We live in the Anthropocene era. Human actions have become the major driving force behind unprecedented environmental challenges, creating delicate complexities and uncertainties about the future of the planet and humanity. Canada’s critical landscapes are not spared from these challenges, threatening the well-being of human and non-human communities that depend on them for various natural benefits. Thus, our ability to prepare, plan, and reflect for the future has never been as important to ensure that Canada’s landscapes thrive sustainably and resiliently in the Anthropocene.

Classified as: elena bennett, Gordon Hickey, Department of Natural Resource Sciences
Published on: 15 Nov 2023

Photo: La Terre de Chez Nous

The crème de la crème of the agricultural world gathered in the grand ballroom of the Château Frontenac on October 21 to honor three new inductees to the Quebec Agricultural Hall of Fame.

Tributes were paid to André D. Beaudoin, Charles Vincent and Réjean Vermette (pictured above from left to right), under the watchful eye of the dignitaries in attendance, including the provincial Minister of Agriculture, André Lamontagne.

Published on: 1 Nov 2023

As climate change intensifies extreme heat, farms are becoming less hospitable to nesting birds, a new study found. That could be another barrier to maintaining rapidly eroding biodiversity that also provides benefits to humans, including farmers who get free pest control when birds eat agricultural pests.

Classified as: David Bird
Published on: 25 Oct 2023

Both elegant and fierce, killer whales are some of the oceans’ top predators, but even they can be exposed to environmental pollution. Now, in the largest study to date on North Atlantic killer whales, researchers in the American Chemical Society’ Environmental Science & Technology report the levels of legacy and emerging pollutants in 162 individuals’ blubber. The animals’ diet, rather than location, greatly impacted contaminant levels and potential health risks — information that’s helpful to conservation efforts.

Classified as: mcgill research, anais remili, Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Macdonald Campus, Killer whales
Published on: 24 Oct 2023

As Canadians experience a year of record-breaking wildfires, floods, and extreme heat, experts are warning that these conditions will persist and likely intensify over the coming decades as we experience the escalating effects of climate change and global warming. These impacts are being felt even more acutely in northern regions of the planet, where temperatures are rising at four times the global rate.

Classified as: Bieler School of Environment, Anja Geitmann, Marc Bieler, Department of Natural Resource Sciences, CINE, Lyman Entomological Museum, Herbarium
Published on: 18 Oct 2023

Researchers have known for decades that orcas across the North Pacific have harmful pollutants in their system.

Classified as: Melissa McKinney, Dept. of Natural Resource Sciences, anais remili
Published on: 11 Oct 2023

recent article, written by a team which includes Professor Elena Bennett in McGill’s Department of Natural Resource Sciences, explores the challenges of the Anthropocene, a new geological epoch defined by humans' colossal impact on the environment. To counteract this widescale destruction, the researchers propose that imagination is a hopeful yet complicated tool for creating a positive environmental future. 

Classified as: elena bennett, Department of Natural Resource Sciences
Published on: 4 Oct 2023
This was the worst year for Canadian wildfires on record and though fire season is not yet over, we can already start to see and look at some of the impact of fires on our ecosystems across the country. One population particularly affected by the fires this summer is birds.
Classified as: David Bird, Dept. of Natural Resource Sciences
Published on: 20 Sep 2023

As cases creep upward of a rare disease that spreads to humans from wild canines and dogs, medical experts say it's important to get a better understanding of its incidence across the country.

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is an infection caused by the parasite Echinococcus multilocularis, which is carried by coyotes, dogs and foxes. The tapeworm common in Europe was first detected in wildlife in Western Canada in 2012; one year later, the first human case of AE was found in a woman in rural Alberta.

Published on: 20 Sep 2023

On September 7, thirty two AES undergraduate research awardees shared posters illustrating their summer research jobs.

Dean Anja Geitmann broke through the waves of animated conversation to congratulate the students for engaging in this inspiring science conversation and to award four researchers for their outstanding posters:

Classified as: USRA, Murray Humphries, Varoujan Yaylayan, Salwa Karboune, Xin Zhao, Stephane Bayen, Anja Geitmann
Published on: 20 Sep 2023

Today, the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, and the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced an investment of more than $960 million in support of research and innovation through a suite of programs. These programs include the John R.

Classified as: Anja Geitmann, Thavy Long, Viacheslav Adamchuk, Stephane Bayen, Idaresit Ekaette, Saji George, Salwa Karboune, Ebenezer Miezah Kwofie, Xiaonan Lu, Shiv Prasher, Denis Roy, lyle whyte, Jianguo Xia
Published on: 30 Aug 2023

Sollio Agriculture has partnered with McGill University to test the benefits of PurYield, a new coated fertilizer which enhances nutrient uptake by plants. Researchers will compare it to commonly used uncoated urea fertilizer to assess its impact on corn grain growth, yield, and quality, as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Previous trials showed a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The new study aims to validate these environmental benefits over five years, with funding from Sollio and a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.  

Classified as: Dept. of Natural Resource Sciences, Joann Whalen
Published on: 26 Jul 2023

The number of American kestrels has dropped sharply. That goes against the trend for birds of prey, broadly seen as a conservation bright spot.

Hypotheses about the decline abound. In a newly published special issue on kestrels in The Journal of Raptor Research, Dr. Smallwood and David Bird, an emeritus professor of wildlife biology at McGill University in Montreal, list seven possible factors for kestrel declines that they argue merit more research, in no particular order.

Classified as: Dept. of Natural Resource Sciences, David Bird
Published on: 28 Jun 2023

Scientists have been worried about the potential harms of microplastics for years. These small plastic particles less than 5 mm in length have been found everywhere because of plastic pollution – from the Earth’s deep oceans to remote regions in Antarctica, and even the seafood we eat. But, are microplastics really harmful?

Classified as: microplastics, gut, health, microbiome, seabirds, gastrointestinal tract, immune system, northern fulmar, Cory's shearwater, Sustainability
Published on: 18 May 2023

A team led by two recent McGill bioengineering graduates, Alexander Becker and Cynthia Hitti, has made it through to the final phase of the Deep Space Food Challenge (DSFC) with their system for rearing crickets as a food source for long-haul space voyages.

Classified as: Mark Lefsrud, deep space food challenge
Published on: 3 May 2023

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