BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEMS 

University of Guelph

The world's flora and fauna are disappearing at rates that match the mass extinction events of the past, like the Ice Age. How these changes in the numbers of species are affecting our ecosystem—and how we can deal with the emerging environmental problems—are questions Dr. Kevin McCann at the University of Guelph hopes to help answer.

"We believe that in an "untouched" world, diversity of species gave our ecosystem balance," explains Dr. McCann. "Reducing that diversity, which we as humans have done and continue to do, by tampering with nature, changes the balance, which has enormous repercussions on everything from crop productivity to global warming. Our research will look at how and why diversity impacts on ecosystems, with the goal of developing the long-term strategies we need to survive."

Dr. McCann's lab has already begun to use some of its findings to help the management of Great Lakes fisheries.

Researcher: Dr. Kevin McCann