Modern Toolbox to address a decades-old problem in the conservation of freshwater turtles: Blanding’s turtles as a case study
Traditional monitoring methods to study the movement patterns and habitat use of freshwater turtles include visual encounter surveys and radio telemetry. Both approaches are labour-intensive and time-consuming, and studying behaviours such as nesting attempts is challenging due… Read More
Don’t worry, be happy: Habitat selection of Blanding’s Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) living in a reference condition in Georgian Bay
Few areas within the Great Lakes basin are currently free from impact of human activities, and it is important to study these reference conditions for comparison with degraded sites in those regions. Here, we use radio telemetry to investigate habitat use, movement, and habitat… Read More
Potential Impacts of GB Salmon’s Proposed Recirculatory Aquaculture System in Colpoy’s Bay (Wiarton, ON)
In the experiential graduate course taught by Prof Pat Chow-Fraser and Karen Kidd (Management of Aquatic Ecosystems and Resources, Biology 730), ten students set about to answer this question. "What information is required to determine the costs and benefits of this proposal?" … Read More
Community structure, species-habitat relationship and conservation of amphibians in forested vernal pools in the Georgian Bay region of Ontario.
Forested vernal pools serve an integral role in the recruitment of amphibians in glaciated northeastern North America. In south-central Ontario, vernal pools exist in relatively unimpacted forest networks, but the amphibian communities face uncertain challenges from… Read More
Detection of potential vernal pools on the Canadian Shield (Ontario) using object-based image analysis in combination with machine learning
Vernal pools are small, temporary, forested wetlands of ecological importance with a high sensitivity to changing climate and land-use patterns. These ecosystems are under consider- able development pressure in southeastern Georgian Bay, where mapping techniques are required to… Read More