Our Presenter:

Heather Kharouba is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Ottawa where she studies global change ecology.

The Presentation:

Dr. Kharouba’s work and the work of her colleagues has demonstrated that there have been widespread shifts in the timing of species interactions over recent decades due to climate change. However, it remains difficult to understand the consequences of those shifts for communities and ecosystems. Dr. Kharouba will give an overview of what these consequences may be and why it is difficult to predict the prevalence and magnitude of these consequences. She will also discuss how her lab is thinking about some of these issues for species of local interest like the monarch butterfly and the invasive species – the dog-strangling vine (Vincetoxicum rossicum).

Biography:

Heather Kharouba is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Ottawa where she studies global change ecology. She earned a BSc and MSc at Ottawa U. and a PhD at the University of British Columbia. She also completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of California at Davis. Dr. Kharouba’s current research focuses on how and why species are responding to climate change and what those responses mean for ecological communities, with a particular focus on plant-insect interactions. To learn more about the research at her lab, visit: kharoubalab.weebly.com.

Related article: 

Falling out of synch: plants, animals and climate change  KRuntz