Mary O'Connor

Professor

I study ecological dimensions of global change, with an emphasis on the effects of warming and biodiversity change on complex ecological systems. I also study the effects of changing predator diversity in the ocean, and the consequences of invasive species in marine habitats.

I study the influence of environmental temperature on the dynamics of ecological communities. My work contributes to our understanding of how patterns of species abundance are related to ocean temperature as it varies from place to place, season to season, and with climate change. Currently, I’m exploring how the effects of temperature on individual metabolic rate in turn influence interactions among species or dispersal of marine organisms. I also study the effects of changing predator diversity in the ocean, and the consequences of invasive species in marine habitats.

My research includes:

  • Warming experimental ecosystems to scale up physiological effects of warming to populations and ecosystems
  • Discovering biodiversity and quantifying in blue carbon reserves in Canadian seagrass systems
  • Cross-sector partnerships for detecting and attributing biodiversity change in Canada
Temperature control of larval dispersal and the implications for marine ecology, evolution and conservation
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104:1266-1271
O’Connor, M.I., J.F. Bruno, S.D. Gaines, B.S. Halpern, S.E. Lester, B.P. Kinlan, J.M.Weiss
2007
Enhancement of introduced and native species by a dominant invader
Marine Ecology Progress Series 289:109-116
Wonham, M.J., O’ConnorU, M., & Harley, C.D.G.
2005
Positive effects of a dominant invader on introduced and native mudflat species
Marine Ecology Progress Series, 289:109-116
Wohnam, M., M. O’Connor and C. Harley
2005
Species compositional similarity and ecoregions: Do ecoregion boundaries represent zones of higher species turnover?
Biological Conservation 126:24-40
McDonald, R., M. McKnight, D. Weiss, E. Selig, M. I. O’Connor, C. R. Violin and A. Moody.
2005