Weclome to Grainger Lab at the University of Guelph!

We study the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape the natural world, and the effects that global change is having on these processes. In particular, we explore the effects of temperature on coexistence, eco-evolutionary dynamics and spatially structured communities. To do this, we use lab and field experiments with plants and insects that test fundamental questions in ecology and evolutionary biology.

NEWS

April 2024 – Laina will be presenting her research on flour beetle thermal performance at the OE3C conference in Waterloo! Come check out her poster!

Spring 2024 – Tess will be presenting her research, thoughts and perspectives on how to use theory to motivate emprical work at The University of Tennessee Knoxville and Buffalo State University in April, and the Canadian Society of Ecology and Evolution Meeting in May. Hope to see you there!

November 2023 – Looking foward to giving a seminar and having a virtual visit at the University of Oregon – thanks Sarah Erksine and Jeff Diez for hosting!

September 2023 – I’ve arrived at Guelph, I’m setting up the lab and I’ve started recruiting students! Visit the Join the Lab page to learn more.

June 2023 – I’m giving a 4 minute lightening talk at the Canadian Society of Ecology and Evolution meeting: “Examining the evidence for rapid evolution.”

January 2023 – I’m giving a talk on how to test and use Modern Coexistence Theory at ASN Asilomar and at the Japanese Ecological Society meeting.

June 2022 – I’m giving a talk on rapid evolutionary responses to climate and competition on July 1st at the World Biodiversity Forum – check it out if you’re there!

January 2022 – Excited to be giving a seminar at Waterloo on the importance of timing in ecology and evolution!

January 2022 – Two new papers out! “An empiricist’s guide to using ecological theory” in AmNat and “Writing accessible theory in ecology and evolution: insights from Cognitive Load Theory” in Bioscience (led by grad students Will Ou and Gil Henriques).

December 2021 – New paper out! “Rapid evolution of life history traits in response to warming, predation and competition: a meta-analysis” out now in Ecology Letters.

November 2021 – Had a great virtual visit to the University of Pittsburgh to give a seminar in their Ecology and Evolution series – thanks for the invite Taylor Zallek and Mart Turcotte!

September 2021 – Excited to attend the first meeting of an iDiv working group on Priority Effects led by Ben Delory and Tad Fukami!

August 2021 – Started up my big flour beetle experiment at UBC! Testing the effects of temperature on eco-evo dynamics! Stay tuned…

August 2021 – Presented my ongoing research on rapid evolutionary responses to global change and biotic interactions in the Early Career Award symposium at the Canadian Society of Ecology and Evolution Conference

June 2021 – Presented at the Evolution/ASN virtual conference in the Young Investigator Awards Symposium: “The Ecological and Evolutionary Interplay between Competition and Climate.” Talk should be posted online soon…

May 2021 – Grateful to be awarded a Canadian Society of Ecology and Evolution Early Career Award!

April 2021 – I received a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship to work with Sally Otto, Mary O’Connor and Rachel Germain at UBC! Exciting eco-evo research to come…

March 2021 – Super honoured to receive a 2021 Jasper Loftus Hills Young Investigator Prize from the American Society of Naturalists!

February 2021 – New paper out in PNAS from my fruit fly work at Princeton: Competitive History Shapes Rapid Evolution in a Seasonal Climate

January 2021 – Finished up my postdoc at Princeton and started at UBC as a Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellow!