Jay Malcolm
Associate Professor
Phone: 1-416-978-0142
Fax: 1-416-978-3834
Email: jay.malcolm@utoronto.ca
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Associate Professor Jay Malcolm specializes in wildlife (especially small mammal) ecology, conservation biology, community ecology, tropical ecology, and landscape ecology. His research interests include small mammal ecology and biogeography, diversity and abundance of tropical organisms, the impacts of human‑induced landscape changes (especially logging) on diversity and ecological processes, and relationships between landscape structure and biological diversity. He has examined forest fragmentation and edge effects, the impacts of global warming on ecosystems, and mammalian adaptations to arboreality and seasonality.
Course Coordinator:
FOR400Y Advanced Seminar in Forest Conservation
FOR413/1555H Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
FOR3009H Forest Conservation Biology
CURRENT RESEARCH POSSIBILITIES LINK:Upcoming research possibilities will be posted in November (most positions for this coming September are filled). Please note that deadlines for entry into graduate programs in the Faculty are in January/February of the year of admission.
Detailed research interests, publications, and graduate students.
Research Interests 
Jay Malcolm's research interests are in the areas of community and landscape ecology, conservation biology, and wildlife ecology. Specific areas of ongoing research include:
1. Effects of forest harvesting on biodiversity in boreal and temperate forest ecosystems
Research in Ontario's Boreal and Great Lakes/St. Lawrence forests is examining the effects of logging on animal and plant communities. Field‑based biodiversity studies are focussing on small mammals, insects, birds, and understory plants. Particular interests include: 1) the ways in which landscape-level ecological processes scale up to create stand‑level change, especially through the interplay of island biogeography and edge processes, 2) the fauna of woody debris (including downed logs and snags), 3) the canopy fauna, and 4) use of remotely sensed data to characterize anthropogenic changes in landscapes especially with regard to changes in forest successional trajectories and stand age distributions.
2. Effects of internal and external forest fragmentation on tropical biodiversity
Dr. Malcolm's past research in the tropics has included studies of: 1) ecological effects of external forest fragmentation (central Amazon), 2) ecological effects of internal forest fragmentation during selective logging (Central African Republic and south-eastern Amazon), 3) ecology of tropical (especially canopy) small mammals, and 4) ecological and evolutionary roles of Amazonian rivers. Current research is focussing on several topics related to the ecological impacts of selective logging and harvesting of non‑timber forest products, including development and testing of theoretical edge models, animal and plant community responses to logging, ecology of tree and small mammal communities, and uses of remotely sensed data to characterize tropical habitats.
3. Impacts of global warming on biodiversity
Past research projects have included: 1) development of climate "envelope" models to predict the future spatial distributions of vertebrate species in southern Africa, 2) studies of the vulnerability of Canadian and U.S. protected areas to global warming, 3) development of techniques to assess the vulnerability of wildlife populations to global warming, and 4) climate envelope modelling to assess species distributional changes in Canada and potential future migration rates. Current research is focusing on 1) habitat and species loss, both through migration limitation and habitat loss, 2) modelling the future responses of tree communities to global warming (via climate envelope and migration modelling), and 3) the design of future landscapes to facilitate species migration.
Publications (last five years - updated October 2007):
Book Chapters
Ray, J. C., and J. R. Malcolm. In press. Species accounts for Deomys ferrugineus, Hylomyscus aeta, and Heimyscus fumosus and genus accounts for Deomys and Heimyscus. In: Mammals of Africa (D. Happold, J. Kingdon, and T. Butynski, eds.), Academic Press, New York.
Malcolm, J.R., J. L. Patton, and M. N. F. da Silva. 2005. Small mammal communities in upland and floodplain forests along an Amazonian white-water river. Pp. 335-380 In: Mammalian Diversification: From Chromosomes to Phylogeography (A Celebration of the Career of James L. Patton) (E. A Lacey and P. Myers, eds.). University of California Publications in Zoology, Volume 133, 383 pp.
Malcolm, J. R., Markham, A., Neilson, R. P., and Garaci. M. 2005. Case study: migration of vegetation types in a greenhouse world. Pp. 252-255 In: Climate Change and Biodiversity (T. E. Lovejoy and L. Hannah, eds.), Yale University Press, New Haven.
