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Research conducted in the Canadian North has shared conceptual focus on rapid environmental and societal change in a cold climate region, as well shared logistical challenges of remote region and community-based research.ÌýNorthern research and economic development are nationally priorities, and we are well-positioned to address these priorities from a multidisciplinary base.

The programs extend across a wide topical and geographic range including:

• Microbial diversity in the high Arctic
• Arthropod diversity across the Arctic
• Aboriginal resource management and knowledge integration in the Yukon
• Quebec and forest response to climate in Quebec

Many members of the NRS department are northern researchers working in boreal, subarctic and arctic regions.Ìý

• Benoit Côté

  

  McGill researchers field camp near Old Crow Flats in northern Yukon.
• Chris Buddle
• Kyle Elliott
• Murray Humphries
• Gordon Hickey
• Lyle Whyte

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Many department members work on aspects of the behavior and effects of contaminants released, directly or indirectly by human activity into the environment. The research in this category includes:

• Toxic effects of metals and organics, phosphorus, and greenhouse gas emissions.Ìý

A number of NRS department members are working on this area of research including:Ìý

• Niladri Basu
• Elena Bennett
• Kyle Elliott
• Jessica Head
• Joann WhalenÌý
• Lyle Whyte

Several of our research programs contribute to understanding the interactions between humans and the ecosystems they rely on. Important on-going examples include:

• Monteregie ecosystem services projectÌý
• Resilient farming systems in semi-arid KenyaÌý
• Projects in forest, fish and wildlife managementÌý

​The following NRSÌýdepartment members are working on these projects:

• Elena Bennett
• BenoitÌýCôté
• Kyle Elliott
• Gordon Hickey
• Murray Humphries
• Nicolas Kosoy

Diverse in itself, this theme brings together our research in forests, entomology, wildlife and fisheries. This research focuses on organismal responses to the environment and the dynamics of community and ecosystem processes that arise from them.ÌýÌý

A number of NRSÌýdepartment members are working on this area of research including: Ìý

• Elena Bennett
• Chris Buddle
• Benoit Côté
• Kyle Elliott
• Sebastien Faucher
• Jessica Gillung
• Jessica Head
• Murray Humphries
• Joann Whalen​

Microbiology and the processes it drives, with dimensions that extend from molecular techniques to astrobiology, continue to be an active research theme within the department.Ìý

A number of NRSÌýdepartment members are working on this area of research including:Ìý

• Brian Driscoll
• Sebastien Faucher
• Lyle Whyte
• Joann Whalen

A small, specialized but growing research themeÌýis the analysis of spatial patterns in land-surface, soil, or ecosystem properties and animal movements. These are derived from remote sensing, systematic ground sampling or satellite tracking data. Unprecedented explosion in the availability of data, new analytical tools, and expanding computing capability for analysis of ‘big data’ are fueling the development in this emerging area. Ìý

A number of NRSÌýdepartment members are involved with this research area:

• Jeffrey Cardille
• Murray Humphries