The ABMI is fortunate to have a regular column in the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists’ Quarterly newsletter, BIOS. The following post is adapted from a piece that appeared in the newsletter’s summer issue. “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.” When he wrote [...]
All posts in Biodiversity
Beat the cold and be a winter wildlife detective with NatureLynx
Calling all wildlife detectives! With the frigid weather we’ve been having, you might think that most of Alberta’s critters would be hibernating. While this is true for some species, many stay active right through the deep freeze, going about their business just fine—all without the aid of down parkas, Sorel boots, or hot-pockets. Winter is [...]
Easy as 1-2-3, but 1-2-3-4-5 might be better: How long should a point count take?
Péter Sólymos, a statistical ecologist with the ABMI, Boreal Avian Modelling project, and the U of A, brings us a guest post about his team’s new paper on point count methods for sampling boreal birds. Humans attach more value to rare things, but in conservation biology, rarity often implies an elevated risk. For example, smaller [...]
Come meet (and bleat?) NatureLynx!
Are you a nature enthusiast, novice naturalist, or do you simply enjoy exploring the outdoors? Collecting and sharing our experiences in nature has come a long, long way. What began with pencils, notepads and sketches has evolved into an incredibly advanced tool that fits in your pocket—say hello to Alberta’s brand-new citizen science app, NatureLynx! [...]
Rarity and sample bias in the secret world of lichens
A modified version of this post recently appeared as part of the ABMI’s regular feature in the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists’ newsletter, BIOS Quarterly. Here at the ABMI, we like to say that you manage what you measure—that the more we know about our living resources, the more likely we’ll be to responsibly manage [...]
A Deeper Dive into Human Footprint in Alberta
The ABMI recently released a new report on the status of human footprint in Alberta. Depending on your particular interests, you were probably struck by different aspects of the report—maybe the fact that 78% of central Alberta is now under human footprint, or the fact that in the Athabasca Oil Sands Area, that number is [...]
The Secret Life of Fieldwork at the ABMI
Now that it’s finally spring and our world is turning green, many of us are probably thinking about gardens and backyard BBQs and quality time outdoors. Here at the ABMI, we wish we had more time for BBQs, but we’ve got the outdoors part covered as we gear up for another season collecting data on [...]
New Data & Analytics Portal Launched!
Albertans have a new resource at their fingertips that provides detailed information on hundreds of Alberta’s plant and animal species. Welcome to the ABMI’s new online Data & Analytics Portal—a one-stop-shop that provides easy access to our extensive biodiversity-related data, reports, and maps. A key part of the Data & Analytics Portal is the ABMI [...]