Rate My Professor Jalene LaMontagne

A macrosystems biologist and global change ecologist, LaMontagne studies patterns and drivers of population variability and synchrony across scales from individuals to continents, with focus on mast seeding in plants—particularly boreal conifers like white spruce—consumer-resource dynamics, and environmental change impacts on tree reproduction. She has authored or co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications, including the 2025 Robert P. McIntosh Award-winning paper "Community synchrony in seed production is associated with trait similarity and climate across North America" (Ecology Letters, 2024); "Continent-wide patterns of climate and mast seeding entrain boreal bird irruptions" (Global Change Biology, 2025); "Probabilistic theory for episodic ecological events" (Environmental Research Letters, 2024); and "Evolutionary ecology of masting: mechanisms, models, and climate change" (Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2024). Her research has secured over $1.9 million in National Science Foundation funding, including collaborative grants on boreal forest reproduction and macrosystems. Awards include the Mid-Career Excellence in Research Award from DePaul University (2021), Researcher to Know – Climate Change from the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition (2022), and multiple fellowships such as the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship (2004–2006). LaMontagne serves as Associate Editor for the Canadian Journal of Forest Research (2025–present) and Journal of Ecology (2020–present).