Malcolm, J. R. 2004. Ecology and conservation of canopy mammals. Pp. 297-331 In: Forest canopies (2nd Edition). (M. D. Lowman and H. B. Rinker, eds.). Elsevier Academic Press, New York.
Journal articles
Vanderwel, M.C., J.R. Malcolm, and S.C. Mills. In press. Meta‑analysis of forest bird responses to partial harvesting. Conservation Biology (Accepted May 2007).
Norghauer, J. M., J. R. Malcolm, and B. L. Zimmerman. In press. Experimental establishment of big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) seedlings on two soil types in native forest of Pará, Brazil. Forest Ecology and Management (Accepted June 2006).
Liu, C., Whittaker, R.J., Ma, K., and Malcolm, J.R. 2007. Unifying and distinguishing diversity ordering methods for comparing communities. Population Ecology 49:89-100.
Holloway, G.L. and Malcolm, J.R. 2007. Nest tree use by northern and southern flying squirrels in central Ontario. Journal of Mammalogy 88:226-233.
Holloway, G.L. and Malcolm, J.R. 2007. Northern and southern flying squirrel use of space within home ranges in central Ontario. Forest Ecology and Management 242:747-755.
Holloway, G. L. and J. R. Malcolm. 2006. Sciurid habitat relationships in forests managed under selection and shelterwood siviliculture in Ontario. Journal of Wildlife Management 70:1735-1745.
Vanderwel, M. C., J. R. Malcolm, and S. M. Smith. 2006. An integrated model for snag and downed woody debris decay class transitions. Forest Ecology and Management 234:48-59.
Norghauer, J. M., J. R. Malcolm, and B. L. Zimmerman. 2006. Juvenile mortality and attacks by a specialist herbivore increase with conspecific adult basal area of Amazonian Swietenia macrophylla (Meliaceae). Journal of Tropical Ecology 22:451-460.
Lambert, T. D., Malcolm, J. R., and B. L. Zimmerman. 2006. Amazonian small mammal abundances in relation to habitat structure and resource abundance. Journal of Mammalogy 87:766-776.
Peters, S. L., J. R. Malcolm, and B. L. Zimmerman. 2006. Effects of selective logging on bat communities in the southeastern Amazon. Conservation Biology 20:1410-1421.
Vanderwel, M. C., J. R. Malcolm, S. M. Smith, and N. Islam. 2006. Insect community composition and trophic guild structure in decaying logs from eastern Canadian pine-dominated forests. Forest Ecology and Management 225: 190-199.
Norghauer, J. M., J. R. Malcolm, and B. L. Zimmerman. 2006. An experimental test of density- and distant‑dependent recruitment of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) in southeastern Amazonia. Oecologia 148: 437-446.
Malcolm J. R., C. Liu, R. P. Neilson, L. Hansen, and L. Hannah. 2006. Global warming and extinctions of endemic species from biodiversity hotspots. Conservation Biology 20:538-548.
Gettinger, D., F. Martins‑Hatano, M. Lareschi, and J. R. Malcolm. 2005. Laelapine mites (Acari: Laelapidae) associated with small mammals from Amazonas, Brazil, including a new species from marsupials. Journal of Parasitology 91:45-48.
Lambert, T. D., Malcolm, J. R., and B. L. Zimmerman. 2005. Variation in small mammal species richness by trap height and trap type in southeastern Amazonia. Journal of Mammalogy 86:982‑990.
Bowman, J., G. L. Holloway, J. R. Malcolm, K. R. Middel, and P. J. Wilson. 2005. Northern range boundary dynamics of southern flying squirrels: evidence of an energetic bottleneck. Canadian Journal of Zoology 83:1486-1494.
Lambert, T. D., J. R. Malcolm, and B. L. Zimmerman. 2005. Effects of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) logging on small mammal communities, habitat structure, and seed predation in the southeastern Amazon Basin. Forest Ecology and Management 206:381-398.
Deans, A. M., J. R. Malcolm, S. M. Smith, and M. I. Bellocq. 2004. Edge effects and the responses of aerial insect assemblages to structural retention harvesting in Canadian boreal peatland forests. Forest Ecology and Management 204:249‑266.
