Hana is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia studying changes in caribou habitat in northern Canada. Hana is from Victoria, British Columbia where she completed a Masters thesis under the supervision of Dr. Trevor Lantz at the University of Victoria (2019-2021). Hana then moved to Vancouver to pursue a PhD with Dr. Nicholas Coops at UBC (2022-2025). Hana’s graduate research has focused on using remote sensing imagery from satellites and drones to better understand how Arctic ecosystems are responding to rapid climatic changes. Hana has joined Dr. Isla Myers-Smith’s research group Team Shrub as a post-doctoral researcher studying the effects of habitat change for barren-ground caribou in northern Canada.   

Research Project: Impacts of changing lichen and shrub cover on barren-ground caribou across northern Canada

Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) are a keystone species of great ecological significance and cultural value to Indigenous people. Hana’s proposed research will quantify changing lichen cover due to fires and shrub expansion, examining how habitat is becoming fragmented and contributing to declining habitat quality for caribou across the Yukon and Northwest Territories. This research will use high-spatial resolution satellite data, aerial photographs and caribou GPS collars to understand the effects of intensifying fire regimes and shrubification on shifting migration and foraging behavior in caribou. Research outputs will inform assessments of herd stability and management actions by linking habitat quality with caribou population dynamics and movement rates.