Principal Investigator

Byron N Van Nest, PhD (he/him)

I study how social insects use time, space, and communication to coordinate collective behavior. My research integrates field and laboratory experiments, neurobiological analyses, quantitative spatial methods, and agent-based and mathematical modeling to investigate time-memory, dance communication, and spatial organization, testing and refining foundational ideas in behavioral ecology.

If you’re interested in discussing research opportunities, please contact me at Byron.VanNest@umanitoba.ca.

Graduate Students

  • Lauren Peters

    MSC STUDENT

    Lauren studies variation among individual honey bees in a binary choice learning assay. The project incorporates mathematical modeling and automated video analysis. Her BSc Honours project examined the brains regions involved in colour learning in honey bees by performing in vivo surgeries and behavioural assays. She also has a background in wildlife and conservation biology working with various species of birds, butterflies, and mammals at the Assiniboine Park Zoo and Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.

  • Sabreen Berg

    MSC STUDENT

Undergraduate Students

Maria Krestych
BSc Student

Declan Mckelvy
BSc Honours Student

Kateryna Kvich
BSc Student

Faith Adeyemi
BSc Honours Student

Jaden Vouriot
BSc Student

Alumni

Brianna Kaldor-Mair
MSc (2026)
BSc Honours (2022)

Tessa Morelli
BSc Honours (2021)

Ankita Dhawan
BSc (2024)

Grace Fedirchuk
BSc Honours (2022)

Grabriella Dela Cruz
HS Intern (2024)

James Watson
BSc (2025)

Suseong Lee
BSc Honours (2023)

Matthew Aniagu
MSc (2025)

Manahil Ayoub
BSc Honours (2024)

Lovepreet Singh
BSc (2025)