Chelsea J. Little
Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Science & Department of Biological Sciences
Chelsea is a community, landscape, and ecosystem ecologist. Her research considers how communities of organisms assemble, the interactions between organisms of similar and different trophic groups, and how their traits contribute to ecosystem function. Ecosystems are intrinsically connected by exchanges of organisms (dispersal and other movement) and materials (for example, resource subsidies), so a second avenue of her research considers how these exchanges affect the functioning of recipient ecosystems. She uses a combination of laboratory experiments, field experiments, observational data, and data synthesis/meta-analysis in her research. She likes playing in the mountains and the snow, reading books (often crime novels), and eating cookies .
See Chelsea’s Dispersal route 

Hannah Marton
Masters Student in Biological Sciences
Hannah is starting her masters degree, where her research will focus on how priority effects and facilitative interactions shape alpine plant community responses to climate change. She started her time in the group as an undergraduate Environmental Science student at SFU in the Earth Systems concentration. Growing up on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, Hannah’s appreciation and curiosity for the natural world began at a young age. She joined the Little Ecology Group as a research assistant, exploring the mechanisms of priority effects and supporting iDiv’s sPriority working group. In her free time, you can find her at the community garden or hiking in the local mountains. Here’s an SFU news story about Hannah!

Teresa Silverthorn
Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Environmental Science
Teresa is an aquatic ecologist and biogeochemist whose research focuses on understanding how human activities impact ecosystem functioning in inland waters (e.g. streams, reservoirs, ditches, wetlands). Her expertise is in biogeochemical cycling, i.e. the movement and transformation of elements like carbon through ecosystems, with a focus on greenhouse gas exchange. She investigates these processes through field studies, lab experiments, and data syntheses. At SFU, she is examining the cumulative impacts of human recreation and climate change on alpine ecosystems in the BC southwest Coast Mountains to help inform sustainable management, as a part of the interdisciplinary Alpine Horizons project.  

Lars Sturm
PhD Student in Biological Sciences
Lars is a PhD student in the PERCS project, studying the impact of riparian perennials on aquatic ecosystems and their carbon cycle interactions in agricultural areas. He holds a BSc and MSc in environmental sciences from ETH Zuerich with a major in ecology and evolution. He has previously worked on the ecology of killer yeasts, and on the invasive quagga mussel and its impact on Swiss benthic macro invertebrates. Lars comes from Switzerland, loves to cook, boulder, the stars, and all things nature. Armed with a magnifying glass and a pair of binoculars on every hike or walk he will make sure that you have to stop at every new plant or critter.

Ingrid Campos
PhD Student in Biological Sciences
Ingrid is a PhD student at SFU in Biological Sciences. She is from the northeast of Brazil, and her interest in nature started in very early age. She graduated in biological sciences and have Master’s degree in ecology and conservation. During her studies she focused on understanding how human activities affect freshwater ecosystems based on the responses of bioindicator aquatic insects. In the Little Ecology Lab, she will be studying how perennial plantings influence the sequestration and store of carbon in agricultural areas as part of the PERCS project, which aims to contribute to Canada’s path to net zero by 2050. In her free time she enjoys watching movies, spending time with family and friends, singing, drawing/painting and, go for walks to get to know news places.

Adam Kuhrt
PhD Student in Biological Sciences
Adam is a biology PhD student on the Alpine Horizons project studying high alpine stream invertebrate communities in BC’s coastal mountain range. His goal is to examine the abiotic factors that limit and guide community structure, while also studying the function of their food webs. Adam did his MSc on the diet of invertivorous fish from high Arctic tundra streams in Nunavut, and subsequently worked as an invertebrate taxonomist and research assistant before bringing his passion for bugs to the mountains. Outside of research, Adam is an active musician and obsessive hobbyist who loves hiking, bouldering, reading, and playing chess.

Meghan Smith
USRA Student Researcher, School of Environmental Science
Meghan is an undergraduate student at SFU majoring in Environmental Science in the Applied Biology concentration. She is particularly interested in aquatic ecology and will be assisting the Little Ecology Lab in characterizing aquatic invertebrate biodiversity and community structure in the coastal alpine. In her free time, Meghan enjoys reading, going to the gym, spending time with friends and family, and exploring new places.

