Our research team is fully committed to creating an equitable and inclusive environment where all members have equal opportunities to
grow, develop, and succeed.
Our research team addresses Federal priorities to conserving landbirds and their ecosystems. Our research is designed to provide insights into the underlying processes of landbird ecology in forests and urban areas mainly in Western Canada. We study population dynamics, movement ecology, habitat use, reproduction, foraging ecology, migration, over-wintering population dynamics, behaviour, and other ecological patterns and processes.
Lab's Research SubjectsAnimal Migration
Movement Ecology Forest Ecology Urban Ecology Ornithology Habitat use Parental care Full annual cycle ecology Conservation Life History Trade-offs Forest Ecology 
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About:Our research team celebrates our diversity, interests, and personal experiences and backgrounds by focusing on not only growing as scientists but also as people by broadening our cultural competencies and deliberately working to enrich our work through support for each other.
We study why and how many animal populations are declining, and how we can stop their declines. We conduct interdisciplinary research that uses the field, laboratory, quantitative modelling, and innovative tracking technologies to get a better understanding of how we can help animals survive in the face of global change. We firmly believe that for conservation to succeed scientists need to listen to stakeholder goals and engage them in research of mutual benefit. We use these approach to help solve complex problems using transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary frameworks. Our work is thus highly collaborative, interdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary: linking academia, various departments and levels of government, industry, non-profit organizations, and Indigenous organizations. Past and current research spans three broad research areas: 1. Birds Movement and Migration 2. Effects of domestic cats on Canada's environment 3. Effects of forest stewardship on birds in Western Canada Please check out the projects section to learn more. I am always open for potential collaborations, please contact me if you are interested. OpportunitiesPhD opportunity studying non-breeding urban bird movement and ecology in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (PDF of ad available HERE)
PhD opportunity: Multiple benefits of urban greening across socio-economically and ecologically diverse urban areas: integrating effective guidance to municipalities on Nature-Based Solutions (PDF of ad available HERE) In the News
Congrats to Jonathan Chu for winning the Best Student Presentation Award, and Vanessa Hum for winning the Best Speed Talk at the North American Congress for Conservation Biology.
Elizabeth and her research featured in Animal Logic Episode "Cats Kill Billions of Birds Every Year. It's Time for That to Stop." Our cat research and former technician Jaylen Bastos featured in CBC GEM "My Pet Assassin" PhD Candidate, Elora Grahame's, side project on Sea Turtles was featured in the Boston Globe Check out our work on domestic cats featured in the documentary, "Running Wild: The Cats of Cornwall" Trailer: m.facebook.com/watch/?v=820577685413384&_rdr Online version of documentary As part of promotion for this documentary Dr. Gow also took part in a panel discussion on The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Check out recent media coverage of our Vancouver Cat Count, in partnership with the Stewardship Centre for British Columbia and Environment and Climate Change Canada. CBC British Columbia CBC Vancouver News Global News Radio CTV news |
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Announcements:
Recently published papers:
