Dr. Carly Ziter
(Dec 2018 - ) Assistant Professor, Concordia Biology Dept; University Research Chair in Urban Ecology and Sustainability; Core Faculty Member, CERC Cluster for Smart, Sustainable, and Resilient Communities and Cities

​PhD (2014-2018) - University of Wisconsin-Madison
MSc (2011-2013) McGill University
BSc (2007-2011) University of Guelph

Carly grew up in southern Ontario, in a house surrounded by fields (usually corn, sometimes soy) punctuated by small woodlots. In her mind, this mix of farmland, housing, and forest wasn’t an “ecosystem”; it was just where she walked the dog. Now, she realizes that these human-dominated landscapes are hard at work providing a multitude of ecosystem services we rely on, and she's fascinated by how we can manage these areas better. When she's not busy researching the intersection of landscape structure, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, Carly can be found enjoying the great outdoors, knitting, or at the pottery studio.

Download Carly's CV here: Ziter_CV_Oct2020

Current Lab Members

Dr. Gail MacInnis
Mitacs Elevate Postdoctoral Fellow, Concordia Biology (Jan 2020 - present)
PhD, McGill University (2019)

Gail is a broadly trained pollination biologist and agroecologist, and is increasingly interested in the impacts of urban beekeeping on pollinator diversity. Her postdoctoral work focuses on complementary and competitive interactions between wild and managed bees in both urban and agroecosystems. Gail’s current research includes a study of competition between wild bees and honey bees in Montreal that will contribute to evidence-based regulatory frameworks for urban beekeeping, as well as collaboration with agricultural partners to better understand the role of wild bees in apple pollination.

Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor
MSc student, Concordia Biology (Fall 2019 - present; Concordia Merit Scholarship)
BSc, University of Guelph (2018)  

Kayleigh is broadly interested in the relationship between landscape structure, biodiversity, and ecosystem function. Her MSc research is focused on differences in tree functional traits (and associated services) on private and public urban green spaces in Montreal, using combined community science and fieldwork-based approaches.

Emily Kroft
MSc student, Concordia Biology (Fall 2019 - present; Concordia FAS Scholarship, NSERC CGS M)
BSc, University of Winnipeg (2019)

Emily is broadly interested in the relationship between urban landscape structure and ecosystem services, motivated by a strong interest in social-ecological systems, and links between social drivers, environmental quality, and human wellbeing. Her MSc. research focuses on relationships between building density, green space, and urban ecosystem services on the island of Montreal.

Serena Sinno
MSc student, Concordia Biology (Fall 2019 - present; Hydro QC Scholarship)
BSc, Concordia University (2019)

Serena is interested in pollinator biodiversity and conservation, and particularly wild bees. Her MSc research is focused on assessing how floral community structure (and particularly floral traits related to phenology, morphology, plant origin, and nutrition) influences wild bee diversity in urban areas (co-supervised by Concordia colleague and collaborator JP Lessard).

Bella Richmond
PhD student, Concordia University, Biology (Winter 2021 - present; Concordia University Graduate Fellowship; Merit Scholarship)
MSc, Memorial University (2020)
Bella is interested in the generation and distribution of ecosystem services provided by urban trees. She grew up in Southwestern Ontario, where climbing trees provided her countless hours of childhood entertainment and sparked a passion for urban nature. Her Ph.D. research will focus on determining where and why urban tree ecosystem services exist and are accessed using multi-city and Montréal-specific approaches.
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Fatemeh Izadi
PhD, Concordia Individualized (INDI) program (Summer 2020 - present)
MA in Urban Design, The University of YAZD (2012)

Fatemeh is integrating knowledge from the fields of urban ecology, engineering, and design to understand how built and green elements of cities can better promote urban "walkability", with a particular focus on thermal comfort. Her research falls within the Next Generation Cities cluster (co-supervised by Concordia colleagues and collaborators Ursula Eicker, Carmela Cucuzzella).

Lingshan Li
PhD, Concordia University, Geography, Planning, and Environment (Fall 2020 - present)
MSc, Beijing Normal University (2019)

Lingshan is studying the effects of vegetation and the built environment on urban microclimate in Montreal, using a combination of remote sensing and field-based approaches. Her research falls within the Next Generation Cities cluster (co-supervised by Concordia colleagues and collaborators Ursula Eicker, Angela Kross).

Mathieu Johnson
SCOL 398 student (Summer 2021 - present)
BSc, Concordia University (2019-present)
Mathieu is a behavioural neuroscience student conducing a Science College project in our lab, focused on urban tree diversity and temperature regulation. 

Lab Alumni

Undergraduate Alumni
Taylor Yeung (LOYC398 Directed Studies project 2021)
Katie Philp (field technician summer 2019; BIOL490 undergraduate thesis 2021)
Kieu-Nhi Vu (Concordia Undergraduate Student Research Award 2019; BIOL490 undergraduate thesis 2020)
Majed Al Hanout (NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award, summer 2020)
Maya Catterall (Concordia Undergraduate Student Research Award, summer 2020)
​Élie Comtois (ECO Canada summer student, research assistant, summer 2020)
Daniel Cretu (ECO Canada summer student, research assistant, summer 2020)
Emma McLaughlin (ECO Canada summer student, research assistant, summer 2020)
Serena Sinno (field technician, summer 2019)