My research involves studying the physiology and production management of apples, cider apples, peaches, pears, and cherries. As with any agricultural crop, the industry is rapidly changing with the availability of new cultivars, rootstocks, production systems, and labour saving technology.
Graduate students joining my team at Guelph get unrivalled opportunities to work in the lab and field answering research questions at the cutting edge of science with direct environmental and societal relevance. This important research is exciting, challenging and rewarding for the student, for me as the supervisor and for everyone else in the team.
Immigrant families settling the land, quilting bees, and ploughing matches are examples of some of the social and economic topics of early Ontario that link my work to the larger expertise of this University concerning agriculture and rural communities.
My research program is the only one in Canada that integrates economics, hydrology, and GIS to examine the cost effectiveness of landscape conservation programs.
My research looks at scales of local genetic adaptation to exotic Predators by Prey with high and low dispersal potential as well as ecological genomics and local adaptation of wild and aquacultural populations of Canadian Atlantic salmon.
At the turn of the 21st century, the environmental protection and climate change mitigation are among our most essential efforts to ensure our survival on the planet. Most development practices have been unsustainable up to now and cannot continue in the same fashion. The atmospheric environment is an important part of the environment we all depend on. At the same time, the atmosphere is so fragile and resource limited. Sustainable development toward the protection of the atmosphere is everyone's responsibility.
