James Schaefer
Professor of
Biology
B.Sc. (McGill), M.Sc. (
Biology Department,
Telephone: 705-748-1011 ext 7968
Telefax: 705-748-1139
E-mail: jschaefer@trentu.ca
Welcome
Here is a synopsis of my teaching,
conservation activities, and research programme. My studies focus
primarily on the spatial ecology, demography, and conservation of terrestrial
mammals in the North. Much of my recent efforts concern woodland caribou,
the shy and secretive animals that live year-round in the taiga.
My research is also centred on issues of spatial and temporal scaling −
how ecological conclusions depend on the window size on the world.
Dealing with scale is pivotal. It governs the extent to which we can
synthesize results across study areas, populations, and species. My lab
is working to develop techniques to understand and remove the effects of scale,
to allow us to make conclusions with greater generality.
I am dedicated to
communicating the science of ecology and conservation biology to
non-scientists. I am a Fellow with the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program
which advances environmental decision-making with a network of over
100 academic scientists.
Writing in
the popular press is one of my preferred avenues of public outreach.
• The new environmental
unconsciousness. Peterborough Examiner, 21 April 2011
• Caribou,
carbon and our common future. Edmonton Journal, 28 August 2009
• Climate
dominoes tumble slowly. Toronto Star, 4 October 2007
• Growing to extinction.
Teaching and Postgraduate Training
At
Graduate
students in my lab are enroled in the interdisciplinary Environmental & Life Sciences Graduate
Program which offers instruction leading to either a M.Sc. or a Ph.D.
degree. Many of our projects are collaborative efforts with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Manitoba
Conservation, and the Newfoundland
& Labrador Department of Environment & Conservation.
Email me if you are a
prospective student looking for post-graduate opportunities.
Selected Publications
Yott, A., R. Rosatte, J. A. Schaefer, J. Hamr,
and J. Fryxell. 2011. Movement and spread of
a founding population of reintroduced elk (Cervus elaphus) in Ontario,
Canada. Restoration Ecology 19:70-77.
Mayor, S. J., J. A. Schaefer, D. C.
Schneider, and S. P. Mahoney. 2009. The spatial structure of habitat selection: a caribou’s-eye-view.
Acta Oecologia 35: 253-260.
Nituch, L. A., J. A.
Schaefer, and C. D. Maxwell. 2008. Fine-scale
spatial organization reflects genetic structure in sheep. Ethology
114: 711–717
Schaefer, J. A., N.
Morellet, D. Pépin, H., and H. Verheyden. 2008. The spatial scale of habitat selection by red deer. Canadian
Journal of Zoology 86: 1337–1345.
Schaefer, J. A and S. J.
Mayor. 2007. Geostatistics
reveal the scale
of habitat selection. Ecological
Modelling 209:
401-406.
Schaefer, J. A. and S. P.
Mahoney. 2007. Effects of progressive clearcut logging on
Newfoundland caribou. Journal of Wildlife Management
71: 1753–1757.
Schaefer, J. A. 2006. Toward maturation of the population concept.
Oikos 112: 236-240.
Mayor, S. J. and J. A. Schaefer.
2005. The many faces of
population density. Oecologia 145: 276-281.
Schaefer, J. A. 2003. Long-term range recession and the
persistence of caribou in the taiga. Conservation Biology 17: 1435-1439.
Schaefer, J. A. and S. P.
Mahoney. 2003. Spatial
and temporal scaling of population density and animal movement: a power law
approach. Ecoscience 10: 496-501.
Mahoney, S. P. and J. A.
Schaefer. 2002. Long-term
changes in demography and migration of Newfoundland caribou. Journal of Mammalogy 83: 957-963.
Schaefer, J. A., and F.
Messier. 1995. Habitat selection as a
hierarchy: the spatial scales of winter foraging by muskoxen. Ecography 18: 334-344.
