Drivers and consequences of individual specialization in an Arctic marine top predator

Principal Investigator: Gregory Thiemann Funding: NSERC Discovery Grant. Term: 2021-2026. The proposed research involves testing hypotheses around the environmental drivers and ecological consequences of individual specialization, using the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) as a model species and target for conservation. As a long­-lived top predator in a dynamic habitat, polar bears demonstrate several characteristics that

[ Read More ]

Climate, conflict, and co-existence: Identifying the drivers of human-polar bear interaction in Southern Hudson Bay

Principal Investigator: Gregory Thiemann Funding: World Wildlife Fund Term: 2021 - to date The primary goal of this research is to reduce the risk of human-polar bear conflict. This will both reduce the risk of injury to people and reduce the number of polar bears killed in defense of life or property. Secondarily, the proposed

[ Read More ]

Quantifying boreal fire boundary gradients

by Madison Downer-Bartholomew Forest fires are a frequent and natural disturbance within the boreal forest. The diversity of the boreal is largely the result of these fires that are varied in frequency, intensity, size, shape, and season. Fire behavior in the boreal varies from intense crown fires to slow moving ground fires, depending on factors

[ Read More ]

Cormorant sourcing of anthropogenic nest material in Tommy Thompson Park

by Ashraf Hutchcraft Learning that I was selected for one of EUC's Undergraduate Research Awards (EUCURA) to work with Professor Gail Fraser on research of cormorants was a welcome surprise!  I went into this project with no previous experience in field work, and an expectation of what it would be like.  Throughout the summer months that we were

[ Read More ]

All about bees: Common misconceptions, helping pollinators and how to actually ‘save the bees’

A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee: Creating Habitat Gardens for Native Pollinators is an inspiring and practical guide that will help gardeners create habitats full of life and learn about what is needed to take action to support and protect pollinators  By Lorraine Johnson and Sheila Colla Native, or “wild” bees — that is, bees that occur naturally

[ Read More ]

Exploring local elephant knowledge in the Boteti River Region, Botswana

Sharing local elephant knowledge to enhance human-wildlife coexistence by Stephanie Bell What local ecological knowledge (LEK) exists in relation to the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) in Botswana communities? How will LEK aid in mitigating human-wildlife resource competition? The research project “Exploring Local Elephant Knowledge in the Boteti River Region, Botswana” addresses these questions. Recent

[ Read More ]

Plant diversity workshop and medicine plant walk provide Indigenous perspectives in planning

On Friday, May 20th 2022, Professor L. Anders Sandberg and fourth-year student Baillie Weiderick, both from the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University, and Brian MacLean of Lost Rivers travelled together to attend and learn from a plant diversity workshop and medicine plant walk, hosted by Indigenous Elders and Anishinaabe teachers. The

[ Read More ]

Ontario's cormorant hunt and what it means for its future

by Gail Fraser For the last 14 years, I’ve studied double-crested cormorants at Tommy Thompson Park on the east side of Toronto’s harbour. Every April, I put on my coveralls and venture forth to follow a sample of nests, recording when nesting began and whether birds were successful at raising young. My goal is to

[ Read More ]

A grounded approach to environmental sustainability, health and human well-being in Southern Costa Rica

In 2021, the York Las Nubes project in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change (EUC) launched the Grounded project in collaboration with the York Faculty of Health, York International, York Libraries, and Universidad Técnica Nacional (UTN) of Costa Rica, San Carlos Campus. Indeed, community is at the heart of York’s Las Nubes EcoCampus such

[ Read More ]

Exploring and recreating ecologies that take shape between plants and people

At the ArtworxTO Hub West, 250 the East Mall, Etobicoke, a display is growing, quite literally, that looks to educate visitors on the relationship between the migrations of people and plants to the Toronto area.  The installation is primarily sound-based and draws on award winning artist and PhD candidate Alexandra Gelis’ research on plants and

[ Read More ]