Simon Fraser University members of the Cooperative Resource Management Institute
All SFU members of the Cooperative Resource Management Institute (CRMI) conduct research that is both at the leading edge of their fields and is applied to real issues faced by resource management agencies. Such work usually involves extensive collaboration with agencies.
Johnathan Moore (Director)
Associate Professor, Biological Science/School of Resource and Environmental Management
Jonathan Moore is an aquatic ecologist who aims to do research that helps inform the conservation and management of salmon-bearing watersheds. He and his research group (the Salmon Watersheds Lab) do both focused field research on emerging management challenges in aquatic ecosystems, from estuaries to headwaters, as well as broader-scale syntheses and theory of ecological dynamics.
Scott Harrison
Senior Lecturer, School of Resource and Environmental Management
Dr. Harrison is a terrestrial ecologist interested in applying the concepts of ecological resilience and Adaptive Management to improve the sustainable use of natural resources. His research has focused on wildlife and the ecosystems that support wildlife populations. Scott has studied a variety of species but is particularly interested in large carnivores and the dynamics of predator-prey systems.
Chelsea Little
Assistant Professor, Environmental Science, School of Resource and Environmental Management
Dr. Little was trained as a community ecologist, and uses this background to address topics in spatial and ecosystem ecology. Her research asks: what drives of ecosystems’ functioning? With community ecology, Dr. Little 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 she uses meta-ecosystem and landscape ecology consider how these exchanges affect the functioning of recipient ecosystems. Much of Dr. Little’s work takes place in watersheds, addressing community assembly and dispersal through river networks and the effects of landscape composition and structure on terrestrial-aquatic linkages. Research encompasses techniques as varied as laboratory experiments, field experiments, observational data, geostatistical modeling, simulations, and data synthesis.
John Reynolds
Professor, Biological Sciences
Salmon are the ultimate keystone species, with wide-ranging impacts on coastal, freshwater and adjacent terrestrial ecosystems. They are also under serious threat. In the Pacific Northwest, 25% of salmon stocks have disappeared or become severely threatened, leading to the loss of half of B.C.’s commercial salmon fleet in the past decade. Many watersheds face intense pressures from urbanization, deforestation, pollution, and climate change.
These pressures mirror those affecting aquatic biodiversity in many parts of the world. Twenty percent of the world’s freshwater fishes are considered at risk of extinction, 20% of the world’s coral reefs have been destroyed with little chance of immediate recovery, and 77% of the world’s fisheries are fully or over-exploited.
Our research program is focussing on conservation and ecology of Pacific salmon with an emphasis on their ecosystems, including connections between marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats. We are setting up long-term field studies and experiments designed to understand how various human impacts on salmon and their habitats translate into population declines and recovery, including the many species of terrestrial plants and animals that are linked to nutrients and trophic interactions involving salmon. We hope that this will lead to more holistic management of salmon and aquatic habitats.
Brett van Poorten
Assistant Professor, School of Resource and Environmental Management
Brett is a fisheries scientist who studies fisheries management decisions by merging concepts from recreational and commercial fisheries with human dimensions and management science. Prior to joining the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, he was the Senior Aquatic Scientist with the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, where he worked with fisheries managers to approach an array of issues affecting fisheries and aquatic systems. These included how to manage fisheries as social-ecological systems, how to address invasive species, deciding between setting regulations and improving habitat to prevent overfishing and addressing impacts to proposed and existing hydroelectric dams.
Brett’s research includes decision analysis and structured decision making to address management issues, development of novel techniques for monitoring fishing effort, and developing and applying social-ecological systems models to better understand interrelationships between management, fish and fishers.