Of Muskox and Men: Arctic Ecology and Climate Change

Climate change and its impacts on our environment is a contemporary and sometimes contentious interdisciplinary issue. The Arctic is experiencing some of the most dramatic changes in climate but will the Arctic environment be able to respond and adapt? To answer this question, we need to understand the Arctic climate and the drivers, both natural and anthropogenic, of atmospheric change; how plants, animals and humans have adapted to life in the Arctic; and how the environment is responding to climate change. Zoe Panchen will draw on her research on plants and plant communities in Nunavut, Canada to explore these questions. There will be lots of cool pictures and not too much science!

Dr. Zoe Panchen is a W. Garfield Weston Postdoctoral Fellow in Northern Research in the Department of Geography at UBC. She gained her PhD in Biology at Carleton University. Her research focuses on Arctic plant ecology and how plants respond to climate change.