Junior A. Tremblay

Research Scientist

Research program: Boreal birds and ecosystem

Current research and/or projects

My research program entitled "Birds and Boreal Ecosystems" aims to understand the potential impact of natural and anthropogenic disturbances and climate change on habitat selection and demographic parameters of boreal forest birds in an annual life history context, with a particular focus on species at risk. This research program provides applied scientific information in support of Environment and Climate Change Canada's (ECCC) mandate to conserve and recover birds and species at risk, and to protect their habitats.

To this end, it is made up of three main complementary research axes: 1) applied field research projects, 2) population monitoring and migration studies, and 3) modeling the impacts of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on birds in a context of climate change.

Research and/or project statements

The main objectives of the Birds & Boreal Ecosystems research program are as follows:

Understanding the causes of declines in migratory birds and species at risk (SAR);
Providing scientific data to support critical habitat designation and recovery of SAR;
Guiding the sustainable development of Canada's natural resources through applied knowledge;
Modelling the impacts of natural and anthropogenic disturbances in the context of climate change on birds and the boreal forest ecosystem to aid decision-making on conservation and recovery strategies;
Addressing the multi-criteria approach in evaluating nature-based solutions to the impacts of climate change on the boreal ecosystem.

Education and awards

PhD in Environmental Sciences, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) (2009)
MSc in Forest Sciences, Université Laval (2004)
BSc in Biology, Université Laval (2002)

International experience and/or work

I completed a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in forestry at Université Laval in 2002 and 2004 respectively. The subject of my dissertation was "Passive restoration of second-growth mixed fir stands: An alternative for the conservation of old-growth mixed fir stands". I then completed a doctorate at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi from 2004 to 2009, the subject of which was: "The breeding ecology of the black-backed woodpecker in unburned boreal forest". During my doctoral studies, I also completed an internship on: "The management of old trees and dead wood - Senescence islands, habitat trees and saproxylic metapopulations" in the forests of the cantons of Vaud and Jura in Switzerland. From 2009 to 2013, I worked for the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune (now the Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte au Changement Climatique, de la Faune et des Parcs), where I was responsible for research projects on birds of prey, as well as provincial coordination of wildlife issues and wind farm development. Since 2013, I have held a research scientist position at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and my research program aims to understand the potential impact of natural and anthropogenic disturbances and climate change on habitat selection and demographic parameters of boreal forest birds in an annual life history context, with a particular interest in species at risk.

Additional links

http://www.cef-cfr.ca/index.php?n=Membres.JuniorATremblay
https://www.ulaval.ca/la-recherche/repertoire-corps-professoral/junior-a-tremblay

Key publications

Recent Publications (2021-2024):

