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Willian Vieira PhD
PhD quantitative ecologist with data engineer experience. I build statistical models, reproducible workflows, and environmental data infrastructure that turn complex biodiversity and geospatial data into analyses people can inspect, trust, and reuse.
Data Science & Engineer Experience
Data Analyst
Habitat, Montreal, Canada
N/A
2025 - 2024
(1 yr 9 m)
Delivered statistical and ML models, spatial analysis, and reproducible reports for environmental consulting projects using client and open geospatial data | Became the de facto lead for analytical infrastructure, standardizing R/Python/Julia packages, documentation, code review, Docker/Unix environments, and CI/CD automation | Moved heavy spatial workflows toward cloud-backed access patterns, using object storage and range-request-friendly data access to reduce fragile network-drive dependency | Designed metadata and pipeline conventions to improve lineage, validation, debugging, handoff, and reuse across recurring analyses
PhD Research
Integrative Ecology Lab, Sherbrooke, Canada
N/A
2024 - 2017
Developed Bayesian hierarchical and nonlinear statistical models in R and Stan to represent heterogeneous biological populations, forecast dynamics, and propagate uncertainty from noisy, biased, incomplete real-world data | Authored open-source R packages (, ) for demographic modelling, with version control, automated tests, documentation, and reusable APIs | Published a technical methods book walking from mathematical concept to R implementation to model evaluation, alongside one peer-reviewed publication and two preprints (, ) | Ran thousands of simulations on HPC infrastructure () to test model behavior, compare assumptions, and validate inference at scale | Built reproducible R pipelines harmonizing climate, remote sensing, and field-inventory data across North America
Biostatistician
Environment and Climate Change Canada - Quebec, Canada
N/A
2022 - 2020
(part-time)
Developed a cost-aware probability sampling protocol to improve the spatial representativeness of boreal bird surveys in Quebec | Led R&D on spatial bias-correction methods for large-scale ecological monitoring data, designing an approach later adopted by other provinces | Engineered a fully automated and reproducible data pipeline with version-controlled workflows, automated documentation, and stakeholder-ready analytical outputs
Education
PhD, Ecology
Université de Sherbrooke - Sherbrooke, Canada
N/A
2024 - 2017
How climate, competition, and forest management shape the limits of tree species distributions: from individuals to metapopulations
Masters 2, Agroecology and Resource Management
Bordeaux Sciences Agro, Bordeaux, France
N/A
2016 - 2015
Modelling the dispersion of weed species in agricultural landscapes
Teaching Experience
Biodiversity Modelling Summer School
Sherbrooke, CA
2021
Teaching assistant and lectured for graduate students Evaluating ecological models using Bayesian statistics
Methods in computational ecology
BIO500 - Départament de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke, CA
2020 - 2019
Teaching assistant and lectured for undergraduate students Tools for reproducible science | SQL | Git | R | LaTeX | Markdown | Makefile
Software and Data Carpentry workshop
Bios\(^2\) training for graduate students
Online
2020
The Unix Shell Data Management with SQL for Ecologists
QCBS R Workshops
Université de Sherbrooke & Université du Québec à Rimouski
Sherbrooke & Rimouski, CA
2019 - 2018
Instructor to graduate students Workshops: Introduction to R | Data management | Data Visualization | Control flow | Linear models
Probability and statistics
GCI145 - Faculté de génie, Université de Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke, CA
2019
Teaching assistant and lectured for undergraduate students Probability theory | Distribution | Descriptive statistics | Hypothesis testing | Linear models
Modelisation de la dynamique forestier du Quebec face au changement climatique
Départament de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke, CA
2018
Guest lecturer in Plant Ecology (Presentation) to undergraduate students Covered modelling approaches in ecology | model construction and applications
Introduction to scientific programming
BIO109 - Départament de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke, CA
2018
Teaching assistant for undergraduate students Pogramming concepts | Data management | Control flow | R language
Training
Data visualization and biodiversity modelling
Magog, CA
2022
Business intelligence | data user profiles | Conceptualize interactive dashboard | Figma
Mathematical Modelling in Ecology and Evolution
Workshop - Bios²
Remote
2020
Developing equations | Finding equilibria | analyzing stability | Maxima
Stage-based demographic models in ecology, evolution and conservation biology
NERC Advanced Training - University of Oxford
Oxford, UK
2019
Theory and practice | Matrix population models | Integral Projection Models
Biodiversity Modelling
Summer school - Université de Sherbrooke
Magog, CA
2019
Theory and practice on different biodiversity modelling techniques Statistics | Differential equations | Stochastic simulations | Climate change models | uncertainty tracking
Data-driven ecological synthesis
DDES summer school - Université de Montréal
Montréal, CA
2017
Good practices in scientific computing Data management | Mathematical tools | Data analysis tools | Parallel computing | Rreproducible science
Bayesian Statistics for Ecologists
Summer school - Université de Sherbrooke
Magog, CA
2017
Theory and practice using Stan | Probability theory | Likelihood | MCMC | Hierarchical modelling | Model comparison
Publications
Unifying individual and metapopulation scales with stochastic population models: the effect of climate and competition on tree range limits
In production. Preprint hosted on
N/A
2026
Vieira, W., Gravel, D.
Sensitivity of tree species demography to climate and competition across their range
Under review. Preprint hosted on
N/A
2026
Vieira, W., MacDonald, A., Gravel, D.
Paying colonization credit with forest management could accelerate the range shift of temperate trees under climate change
N/A
2024
- Vieira, W., Boulangeat, I., Brice, M., Bradley, R.L., Gravel, D.
Moderate disturbances accelerate forest transition dynamics under climate change in the temperate–boreal ecotone of eastern North America
N/A
2020
- Brice, M.H., Vissault, S., Vieira, W., Gravel, D., Legendre, P., Fortin, M.J.