Gemma Linton
USRA Student Researcher
Gemma is a summer research assistant in the Little Ecology Group, where she is studying alpine plant community responses to climate change and glacial retreat. She is currently completing her undergraduate degree in Biology at McGill University, with a focus on conservation ecology and evolutionary biology. Her research interests include biodiversity monitoring and the development of predictive models to inform conservation management. Having been raised in BC on unceded Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) land, she developed an early appreciation for alpine and coastal ecosystems and is passionate about their protection in the face of global change. Beyond academics and research, she enjoys skiing and hiking in the mountains.

Dominik Rezzolla
Mitacs Globalink Intern
Dominik is an intern from Germany working with the Alpine Horizons group to study freshwater invertebrates. He finished his Bachelors degree in environmental and sustainability sciences at the University of Freiburg this winter, with his thesis on the effects of invasive quagga mussels in lakes in the upper Rhine valley.

Lab Alumni

Amanda Wik – USRA & Honors Thesis Student
What’s next: Amanda completed a masters program in Environmental Science at Yale University and is now (as of 2025) a PhD student at UC Berkeley.

Zoey Schutz – Honors Thesis Student
What’s next: Zoey started a law degree at the University of Victoria in Fall 2022, where she plans to focus on environmental law.

Kate May – Honours Thesis Student
What’s next: Kate is enrolled (as of 2025) in a Masters of Ecological Restoration at BCIT.

Kimberly Neumann – Work-Study Student
What’s next: Kimberly currently (2025) works as a GIS coodinator.

Sage Dillabough – Co-op & USRA Student Researcher
What’s next: Sage is finishing her degree at SFU.

Mikayla Young – Research Assistant
What’s next: Mikayla is now working as a Marine Mammal Researcher.

Sabir Sagor – Work-Study Student

Masseni Diakite – Work-Study Student

Kate Andy – Masters in Resource Management (MRM) Student
What’s next: as of 2025, Kate is working as an independent contractor Wildlife Ecologist here in British Columbia.

Pierre Etienne Banville – Undergraduate Research Assistant
What’s next: as of 2025, Pierre is pursuing a masters degree in the Department of Geography at SFU.

Charlotte Noort – Honours Thesis Student
What’s next: Charlotte is pursuing a masters degree in the Department of Geography at SFU as of 2025.

Grace Sabo – USRA & Honours Thesis Student
What’s next: Grace traveled with friends to celebrate graduation; as of 2025, she worked for Living Lakes Canada as the Lakes Program Coordinator.

Carter Tsui – Co-op Student & Undergraduate Research Assistant
What’s next: Carter has now finished an Honours thesis and as of 2025 has started a masters degree, both in the Salmon Watersheds Lab at SFU.

Jenna Lilburn – Undergraduate Research Assistant
What’s next: Jenna is finishing her SFU degree.

Michelle Roach – Undergraduate Research Assistant
What’s next: Michelle is finishing her SFU degree.

Jadzia Porter – Honours Thesis Student
What’s next: Jadzia is finishing her SFU degree, and working as a Program Coordinator for the Wildlife Collision Prevention Program.

Sheena Parsons – Masters Student in Biological Sciences
What’s next: down time after the masters! 

Philipp Tandler – Visiting Masters Student from ETH Zurich
What’s next: Philipp is working as a Bear Viewing Guide at Great Bear Lodge for the 2026 summer season.

Emmalee Barrett – USRA Student Researcher & Directed Studies Student, Biological Sciences
What’s next: Emmalee recently graduated and is hoping to travel before going back to school to become a teacher.

Elena Le – Undergraduate Research Assistant & Directed Studies Student, School of Environmental Science
What’s next: Elena recently graduated and will start a job soon at an environmental consulting firm.

Izzy Nicholson – USRA Student Researcher & Directed Studies Student, Biological Sciences
What’s next: Izzy just graduated! Stay tuned.