Current Lab Members

If you are interested in working with us, please send me an email at leanne[dot]grieves[at]usask[dot]ca with your CV, unofficial transcripts, and a message about your research and career goals and interests. If you have a specific project or idea you’d like to pitch that you think would be a good fit for my research program, lay it on me!

Dr. Leanne Grieves (PI)

I am a behavioural ecologist who specializes in avian communication, particularly chemical (olfactory) communication. I am particularly interested in understanding how birds use their sense of smell in breeding and social contexts, how birds integrate olfactory information with information from other sensory modalities, such as visual and acoustic signals, and how the microbiota associated with birds may influence their odour, behaviour, and fitness. When I am not doing science or teaching Ornithology here at the University of Saskatchewan, you can find me birding for fun, spending time outdoors, gardening, boxing, cycling, reading, listening to music, or rewatching X Files, Star Trek, and Twin Peaks.

My animal family:

Erin Bolger

PhD Student

I am a behavioural ecologist starting a PhD in the Grieves Lab in 2026! My proposed research involves investigating sensory signal complexity and how it may drive or maintain speciation, as well as influence individual choice and fitness in a species of songbird. I received my MSc (2025) and BScH (2023) from Queen’s University, where I studied a variety of topics ranging from the evolution of parental care in burying beetles (here!) to how species interactions can influence conservation approaches. Most broadly, I am interested in uncovering broad-scale patterns that govern our world, especially in the realm of behavioural ecology. I especially love field ecology, and conducting field work in Eastern Ontario for my undergraduate and MSc degrees was how I discovered a love of birds and avian ecology! Outside of academia, I love to knit, read, hang out with my cat, Toast, and of course, go birding! My favourite birds are warblers, though I love just about any bird (minus Wild Turkeys…). If I were a bird, I would definitely be an Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)!

David Burghardt

MSc Student

I am thrilled to be a new MSc student in Biology at the University of Saskatchewan working in Dr. Leanne Grieves’s avian chemical ecology lab. My proposed research will focus on the sensory ecology of brood parasitism, specifically how host passerines may use chemical cues to detect parasitic brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) and initiate defensive behaviours.

My “spark” for birds began many years ago when I rescued a blue jay fledgling that had fallen into my parents’ window well in Calgary, Alberta. As gently as a child could, I lifted the bird out with a broom and watched it hop to a nearby bush, where its mother was waiting. The fulfillment I felt after helping that small bird has stayed with me to this day.

I moved to Saskatoon in 2019 to study Paleobiology at the University of Saskatchewan, where I completed my BSc in 2023. After my undergraduate degree, I contributed to fieldwork in Costa Rica and studied how environmental conditions shape bird song across different habitats. More broadly, I am interested in multimodal communication in birds and how environmental pressures influence behaviour and physiology.

Outside of research, I enjoy traveling and experiencing different cultures. When I am home, I spend most of my time playing music (guitar, piano, and drums), hiking, camping, birdwatching, and generally looking for any excuse to be outdoors.

Current Undergraduate Research

Robbie Edwards (NSERC USRA) – Odour cues of individual quality and their use during mate choice in wild birds

Anthony Ly (USask Biology Undergraduate Scholarship, BUGS) 

Faris Alharbi (BIOL 380) – Bird-building collision monitoring on USask campus

Jameson Wiebe (BIOL 380) – Bird-building collision monitoring on USask campus

Past Undergraduate Research

Amy Leislar (BIOL 480) – Effects of Building Facade Orientation & Light Pollution on Bird Window Collisions

Anthony Ly (BIOL 380) – Drivers of Bird-Building Collisions at the University of Saskatchewan

Nick Meckelborg (BIOL 479) – Predators and Prey: Birds Use Olfaction to Avoid Predation and Find Insect Prey