the B-Lab
Projects
The Chipmunk Project
The main aim of the chipmunk project (initiated in 2005) is to investigate and quantify the effects of both genetic and environmental factors on the phenotypic variability in a population of Eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus). Our study site is located nearby Mansonville, in the Monts Sutton region (Qc).
In collaboration with Dany Garant (UdeS) and Denis Réale (UQAM), we investigate the links between genetic, physiological and behavioural traits along with their effects on chipmunks fitness in a context of pulsed resources driven by the dynamic of masting trees.
The Wood Frog & Snail Project
Modern agriculture uses several agrochemical compounds that affect many non-target organisms. In amphibians, the use of both aquatic and terrestrial environments and their semi-permeable skin make them particularly vulnerable to contaminants.
In this project, we study the effect of pesticides on the development of Wood Frog tadpoles under different conditions. We look at metamorphosis time and growth rate on larvae in an outside experimental mesocosm directly on campus!
The Pre-Industrial Human Project
The study of pre-industrial human populations offers a unique opportunity to answer questions in evolutionary biology that require longitudinal data over many generations. The dataset from the Registre de Population du Quebec Ancien is remarkable: it includes the life histories of more than 800,000 individuals born between 1608 and 1750.
In collaboration with Fanie Pelletier (UdeS), Lisa Dillon (UdeM) and Alain Gagnon (UdeM), we investigate life-history trade-offs and the effect of environmental conditions experienced in early in life and potential delayed carry-over effects on life-history traits expressed as adult.