Roberto Quinlan

Dr. Roberto Quinlan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at York University, part of the Faculty of Science. His primary research focuses on paleoecological analyses of aquatic ecosystems, particularly using subfossil midge remains to assess historical environmental changes. He specializes in limnology, Arctic lake systems, and the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic stressors on freshwater ecosystems. His work spans from the Laurentian Great Lakes to the Canadian Arctic, emphasizing long-term ecological datasets to understand ecosystem dynamics.

Dr. Quinlan’s research integrates paleolimnological methods with modern ecological monitoring, addressing questions about baseline environmental conditions, natural variability, and human-induced changes. He has advised numerous graduate students and supervised honors theses, focusing on topics like Arctic lake biodiversity, hypolimnetic oxygen dynamics, and the effects of contaminants. His lab (Quinlan Lab) is active in field studies across diverse aquatic environments.

Key research areas include:

• Climate-driven shifts in Arctic and boreal lake ecosystems
• Quantitative inference models for hypolimnetic oxygen and trophic states
• Subfossil chironomid and Chaoborus as paleoindicators
• Assessment of anthropogenic impacts (eutrophication, pollution, land use)

Recent publications highlight studies on Arctic delta lakes, boreal forest lake responses to climate change, and global lake phosphorus-chlorophyll relationships. His teaching includes courses on limnology, aquatic ecology, biostatistics, and conservation biology at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Dr. Quinlan currently holds office in the Lumbers Building at York University and is reachable via rquinlan@yorku.ca.