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CURRENT LAB MEMBERS
HEATHER BRYAN
Lab Director & Principal Investigator
Dr. Heather Bryan is a wildlife ecologist and conservation scientist with research interests in wildlife health, predator-prey interactions, conservation physiology, disease ecology, and community-engaged research. Heather holds a PhD in Veterinary Medical Sciences from the University of Calgary. She completed postdoctoral research at the University of Victoria, Canada, and at Griffith University, Australia. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at the University of Northern British Columbia where she is the Ian McTaggart Cowan Muskwa-Kechika Research Professor.
BEN SPITZ
PhD Candidate
Ben comes to us from Missouri with a background in mammalogy and parasitology. He finished his master’s degree from Arkansas State University in 2020 studying Rafinesque’s big-eared bats and bat bugs. In Fall 2020, Ben was accepted into the PhD program at UNBC and is studying impacts of winter tick on moose populations in the context of landscape change and climate change. Outside of research, Ben enjoys fishing, hiking, cooking, and frisbee golf.
Please use the following email address to contact Ben directly: spitz@unbc.ca
CARL-EVAN JEFFERIES
MSc Student
Carl is broadly interested in collaborative ecological stewardship to support wildlife conservation in terrestrial environments. He hopes to contribute to the sustainable management and conservation of wildlife using evidence-based decision making while balancing the values and priorities of stakeholders and First Nation groups. For his masters, he is using a long-term monitoring dataset to evaluate the relationship between spatial and temporal environmental characteristics and stress and nutritional condition in moose. Specifically, he is using spatial datasets to identify individual and environmental predictors of moose body condition and hair cortisol collected at capture. He is also using a combination of fine scale physiological bioindicators to examine the mechanisms by which moose respond to human disturbance and habitat conditions in winter.
Please use the following email address to contact Carl directly: cjefferies@unbc.ca
LAUREN WHEELHOUSE
MSc Student
Lauren Wheelhouse is a graduate student at UNBC studying the habitats of mustelids. Lauren also attended UNBC for her undergraduate degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Management (2015-2020) and has spent the past few years working at the John Prince Research Forest, where her current research project is taking place. She is using the John Prince Research Forest's long-term monitoring camera data set to determine forest habitat characteristics associated with the five forest mustelid species found within the research forest.
Please use the following email address to contact Lauren directly: runge@unbc.ca
LAUREN ELVISS
MSc Student
Lauren received her Bachelor of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Management in 2021 from the University of Northern British Columbia. She is currently a master’s student, and her research focuses on the experimental feeding program for the Kennedy Siding caribou herd in central British Columbia. Feeding appears to have positive effects on herd size, but the mechanism by which population increases are occurring is unclear. Lauren’s research examines physiological bioindicators in hair and feces to investigate whether supplemental feeding increases the number of females that breed each year or whether feeding increases the survival of calves. Lauren is an avid hiker and wildlife photographer and can often be found in the woods with her camera. In her free time, she enjoys embroidery, baking and cuddling her cat.
Please use the following email address to contact Lauren directly: elviss@unbc.ca
KATELYN COOPER
MSc Student
Katelyn is a member of the Ts’msyen Nation and belongs to the Gitwilgyoots (People of the Kelp) tribe. She graduated from Vancouver Island University with a Bachelor’s of Natural Resource Protection in 2020. Her favourite time of year is when oolichan return to freshwater to spawn. Along with many other harvesters, Katelyn migrates to the Skeena River to catch oolichan by dipnet. Smoked oolichans are her favourite way to eat the anadromous smelt! Her masters research will investigate the traditional and modern oolichan fishing methods used by x̄á’isla (Haisla) fishers to compare oolichan catch and condition. She will be interviewing x̄á’isla community members to learn about Traditional Ecological Knowledge of záxʷen (oolichan). Through her research, Katelyn wants to highlight x̄á’isla fishing practices and management that contribute to oolichan conservation.
