Université de Sherbrooke
Ph.D. candidate
Supervisor: Dominique Gravel
Simard, Anouk
Start: 2023-09-04
End: 2027-08-27

Project

Quantify current and anticipated changes in the biodiversity of Quebec's biological communities in response to climate change
Climate change (CC) is on track to become a major factor leading to the loss and alteration of biodiversity, with detrimental impacts on ecosystem functioning. However, especially at the community level, our understanding of biodiversity changes in response to CC remains limited. In my research project, I will assess these changes as well as the vulnerability of biological communities to CC using the new biodiversity monitoring network of Quebec. I will develop a biodiversity indicator focusing on changes in community composition resulting from recent climate change. Additionally, I will evaluate the vulnerability of communities to future climate conditions based on the climatic tolerances of species specific to each community. My project seeks to improve our comprehension and prediction of anticipated community changes associated with climate change, providing valuable insights to inform conservation strategies within the context of climate change.

Keywords

biodiversity / biodiversité, community ecology / ecological community, climate change / changements climatiques