Pyott^, ML, DR Norris, GW Mitchell, L Custode, EA Gow. 2024 Home range size and habitat selection of owned outdoor domestic cats (Felus catus) in urban southwestern Ontario. PeerJ 12:e17159. 10.7717/peerj.17159 Gow EA, Aubrey B, Cossar L,, Mazerolle C, Cheskey E. 2024. Conducting community led research using trail cameras to develop baseline wandering domestic cat local abundance estimates. FACETS 9:1–4 https://doi.org. 10.1139/facets-2023-0033 Meehan TD…EA Gow… (46 authors). 2022. Integrating data types to estimate spatial patterns of avian migration across the Western Hemisphere. Ecological Applications 32:e2679 (published online 19 May 2022) Clyde, EH^, DR Norris, E Lupton^, EA Gow. 2022. Estimating habitat characteristics associated with the abundance of free-roaming domestic cats across the annual cycle. Wildlife Research. 49:583-595. Janus D^, EA Gow. 2021. Parental care by a European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) at the nest of a Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus). Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 133:348–354 Gow EA, JB Burant, AO Sutton, NE Freeman, ERM Grahame, M Fuirst, M Sorensen, SM Knight, HE Clyde, NJ Quarrell, AAE Wilcox, R Chicalo, SG Van Drunen, DS Shiffman. 2021. Popular press portrayal of issues surrounding free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus). People and Nature. 00:1-12 Grahame ERM^, Martin K^, EA Gow, DR Norris. 2021. Diurnal and nocturnal habitat selection of Eastern Whip-poor-wills (Antrostomus vociferous) in the northern portion of their breeding range. Avian Conservation Ecology. 16:14 Saunders SP, JX Wu, EA Gow, E Adams, B Bateman, T Bayard, S Beilke, A Dayer, AMV Fournier, K Fox, P Heglund, SB Lerman, NL Michel, E Paxton, CH Şekercioğlu, MA Smith, W Thogmartin, MS Woodrey, C van Riper III. 2021. Bridging the research-implementation gap in avian conservation with translational ecology. Ornithological Applications 123:1–13 Shiffman D, SJ Bittick, MS Cashion, SR Colla, LE Coristine, DII Derrick, EA Gow, CC MacDonald, M More O’Ferrall, M Oroboko, RA Pollom, J Provencher, NK Dulvy. 2020. Inaccurate and biased global media coverage underlies public misunderstanding of shark conservation threats and solutions. iScience 23: 101205 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101205 Gow EA, P Arcese, D Dagenais, RJ Sardell, S Wilson, JM Reid. 2019. Testing predictions of inclusive fitness theory in inbreeding relatives with biparental care. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 286:20191933 PDF Gow EA, SM Knight, DW Bradley, RG Clark, DW Winkler, M Bélisle, L Berzins, T Blake, ES Bridge, L Burke, RD Dawson, PO Dunn, D Garant, G Holroyd, AG Horn, DJT Hussell, O Lansdorp, AJ Laughlin, ML Leonard, F Pelletier, D Shutler, L Siefferman, C Taylor, H Trefry, CM Vleck, D Vleck, LA Whittingham, DR Norris. 2019. Effects of spring migration distance on tree swallow reproductive success within and among flyways. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 7:380 PDF DeZwaan, D^. S Wilson, EA Gow, K Martin. Sex-specific spatiotemporal variation and carry-over effects in a migratory alpine songbird Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 7:285 PDF Knight SM^, DW Bradley, RG Clark, EA Gow, M Bélisle, L Berzins, T Blake, ES Bridge, RD Dawson, PO Dunn, D Garant, G Holroyd, AG Horn, DJT Hussell, O Lansdorp, AJ Laughlin, ML Leonard, F Pelletier, D Shutler, L Siefferman, C Taylor, H Trefry, CM Vleck, D Vleck, DW Winkler, LA Whittingham, DR Norris. Non-breeding season movements of a migratory songbird are related to declines in resource availability. The Auk: Ornithological Advances ukz028 PDF Gow EA, L Burke, DW Winkler, SM Knight, DW Bradley, RG Clark, M Bélisle, L Berzins, T Blake, ES Bridge, RD Dawson, PO Dunn, D Garant, G Holroyd, AG Horn, DJT Hussell, O Lansdorp, AJ Laughlin, ML Leonard, F Pelletier, D Shutler, L Siefferman, C Taylor, H Trefry, CM Vleck, D Vleck, LA Whittingham, DR Norris. 2019. A range-wide domino effect and resetting of the annual cycle in a migratory songbird. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 286: 20181916 PDF Knight SM^, DW Bradley, RG Clark, EA Gow, M Bélisle, L Berzins, T Blake, ES Bridge, RD Dawson, PO Dunn, D Garant, G Holroyd, AG Horn, DJT Hussell, O Lansdorp, AJ Laughlin, ML Leonard, F Pelletier, D Shutler, L Siefferman, C Taylor, H Trefry, CM Vleck, D Vleck, DW Winkler, LA Whittingham, DR Norris. 2018. Constructing and evaluating a continent-wide migratory songbird network across the annual cycle. Ecological Monographs 88:445–460 PDF Click Here for an infographic describing this paper ^ Student papers |