BIPANA MAIYA SADADEV
MSc Student
Bipana is pursuing her Master’s of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (Biology) at UNBC. Her research focuses on the endangered hog deer (Axis porcinus) in Shuklaphanta National Park in Nepal and will include both field surveys and community outreach. Bipana holds an undergraduate degree in forestry from the Institute of Forestry at Pokhora University. Her background in biodiversity conservation also includes work with Friends of Nature, the Federation of Community Forest Users, Center for People and Forest at RECOFTC Nepal and elsewhere. She is also a member of the IUCN/SSC Deer Specialist Group and has published research on barking deer (Muntiacus vaginalis) and hispid hare (Caprolagus hispidus) in various national and international journals.
Please use the following email address to contact Bipana directly: sadadev@unbc.ca
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CARLIE O'BRIEN
MSc Student
Originally from Ontario, Carlie completed her BSc degree at Trent University in Conservation Biology. There, she completed her undergraduate thesis evaluating the nutritional conditions of woodland caribou in northern Ontario. Carlie moved to Prince George in August of 2021 to join the lab as a Research Skills Development Trainee, working on projects related to moose, caribou, and stone sheep. In September 2022, she began her MSc studying how climate and landscape change drive changes in moose trace mineral levels and the implications for moose performance and immune function.
Please use the following email address to contact Carlie directly: obrienc2@unbc.ca
WESTIN CREYKE
MSc Student
Westin attended UNBC for his undergraduate degree in Biology and is currently pursuing an MSc in Biology. His research focuses on the influence of a resource road on physiological stress in a population of migratory Stone Sheep. Using physiological bioindicators in feces, Westin aims to investigate if the road influences stress in the sheep and the temporal and spatial extent of its influence. His research takes place in the territory of and is conducted in partnership with the Tahltan Nation. Westin is the proud father of a 1 year-old dog who doubles as a hunting and fishing partner in his free time.
Please use the following email address to contact Westin directly: wcreyke@unbc.ca
CANDYCE HUXTER
MSc Student
Candyce Huxter is a new member of the lab, pursuing a Master of Science in NRES. She is co-supervised by Dr. Heather Bryan and Mark Thompson, and plans on studying amphibian populations in collaboration with Nak’azdli Whut’en First Nation and EcoLogic Consultants Ltd. Her broader research interests include the effects of landscape change and habitat fragmentation on wildlife populations. She completed her BSc in Biology at UNBC in 2022, during which she worked as a research assistant studying moose ecology with Dr. Roy Rea. Her undergraduate thesis investigated the behaviours of moose at roadside mineral licks in north-central BC. Candyce has also worked on projects focused on bats, bears, grouse, and caribou with experience in research and environmental consulting. She enjoys travelling, birdwatching, crochet, and wildlife photography, and never goes into the field without packing her camera. During her studies, Candyce looks forward to improving her skills in GIS and data analysis.
Please use the following email address to contact Candyce directly: chuxter@unbc.ca
JOSH GREEN
MSc Student
Josh’s view of the world is shaped by the West coast of British Columbia, particularly by the Coast Mountains of Southwestern BC. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Management and Conservation within the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia, and prior to starting his Master’s Degree in the WEB Lab at UNBC was living in Squamish. Josh has worked on conservation research projects throughout Western Canada from the slopes of seabird breeding colonies on Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii to high alpine peaks. He has also worked with international initiatives in Nicaragua on primate and sea turtle conservation, and in Australia on Tasmanian Devil research into Devil Facial Tumor Disease. He started his Master’s degree in May 2023, which aims to quantify the effects of human disturbance, notably forestry and mining, on the presence of terrestrial mammals using eDNA sampling. Josh is partnered with the Tsay Keh Dene nation and Chu Cho Environmental on this project and aims to help influence future land management decisions with the results of his research. He is thankful to be conducting his research on the traditional, ancestral and unceeded territories of the Tsay Keh Dene nation.
Please use the following email address to contact Josh directly: greenj2@unbc.ca
ALICE TEW
BSc Student - Honours
Alice Tew has a diploma in Recreation, Fish and Wildlife from Selkirk college and is currently an undergraduate receiving her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a specialization in Zoology at UNBC. Alice was awarded an Undergraduate Research Experience in Dr. Heather Bryan's lab for the winter semester of 2023, where she is participating in several different projects. The focus of her research experience is on learning how to prepare fecal and hair samples from cougars and ungulates for nutritional and predator-prey interaction studies. Alice is passionate about the outdoors and can be found hiking and camping throughout the summer and creating paintings of wildlife during her free time in the winter.
