Algonquin Wildlife Research Station
Algonquin Wildlife Research Station, PO Box 49 Algonquin Park, ON, Canada

[JOB POSTINGS] Jobs in wildlife biology, ecology, and conservation: (1) The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre has posted summer jobs. Positions include: Turtle Animal Care Technicians Turtle Education and Outreach Liaisons... Turtle Field Technicians Turtle Hotline Coordinators Turtle Veterinary Assistants Full information available at: https://ontarioturtle.ca/employment-opportunities/ (2) Avian Technician Lead and Avian Technician, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada. Work based in Whitehorse, YT. Nine week contracts between May 17 July 24, 2021. Deadline: February 19, 2021. More information: https://www.wcscanada.org/Employment.aspx (3) Ontario Key Biodiversity Areas Regional Coordinator - 1 year contract. Deadline: February 15, 2021. More information: https://www.wcscanada.org/Employment.aspx (4) Butterfly Conservation Field Assistants. Mottled Duskywing research and recovery work in Ontario. Preference for students, pay is $17-19/hour, based on experience. Deadline: 28 February 2021. See attached for more information. (5) Federal Student Work Experience Program. Work part-time as a research affiliate with the Government of Canada, while pursuing your studies. Searchable database with hundreds of postings, with many jobs in the natural sciences: https://www.canada.ca//s/federal-student-work-program.html Related, but not a job posting: (6) Dr. Roberta Bondar STEM Career Development Program. An opportunity for women, nonbinary people, and gender diverse people working in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) to network with industry leaders and peers to get a behind-the-scenes look at the science and tech industries in Canada. Applications close 22 February 2021. https://www.wct-fct.com//dr-roberta-bondar-stem-career-dev #SummerJobs #WildlifeJobs #GreenJobs

A silent hunter in the trees, a silent hunter in the streamsPart 2 Barred Owls occasionally wade into water to catch prey, but seeing an owl in the act is rare. Nature photographer Gerry Webb captured the moment that a Barred Owl plucked an overwintering Northern Leopard Frog from a water-filled ditch. Down the hatch! Gerry has been watching a pair of Barred Owls perching near open water and has repeatedly observed frog hunting in shallow water. Thank you for sharing your t...errific photo and observations! See Part 1 at: https://www.facebook.com/algonquinwrs/posts/3049694985259825 Photo shared with permission from Gerry Webb. Instagram: @gerrywebb4 #BarredOwl #Owl #WildlifeBiology #AnimalBehaviour #Ecology #WinterEcology

A silent hunter in the trees, a silent hunter in the streamsPart 1 The Barred Owl is a dietary generalist. From small mammals to salamanders and slugs, other birds, crayfish, earthworms, and just about everything in between, the Barred Owl is none too picky. Nature photographer Gerry Webb recently shared his remarkable photo of a Barred Owl wading in a small streamnot where you might expect an owl to be! Barred Owls are known to wade while hunting for prey, but this behavi...our is mostly inferred from dietary studies (i.e., crayfish remains in pellets suggests the owls make use of stream habitats for feeding; see references to such in comments). Observing this behaviour firsthand is rare! After reviewing available literature, we were not able to find any records of Barred Owls demonstrating stream wading in the winter. Brrr, that's a brave owl! A fascinating and outstanding capture, Gerry! We will follow-up by sharing a photo of this owl's catch later this week. Photo shared with permission from Gerry Webb. Instagram: @gerrywebb4 #BarredOwl #Owl #WildlifeBiology #AnimalBehaviour #Ecology #NaturalHistory

The Eastern Wolf is an iconic resident of Algonquin Provincial Park and the broader North American Great Lakes region. The species is cherished by some, maligned by others, and in large part misunderstood. We will be joined by Conner Thompson (PhD Candidate, Trent University) for an online discussion about the Eastern Wolf. Conner will share a brief presentation about the biology and current research of the Eastern Wolf, followed by a live audience Q&A session. Bring your cur...iously and questions! We look forward to seeing you there: LIVE 'Ask-the-Researcher': Eastern Wolves with Connor Thompson Wednesday, January 06, 2021 at 7:00 PM EST Free registration at the link below: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/9bznq796 Eastern Wolf in Algonquin Park, Hugo Kitching

