Forests + Animal Behavioural Ecology (fabe) Lab

Bolt Research Group

People

Principal Investigator

Dr. Laura M. Bolt

Dr. Laura M. Bolt is an Assistant Professor (research tenure-stream) of Forest Conservation Biology at the University of Toronto, in the Department of Forestry and the Institute of Forestry and Conservation. As director of University of Toronto's Forests + Animal Behavioural Ecology (FABE) lab, Dr. Bolt's research program investigates the behavioural ecology of animals and their habitats in order to better understand forest health.

Full Biography

Graduate Students


Ella Anderson	MFC student Forestry, University of Toronto

Bonnie Cheng	MFC student Forestry, University of Toronto

Libby Ware	PhD student Anthropology, Université de Montréal Libby is a PhD student at the University of Montréal co-advised by Dr. Iulia Bădescu and Dr. Laura Bolt. Previous research has been focused on primate aggression, sex atypical behavior, and gender/sex entanglement. Libby is interested in the anthropogenic effects on various types of behavior and stress in Costa Rican Platyrrhines living in a fragmented forest. https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7849-7457

Research Assistants


Harper Correia-Kuehn	BA Anthropology, University of New Mexico La Suerte Forest Fragmentation and Primate Behavioural Ecology Project, Costa Rica: December 2025 (RA) and June 2026 (Lead RA)

Aimee Kushniruk	Undergraduate student Anthropology, University of Victoria La Suerte Forest Fragmentation and Primate Behavioural Ecology Project, Costa Rica: June 2026 (RA)

Max Moellamian	BSc Anthropology, Grand Valley State University La Suerte Forest Fragmentation and Primate Behavioural Ecology Project, Costa Rica: June 2026 (RA)

Kya Costigan	BSc Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga La Suerte Forest Fragmentation and Primate Behavioural Ecology Project, Costa Rica: December 2024-January 2025 (RA) and December 2025 (Lead RA) Kya Costigan is a prospective graduate student with a Bachelor of Science degree specializing in Biological Anthropology from the University of Toronto. Formerly working as a Research Assistant and Lead Research Assistant with Dr. Bolt, her work primarily involves collecting data regarding the positional and feeding behaviour, tail use, and group demographics of black mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata), Central American spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) and white-faced capuchins (Cebus imitator), among other factors. Kya's primary research interests are in the ecology of the north-eastern Costa Rican rainforest (with a special interest in platyrrhine social behaviour), the effects of wildfires on the health of the Canadian Boreal Forest, the archaeological history of the Inuit within Coastal/Central Labrador, as well as the Innu of Western Labrador and the Côte-Nord Region of Quebec.

Yiwen Gu	Undergraduate student Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga La Suerte Forest Fragmentation and Primate Behavioural Ecology Project, Costa Rica: December 2025 (RA)

Leila Nie	Undergraduate student Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga La Suerte Forest Fragmentation and Primate Behavioural Ecology Project, Costa Rica: December 2024-January 2025 (RA) and June-July 2025 (Lead RA)

Sam Spouge	Undergraduate student Biological Sciences, University of Surrey, UK La Suerte Forest Fragmentation and Primate Behavioural Ecology Project, Costa Rica: June-July 2025 (RA)

Qingyang Yu	Undergraduate student Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga La Suerte Forest Fragmentation and Primate Behavioural Ecology Project, Costa Rica: June-July 2025 (RA)