Dr. Murray is a Canadian researcher who is currently a faculty member at the University of Idaho, where he works on the ecological relationships between predators and their prey. He will join the Trent University faculty in 2002.

The awarding of the Canada Research Chair will enable Dr. Murray to return to Canada to pursue his cutting edge research on predator-prey interactions. This appointment at Trent University is particularly appropriate because he will have many opportunities to work with faculty in the Department of Biology and the Environmental and Resource Studies program, as well as researchers with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Dr. Murray is also looking forward to establishing a field research program at Trent's James McLean Oliver Ecological Centre on Pigeon Lake.

"These Canada Research Chairs will enable Canadian universites to achieve the highest levels of research excellence and become world-class leaders in the global knowledge-based economy," said Allan Rock, Minister of Industry. "Not only will we attract and retain excellent researchers, but Canadian students will be able to work alongside the best and the brightest Canada and the world have to offer."

"We are delighted to welcome Dr. Murray to Trent University's community of scholars," said Chris Metcalfe, Dean of Research and Graduate Studies. "His vast experience and extensive publishing in population dynamics, behavioral and nutritional ecology, wildlife conservation and management will complement Trent University's new and existing Science programs. As a Tier II Canada Research Chair, Dr. Murray brings added resources that are certain to enhance our research directions."

Dr. Murray's research encompasses predator-prey relationships in amphibians, survival analysis and population modeling in a recovering red wolf population, regional population trends of mammalian predators and prey, predicting extinction in a peripheral moose population, community structure of shrew and snowshoe hare helminths, and snowshoe hare responses to vegetative structure and composition.

The primary objective of the Canada Research Chairs program is to enable Canadian universities, together with their affiliated research institutes and hospitals, to achieve the highest levels of research excellence and to become world class research centres in the global, knowledge based-economy.

Information about the Chairs program available at www.chairs.gc.ca.

For more information contact:

Chris Metcalfe, Dean of Graduates Studies and Research, Trent University, (705) 748-1011, ext. 1272