Jason Pither, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biology
Member of the Okanagan Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services
Member of UBC's Biodiversity Research Centre
Co-lead of UBC's Fostering Open Science @ UBC team
University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus
email: jason [dot] pither <at> ubc [dot] ca

Current Graduate Students
​Liam Johnson (M.Sc.)   
September 2020 - 
Landscape connectivity from the perspective of mycorrhizal fungi
Dawn Machin (M.Sc.)   
September 2019 - 
Weaving together indigenous knowledge and western science to understand the history of chinook salmon in the Okanagan
Corrina Thomsen (Ph.D.)  NSERC CGS-D and Killam Scholar
September 2018 - 
A biogeographic perspective on fungal range among ectomycorrhizal host plants.

Postdoctoral Associates
Dr. Amanda Liczner.  BRAES Postdoctoral Fellow.  Oct. 2020 -  (co-advised by Drs. Lael Parrott and Adam Ford)
Connectivity conservation.

Former Postdocs, Graduate students, & Honours students

​Mac Repovs (M.Sc.) Sept. 2018 - Dec. 2020
The contribution of community gardens to pollinator diversity in an urban setting.

Bruno Carturan (Ph.D.)  May 2014 - Nov. 2020
​(co-advised with Dr. Lael Parrott)
Relationship between diversity, connectivity, and resilience in coral reef communities.

Faye Manning (M.Sc.)  September 2017 - August 2019
Are waterbirds effective vectors of freshwater diatoms? (Experiments with feathers!)
Where now: Field technician, Hakai Institute.

Bethany Arndt​  (Honours) Sept. 2017 - April 2018. (co-advised with Dr. Adam Ford)
The changing geography of plant resources for large herbivores in western Canada.  
Where now: Completed MSc at UBC Forest and Conservation Sciences

Carmen Chelick (M.Sc.) December 2018
Functional and phylogenetic diversity within the Okanagan basin, British Columbia.
Where now: Environmental Consultant, Kelowna.

Brian Muselle (M.Sc.) (Co-advised with Dr. Howard Thistlewood, AAFC Summerland) April 2019
Agent-based models of the impending invasion of the apple maggot in the Okanagan Valley
Where now: Inspector at Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Brittany Altwasser (M.Sc) May 2017
Thesis title: "Deriving a qualitative, continental-scale model of the species richness of tree-associated ectomycorrhizal fungi in Canada and the USA"
Where now: Biology instructor at Okanagan College, Kelowna.

Taylor Weixl (Honours Ecology & Evolutionary Biology)  April 2016
Thesis title: "Evaluating moderators of calibration model precision in diatom-based paleolimnological studies".

Roxanne Snook (M.Sc) (co-advisor) August 2015
Thesis title: "Modelling habitat for the Rocky Mountain Ridged Mussel (Gonidea angulata) in Okanagan Lake, BC
Where now: Environmental consultant with Pearson Ecological Inc., lower mainland BC.

Grace Watts (Honours Biology, co-advised with Dr. Miranda Hart)  April 2015
Thesis title: "The occurrence and viability of fungal spores at depth within peat".

​Janice Brahney, (Postdoc) February 2015 - April 2015 
Where now: Assistant Professor, Utah State University

Liana Collette (M.Sc.)  August 2014.  
Thesis title: "An ecological assessment of Russian olive in western Canada: predicted distribution across its invaded range and insect associations in southern BC"
Where now: Research coordinator for Feedlot Health Management Services, Calgary AB

David Ensing (M.Sc.)  August 2013.
Thesis title: "The influence of grazing on within-community taxonomic and phylogenetic heterogeneity in alpine meadow plant communities"
Where now: Biologist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Summerland BC.

Chandra Moffat (M.Sc.)  August 2012.
Thesis title: "Cryptic host-associated and frequency-dependent patterns of host species selection of a candidate weed biocontrol agent in its native range"
Where now: Research Scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Summerland, BC

Elaine Bambrick (M.Sc.)  April 2013.
Thesis title: "Stochastic and deterministic assembly within forest plant communities of British Columbia"
Where now: Forest practitioner, Mackenzie, BC.  BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resources Operations.

Laura Super (M.Sc.)  May 2011.
Thesis title: "The influence of landscape-scale spatial environmental structure on the predictability of local community composition"
Where now: Ph.D. student with Suzanne Simard at UBC Forestry

Josephine Symonds (M.Sc.)  April 2011.
Thesis title: "Patterns and ecological consequences of exotic plant invasion in Canada's endangered antelope-brush ecosystem"
Where now: Ecosystems Biologist, Penticton BC, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resources Operations

Former undergraduate research assistants & work study students
​Eamon Riordan-Short
Nicholas Tochor
Emma Corbett
Grace Watts
Emma Walker
Mayling Fennell
Jeanne Langlois-Mongeau
Colin Scherer
Mark Lam
Peter Lomas
Katelyn Short
Sarah Degenhardt
Catherine Lund
Fawn Ross
Samantha Brett
Jamie MacEwen