Our mission at the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station is to inspire, to educate, and to conserve. We are a non-profit operating in the heart of #AlgonquinPark focussed on #FieldBiology, #OutdoorEducation, and especially long-term studies in #Ecology. We just celebrated 75 years of superb #science! Visit our newly revised website at https://algonquinwrs.ca Want to support wildlife research and conservation in Algonquin Park? You can #SupportOurScience and access exclusive content 'from the field' by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/awrs

#WeekInWildlife: Engrained in the cultural and ecological history of Canadians is "Hinterland Who's Who". These television shorts featured iconic wildlife, natural history, and conservation messaging. This weekend The Sunday Magazine on CBC dove into the environmental history behind the series: https://www.cbc.ca//why-hinterland-who-s-who-a-nostalgic-s [interview]... For the initiated, or those keen on some nostalgia: The Loon (1963): https://youtu.be/Kr4szXuxEPk The Beaver (1963): https://youtu.be/i9X8RFABXRg The Moose (1963): https://youtu.be/M4xdI5GrjJs With thanks to the Canadian Wildlife Federation for maintaining and greatly expanding the series (spoofs and all): https://www.hww.ca/en/ https://www.youtube.com/user/HinterlandWW

[JOB POSTINGS] Sharing wildlife biology, ecology, and conservation postings: (1) Wildlife Technician, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. "Are you looking for an opportunity to apply your resource management knowledge (including human-wildlife conflict related expertise) in the field? Do you have strong problem solving and communication skills?" Application deadline: 03 Feb 2021, 11:59 pm EST. https://www.gojobs.gov.on.ca/Preview.aspx... (2) Wetland Conservation Technician (2 positions), Toronto Zoo. This position assists the Coordinator and Conservation Steward with various conservation projects, field research, data analysis, developing education materials, and public outreach to support the Adopt-A-Pond Wetland Conservation Program. Application deadline: 02 February 2021. https://www.torontozoo.com/jobs (3) Oceans GIS Analyst, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. Contract for a full time GIS analyst with a background in marine conservation and/or marine resource management to support our conservation and communications work. Application deadline: 25 January 2021. https://cpaws.org/oceans-gis-analyst/

#TurtleTuesday: Dr. Jackie Litzgus, Chair of the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station and Professor at Laurentian University - Université Laurentienne, sat down with Conservation Stories to share her passion for turtles, teaching, and conservation. Jackie discusses the recent work or her and her students, including studying wildlife on roads and the long-lived turtles here at the AWRS: https://youtu.be/bNI7Ref-GHs #Turtle #Ecology #Herpetology #RoadEcology #Conservation #ConservationOptimism

#WeekInWildlife: An engaging brief on the biology, folklore, and importance of the often-misunderstood bats: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/opinion/covid-bats.html

Congratulations to Samantha Stephens, winner of the Other Animals category in this year's Nature Photographer Of The Year competition! Her image, Nature's Pitfall, visualizes the discovery made by Station researchers that Northern Pitcher Plants are trapping juvenile Spotted Salamanders. Check out her profile on NPOTY's webpage:

Congratulations to MSc candidate Amanda Semenuk for being awarded a Jury Prize in NSERC's 2020 Science Exposed Image Contest Check out what Amanda says about her image, A Deadly Hiding Spot!

