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 insects and plants that test fundamental questions in ecology and evolutionary biology.
LAB NEWS
December 2025: New paper alert! Laina’s paper on the effects of temperature and resources on carrying capacity is now out in Biology Letters – congratulations Laina!! 🥳 See BlueSky post here.
November 2025: Tess had a great visit to Michigan State University and Kellogg Biological Station! Beautiful chalkboard art by Morgan Clark 👌
November 2025: Caitlin presented her research plans at the 4th year thesis poster fair. 👏 Great job Caitlin, can’t wait to see what you find!
November 2025: New paper! Tess and colleagues do a deep dive into the history and the utility of the equilibrium assumption in ecology – paper out now in Ecology Letters!
October 2025: Lab social at Strom’s farm and corn maze! Spooooky 👻🔥🦇
August 2025: The lab did a very fun pond workshop at the Arboretum! And apparently we have a new lab uniform 🤔
August 2025: Kate’s experiment with milkweed aphids is in full swing, with >30k aphids on some plants! 🤯
July 2025: Congratulations to undergrads Kayley and Emma for their fantastic presentations at CSEE in Sherbooke! So proud
June 2025: Sydney and Kate are starting up their MSc experiments and Taresa has joined the lab!
January 2025: Tess will be heading to Iowa State in January and Brock in February to talk about her research. Excited to visit!
December 2024: Congratulations to Kate for winning the Estill Family Scholarship for research in the Arboretum. Go Kate!! 🎉
December 2024: The results are in for the inaugural IB Holiday Bake-Off: congrats to Olivia, Sydney and Cameron on your delicious bakes!
November 2024: Emma presented the plan for her project on short and long-term effecs of heat waves at the IB thesis fair – great job Emma!
November 2024: Congratulations to Kayley and Laina for wrapping up their projects! 🎉 Great work!!
November 2024: Lab outing to the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory!
September 2024: Big congratulations to Laina for winning the Bryant Family Research Scholarship for her project in the lab! 🎉
September 2024: The Grainger Lab hosted a lawn bowling tournament with the Bernhardt, Gagnon and Webber labs!
July 2024: HUGE NEWS: the lab has chairs!! We’re officially in business and there’s never been a better time to join the Grainger lab. See the “Join the lab” tab for details.
July 2024: The lab took a field trip to the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada! Very cute.
June 2024: Our milkweed field site is up and running! Thank you to Kate, Kayley and Laina for all your hard work prepping and planting the site.
May 2024: Great lab outing to the Honeybee Research Centre!
May 2024 – Kayley’s experiment looking at the effect of temperature on range expansions has begun!
May 2024 – Kate has arrived to start her MSc and is prepping her field site!
April 2024 – Laina presented her research on flour beetle thermal performance at the OE3C conference in Waterloo! Great job Laina!
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!
January 2024 – Laina and Nicole have started in the lab and Laina’s beetle experiment testing the effect of resource quality on thermal performance is up and running! Stay tuned for exciting results!
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.
THE GRAINGER LAB 