Stephanie J Melles

I am a spatial ecologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology at Toronto Metropolitan University. I’m fascinated by urban ecology and ecosystem diversity at the local level and across multiple scales. My work in spatial ecology began with research on birds in terrestrial systems, but then pivoted into aquatic systems. By drawing on my expertise in both areas, I can now tackle ecological questions using both lenses — an approach that often provides a wider, more comprehensive and unique understanding of the land-water connection. Our lab researches the impact of environmental stressors on species and on ecological functions. Specifically, we take a spatial analytical and geo-computational approach that lets us find patterns across multiple scales. We’re one of only a few labs to take a combined land-water lens to ecological problems. We draw on large datasets with spatio-temporal components (e.g. climate, socio-economic and environmental monitoring network data, land cover maps). From these, we build theoretical and empirical models of species distributions and compound environmental variables. Ultimately, our work aims to inform real-world strategies for responsible environmental stewardship.