User:Metadata Assistant/Rudy Boonstra

Boonstra is a full professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He studied at the University of Calgary for his B.Sc.; he later earned a Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia.

Boonstra is currently cross-appointed to the Departments of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology; Cell & Systems Biology; and Physiology. His field work is pan-Canadian (ex. the Yukon and Alberta). He describes his research as follows: “The research focus of my lab is to understand how the stress axis functions in natural populations of mammals and birds to maximize fitness. The stress axis is a vital regulator of adaptation in birds and mammals and a pivotal component of the neuroendocrine system. The system is a major pathway that integrates environmental change and through which life history decisions to reproduce, to grow, or to put energy into storage are implemented.”

Select publications
Boonstra, R. & Krebs, C. J. (2007). Population limitation of the northern red-backed vole in the boreal forests of northern Canada. Journal of Animal Ecology, 75, 1269–1284.

Fletcher, Q. E., & Boonstra, R. (2006). The impact of live-trapping on the stress response of the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus). Journal of Zoology (London), 270, 473-478.

Hik, D. S., McColl, C. J., Boonstra, R. (2001). Why are arctic ground squirrels more stressed in the boreal forest than in alpine meadows? ÉcoSCIENCE, 8(3), 275-288.

Krebs, C. J., Boonstra, R., Boutin, S., & Sinclair, A. R. E. (2001). What drives the 10-year cycle of snowshoe hares? BioScience, 51(1), 25-35.

Krebs, C., Boutin, S., Boonstra, R., Sinclair, A. R. E., Smith, J.N.M., Dale, M., & Turkington, R. (1995). Impact of food and predation on the snowshoe hare cycle. Science, 269, 1112-1115.

Articles about Boonstra's research

 * When Animals Worry
 * Stress Everlasting: The Cautionary Tale of Stressed-Out Bunnies
 * Radiation May Have Positive Effects On Health: Study