Please use the following email address to contact Alice directly: tew@unbc.ca
JOCELYN MAILLOUX
BSc Student - Undergraduate Research Experience
Jocelyn has a Recreation Fish and Wildlife diploma from Selkirk College and is currently enrolled as an undergraduate at UNBC studying BSc - Wildlife and Fisheries. This semester Jocelyn is gaining undergraduate research experience focusing on small mammal trail camera interpretation and learning how to prepare fecal samples to understand the physiological stressors of migratory Stone Sheep. Jocelyn enjoys being active and can be found outside exploring or at the Northern Sports Center instructing group fitness classes.
Please use the following email address to contact Jocelyn directly: mailloux@unbc.ca
CAROLINE LESAGE
Lab Manager/Research Skills Development Trainee
Caroline is originally from Montreal where she completed her MSc in Geography, Urban and Environmental Studies and BSc in Environmental Science at Concordia University. Her master’s research focused on habitat suitability and human-wildlife coexistence in wild river otters on Protection Island, BC. Her honours thesis examined the behavioural correlates of alopecia in captive Japanese macaques. Caroline also has experience studying animal personality in the context of the rehabilitation and release of formerly captive capuchin monkeys in Northeastern Brazil. Caroline joined the lab in September 2023 as a Research Skills Development Trainee/lab manager. In her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, and reading.
Please use the following email address to contact Caroline directly: lesage@unbc.ca
Ben Spitz
Carl
Carlie
Lauren E.
Westin
Josh
Alice
ANDREW MITCHELL
Lab Manager/Research Skills Development Trainee
Andrew graduated with a BSc in Biology from UNBC in 2021. His undergraduate thesis compared ground-dwelling invertebrate communities across different disturbance regimes at the Aleza Lake Research Forest near Prince George. Since then, he has also worked as a field technician for a tree swallow monitoring project and as a research intern with the BC Ministry of Forests focusing on spruce beetle. As lab manager, he assisted with fieldwork and lab-based projects in the WEB Lab, ordered supplies, and took on other odd jobs as needed.
RACHELLE FOUBERT
BSc Student - Undergraduate Research Experience
Rachelle Foubert is an undergraduate student at UNBC studying in the BSc – Wildlife and Fisheries program. She was born and raised in Mackenzie, British Columbia; a small town nestled within the Rocky Mountains. This semester, Rachelle will be gaining undergraduate research experience with a focus on data analysis. She will be working with the data collected during the “Bear Resistant Garbage Cart Pilot Project” which was an experiment done in 2019 to determine if bear resistant garbage carts would decrease attractants available to bears while reducing overall bear-human conflicts in the community. Rachelle’s goal will be to analyze the data and assess if there was a spatial change in bear activity after the carts were implemented.
SHANNON WERDEN
BSc Student - Honours
Shannon is in the last year of her BSc in Wildlife and Fisheries after transferring with a Recreation, Fish, and Wildlife diploma from Selkirk College. She is currently doing an Undergraduate Honours thesis identifying prey species of cougar size-age classes using morphological and molecular scat analysis methods and comparing it to GPS collar cluster data. The scats and cluster data were collected as part of the Southern BC Cougar project, in which Shannon worked as a technician during the summer of 2021. She has also worked in various roles with NGOs, firms, and the provincial government, on projects such as invasive plant management and northern goshawk nest and habitat assessments.
SHENLEY ALKINS
Research Skills Development Trainee
Shenley graduated from Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, with a MASc in Environmental Applied Science and Management. She has taught undergraduate students in biology, geography, and environmental studies. Shenley previously worked in Dr. Lynda McCarthy's Terrestrial & Aquatic Ecotoxicology Lab at Ryerson University and in the Quality Management Section of Laboratory Services Branch at Ontario Ministry of Environment & Climate Change. She is certified through by the Canadian Environmental Certification Approvals Board (CECAB) as an Environmental Professional in-Training (EPt). Shenley worked alongside Dr. Heather Bryan for 8 months conducting background research on predator-prey-disease relationships, moose-winter tick interactions and experimental designs, and created an research inventories on chronic wasting disease and the MKMA.
LAB ALUMNI
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