Boukheroub*, S., A. Desrochers, and J.A. Tremblay. 2024. Shifting Phenology of Nesting Songbirds in an Eastern Canadian Boreal Forest, 1995-2020. Avian Conservation and Ecology 9(1):2. https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-02565-190102.
Dumas, P.-A., J.A. Tremblay, M. Bélisle, L. Imbeau, J.-P. L. Savard, and J. Ibarzabal. 2024. Using playback capture to describe the population structure of dispersing boreal woodpeckers. Journal of Field Ornithology. In press.
Leston, L., Dénes, F.V., Docherty, T.D.S, Tremblay, J.A., Boulanger, Y., Van Wilgenburg, S.L., Stralberg, D., Sólymos, P., Haché, S., St. Laurent, K., Weeber, R., Drolet, B., Westwood, A.R., Hope, D.D., Ball, J., Song, S.J., Cumming, S.G., Bayne, E., & Schmiegelow, F. 2024. A framework to support the identification of critical habitat for wide-ranging species at risk under climate change. Biodiversity & Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-023-02761-1
MacPherson* M., A. Crosby, S. Graff, L. Rowse, D. Miller, A. Raymundo, J. Saturno, D. Sleep, K. Solarik, L. Venier, Y. Boulanger, D. Fogard, K. Hick, P. Weber, T. Docherty, D. Ewert, M. Ginn, M. Jacques, D. Morris, D. Stralberg, É. Vézina, A. Whitman, C. Matula, S. Cumming, J.A. Tremblay. 2024. Toward Cross-Border Avian Conservation in Forest Management: Using Co-production to Overcome Ecological Complexity and Jurisdictional Barriers. The Forestry Chronicle. In press.
Miller, C., Bossu, C., Sarraco, J., Toews, D., Rushing, C., Roberto-Charron, A., Tremblay, J.A., Chandler, R., DeSaix, M., Fiss, C., Larkin, J., Haché, S., Nebel, S., and Ruegg, K. 2024. Genomics-informed conservation units reveal spatial variation in climate vulnerability in a migratory bird. Molecular Ecology 33:e17199. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17199.
Raymundo, A., T. Micheletti, S. Haché, D. Stralberg, F.E.C. Stewart, J.A. Tremblay, C. Barros, I.M.S. Eddy, A.M. Chubaty, M. Leblond, C.L. Mahon, S.L. Van Wilgenburg, E.M. Bayne, F. Schmiegelow, T.D.S. Docherty, E.J.B. McIntire, S.G. Cumming. 2024. Climate-sensitive forecasts of marked short-term and long-term changes in the distributions or abundances of Northwestern boreal landbirds. Climate Change Ecology 7. 100079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecochg.2023.100079.
Bouderbala, I., G. Labadie, J.-M. Béland, J.A Tremblay, Y. Boulanger, C. Hébert, P. Desrosiers, A. Allard, and D. Fortin. Long-term effect of forest harvesting on boreal species assemblages under climate change. PLOS Clim 2(3): e0000179. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000179 .
Boulanger, Y. J.P. Puigdevall, A.C. Bélisle, Y. Bergeron, M.-H. Brice, D. Cyr, L. De Grandpré, D. Fortin, S. Gauthier, P. Grondin, G. Labadie*, M. Leblond, M. Marchand, T.B. Splawinski, M.-H. St-Laurent, E. Thiffault, J.A. Tremblay, M.-A. Vaillancourt, and S. Yamasaki. 2023. A regional integrated assessment of the impacts of climate change and of the potential adaptation avenues for Quebec’s forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 53(8): 556-578. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2022-0282
Cooper, N.W. B.C. Dossman, L.E. Berrigan, J.M. Brown, A.R. Brunner, H.E. Chmura, D.A. Cormier, C. Bégin-Marchand, A.D. Rodewald, P.D. Taylor, C.M. Tonra, J.A. Tremblay, and P.P. Marra. 2023 Songbirds initiate migratory flights synchronously relative to civil dusk. Movement Ecology 11(1), 24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-023-00382-5
Cooper, N.W. B.C. Dossman, L.E. Berrigan, J.M. Brown, D.A. Cormier, C. Bégin-Marchand, A.D. Rodewald, P.D. Taylor, J.A. Tremblay, and P.P. Marra. 2023. Atmospheric pressure predicts probability of departure for migratory songbirds. Movement Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-022-00356-z
Micheletti, T., S. Haché, D. Stralberg, F. Stewart, A. Chubaty, C. Barros, E. Bayne, S. Cumming, T. Docherty, A. Dookie, I. Duclos, I. Eddy, Z. Gadallah, C. Haas, J. Hodson, M. Leblond, C.L. Mahon, F. Schmiegelow, J.A. Tremblay, S. Van Wilgenburg, A. Westwood, and E. McIntire. 2023. Will this umbrella leak? A caribou umbrella index for boreal landbird conservation. Conservation Science and Practice 5:e12908. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12908.
