Ross D. Stewart, Postdoctoral researcher, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics and the Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph
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Across Canada, schools, naturalists, and community groups are operating Malaise traps and sending their catches to the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, where DNA barcoding is used to reveal the insects they contain. Ross will share the story of BugQuest’s first national season: what was collected, what these samples can tell us about insect diversity across Canada, and the challenges of turning hundreds of community-run sampling sites into a coordinated biodiversity survey. He will also explain how local naturalists can become involved in the 2027 BugQuest season.
Ross D. Stewart is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics and the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, where he leads BugQuest. His research combines field ecology, DNA barcoding, and biodiversity informatics to understand how biological communities vary across landscapes. Before moving to Canada, he lectured in botany and conducted biodiversity research in South Africa.