Hannah-Maria Jacques is an independent research scientist who conducts biodiversity surveys of vegetation, aquatic invertebrates and fish at three sites along a 1000 km transect in Ontario, Canada (extending from Point Pelee National Park, Essex County, and Lake Superior Provincial Park, Algoma District, to the Hudson Bay Lowland in the vicinity of the Town of Moosonee), and the Michigan watersheds of the Bear River (Charlevoix and Emmet Counties) and the Jordan River (Charlevoix and Antrim Counties.)
Dr Jacques investigates relative distributions of aquatic insects and watershed vegetation, in particular, the relative distribution of caddisflies (Trichoptera), two-winged flies (Diptera) and modal species of plants across a wide variety of plant communities.
Access to the UM Museum of Zoology collections, especially the Insect, Fish, and Mollusk Division collections, and use of the UM Herbarium holdings, enable specific identification of organisms, a crucial step in elucidating ecologic interrelationships of natural communities.