Recent publication from the antler fly team! Does nutrition impact how long an individual lives and how fast they age? Animals with access to a lot of resources normally grow up big and healthy, but a bigger body might be harder to maintain, and laboratory experiments often indicate that putting flies "on a diet" increases their lifespan. It wasn't clear how diet differences would influence aging in a natural setting, so we put it to the test using antler flies! These tiny ...flies aggressively defend territories on the surface of shed moose antlers, where they can be observed day after day to record their survival and reproductive success. Conveniently, they never live longer than a month after they mature! We raised antler fly larvae on four diets differing in nutrient concentration and released them into the wild at the AWRS. Flies that grew on a rich diet developed quickly, and fast development was linked to larger size and faster aging. However, despite their rapid aging, fast developers were hardier on average, leading to a high average lifespan. Surprisingly, fast-developing flies also mated less often, so despite their longer lifespan they usually mated about the same number of times over their lives as slow developers. Our results show that nutrition can affect wild animals in complex ways, and demonstrate a fascinating link between development rate and aging! Angell, C.S., Oudin, M.J., Rode, N.O., Mautz, B.S., Bonduriansky, R. and H.D. Rundle. 2020. Development time mediates the effect of larval diet on ageing and mating success of male antler flies in the wild. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 287: 20201876. https://royalsocietypublishing.org//abs/10./rspb.2020.1876 Samantha Stephens, writing by Chris Angell

The Life Underground.Living beneath the soil surface may be dark, but a subterranean lifestyle moderates exposure to temperature extremes. It's not too hot and not too cold in this 'Goldilocks zone'. Some animals, such as the Spotted Salamander, spend most of their life underground, yet they rely on aboveground cues for aspects of their life cycle (e.g., reproduction). Directly tracking the underground activities and behaviour of subterranean animals is difficult, but altern...ative sources of information can hint at their hidden lives. This graph shows temperature at the soil surface (0 m) and subsurface (-0.5 m, -1.0 m) from August 2017 through September 2020 in the coniferous (evergreen) forest understory of Algonquin Park. Note how variable surface (air) temperature is compared to stable underground temperatures. It is also noteworthy that the insulating blanket of snow causes soil to slowly cool throughout the winter (soil temperature is coldest in May!). What other patterns do you notice? With this below-ground temperature data we can address questions ranging from where, why, and how salamanders and hibernating small mammals spend the winter to the effects of climate (change) on soil microbes and forest health. Here's to this fascinating snapshot of soil temperatures! #WinterEcology #FieldBiology #Ecology #Wildlife #AlgonquinPark Research | Outdoor Education | Conservation World class science and student training, Algonquin Wildlife Research Station #SupportOurScience: https://www.patreon.com/awrs

Congratulations to Koley Freeman, newly minted PhD! Dr. Koley Freeman conducted her PhD research as a member of the long-term project on Canada Jays in Algonquin Park, affiliated with the Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph. Specifically, she studied how the early life environment effected growth and development of jays. Koley spent many winters and springs at the AWRS following Canada Jays through the park by foot, snowshoe, canoe, and even plane! One of... Koley's most memorable experiences from her field studies was this visit from a Canada Jay parent. The jays truly are model parents: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2236187973277201 Koley has several scientific articles from her research that are in review and in preparation. Stay tuned! Amy Newman #CanadaJay #FieldWork #FieldBiology #Ecology #WomenInScience #WomenInSTEM #AlgonquinPark

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Tomorrow Carter Rouleau will be defending his Masters thesis on the socioecology of the Painted Turtle. Thursday, Dec 17, 2020 at 2:00 pm EST Video livestream at: [no longer active.]... Turtles and reptiles in general have long been considered solitary with low behavioural complexity, but increasing research is showing that there is more than meets the eye. Over the past couple years, Carter has investigated the social and kin-association behaviour of Painted Turtles using field observation and genetic data. He will share the conclusions of his study during this online thesis defence hosted by Laurentian University - Université Laurentienne. Even after five decades of turtle study at the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station, we are learning more about their biology with each passing year. Don't miss this presentation about the little known 'social lives' of turtles! All are welcome to attend. (This presentation will not be video recorded.) #PaintedTurtle #Turtle #Socioecology #Herpetology #FieldBiology #AlgonquinPark; Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario Parks