organized by FRB-CESAB
Sponsored in part by Consulate General of France in Vancouver and UBC

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Maria Lourdes D Palomares (UBC),
Bastien Merigot  (Université de Montpellier)
Co-organized by FRB-CESAB
Sponsored in part by Consulate General of France in Vancouver and UBC

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Nicolas Rolland (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), Guillaume Blanchet (Université de Sherbrooke)
This working group has ten graduate student participants selected competitively, as well as two established researchers (above) who will lead the group. Co-organized by Bios2, an NSERC-CREATE program.
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Madhur Anand (U of Guelph), Milena Rosenfield (U of Guelph) 
Project led by Gerhard Ernst Overbeck and co-funded by SinBiose, the Brazilian synthesis centre; CIEE funded the participants from Canadian universities (listed above).

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2021

Title

organizers

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Global distributions of native and exotic earthworms​

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Developing tools for the robust monitoring of human activity for effective management and species conservation in Canadian protected areas

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Determining fungal conservation targets in Canada 

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Assembling, predicting and refining a predator-prey metaweb for Canada

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Increasing diversity among early career grant recipients in ecology and evolution: a rubric to assess and support Canadian funding programs

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Erin Cameron (St. Mary's University), Helen Phillips  (St. Mary's University)

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Christopher Beirne (University of BC), Alys Granados (University of BC), Cole Burton (University of BC)
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Allison Walker (Acadia University), Alfredo Justo (New Brunswick Museum), Greg Thorn (Western University)
Gavin Kernaghan (Mount Saint Vincent University)

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Laura Pollock (McGill), Timothée Poisot (Université de Montréal)

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Catherine Sun (University of BC), Alys Granados (University of BC), Cole Burton (University of BC)
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2022

title

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Ecological Impacts of the 2021 Heat Dome 
​Symposium and Working Group

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Designing Canada’s Biodiversity Observation Network
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Species ranges, diversity and life history of Neotropical  birds

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Ecological Applications and Transfer of Fisheries Acoustic Technologies (eatFAT) 2.0

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organizers

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Working Group organization: Diane Srivastava (UBC)
Funding partners: UBC and Peter Wall Institute of Advanced Studies
Symposium organizers: Courtney Collins (UBC), Josef Garen (UBC), Margaret Slein (UBC), Diane Srivastava (UBC)

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Andrew Gonzalez (McGill University, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science )

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Jill Jankowski (University of BC), Jenny Muñoz (University of BC, Gustavo Londoño (Universidad Icesi)

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Dak de Kerckhove (Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry), 
Alexander Ross (Lakehead University), Michael Rennie (Lakehead University)

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2023

title

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The regional extent of genetic adaptation in Daphnia pulicaria to freshwater salinization
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Power and peril in multi-species monitoring programs
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Ecological consequences of diminishing winters

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FaunaServices: The relationship between soil macrofauna biodiversity and ecosystem services delivery across land use systems in neotropical rainforest biomes
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organizers

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​Shelley E. Arnott (Queen's University), Alison Derry   (Université du Québec à Montréal), Kathryn Cottingham (Dartmouth College)

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Easton White  (University of New Hampshire)
Joe Bennett (Carleton University)

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Emily Studd (Thompson Rivers University), Timothy Fernandes (University of Toronto Mississauga)
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Zoë Lindo (Western University)
Project led by Jérôme Mathieu (IEES-Paris) & Miguel Cooper (São Paulo U)
Co-organized by FRB-CESAB 
Sponsored by the French Embassy in Canada 

2024

Title

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Getting our Act together: a policy review to assess Indigenous participation into species listing decisions

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Operationalizing thermal tolerance to better predict species vulnerability to warming temperatures

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Quantifying uncertainty associated with forecasting species’ range shifts to climate change
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Blue Justice:  Supporting climate resilience through equitable ocean conservation ​

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IMPACTS: ​French biodiversity in the Anthropocene - impacts and drivers of spatial and temporal response

organizers

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Thaïs Bernos (Concordia University / Université Laval), 
Myrle Ballard  (University of Manitoba / Environment and Climate Change Canada), Nicholas Mandrak (University of Toronto Scarborough)

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Amanda Cicchino (University of Guelph), Joey Bernhardt  (University of Guelph)

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Heather Kharouba (University of Ottawa), Jennifer Williams (University of British Columbia)
​This working group is co-sponsored by UBC's Biodiversity Research Centre and CIEE.

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Suchinta Arif  (Dalhousie University)
Project led by Joachim Claudet (CNRS), David Gill (Duke), and Jessica Blythe (Brock)
Co-organized by FRB-CESAB 
Sponsored by the French Embassy in Canada 

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Adam Algar (Lakehead University)
Project led by Wilfried Thuiller (CNRS - Univ. Grenoble Alpes), and Franziska Schrodt (Univ. of Nottingham)        
Co-organized by FRB-CESAB 
Sponsored by the French Embassy in Canada