Neil Rooney - edit 1
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- My name is Neil Rooney, I'm an
associate professor
in the School of Environmental
Sciences. I'm an ecologist.
I like to study the abundance
and distribution of critters
and plants in ecosystems.
I'm particularly fascinated with fresh
water and rain ecosystems.
What motivates me to do
my research? I find ecosystems
really fascinating, they're incredibly
complex, they're incredibly diverse
and the fact that they persist
in the face of environmental change
that's what really kind of
fascinates me.
What I'm really interested in is how
human activities
and how human stressors affect
the way that ecosystems operate,
affect the biodiversity
of these ecosystems,
and affect their long term stability
and ultimately,
the sustainability of ecosystem
services and ecosystem functions
that they provide.
Canada as a country and Ontario
as a province depend upon
the services the ecosystems provide
for long term sustainability
of our populations.
Ecosystems provide fresh water to
drink, they provide natural resources
that we extract, so from a purely
economic standpoint
ecosystems are very important
to Canadians.
We are improving life by ensuring
the way that
humans interact with their
environment is ultimately healthy
for the structure and functioning
of the ecosystems
upon which we depend.
The University of Guelph is very
invested in studying
how agricultural practices affect
the sustainability of ecosystems.
And my research is very
tightly tied into that.