Contact Information:
Phone: +1-519-888-4567 ext. 35616
Fax: 519-746-0292
Office: EV2 - 2034
Email: sd2murph(at)uwaterloo.ca
CV: Read more
The place that started my professional career – Lake Paradox, New York (how appropriate a name)
The plant that started my research career – Phleum pratense
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Victoria BC – where I spend many springs at the Restoration Institute (shot is of the Inner Harbour near, of course, two of my favourite gastropubs)
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At left is Alliaria petiolata – one of my least favourite plants given its ability to invade woodlands; it gets checkmated by planting reasonable densities of the species at right (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Booth B, Murphy S, Swanton C, 2010. Invasive species in natural and agricultural ecosystems. CABI Press.
Murphy SD, Sherr I, Bullock C. 2009. Testing for allelopathic pollen in Brassicaceae: A comparison of two species invasive in Canada (Alliaria petiolata and Hesperis matronalis). Allelopathy J.
Murphy SD, Flegel S, Smedes J, Finney N, Zhang B, Walton K, Henstra S. 2009. The mechanism of allelopathy in Hieracium x dutillyanum Lepage & its ecological impacts. Allelopathy J.
Arya N, Waltner-Toews D, Rapport D, Murphy S, McAllister ML, Last J. 2008. Time for an ecosystem approach to public health? Global Public Health 4:1-9.
Yates CN, Murphy SD. 2008. Observations of herbivore attack on garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Biol Invasions 10:757-760.
Murphy SD, Duncan B, Wilson D, Noll K, Flanagan J. 2007. Implications for delaying invasive species management in ecological restoration. Ecol Rest 25:85-93.
Murphy SD, DR Clements, S Belaoussoff , PG Kevan, CJ Swanton. 2006. Promotion of weed species diversity and reduction of weed seedbanks with conservation tillage and crop rotation. Weed Sci 54: 69-77.
Meloche C, Murphy SD. 2006. Management of invasive tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) in a provincial park. Environ Manage 37:764-772.
Murphy SD. 2006. Why urban ecology at microscales matters. Pages 379-392 in P Filion & T Bunting (eds.). Canadian cities in transition. Oxford University Press.
Murphy SD. 2006. Applied ecology in the 21st Century. Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems. United Nations Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization.
Murphy SD. 2005. Concurrent management of an exotic species and initial restoration efforts in forests. Rest Ecol 13: 584-593.
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Oenothera biennis and Chamerion angustifolium – two workhorses in meadow restoration in Ontario and elsewhere |
For those who are merely wasting time on the net when they should be working or have no life, here is a more “compleat Smurph”. In my existence, I have called the wind "Maria", sailed up a dirty stream, gone a bit Red in Helsinki, invented the question mark (though others dispute this claim), created life, caused the sun to come up in the morning, converted carbon dioxide into sugar, ridden Northwest 222, been stalked by Spiny Norman, discovered that your chewing gum loses its flavour on the bed post overnight, had the time of my life, bent time and space to my will, & developed delusions of grandeur and rumours of glory. Oddly, some of the preceding is factual & literal; the rest – meh, not so much.
Somewhere in all that nonsense, I managed to earn a Bachelor of Science Honours & a Doctor of Philosophy in Biology from Queen's University at Kingston. Being an imposing 5' 6" (same as Lawrence of Arabia, Alfred Hitchcock, Harpo Marx, Josef Stalin [well, crap], and [it figures] Napoleon Bonaparte), I have long had the nickname "Smurph" (get it?) amongst many others. This is why I no longer wear blue sweaters with a white toque.
While I’ve had many jobs and interests, my academic employment began as a research associate at the University of Guelph. I joined ERS in 1996 as an assistant professor. I was promoted to associate professor & tenured 1 July 2001 and promoted to (full) professor as of 1 July 2009. Credit or blame for my academic perspectives is also bestowed upon people most important to my academic career: Drs. Lonnie Aarssen (Biology - Queen's University), Clarence Swanton (Plant Agriculture - U Guelph), & the late James Kay. My wider perspective also has been fostered by Eric Higgs, Richard Hobbs, Jim Harris, and (of course) Charles Darwin.
I joined ERS because it reflected a mix of interests. I have a frenetic sense of humour, a love of farce, and a taste for the eclectic – whoa, a big surprise there for those who read this far. My skewed perspective on life can be explained by the influences of salacious biographies, many weird yet sincere musicians, and farcical & satirical comedy (especially Monty Python's Flying Circus). When not at work or at home, you will find me at a beach listening to 30 years worth of memories on an mp3 player or the waves of a lake or ocean or unusual landform.
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A problem and solution I’ve been grappling with for 20 years – Centaurea maculosa invading beaches while Mertensia martima can be used to restore beaches – even in Ontario where, despite the specific epithet, it is actually native to some shorelines |
… and then they told me I was the next Chair of the Department (me, at home in the midst of some renovations last winter displaying two of the stages of chairship...
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Shock....and ...just had a nice beer!
