Ecophysiology of Stress

Members of the Newman Lab

Amy Newman

I am an ecophysiologist who’s training lies at the intersection of physiology, ecology and neuroendocrinology.  In the Newman Lab we are broadly interested in stress biology in natural environments, in particular the lasting effects of early-life stress. I obtained a BSc from Queen’s University, a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of British Columbia, and […]

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Nikole (Koley) Freeman

NSERC CGS PhD Candidate (Sept 2015 – Present) The early-life environment is intimately linked with an individual’s growth, development and ultimately, fitness. For my PhD, I am examining linkages between the early-life environment, physiology and fitness of nestlings in a wild population of Canada jays (Perisoreus canadensis). Canada jays breed in late winter when the […]

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Alana Wilcox

NSERC PhD student (Jan 2017 – present) Agricultural treatments are essential to food production, but many chemicals can have downstream effects on wildlife and the surrounding ecosystem. Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticide with known developmental, reproductive, and behavioural effects on pollinators like honeybees, but the effects on other species at risk is limited. Monarch […]

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Alannah Grant

MSc student (January 2020-present) Currently, the urban environment is the fastest growing habitat type on the planet. This rapid expansion of urban landscapes poses novel challenges, selective pressures, and stressors to which organisms in these environments must respond. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis plays a large role in an organism’s ability to react to it’s environment, […]

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Alexander Hare

NSERC PGS PhD Student (May 2018 – Present) The use of social information allows animals to gain insights regarding the environment over much larger spatial scales, and in turn adjust their behaviour and physiology accordingly. Recent research has demonstrated both how social information can influence individual physiology and in turn how physiological stress as mediated […]

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Brynn Varcoe

NSERC CGS-M Student (May 2020 – Present) North America’s songbirds are in rapid decline. Populations that are associated with agriculturally viable habitats such as native grasslands are particularly vulnerable. Many agricultural landowners across southern Ontario are involved in efforts to increase the ecosystem services on their properties, and in doing so have restored vibrant wildlife […]

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Hayley Wilson

NSERC CGS PhD Student (Sept 2019 – Present) Exposure to early-life stress can have long-term consequences on health and fitness, however, proximate mechanisms linking these phenomena are poorly understood. An animal’s physiological response to stressful stimuli is primarily mediated by activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Recently, the gut-microbiome has been identified as existing in […]

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Shelby Bohn

NSERC OGS PhD Candidate (2017 – Present) I’m interested in the behavioural and physiological strategies that animals use to navigate energetically challenging circumstances such as reproduction or periods of food scarcity. Currently, my research centres hamsters as a food hoarding model system to understand how they decide the ideal amount of food to store, and […]

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