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 [...]

Big Changes in the Boreal: New Model Explores the Effects of Climate Change in Alberta’s North

A new predictive model using ABMI data suggests that Alberta’s boreal mixedwood forest could decline by at least 50% in the next 100 years due to climate change and wildfire. Change is a funny thing. Sometimes it’s blatantly obvious. Other times, like the old fable of the frog and the boiling water, you only see [...]

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 [...]

Alberta’s Ecosystems Shrinking Faster than the Amazon Rain Forest? Not True!

On February 7, 2018, the ABMI released a new report on human footprint in Alberta. While some media outlets provided well-informed, balanced coverage of the report, others resorted to sensationalist headlines that unfortunately misrepresented the report’s key findings. The following is the ABMI’s response to this inaccurate coverage. By Jim Herbers and Tara Narwani; Alberta [...]

ABMI Releases Preliminary Report on the Status of Human Footprint in Alberta

Between 1999 and 2015, human activity in Alberta visibly converted over 23,000 square kilometres of native ecosystems into residential, recreational, or industrial landscapes, an area 3.5 times the size of Banff National Park. Feb 9 Update: This report received extensive coverage in the media. While some media outlets provided well-informed, balanced coverage, others resorted to [...]

Happy 2018 from the ABMI!

2017 was another successful year for the ABMI, as we once again monitored Alberta’s biodiversity from A(rdenville) to Z(ama City). We’d just like to say ‘thanks’ to you, our friends, supporters, and collaborators. We look forward to working with and for you again in 2018.

A new approach to habitat recovery could help threatened woodland caribou

The ABMI’s Caribou Monitoring Unit is on a roll! Fresh from the recent release of new research on the relationship between moose hunting, predatory wolves, and threatened woodland caribou, the CMU is at it again. This time, they’ve found a promising new way to prioritize the restoration of abandoned cutlines. Read on for the full [...]