Posts

Delta Dawn with the Wolves of Wood Buffalo National Park

By Rick Schneider / 13 January 2023

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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Exploring the Amazing World of Ants

By Rick Schneider / 13 January 2023

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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What Lies Beneath: The Hidden Life of Fungi

By Steph Weizenbach / 3 October 2022

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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Diminished Chorus: The Decline of Grassland Birds

By Steph Weizenbach / 3 October 2022

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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Alberta Red-necks — Grebes, That Is

By Steph Weizenbach / 2 October 2022

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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Pollination on a Wing and a Prayer: Wood Lilies and Swallowtails

By Steph Weizenbach / 1 October 2022

BY LAWRENCE HARDER & TIM SCHOWALTER

Examine the remarkably close relationship between wood lilies and swallowtail butterflies.

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