Lecture by Professor Isla H Myers-Smith - Team Shrub – Tundra global change ecology and beyond.
Location: Wilfrid Laurier University (Senate and Board Chambers) & via Zoom
Cost: FREE
Register: here
Isla Myers-Smith (she/her) is a global change ecologist and a Canada Excellence Research Chair from the University of British Columbia. She studies how ecosystems are responding as the planet warms in the Arctic and beyond. Myers-Smith works with her research group, Team Shrub, using tools from measuring tapes to drones in the Yukon Territory in northwest Canada and around the tundra biome. Myers-Smith has been working in the Arctic since 2002, spending cumulatively 3.5 years in the field. She also works to assemble and analyze datasets to understand change across the tundra biome. Myers-Smith’s research explores how rapidly an accelerating warming climate is leading to a ‘greening of the Arctic’. She has found that tundra vegetation is increasing, and where plants once grew, they are now growing taller. Tundra shrublines are advancing up slope, with shrubs grow more in warmer summers. Plants are greening up sooner in spring, but growing seasons are not becoming longer with warming. Myers-Smith has also been exploring how we communicate scientific findings and the impacts of climate change. She works with northern partners including Indigenous communities, photographers, educators, and immersive storytellers to visualize permafrost thaw, shrub encroachment, coastal erosion and flooding. She has received funding from National Geographic Society for the Greening Arctic and Arctic XR projects.
The Anne Innis Dagg Lecture series was established by Wilfrid Laurier University’s Department of Biology to honour its namesake and draw attention to the barriers faced by women working in STEM, and by Dr. Innis Dagg in particular. Anne is also known as “The Woman Who Loves Giraffes,” which is also the title of the documentary film that was made about her life. The lecture series aims to raise awareness of Anne’s story, encourage discussion about the importance of gender equity in STEM, and help inspire young women to pursue a career in science by inviting high-profile biologists from across Canada to speak about their research and their personal journey.