Invasive, shrimp-sucking parasite continues northward Pacific expansion
By Josh Silberg and Natalie van Hoose Researchers have identified an invasive, blood-sucking parasite on mud shrimp in the waters of British Columbia’s Calvert Island. The discovery represents the northernmost record of the parasite on the...
Tackling invasive European common reed
The highs and lows of monitoring the large-scale suppression of Phragmites australis spp. australis My field crew and I are covered in scratches. I’m a PhD student studying the recovery of native vegetation after invasive species control,...
Murder hornets: What’s all the buzz about?
If you’ve been following the news this summer, you’re sure to have seen mention of murder hornets. After isolated discoveries of this invasive species in British Columbia and Washington state, news about the Asian giant hornet has...
The Green World Hypothesis
Why is the planet filled with the colour green? What if I told you that the answer to this question originates from an experiment conducted using starfish? In 1963, professor Robert Paine stood on the shore of the Makah Bay in Washington state....
How spending time in nature benefits your baby’s gut health
Being close to nature has motivated my life choices — where I live and how I spend my free time. In these times of COVID-19, where I work is now where I live, and I am lucky to live on a ravine in one of Edmonton’s natural areas, as...
Exploring the Fraser River Estuary
The Fraser River is one of the most important rivers in Canada. Its waters, running for almost 1,400 kilometres before reaching the Pacific Ocean, are a major salmon waterway that is used by all five species of Pacific salmon and salmonids to...
A peak experience at Buffalo Pound
Many Canadians, I think, perceive Saskatchewan to be one billiard table-flat, never-ending field of wheat. Not so. To prove my point, I recently made a second visit to a property at Buffalo Pound Lake, where the Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC) is...
Terminarch: Making music out of birdsong
Sage thrasher (Photo by Dick Cannings)
One of the best things about composing music for the concert hall is that inspiration can come from just about anywhere. My latest work, Terminarch, is a 10-minute piece for a quartet of percussionists based on the birdsong of 12 endangered...
Reconnecting the wild: Ensuring safe passage through animal road crossings
From Victoria to St. John’s, the Trans-Canada Highway stretches across 8,030 kilometres of landscape in Canada. While it covers a lot of ground, it also fractures many habitats that are home to a variety of animals. Deer, moose, bears and...
Even small acts can have a ripple effect: tackling plastic pollution
Plastic pollution has become a part of the food chain in our waterways. According to Plastic Oceans, more than eight million tonnes of plastic waste is dumped into our oceans annually. As a result, one in three species of marine mammals become...
