��о�� News - Dept. of Natural Resource Sciences

Nobody knows why this snowy owl is orange—David Bird weighs in

webfull — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 19:39:43 +0000

An orange tinted snowy owl in Michigan has baffled scientists with its orange colouring, CBC News reports. Experts say it could be a genetic mutation, an accident, or human mischief.

Ornithologist and Professor Emeritus at ��о��, David Bird, expressed some doubts about the strange colouration being caused by genetics.

Published: 26 March 2025

Decades after peregrines came back from the brink, a new threat emerges—comments from Prof. David Bird

webfull — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 19:43:34 +0000

After DDT use nearly wiped out peregrine falcons in the 20th century, numbers are collapsing again in many countries, the Guardian reports.

Though scientists have yet to determine a definite cause, many—including ��о�� Professor Emeritus David Bird, who formerly led the University's Avian Science and Conservation Centre—think highly pathogenic bird flu may be largely to blame.

Published: 18 March 2025

Natural Resource Sciences grad students reduce lab plastic waste by nearly 50%

webfull — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 12:24:58 +0000

Single-use plastics are everywhere—but two ��о�� researchers are redefining the norm and championing sustainability.

"Although plastic pollution wasn’t the main focus of our research, safeguarding water bodies is essential to our work, and we knew we had to address the disconnect between our values and laboratory practices."

Published: 18 March 2025

Prof. Emeritus David Bird on wild turkey sightings in Montreal

webfull — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 18:47:24 +0000

Wild turkey sightings in Montreal are on the rise, Global News reports.

Experts told them wild turkey populations in southern Quebec have steadily climbed over the past two decades due to warming temperatures.

This has raised concern that predators could be following close behind.

Published: 5 February 2025

Tracking puffins at dawn in Alaska

webfull — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 19:29:50 +0000

Collecting data on tufted puffins thanks to the Vivian Lewin and BELF Awards

In the eerie stillness of a misty Alaskan dawn, Cassandra Ciafro was already on the move by 3 a.m. Clad in camouflage, she melded seamlessly with the rugged cliffs, joining the seabirds in their lofty perches. Her mission? To deploy trackers and observe deitary patterns of the tufted puffin, a key indicator of the region’s fish stocks.

“I’ve always wanted to work with something related to marine science,” said Ciafro. “This experience has helped me grow so much as a person.”

Published: 4 December 2024

From cod to crops to cranberries: Lister 3MT competitors deliver

webfull — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 16:32:19 +0000

On November 27, the Macdonald Campus Office of Student Academic Services hosted the annual Lister Family Engaged Science Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, an event open to master’s and doctoral students from all disciplines in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Published: 4 December 2024

Atlantic killer whales show dangerously high levels of toxic chemicals: study

webfull — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 14:06:07 +0000

Killer whales off Canada’s Atlantic coast continue to be contaminated with dangerously high levels of toxic chemicals that put them at elevated risk of severe immune-system and reproductive problems, a recent ��о��-led study has found.

Published: 7 November 2024

The impact of global warming on fall colors—interview with Prof. Benoît Côté

webfull — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 17:52:59 +0000

While climate change may not dictate the arrival of Fall colors, it does affect this phenomenon... and its eventual disappearance.

Published: 23 October 2024

More and bigger spiders noticeable in Montreal this fall, says Prof. Chris Buddle

webfull — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 18:16:40 +0000

As spooky decorations go up around Montreal this October, real spiders are also becoming more prevalent.

Entomologist Chris Buddle, ��о��'s Associate Provost (Teaching and Academic Programs) and Professor in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences, told CTV News that spiders become bigger than normal and are seen more often as winter approaches.

Published: 15 October 2024

Migrating seabirds are bringing forever chemicals into the Arctic

webfull — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 17:18:45 +0000

New research from ��о�� graduate shows how toxic chemicals hitch a ride with seabirds flying from southern latitudes to the Arctic

Between March and May each year, 15 million black-legged kittiwakes gather from across the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to nest and breed on rocky Arctic cliffs—some making the journey from as far as Florida or North Africa.

Published: 9 October 2024

�����о��� News - Dept. of Natural Resource Sciences