I have been curious about plant-herbivore interactions in northern and mountain environments for most of the past 35 years. Herbviores are central to the functioning of tundra and mountain ecosystems, influencing how species interact, energy flows and nutrient cycling, and resilience to ongoing environmental changes.  However, the outcomes of plant-herbivore interactions are highly variable across time and space. The causes of this variation can be related to influences of human management, species diversity, disturbance history, climate, and primary productivity, among other factors. I will discuss some of things we have learned from our long-term research in Yukon mountains (and a few other places), and I will also introduce the Herbivory Network (http://herbivory.lbhi.is). The HN is an international research effort to bring together scientists from Arctic and alpine regions to investigate the role of herbivores in these rapidly changing ecosystems, by fostering collaborations and facilitating multi-site comparisons through the development and use of common experimental protocols and data synthesis.

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Livestream (Channel 1). Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation remotely.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.