Trent Faculty and Students Part of International Research Team Featured in Renowned Journal
Dr. Erica Nol, Dr. Laura McKinnon and Laura Koloski help bring international attention to factors affecting breeding shorebirds in the Arctic
A team of three Trent scientists understand that for many species of shorebirds, protecting their unborn offspring from predators, influences their behaviour and daily routine above all else—including the need for sleep.
Dr. Erica Nol, professor of Biology at Trent, together with Laura McKinnon, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) post-doctoral fellow at Trent, and Laura Koloski ‘13, a recent M.Sc. Environmental and Life Sciences graduate, are part of an international team of scientists whose important research on shorebirds has been published online in a recent issue of Nature, a weekly science journal.
Together with Professor Nol, and in collaboration with the Arctic Shorebird Demographic Network, comprised of numerous government, scientific and academic institutions, Ms. Koloski and Ms. McKinnon, analyzed data gathered from hundreds of bird nests to determine whether changes in climate, predators or environment were responsible for declines in arctic-breeding shorebirds.
“This study is important because it suggests that predation is particularly significant in impacting the behaviour of shorebirds while they attend their nests,” explains Prof. Nol. “If the environment changes to promote predator populations as it is predicted to do, then predation risk might increase and hence impact the shorebird populations even further.”
Back in the classroom, Prof. Nol will share the results of this work with her students. “I think students gain much from hearing from their professors, not only as teachers, but also as researchers,” she revealed. “This paper and others help to give 'added value' to their education.”