Rachael Derbyshire

I completed my B.Sc. in Wildlife Biology at the University of Guelph, and my M.Sc. degree in Ecology at the same institution. Primarily, I am interested in studying Species At Risk as well as the effects of large-scale environmental processes (e.g. climate change) on animal populations. For my M.Sc. thesis, I examined how the declining reproductive success of Gray Jays (Perisoreus canadensis) along the southern edge of their range is linked to food availability and climate change. I then worked at the University of Guelph managing several applied research projects on the Monarch butterfly, a Species At Risk in Canada. In 2017, I was awarded the prestigious Canada's New Noah Scholarship through Wildlife Preservation Canada, which enabled me to do a 6-month placement in Mauritius and complete the Post-Graduate Diploma in Endangered Species Recovery through Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology. Currently, I am a PhD Candidate at Trent University, studying the foraging ecology of Canada lynx in the Yukon. I am a passionate and knowledgeable individual who loves to work in the field, and am excited to apply my knowledge to conservation and research initiatives.