Malcolm, J. R., B. D. Campbell, B. G. Kuttner, and A. Sugar. 2004. Potential indicators of the impacts of forest management on wildlife habitat in northeastern Ontario: A multivariate application of wildlife habitat suitability matrices. Forestry Chronicle 80:91-106.
Vance, C. C., Kirby, K. R., Malcolm, J. R., and Smith, S. M. 2003. Community composition of long-horned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in the canopy and understory of sugar maple and white pine stands in south-central Ontario. Environmental Entomology 32:1066-1074.
Deans, A. M., J. R. Malcolm, S. M. Smith, and T. J. Carleton. 2003. A comparison of forest structure among old-growth, variable retention harvested, and clearcut peatland black spruce (Picea mariana) forests in boreal northeastern Ontario. Forestry Chronicle 79:579-589.
Scott, D., J. R. Malcolm, and C. Lemieux. 2002. Climate change and biome representation in Canada's National Park system: implications for system planning and park mandates. Global Ecology and Biogeography 11:475-484.
Malcolm, J. R., A. Markham, R. P. Neilson, and M. Garaci. 2002. Estimated migration rates under scenarios of global climate change. Journal of Biogeography 29:835-849.
Jackson, S. M., T. S. Fredericksen, and J. R. Malcolm. 2002. Area disturbed and residual stand damage following logging in a Bolivian tropical forest. Forest Ecology and Management 166:271-283.
Submitted
Gardner, T.A., J. Barlow, I.S. Araujo, T.C. Ávila-Pires, A.B. Bonaldo, N. F. Lo-Man-Hung, J.E. Costa†, M.C. Esposito, L.V. Ferreira, J. Hawes, M.I.M. Hernandéz, M.S. Hoogmoed, R.N. Leite, J.R. Malcolm, M.B. Martins, L.A.M. Mestre, W.L. Overal, L.T.W. Parry, S. Peters, M.A. Ribeiro-Junior, M.N.F. da Silva, C. da Silva Motta, and C.A.Peres. The cost-effectiveness of biodiversity surveys in tropical forests. Ecology Letters (Accepted pending appropriate revision, October 2007).
Barlow, J., T.A. Gardner, I.S. Araujo, T.C. Avila-Pires, A.B. Bonaldo, J.E. Costa, M.C. Esposito, L.V. Ferreira, J. Hawes, M.I.M. Hernandéz, M.S. Hoogmoed, R.N. Leite, N.F. Lo-Man-Hung, J.R. Malcolm, M.B. Martins, L.A.M. Mestre, A.L. Nunes-Gutjahr, W.L. Overal, L.T.W. Parry, S. Peters, M.A. Ribeiro-Junior, C. da Silva Motta, M.N.F. da Silva, & C.A. Peres. Quantifying the biodiversity value of tropical secondary and plantation forests. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Accepted pending appropriate revision, October 2007).
Deans, A.M., S.M. Smith, J.R. Malcolm, W.J. Crins, and M.I. Bellocq. Hoverfly (Syrphidae) communities respond to varying structural retention following harvesting in Canadian peatland black spruce forests. Environmental Entomology (Accepted pending appropriate revision, January 2006).
Vance C. C., S. M. Smith, J. R. Malcolm, J. Huber, and M. I. Bellocq. Sensitivity of hymenopteran families and mymarid genera to forest type and vertical strata in northern temperate forests. Environmental Entomology (Accepted pending appropriate revision, September 2005).
Norghauer, J., J. R. Malcolm, and B. L. Zimmerman. Canopy cover mediates interactions between a specialist caterpillar and seedlings of a Neotropical tree. Journal of Ecology (Accepted pending appropriate revision, July 2007).
Popular Articles
Contributor. 2004. National Geographic Atlas of the World, 8th Edition. National Geographic Society.
Contributor. 2002. Our burdened earth. National Geographic Magazine, Map Supplement.
