"Botanists are more civilized than zoologists" - Humbled goose biologist, Akimiski Island, Nunavut Territory, 1998

Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto and Department of Biology University of Toronto Mississauga

3359 Mississauga Road North Mississauga, Ontario, L5L 1C6, Canada Office: 905-828-5365 Lab: 905-828-5304 FAX: 905-828-3792 e-mail: peter.kotanenutoronto.ca

Interests: Ecology of plant populations and communities. Emphasis is on biological invasions, seed biology, and herbivory by vertebrates and invertebrates. Recent projects focus on the question of whether escape from natural enemies (diseases, insect herbivores) promotes the survival and spread of exotic plants. Most of my work currently is in Ontario, Canada (invasions, seed ecology), but I also have worked extensively in the central Canadian Arctic and Subarctic on herbivory by geese. Member, Global Invasions Network. Short curriculum vitae.

Student Opportunities: Click here to download details, and check our graduate studies webpage.

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Recent Research
Click here for a list of publications.
	Project	Progress
Common Burdock	Interactions between invaders and their natural enemies in marginal populations. Do invasive plants escape their enemies near their geographic range limits? We are investigating this along a transect from southern Ontario to as far north as Moosonee and Churchill.	Daz Kambo and Kelvin Lee are working on this problem, using Common Burdock (Arctium minus) as a model species.
Beetles on St. Johnswort	Testing the Enemy Release Hypothesis of plant invasions. This is the idea that non-native plants may have an advantage over natives because they lost their enemies (herbivores and pathogens) during the invasion process. This work is centred at the Koffler Scientific Reserve at Jokers Hill.	Steve Hill studied how phylogenetic isolation influences enemy release; Sean Blaney studied whether enemy release applies to pathogens and predators of seeds. Publications.
Beetles on Ragweed	Biology of Common Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia). Ragweed is a North American native which has widely invaded Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. I'm studying this plant both in its native range and where it has been introduced.	James MacKay studied whether isolated populations experience less damage by natural enemies. Andrew MacDonald investigated whether natural enemies have a significant impact on fitness. Publications.
Akimiski Island	Changes in arctic habitats used by nesting Snow Geese. Foraging by these birds and other geese has significant impacts on vegetation surrounding their breeding colonies. Study sites include areas on Hudson Bay and James Bay, as well as Bylot Island.	Pamela O studied effects of grazing by geese on meadows of Festuca rubra. Jennie McLaren examined the effects of geese on soil. In 2008 I revisited transects I sampled 10 years earlier on Akimiski Island to determine how vegetation in areas used by geese has changed. In 2010, I sampled vegetation in Snow Goose colonies on Southampton Island. Publications.
Jokers Hill Forest	Experimental studies of the influence of pathogens and predators on seed mortality. This work has involved studies of both old field plants and forest trees. The principal study site is the Koffler Scientific Reserve at Jokers Hill.	Michelle Schafer investigated whether different fungal communities render some habitats more dangerous to seeds than others. Deborah Manners considered influences of pathogens on survival of seeds of forest trees. Publications.

Undergraduate Courses

• BIO 330: Plant Ecology
• BIO 313: Field Methods and Quantitative Analyses in Ecology
• BIO 205: Ecology

Theses supervised

• Krystal Nunes (krysnunyorku.ca) (M.Sc., beginning 2012). Welcome to the lab!
• Colin Cassin (colincassintrentu.ca) (M.Sc., beginning 2012). Welcome to the lab!
• Yoonsoo Lee (yoonsoo.leeutoronto.ca) (M.Sc., began 2011). Thesis title: Causes and consequences of herbivory reduction on common burdock (Arctium minus).
• Dasvinder Kambo (daz.kamboutoronto.ca) (M.Sc. 2012). Thesis title: Differences in performance and herbivory along a latitudinal gradient for common burdock (Arctium minus). Daz is about to begin a Ph.D. with Ryan Danby at Queen's University.
• Steven Hill (shilldougan.ca) (Ph.D. 2009). Thesis title: Biotic resistance to non-indigenous plants: are phylogenetically novel invaders more likely to escape enemies? Steve is now working as an ecologist for Dougan & Associates.
• Andrew MacDonald (macdonaldzoology.ubc.ca) (M.Sc. 2009). Thesis title: The effects of biotic interactions on Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. Andrew is pursuing a Ph.D. with Diane Srivastava at the University of British Columbia.
• James MacKay (jmackayslrconsulting.com) (M.Sc. 2008). Thesis title: Local escape of Common Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) from above- and below-ground natural enemies. James is now working as an ecologist for SLR Consulting.
• Pamela O (pamela.ogeog.ubc.ca) (M.Sc. 2003 - co-supervised with K.F. Abraham). Thesis title: Responses of Festuca rubra to natural and simulated foraging by geese on Akimiski Island, Nunavut Territory. Pam is now pursuing a Ph.D. with Greg Henry at the University of British Columbia.
• Deborah Manners (d.ohanlon-mannersbristol.ac.uk) (M.Sc. 2002). Thesis title: The influence of habitat type on losses of tree seeds to fungal pathogens. Deb is now working in the Department of Chemistry, University of Bristol.
• Jennie McLaren (jmclarenuta.edu) (M.Sc. 2002 - primary supervisor: R.L. Jefferies). Thesis title: Vegetation mosaics, patch dynamics and alternate stable states in an arctic intertidal marsh. Jennie recently completed a Ph.D. with Roy Turkington at the University of British Columbia and is now doing a postdoc with Laura Gough at the University of Texas at Arlington.
• Michelle Schafer (michellertremblay@yahoo.ca) (M.Sc. 2001). Thesis title: Impacts of fungal pathogens on seeds of old-field species in meadow and forest habitats. Michelle is now working at Ontario's Centre of Forensic Sciences.
• Sean Blaney (sblaneymta.ca) (M.Sc. 1999). Thesis title: Seed bank dynamics of native and exotic plants in open uplands of southern Ontario. Sean is now Assistant Director of the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre.

Links
Ecology and biodiversity: Koffler Scientific Reserve Flora of Akimiski Island Flora Ontario Flora of North America USDA Systematic Mycology & Microbiology Mushrooms Bugguide Lepidopteran Hostplants ECOLOG-L Canadian Society for Ecology & Evolution Writings of Charles Darwin	Biological invasions: Global Invasions Network IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group Invasive & Exotic Species of North America Invasive Species (USDA) DAISIE (Europe) Great Lakes Worm Watch	Images: USDA PLANTS Database Bugguide Insect images Forestry images Insects of Cedar Creek USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
Some birding links: OFO and ONTBIRDS eBird Recent Sightings (Ontario) Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas Christmas Bird Counts Bird Studies Canada eBird Bird Links to the World IOC World Bird List The awesome xeno-canto	Travel and weather: Google Maps Weather report for Toronto WKR King weather radar Ontario weather RealClimate SpaceWeather	Other: PhD Comics Bad Science Pharyngula Why Evolution is True Bad Astronomy Charles Darwin has a Posse

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These pages were last updated 17 May 2012.