Jenet Dooley defies labels (except for being a self-described “long-time swamp monster”). Yes, technically she is a wetland ecologist, but to Jenet, that title doesn’t adequately describe the interplay between the evolving nuances of ecology and the project management and coordination of monitoring programs. Like wetlands themselves, Jenet is hard to pin down, and she [...]
We are pleased to announce the release of version 1.0 of the Wetland Atlas of Alberta, a first-of-its-kind effort to present the results of our wetland monitoring programs in an integrated, interactive, Open-Access online report. This comprehensive new resource includes province-wide inventories of wetland habitat developed by the ABMI and data collected by the ABMI [...]
Dr. Elly Knight is the ABMI’s new Statistical Ecologist and resident bird expert. Elly is also much more than that. She’s an ornithologist, research scientist, data lover, advocate for the Common Nighthawk, citizen science pioneer, storyteller, and mother, to name a few. Today is International Women’s Day, and we celebrate the over 40 unique women [...]
The ABMI is happy to continue its regular feature in BIOS, the newsletter of the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists. The following post is adapted from a version that originally appeared in the Autumn 2021 issue. Here at the ABMI, we spend a lot of time thinking and talking about biodiversity. It is, after all, [...]
Habitat loss in Woodland Caribou ranges has accelerated in Alberta and British Columbia, according to recent research by the Caribou Monitoring Unit and Federal and Provincial government collaborators. Despite Canada having some of the most intact forests in the world, habitat loss is a major cause of Woodland Caribou population declines. This new study is [...]
New research led by the Caribou Monitoring Unit’s Rob Serrouya, Melanie Dickie and Craig DeMars dives into the potential effects of “global greening” on Alberta’s woodland caribou. In ecosystems across the globe, climate change and habitat alteration are increasing primary productivity in a process that’s been termed “global greening.” While these changes may benefit some [...]
This article first appeared in the winter 2021 issue of BIOS, the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists’ quarterly newsletter, as part of the ABMI’s regular feature. White-tailed deer would rather not have a white Christmas. Or new years. Or any time, really. That’s according to a new paper from the ABMI’s Caribou Monitoring Unit (CMU), [...]
A new collaborative paper looks at different approaches to estimating population size for birds, and what they mean for how we understand population changes over time. In this guest post, the paper’s lead author and ABMI senior statistical ecologist Péter Sólymos gives us a behind-the-scenes tour. Recently, I worked with a team of researchers from [...]