Principal Investigator

Dr. Stephanie Rivest (she/her)
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
Lakehead University

Academic Experience
Mitacs Postdoctoral Fellow, Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Université de Montréal, and Montréal Botanical Garden
Contract Instructor, Carleton University

Education
PhD, University of Ottawa
BSc, University of Ottawa

Graduate Students

Francesca Turner
MSc Candidate (2026 - present)

Francesca is researching urban biotic homogenization of moth communities in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Her interest lies in determining how urbanization may select for moth species based on their functional traits, and thus drive a decrease in biodiversity within cityscapes.  

Honours Students

Sydney Phillips
​Honours Student (2026 - present)

​Sydney is investigating how urbanization influences butterfly communities across North America. Their research involves compiling and categorizing traits for several hundred butterfly species. They aim to identify which traits are favoured in cities and whether communities are homogenized across urban areas to better understand how urbanization impacts the biodiversity and adaptability of butterflies.