Our Team

Dr. Christina Semeniuk

Associate Professor
2013-Present
semeniuk@uwindsor.ca

The unifying thread driving my research program is a focus on how human disturbance affects adaptive decisions of organisms as they attempt to optimize competing fitness-maximizing goals, and how these resulting tradeoffs ultimately modify the persistence and resilience of wildlife populations. My experience with conservation issues is based on a strong theoretical background in behavioural ecology that is combined with field studies, state-of-the-art quantitative methods such as agent-based modeling and system dynamics modeling, quantitative statistics, econometric models of human behaviour, and GIS applications. I joined the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor in January 2013.

Kristen Cyr

PhD Candidate
2022-Present
cyrk@uwindsor.ca

Kristen Cyr is co-supervised by Dr. Fielding Montgomery at the Canadian Wildlife Federation. She joined the lab as a Master’s student in September 2022, and has since transitioned into a PhD in 2024. Her research focuses on social-ecological systems, examining the movement and behavioural responses of juvenile Atlantic salmon to invasive species pressure and rising water temperatures, with the aim of informing habitat conservation strategies and understanding the associated social and ecological outcomes. She uses a multi-method approach that includes, but not limited to, drone surveys, acoustic telemetry, underwater video, fish scale analysis, community co-production methods, and fuzzy cognitive mapping.

Kenzi Whited

MSc Student
2024-Present

Rachel Dow

MSc Student
2024-Present
dow3@uwindsor.ca

Rachel joined the Love and Semeniuk labs in Fall 2024 and is incredibly passionate about various topics within avian research. Rachel has previously worked with several shorebird species in Southern New Brunswick. Through this work, she has gained valuable experience and skills, and she is excited to expand her skills with her master’s project which will focus on the behaviour of snow buntings in Iqaluit, Nunavut. She will examine the behavioural flexibility of this Arctic species and how that might help individuals adapt to an urban landscape.

Angelina Kemp

MSc Student
2024-Present

Jacob Peterson-Galema

MSc Student
2024-Present
peter11z@uwindsor.ca

Jacob first joined the Semeniuk lab as a research assistant in 2024, then returned later that year to pursue a Master’s degree. He is now co-supervised by Dr. Evan Richardson of Environment and Climate Change Canada and his research focus on the spatiotemporal patterns of polar bear movement as well as eider anti-predator behaviours across Qaqsauqtuuq Island, Nunavut, Canada.

Isabelle Tormasi

MSc Student
2024-Present
tormasi@uwindsor.ca

Isabelle joined the Adaptive Capacity Lab in 2024 as a Master’s student. Her research investigates the behavioural and environmental drivers of smallmouth bass invasion in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to ultimately inform long lasting management strategies. When she’s not sifting through acoustic telemetry data, Isabelle can be found reading a juicy book or fishing with friends.

Holly Mosco

MSc Student
2025-Present

Lerena Ashevak

MSc Student
2025-Present