Integrated Watershed Lab (IWSL)

Dr. Brendan Murphy, Dr. Chelsea Little, Dr. Shawn Chartrand

The IWSL works towards understanding watershed processes in the present and predicting how they may change in response to natural and anthropogenic influences, like climate change.

For more information, please contact any of the PIs listed to the left.

Climate, Oceans, and Paleo-Environments (COPE) Lab

Dr. Karen Kohfeld

The COPE lab's objective is to understand changes in the earth system on geological and historical time scales and to relate these changes to regionally important impacts, ranging from carbon cycling to extreme weather events and regional ecosystem responses.  The lab's interdisciplinary group integrates ideas from climatology, meteorology, paleo-oceanography, paleo-ecology, Earth System Science and modeling, and geochemistry.  

River Dynamics Research Group

Dr. Jeremy Venditti

The River Dynamics Laboratory is comprised of a flume facility where we model river channel processes, a computing space used for data analysis and morphodynamic modelling and a sediment analysis laboratory. We also maintain a research vessel for work on coastal rivers, deltas and the shallow water coastal environments.

Marine and Terrestrial Ecology (MATE) Lab

Dr. Ruth Joy

The MATE Laboratory focuses on developing and implementing novel statistical and mathematical methodologies for analyzing ecological data for conservation and restoration of habitat. Currents projects include:

• Coastal Sandhill Cranes: Genetics of the Coastal Population
• HALLO? Humans and ALgorithms Listening for Orcas: Automated Detection of Whale Vocalizations
• Double-Crested Cormorants: Cormorants Nesting on Urban Bridges
• Southern Resident Killer Whales: Developing a Real-Time Forecasting System

Little Ecology Group

Dr. Chelsea Little

The Little Ecology Group studies how communities of organisms assemble, the interactions between organisms of similar and different trophic groups, and how their traits contribute to ecosystem function. Their work also considers how ecosystems are connected by exchanges of organisms and materials, and how these exchanges affect the functioning of recipient ecosystems.

Other Projects Dr. Little is Involved in:

• Nch'kay Subalpine Research: “Impacts of climate and recreation on Coast Mountains flora, fauna, and ecosystems”. This is a multi-institutional project, with Dr. Little as a co-lead, along with Dr. Courtney Collins (EVSC adjunct professor).
• Riparian Corridors for Wildlife: “Exploring how riparian buffers can enhance wildlife connectivity in an increasingly fragmented world”. For more information on this project, please contact Dr. Little.

Murphy Watershed Science Lab

Dr. Brendan Murphy

The Murphy Watershed Science Lab's work combines principles and techniques from geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology to improve our understanding of how variability and disturbances in natural and anthropogenic processes influence watersheds and their natural resources. 

Rivers, Landscapes and Environmental Change Lab

Dr. Shawn Chartrand

The Rivers, Landscapes and Environmental Change Lab members follow their curiosities and explore questions and problems that fall within the broad topic of Earth and Planetary Surface Processes. They bridge geophysics, geomorphology, hydrology and applied math in conducting their research, which commonly applies a variety of methods from fieldwork to laboratory experiments.