Current Graduate and Postdoctoral Students
| Name |
Research Area & Degree |
Barkley, E. |
Insect community structure as a function of tree cohort structure (co‑supervised with S. Smith). (M.Sc.F.) |
Burrell, M. |
Use of LiDAR to investigate bird communities of boreal multi‑cohort forests (co-supervised with P. Drapeau). (M.Sc.F.) |
Dennis, J. |
Insects of woody debris (co‑supervised with S. Smith). (M.Sc.F.) |
Kuttner, B. |
Use of field-based and remotely-sensed information to classify boreal stand structure (co‑supervised with S. Smith). (Ph.D.) |
Newman, M. |
Effects of variation in downed wood supply on boreal small mammal communities. (M.Sc.F.) |
Patterson, J. |
The effects of forest fragmentation on northern flying squirrel populations. (M.Sc.F.) |
Richmond, S. |
The effects of selective logging on Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. (Ph.D.) |
Sharkey, C. |
Small mammal community structure as a function of tree cohort structure. (M.Sc.F.) |
Sherman, G. |
Carbon and productivity implications of biomass removal |
Solórzano-Filho, J. |
Niche partitioning and plant-animal interactions in a Neotropical rodent community (co-supervised with B. Zimmerman). (Ph.D.) |
Sztaba, A. |
Effects of variation in snag supply on boreal bird communities (co-supervised with P. Drapeau). (M.Sc.F.) |
Vanderwel, M. |
Modelling the effects of multi-cohort forest management on wildlife habitat (co‑supervised with J. Caspersen). (Ph.D.) |
Previous Graduate and Postdoctoral Students
Name |
Research Area & Degree |
Norghauer, J. |
Regeneration ecology of mahogany: roles of biotic and abiotic processes (co‑supervised with B. Zimmerman). (Ph.D.) |
Leite, R. N. |
Communities of small mammals in a mosaic of eucalyptus plantations and secondary and primary forests in eastern Amazonia (National Institute of Amazonian Research, co‑supervised with M. N. F. da Silva). (M.Sc.) |
Sugar, A. |
Impacts of logging on insect diversity in the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence/Boreal ecotone of northeastern Ontario. (M.Sc.F.) |
Campbell, B. |
Impacts of logging on bird diversity in boreal mixedwood forests of northeastern Ontario. (M.Sc.F.) |
Christensen, H. |
Implications of international trade agreements for forest sustainability. (M.A. Geography) |
Deans, A. |
Influence of variable retention harvesting on insect diversity in lowland conifer forests of northeastern Ontario (co‑supervised with S. Smith). (M.Sc.F.) |
Kuttner, B. |
Impacts of clearcut logging on small mammal communities in boreal mixedwoods of northeastern Ontario. (M.Sc.F.) |
Rampradsad, P. |
Influence of variable retention harvesting on plant diversity in lowland conifer forests of northeastern Ontario (co‑supervised with T. Carleton). (M.Sc.F.) |
Vance, C. 2002. |
The canopy insect communities of old-growth pine and maple stands in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forest of central Ontario. (co-supervised with S. Smith). (M.Sc.F.) |
Pinto, D. |
Natural Regeneration of Big-leafed Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) in
unlogged and selectively Logged Forests in southern Pará, Brazil and Kayapó forest tree knowledge and taxonomy. (M.Sc.F.) |
Liu, C. |
Global warming and extinctions of endemic species from biodiversity hotspots (Postdoc) |
Puric-Mladenovic, D. |
Adaptive responses to warming-induced tree migration in Ontario (Postdoc) |
Hua, S. |
Adaptive responses to warming-induced tree migration in Ontario (Postdoc) |
Lambert, T. |
Effects of variation in selective logging harvest intensity on small mammal communities of the southeasterm Amazon (co-supervised with B. Zimmerman). (Ph.D.) |
Holloway, G. |
Effects of selection and shelterwood logging on flying squirrel populations in Algonquin Provincial Park. (Ph.D.) |
Peters, S. |
Effects of selective logging on bat communities in southeastern Amazonia (co-supervised with B. Zimmerman). (M.Sc.F.) |
Vanderwel, M. |
Effects of logging on the dynamics and richness of the insect fauna of coarse woody debris (co-supervised with S. Smith). (M.Sc.F.) |
Honours
National Council, World Wildlife Fund Canada
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Forest Technical Committee
Honourable Mention, Student Paper Award, Conserv. Biol. Annual Meeting (Pardini and Malcolm, 2001).
Participant, Young Scholar Dialogue, Conservation Ecology (Issues 1 and 2) (1987)
NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship (1991-92)
NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship (1985-88)
M.Sc. awarded with distinction (1983)
NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship (1981)
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (1980)
University of Guelph Scholarship (1980)
NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Award (1980)
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