Photo Credit: michael Runtz

About Me

I am an Assistant Professor in the Biology department and an Adjunct Professor in the Environmental & Life Sciences (ENLS) Graduate Program at Trent University. I am passionate about science and education and I have been a science educator and wildlife researcher for over 10 years. The bulk of my previous (and ongoing) research has focussed on how hybridization and environmental factors, including human influences, alter evolutionary trajectories and lead to contemporary evolution of species. Much of my work has been on Canis species and in particular Eastern (aka Algonwuin) Wolves (Canis lycaon), a threatened species in Ontario and Canada. In 2012, I founded the Eastern Wolf Survey, a research project focussed on non-invasively tracking Eastern Wolves across southern Ontario and beyond. I work with partners in academia, government, and non-governmental organizations in Canada and the United States. My most recent work uses metabarcoding of environmental DNA (eDNA) to understand dietary niches of caribou and to assess community biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems. And I am excited to be a new collaborator on a large international genomics project to understand genetic factors impacting recovery of the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Check out my research page to find out more about my research.
Check out my teaching page to find out more about my teaching.

I am also working to build online biology curriculum which you can access through my YouTube channel Cordulia Learning.

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