Current Members
Dr. Erin Cameron
Erin is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science at Saint Mary’s University. She works on the effects of global change, such as climate change and invasive species, on soil biodiversity and ecosystem services. She uses field observations, lab experiments, and models in her research, which is mostly conducted in Nova Scotia and western Canada.
Email: erin.cameron[at]smu.ca
Twitter: @erin_cameron
Dr. Helen Phillips
Helen is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellow. She works with Erin at Saint Mary’s University and Prof. Wim van der Putten at NIOO-KNAW in the Netherlands, and is currently based at Saint Mary’s University. Helen is interested in understanding how soil biodiversity is distributed across the globe, as well as understanding how these patterns may be altered as a result of human impacts. She typically uses large-scale data analyses and meta-analyses in her work.
Email: Helen.Phillips[at]smu.ca
Twitter: @helenherself
Claire Singer
Claire is a PhD student in the Applied Sciences program at Saint Mary’s University. Her research focuses on changes in the spread and impact of non-native plants in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada and includes methods grounded in science and Indigenous knowledges of the region. This research builds on approximately 15 years of previous work experience in the NWT focusing on species at risk, climate change, and invasive species.
Email: claire.singer[at]smu.ca
Stephen Paterson
Stephen is a PhD student studying biogeography of soil organisms in response to global change. After spending many years supporting research on aquatic ecosystems, from Canada’s Arctic to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, he unexpectedly became fascinated with earthworms. Stephen is now working to understand the spread of non-native earthworms into northern Canada so the impacts of these species can be better quantified and mitigated.
Email: Stephen.Paterson[at]smu.ca
Maheshi Dharmasiri
Maheshi graduated with a Master of Science in Applied Science (Biology) degree from Saint Mary’s University in 2021, where she studied three song parameters in an Atlantic Canadian population of European Starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, and whether they signal age. After completing her MSc, she joined Dr. Cameron’s lab as a Forest Ecology Researcher to coordinate and compile a global earthworm dataset. In addition to this, she is also working on a project studying the warming effects on microarthropod communities.
Email: Maheshi.Dharmasiri[at]smu.ca
Twitter: @maeisdha
Madison Silver
Madison began in the lab in 2020 as an Honours student studying habitat fragmentation, and quickly found a passion for soil conservation. After finishing her Bachelor of Science (Honours Environmental Science & Geography), she began pursuing a Masters of Applied Science under Erin's supervision, co-supervised by Dr. Andrew Medeiros. Her research involves investigating the environmental impacts of road salts on wetland soils in Halifax, and she is also completing a global meta-analysis on the various ecological impacts of road salting.
Email: Madison.Silver[at]smu.ca
Samantha Bennett
Samantha is an undergraduate student studying environmental science at Saint Mary’s University. She began working with the lab in the winter of 2020 and has since developed a newfound interest in below-ground biodiversity. She is currently working on her Honours investigating spread of jumping worms in New Brunswick.
Email: Samantha.bennett[at]smu.ca
Lindsay Scott - BSc honours student (transport of earthworm cocoons)
Jenacy Samways - SMUworks summer student, technician, BSc honours student (earthworm diversity on islands)
Sahana Kanabar - BSc honours student (road salt effects on soil and water)
Rowan Murphy - Technician
Heather Chow - BSc honours student (Sable Island invertebrate communities)
Larissa Sweeney - SMUworks summer student
Mairi-Jo Musgrave - Soil Biodiversity Science Communication Intern and website design
Aisling Dunn – Field technician (non-native plant spread)
Giannina Karki - SMUworks summer student, co-op student (earthworms in the Yukon)