Welcome to the Fitch Lab!

We are located at York University in Toronto, where Gordon Fitch is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department and a member of the Centre for Bee Ecology, Evolution, Conservation (BEEc)!

Research in the Fitch Lab focuses on how environmental stressors affect species interactions, and the consequences for populations and ecosystem function. Because they are super cool and also super important, we mostly focus on pollinator-plant, and especially bee-plant, interactions. Current projects in the lab focus on effects of urbanization and agricultural land management on bee movement and foraging, the role of parasites in shaping bee foraging preferences, and the effects of the built environment on bee-parasite interactions.

We use a variety of techniques to address these questions. Our work is motivated by the desire to better understand ecological complexity and the imperative to conserve biodiversity and promote just, sustainable futures.

Read more about recent and ongoing work on our Research page, and check the Publications page for published papers from the lab. If you’re interested in joining the lab, check out more info here. 

I became and ecologist thanks to the enthusiasm and passion of multiple mentors and role models, and I do my best to pay it forward by lighting the spark in others. I am dedicated to making the field of ecology more diverse, inclusive, and oriented towards justice, including through teaching and public engagement.