معرفی
Frances Stewart is an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Northern Wildlife Biology at Wilfrid Laurier University's Faculty of Science, Department of Biology. She leads the WILDlab research group focusing on applied wildlife biology in northern regions through field projects, modeling, and community collaboration. She holds a PhD in Environmental Studies from the University of Victoria, and BScH and MSc degrees in Ecology from the University of Guelph.
Her research specializes in quantifying wildlife responses to landscape changes using camera trapping, ecological forecasting, and spatial modeling. Current projects investigate species co-occurrence, habitat selection, and biodiversity conservation in Canada's rapidly changing northern ecosystems, with emphasis on integrating Indigenous knowledge.
Publications (2019-2024) demonstrate strong focus on wildlife conservation, climate change impacts, and ecological modeling. Dominant themes include boreal caribou conservation, landscape connectivity, anthropogenic disturbance effects, and predictive ecology frameworks. Methodologically, her work combines field data with advanced statistical approaches to inform conservation decisions.
Awards and Honors:
- Canada Research Chair in Northern Wildlife Biology
- Wilburforce Leader in Conservation Science
- Canadian Society of Ecology and Evolution Conference Presentation Award (2018)
Advising and Grants:
- Supervises 2 postdoctoral fellows, 3 PhD candidates, and 4 MSc students
- Secured funding from NSERC, Weston Foundation, POLAR, and MITACS
- Emphasizes professional development through conference attendance and publication support
Lab and Team: Leads the WILDlab (Wildlife Integration for Land use Decisions Lab) with active field projects across northern Canada. The team collaborates with government agencies (Natural Resources Canada), Indigenous communities, and international researchers to address wildlife management challenges in changing northern ecosystems.
