ABOUT FIDEL

THE FOREST INSECT DISTURBANCE ECOLOGY LAB (FIDEL) is within the Faculty of Forestry at UBC Vancouver located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people.

FIDEL operates under the direction of Dr. Allan L Carroll. Our research primarily falls into four major themes:

1. Effects of climate change on forest insect disturbance regimes;

2. Population ecology and dynamics of bark beetles;

3. Risk of spread by the mountain pine beetle into the boreal forest;

4. Development of novel techniques for pest detection and monitoring.

Current study systems include the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis), Douglas-fir beetle (Dendroctonus psuedotsugae), alder bark beetle (Alniphagus aspericollis) and western spruce budworm (Choristoneura freemani), among others, in western North America.

FIDEL’s research program aims to integrate ecological phenomena with socioeconomic considerations to support effective ecosystem management and sustainable forestry. Our efforts are necessarily multidisciplinary and we are fortunate to collaborate with diverse teams and agencies on our projects.

The Forest Insect Disturbance Ecology Lab believes all students, faculty and staff should be provided with the best possible conditions for research, in a workspace founded on mutual respect and equal opportunities. We acknowledge our responsibility to actively invite and uphold a diversity of people and perspectives, and believe that commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is an invaluable component of academic and scientific excellence. We are committed to advocating for these values in our lab, Department, University, and the wider scientific community.