Welcome to the homepage of the Bonner Lab! I am an Assistant Professor in Environmetrics jointly appointed between the Department of Statistical and Actuarial Science at the Department of Biology at the University of Western Ontario where I started in July, 2015. Before this time I was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Kentucky for four and a half years, held a post-doc in the Department of Statistics at the University of British Columbia for two years, and completed my PhD in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at Simon Fraser University.
Our work focuses on developing and helping researchers to implement novel methodology for analysing ecological data. In particular, my work focuses on hierarchical models fit in a Bayesian framework via advanced Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling techniques. My primary area of application has been the analysis of data from mark-recapture experiments that are crucial for monitoring populations of wild animals and my interest in this work is driven by my concerns about the impacts of humans on the natural environment. The students in my lab are involved in a variety of projects, both applied and theoretical in nature, and we also work on several group projects. Past projects have involved the analysis of data from whale sharks in Australia, snakes and salmanders in Kentucky, cliff swallows in Nebraska, and lizards on islands in the Spanish Mediterranean. It’s a shame we don’t get to visit all the field sites!
If you are interested in knowing more about the lab and our work then please browse through the tabs above or contact me at sbonner6@uwo.ca.