The Starzomski Lab
Research and Teaching
We do research in biodiversity and conservation biology in the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria. We work in the field, using experiments and observational studies to explore how long-term human activity alters communities of species in the Coast Mountains of southwestern British Columbia, and the bogs and forests of the Central Coast. Long-term effects can come from climate change, or from centuries of human occupation of the landscape. Much of the research on BC's Central Coast is graciously funded by the Hakai Institute. We also do lab and field-based microcosm experiments to test ecological theory, generally on and around the UVic campus and in alpine meadows of BC's Coast Mountains. Our main goals are to do interesting experimental and observational field work balanced with rigorous analysis of available datasets, to synthesize ecological science for policy and conservation, and to showcase the natural history of our field sites. One big natural history project documents the species living in the Great Bear Rainforest: the results are on our Biodiversity of the Central Coast website.
The Biodiversity of the Central Coast website is now available as a free app: download for Android and iPhone/iPad here.
We've also just created a clearinghouse of information on field school opportunities in BC. If you are interested in learning opportunities outside the classroom, have a look here: http://bcfieldschools.weebly.com/
