Current lab members
Postdoctoral Fellows
Matthew Guzzo
I grew up in Northern Ontario and have been an avid fisherman for as long as I can remember. My research generally focuses on the movement, physiology, growth, and feeding of freshwater fish and how these characteristics may be altered by climate change, fishing, and other human-induced stressors. I am especially interested in studying northern fish populations because lakes and rivers in this area are changing at greater magnitudes and rates than most other regions of the world. I am currently funded by a Weston Family Award in Northern Research.
Garth Covernton
I am working in the McMeans lab, as well as the Rochman lab at U of T St. George campus as part of the pELAstics project, which aims to understand how microplastics pollution might affect various ecosystem processes. I study how microplastic exposure affects the structure and energy flow within lake food webs using stable isotopes and fatty acids analyses. I am broadly interested in how potentially non-lethal contaminant stressors, such as microplastics, interact with aquatic ecology. I am especially intrigued by how stochastic statistical models can be used to characterize complex systems, such as food webs, to track how they respond to perturbations.
PhD Students
Timothy Fernandes
My doctoral work focuses on bridging the gaps between fish ecology and physiology across biological and temporal scales. My project aims to identify and compare seasonal patterns in physiology and ecology across cold- and warm-water fish species, while also disentangling how changes to these patterns (as expected under a changing climate) may translate to divergent life history and productivity outcomes. Outside of research, I enjoy casting a line, swimming in cold lakes, and sleeping in small tents.

Twitter: @a_fishy_fern, Website: https://timothyfernandes.wordpress.com/
Alexa Scott
As a theoretical ecologist affiliated with the McMeans lab, as well as the McCann lab at the University of Guelph, I am fascinated by how math can be used to address ecological problems. My doctoral research focuses on species interactions, specifically through foraging behavior and activity, across different environmental periodicities such as diurnal to annual cycles. Additionally, I am exploring the potential impacts of climate change on the underlying mechanisms of these interactions. My research is currently funded by the Morwick Scholarship in Aquatic Biology, as well as the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. In my leisure time, I love riding horses, reading murder mystery novels, and playing the piano and saxophone.
MSc students
Amy Dao
I started my M.Sc. in the McMeans lab in September 2019. I’m interested in how seasonal changes (like temperature and light) influence the gut size of freshwater fish. In addition, I will also look at how these seasonal changes affect lipid and protein cycling in fish muscle and liver tissues. My work looks at two fish species (Lake Trout and Small Mouth Bass) in two different Lakes (Lake Of Two Rivers and Lake Opeongo).
Brett Studden
Growing up, I spent a great deal of time outdoors, which fueled my curiosity for the natural sciences. Broadly, my research interests include biodiversity, physiology, and aquatic ecology, with past projects focusing on fish cardiac plasticity and movement. I am also passionate about understanding how global climate change impacts aquatic environments and the individuals who live there. My current research investigates how movement and activity in freshwater fish species diverge across multiple temporal scales and how this may contribute to community dynamics. My research is driven by a love of learning, and I am always excited and open to new ideas and collaboration. Outside of research, I enjoy photography, diving, travel, exercise, and cooking.
Past lab members
Emily Studd
Emily was an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab, interested in understanding what drives the decision to be active, how that changes in different situations and what the implications are of that decision for a population or food web. Her research sits at the interface of behavioural, metabolic, population, and community ecology, and combines observation- and biologging-based field studies with theoretical modelling. Emily is now an Assistant Professor at Thompson River University in British Columbia (https://studdecology.weebly.com/)
Sofia Pereira
My interests in ecology stemmed from a fascination with reading animal books and watching Steven Irwin’s TV shows as a child. Currently, my research aims to explore seasonal variation of mercury burdens of freshwater fishes, and how tracing patterns of contaminant concentrations can inform us about fish behaviour and ecology. More broadly, I am also passionate about understanding the responses of species and ecosystems to climate change, in the interest of developing conservation strategies that could cushion the impact of global change. In my free time, I love to knit, read fantasy books outdoors and go on walks with my dog, Zuko.   ​
Emma Bloomfield
Emma's MSc work investigated the effects of seasonality on ecological interactions between lake trout and smallmouth bass using stable isotopes and telemetry. Emma is currently employed by OMNRF.
Lauren Jarvis
Lauren completed her PhD using empirical data and ecological theory to aid our understanding of the mechanisms that govern aquatic food web dynamics.  Lauren is currently a post doc with DFO.
Evan Versteeg
Evan completed his MSc in 2020. His thesis focused on seasonal variation in the brain size and movement behavior of lake trout. Evan is currently employed in environmental consulting.
Sydney Wilkinson

Sydney completed her MSc in 2020. Her project focused on using lipid biomarkers (i.e. highly branched isoprenoids and fatty acids) to detect changes in carbon flow through seasons in freshwater systems. Sydney is now a PhD student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks under the supervision of Dr. Katrin Iken.