Joanie Kennah

M.Sc.

Growing up in northern New Brunswick, I have been surrounded by natural landscapes and interested in wildlife since I was young. Because of this connection to the wilderness, conservation research, as well as animal behaviour has captivated me throughout my academic pursuits thus far. My undergraduate research, regarding the effects of climate variability on the North American river otter’s habitat selection, piqued my interest for the study of animal behaviour in relation to environmental variability. More precisely, with climate change increasing the occurrence of phenological mismatches, species that rely on crypsis, such as the snowshoe hare, are becoming increasingly mismatched with their environment. My project will investigate snowshoe hare phenotypic plasticity and behavioural adjustment in relation to coat-colour mismatch. The results I hope to obtain will be of interest for conservation managers that want to implement effective conservation strategies for species affected by phenological mismatch.