CV
I grew up in British Columbia, Canada bouncing between Vancouver and a gulf island in the Straight of Georgia. As a child, I always had a fascination for all things ecological and spent many hours observing tide-pools and frogs. As an adult, this fascination only grew as I got involved in research throughout my undergrad and ultimately inspired me to embark on a PhD.
When I'm not involved in academic pursuits, find me kayaking, backpacking, or playing music in any of the places that I call home.
The work I do and the land upon which I live is in the traditional territories of many Indigenous peoples. As a settler, I am privileged to be here and share in the resources of these lands. I acknowledge the ongoing and systemic injustices created by the settler-colonial state of Canada.
My life in Vancouver rests on the traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. In Toronto, I live on the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples.
Education
2019-2026
2012-2017
Publications
2025
2024
2022
2020
2019
2019
Presentations
2026
2025
2024
2024
2018
2018
2016
Select awards
2026
2025
2024
2021
2020
2019
PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Toronto
Bachelor’s of Science Honours First Class with Distinction
Simon Fraser University
Lertzman-Lepofsky G., Frishkoff, LO, D. Luke Mahler DL. Consequences of deforestation on functional community structure reverse at high elevations. The American Naturalist. 207:1, 14-29
Lange Z.K., Bodensteiner B. L., Nicholson D. J., Lertzman-Lepofsky G., Murray A. H., Folfas, E., Domínguez-Guerrero S. F., D Luke Mahler, Muñoz, M. M., Frishkoff, L.O. Lizard thermal physiology drives abundance peaks along climate gradients, but only weakly predicts distributional limits. The American Naturalist. https://doi.org/10.1086/736566
Lertzman-Lepofsky G, Dolezal A, Waters M T, Fuster-Calvo A, Black A, Flaman S, Straus S, Langendorf R, Eckert I, Fan S, Branch H, Chardon N, Collins C G. Temporal changes in taxon abundances are positively correlated but poorly predicted at the global scale. Ecography. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.07195
Frishkoff L. O., Lertzman-Lepofsky G., Mahler D.L. Evolutionary opportunity and the limits of community similarity in replicate radiations of island lizards. Ecology Letters. DOI: 10.1111/ele.14098
Lertzman‐Lepofsky G., Kissel A., Sinervo B., Palen W. Water loss and temperature interact to compound amphibian vulnerability to climate change. Global Change Biology Sep;26(9):4868-79. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.15231
Lertzman-Lepofsky G., Mooers A. Ø., Greenberg D. Ecological constraints associated with genome size across salamander lineages. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 25;286(1911):20191780. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2019.1780
Toniello G., Lepofsky D., Lertzman-Lepofsky G., Salomon A., Rowell K. 11,500 y of human–clam relationships provide long-term context for intertidal management in the Salish Sea, British Columbia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 29;116(44):22106-14. https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/10/09/1905921116.short?rss=1
Lertzman-Lepofsky G, Luke O. Frishkoff, D. Luke Mahler. The influence of evolutionary history on local community structure in Anolis. Presentation. Canadian Society of Ecology and Evolution. Toronto, Canada.
Gavia Lertzman-Lepofsky, Luke O. Frishkoff, D. Luke Mahler. The influence of evolutionary history on local community structure in Anolis. Evolution, Athens, USA.
Gavia Lertzman-Lepofsky, Luke O. Frishkoff, D. Luke Mahler. Consequences of deforestation on functional community structure reverse at high elevations. Canadian Society of Ecology and Evolution. Vancouver, Canada.
Gavia Lertzman-Lepofsky, Luke O. Frishkoff, D. Luke Mahler. Deforestation and elevation jointly shape morphospace occupation in anole communities. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Seattle, USA.
Gavia Lertzman-Lepofsky, Dan A. Greenberg, and Arne Ø. Mooers. Presentation. Genome Size Constrains Breeding Habitat. Eco-Evo, Squamish
Gavia Lertzman-Lepofsky, Amanda Kissel, Wendy Palen, and Barry Sinervo. Presentation. Water loss and temperature and amphibian vulnerability to climate change. North American Congress for Conservation Biology, Toronto
Gavia Lertzman-Lepofsky, Amanda Kissel, Wendy Palen, and Barry Sinervo. Presentation. Desiccation Risk of Alpine Amphibians. Joint Meeting of Ichthyology and Herpetology. New Orleans, USA.
2026
NSERC postdoctoral fellowship
Ontario Graduate Scholarship at the University of Toronto
NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship: Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement
NSERC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship
Queen Elizabeth II/Dr. F. M. Hill Scholarship in Science and Technology at the University of Toronto
Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)