Posts
BY ERIN MCCLOSKEY
Wood Buffalo National Park was established in 1922 to protect what remained of Canada’s wood bison. Today, exactly 100 years later, the park supports a population of approximately 3,000 bison, which coexist alongside their natural predator, the wolf. The core range of the park is quite possibly the only place where bison are wolves’ primary prey.
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BY JAMES GLASIER
Ants are an integral and ever-present part of Alberta landscapes. Besides being resilient, ants are diverse, numerous, and ecologically important. In this article we take a deep dive into the ants of Alberta.
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BY RICHARD SCHNEIDER
Why do Alberta’s Caribou Keep Declining, and What Can We Do About It?
Despite the woodland caribou’s high profile and the millions of dollars we’ve poured into research, the caribou’s story is one of progressive decline. Here, Richard explores the key challenges that make caribou conservation so difficult and provides an unvarnished perspective on what needs to change.
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BY NICK CARTER
Historically, trumpeter swans were found throughout Alberta. But by the early 1900s, the species was near extinction, mainly because of overhunting. Through concerted conservation efforts, the population is now well on its way to recovery – an amazing conservation success story.
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BY HEATHER ADDY
Fungi are often overlooked because many of them spend much of their lives hidden from us, and out of sight means out of mind. While all fungi share certain features, these organisms display remarkable diversity. Here, we’ll focus on fungi that form mushrooms and other large, complex fruiting bodies.
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BY NANCY MAHONY
Few people are lucky enough to experience the dawn chorus on Alberta’s native grasslands — a bewildering concert of ringing trills, melodious gurgles, and jumbled songs. I’ve had the good fortune to do so on many May and June mornings, as a biologist researching grassland songbirds at one of Canada’s largest remaining native prairies, the Suffield National Wildlife Area near Medicine Hat.
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BY NICK CARTER
Although the courtship of red-necked grebes is one of nature’s great shows, it often goes unappreciated. The same goes for other grebe species. These birds generally do not inspire the same sense of northern majesty that loons do. Nor are they synonymous with Alberta wetlands the way ducks and geese are. But grebes are just as much a part of our lakes and ponds as all those other birds.
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BY LAWRENCE HARDER & TIM SCHOWALTER
Examine the remarkably close relationship between wood lilies and swallowtail butterflies.
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