Stewart, F.E.C., T. Micheletti, S.G. Cumming, C. Barros, A.M. Chubaty, A.L. Dookie, I. Duclos, I. Eddy, S. Haché, J. Hodson, C.A. Johnson J. Hughes, M. Leblond, F.K.A. Schmiegelow, J.A. Tremblay, and E.J.B. McIntire. 2023. Climate-informed forecasts reveal dramatic local habitat shifts and population uncertainty for northern boreal caribou. Ecological Applications 33:e2816. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.281.
Tremblay, J.A., G.L. Fontaine, J.-P. L. Savard, J.-M. Béland, C. Hébert, and J. Ibarzabal. 2023. Premium food for offspring? Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) diet during breeding season in eastern Canada. Canadian Journal of Zoology 101(8): 691-699. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2022-0176.
Bégin Marchand, C., F. Gagnon, B. Drolet, J. Ibarzabal, J.A. Tremblay. 2022. Fall migration departures and routes from individuals of a northeastern population of Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis). Avian Conservation and Ecology 17(1): 4. https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-02013-170104
Gagnon, F., C.M. Francis, J.A. Tremblay. 2022. The Great Lakes shape the nocturnal migration in southern Ontario in a flyway optimizing flights overland. Avian Conservation and Ecology 17(2): 2. https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-02118-170202
Bégin Marchand, C., A. Desrochers, P.D. Taylor, J.A. Tremblay, L. Berrigan, B. Frei, A. Morales, and G.W. Mitchell. 2021. Spatial structure in migration routes maintained despite regional convergence among eastern populations of Swainson’s Thrushes. Movement Ecology 9: 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-021-00263-9
Hallworth, M.T., E. Bayne, O. Love, E. McKinnon, J.A. Tremblay, B. Drolet, J. Ibarzabal, S. Van Wilgenburg, and P.P. Marra. 2021. Breeding ground habitat loss is the primary driver of population declines for a long-distance migratory songbird. Proceedings B 288, 20203164. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.3164.
Hof, A., M. Montoro Girona, M.-J. Fortin, and J.A. Tremblay. 2021. Editorial: Using Landscape Simulation Models to Help Balance Conflicting Goals in Changing Forests. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. In press.
Knight, E.C., A.-L. Harrison, A.L. Scarpignato, S.L. Van Wilgenburg, E.M. Bayne, J. Ng, E. Angell, R. Bowman, M. Brigham, B. Drolet, W. Easton, T. Forrester, J. Foster, S. Haché, K. Hannah, J. Ibarzabal, T. Imlay, S. MacKenzie, L. McGuire, G. Newberry, D. Newstead, A. Sidler, D. Swanson, P. Sinclair, J. Stephens, P. Thomas, J.A. Tremblay, P.P. Marra. 2021. A comprehensive approach to estimating migratory connectivity across the full annual cycle reveals peaks in spatial and temporal connectivity for a declining, long-distance migratory bird. Ecography. 44: 1–15. doi: 10.1111/ecog.05111.
Lamarre, V., and J.A. Tremblay. 2021. Landscape Occupancy of the American Three-toed Woodpecker in a Managed Boreal Forest of Eastern Canada. Diversity. Diversity 13, 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13010035
Martin*, M., J.A. Tremblay*, J. Ibarzabal, and H. Morin. 2021. An indicator species highlights continuous deadwood supply is a key ecological attribute of boreal old-growth forests. Ecosphere 12 (5): e03507. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3507.
Micheletti, T., F. E.C. Stewart, E.J.B. McIntire, S. Haché, D. Stralberg, J.A. Tremblay, C. Barros, I. Eddy, A.M. Chubaty, .M. Leblond, R. Pankratz, L. Mahon, S. Van Wilgenburg, F.K.A. Schmiegelow, E. Bayne, and S. Cumming. 2021. Forecasting boreal songbird responses to climate-driven and disturbance-mediated vegetation change in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Volume 9, Article 679673. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2021.679673
St-Amand J., J.A. Tremblay, and K. Martin. 2021. Stand-level forest management for foraging and nesting Williamson’s Sapsuckers. Forest Ecology and Management 492, 119223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119223