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ALBERTA BIOLOGISTS' BIWEEKLY
DECEMBER 1, 2024
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Conference committee report:
Plans Underway for the
50th Anniversary in Banff
The 2024 ASPB Conference Committee met for a debriefing session during the week following the highly-acclaimed conference at Red Deer. Committee Chair Andy Edeburn said he was pleased to hear positive comments on the floor about many of the conference proceedings, and especially that the conference’s “Resilience” theme was well received. “People seemed to think our themes – including for the Wednesday Workshops – were well-thought-out, helped build competency, and indeed proved to be something of a conversation-starter. Our focus on personal health and wellness fit the theme of Resilience; the panels and presentations in this theme were meaningful and I think really resonated with conference attendees. We were also proud of the student engagement; it was refreshing to have biology and career path conversations with students. And of course, with all of our conferences, the ample networking opportunities were top-notch.”
ASPB Regulatory Manager Jessica Koehli commented that attendees seemed pleased with the variety of useful spaces and service available on the conference floor: “Of course, good food and service make for a good venue and a successful event, but the stories we tell during the presentations are what we are there for, and we had such great presenters and material this year!”
The conference committee is already excited about adding some new features to the 50th Anniversary Conference in Banff in 2025: “We’re already thinking of improvements for next year,” says ASPB Regulatory Coordinator Samantha Krutzfeldt. “Of course there will be enhanced and special programming, but we will also be attending to the small stuff, like improvements to our Audio Visual arrangements, paying attention to things like better labeling of dietary restrictions, and other personal guest requirements.”
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The ASPB Fee Renewal Schedule
Is Now Posted Online
ASPB Membership Renewals opened on December 1st, and the 2025 membership fee schedule is now available on line. There is a fee increase for 2025 of 4% or less (category dependant), but December 2024 is, in effect, a fee-increase holiday this year: renewals received this December will be subject to the 2024 rates until December 31. The 2025 rates will apply on January 01, 2025 and late fees will apply on February 01.
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See BIOS BRIEF
(down the page)
for a group photo of the new
ASPB Board!
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ASPB Mentorship Program
Kicks Off This Month
After a successful pilot project, the"full scale - all members welcome - ASPB Mentorship Program" is ready to kick off in 2025!
As you renew your membership (available starting December 1st) you will see we have updated the mentorship prompt during your renewal process. And, you can now find the mentorship program on the ASPB dashboard, also starting December 1st and you will have until January 15th to opt-in and fill in responses to the few questions we have set up to help us match you with a mentor or mentee.
In 2025, the program runs February 1st to August 1st, and we plan on running within the same time frame in 2026 and beyond, making any adjustments needed and learning from the process as we go.
Please see our mentorship webpage HERE for more information and feel free to reach out to us if needed.
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NEW ON THE
JOB
BOARD
PCM Wildlife Field Technician
Wetlands & Vegetation Ecologist
Wildlife Field Technician
Senior Vegetation Ecologist
Lead Wetland Ecologist
Intermediate Vegetation Ecologist
Intermediate Soils Scientist
Intermediate Wetland Ecologist
Senior Soils Scientist
Prescribed Fire Exchange Program Coordinator
Intermediate Biologist
Executive Director
Assistant Prof. in Biology
Environmental Planners
Environmental Project Manager
FIND INFORMATION
ON THESE AND
MANY OTHER POSITIONS
ON THE JOB BOARD
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SEMINARS, WEBINARS & CONFERENCES
JANUARY
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Great Plains Fishery Workers
Announce dates for annual workshop
The 2025 Great Plains Fishery Workers Association Workshop will be held in Fort Collins, Colorado, January 14, 2025 - January 16, 2025. A formal presentation schedule will be distributed as the conference gets closer, but if you are interested in presenting at this year's workshop, please contact alex.jouney@state.co.us or alexander.townsend@state.co.us.
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SEMINARS, WEBINARS & CONFERENCES
FEBRUARY
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Native Prairie Restoration/Reclamation Workshop
The 11th Native Prairie Restoration/Reclamation Workshop and the Prairie Fire Summit 2025 will take place February 11-13, 2025 in Regina. The theme is "Collaborative Approaches to Prairie Conservation", and here is the Draft Program . Registration is open.
The Call for Abstracts is also open: the deadline for oral presentations was October 15th, 2024 but an extension may be granted if requests for approvals within your organization need more time. Contact Carolyn (pcap@sasktel.net) to discuss). The Call for Presentation Abstracts can be found here, and the Call for Poster Abstracts can be found here.
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NATURAL RESOURCES
TRAINING GROUP
Plant Survey Techniques – Online – December 5th & December 12th, 2024
Plant Survey Techniques – Online – December 5th & December 12th, 2024 Natural Resources Training Group
Species at Risk – Online, December 10-11, 2024
Species at Risk – Online, December 10-11, 2024 Natural Resources Training Group
Fish Habitat Restoration — Identification of Factors Limiting Fish Productivity – Online – December 10th, 2024
Fish Habitat Restoration — Identification of Factors Limiting Fish Productivity – Online – December 10th, 2024 Natural Resources Training Group
Fish Habitat Restoration — Prescription Development – Online, December 11, 2024
Fish Habitat Restoration — Prescription Development – Online, December 11, 2024 Natural Resources Training Group
Plant Identification Level 1 – Online – December 11th, 2024
Plant Identification Level 1 – Online – December 11th, 2024 Natural Resources Training Group
Experimental Design in Ecology – Online, December 12th-13th, 2024
Experimental Design in Ecology – Online, December 12th-13th, 2024 Natural Resources Training Group
For the full calendar of upcoming courses, and course details, follow this link:
https://nrtraininggroup.com/schedule/
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COLUMBIA MOUNTAINS INSTITUTE
of Applied Ecology
Revelstoke BC
QGIS Level I & II – Online
Dates scheduled according to student schedules.
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PRAIRIE CONSERVATION ACTION PLAN
Webinars and Conferences
November Native Prairie Speaker Series
Growing Canada's Native Seed Industry: Insights from a Nuffield Canada Scholar's European Journey
Speaker: Renny W. Grilz, P.Ag.
Register Free: https://shorturl.at/SXnUy (Timed out (Nov. 21) but will be recorded)
December Native Prairie Speaker Series
The Loggerhead Shrike: The Prairie's Predatory Songbird
Tuesday December 10th, 2025 at 12:00pm
Speaker: Emily Putz, Habitat Stewardship Coordinator, Nature Saskatchewan
Register Free: https://shorturl.at/V7Rkv
The 11th Native Prairie Restoration/Reclamation Workshop will be held
February 12-13, 2025 in Regina
Theme: "Collaborative Approaches to Prairie Conservation"
The workshop will include oral presentations, case studies, panel discussions, a trade show and a poster session.
THE CALL FOR POSTER ABSTRACTS IS OPEN!
Deadline: December 6th, 2024 at 5:00pm
Potential poster topics include: Invasive species, Soil, Restoration outcomes and monitoring, new technologies, industry, building relationships with Indigenous communities, land manager perspectives, skills development AND MORE!
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ALBERTA SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL BIOLOGISTS
Board of Directors 2024
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Back row, left to right:: Julie Oxtoby, Shilo Brauer, Matthew Koehli, Andy Edeburn, Scott Kolochuk, Angela Holzapfel, Kristie Derkson Front row: Dean Falkenberg (E.D.), Jennifer Stroh, Victoria Lukasik, Nikki Copeland, Brandy Faris, Sherree Dallyn | |
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Google Scholar is turning 20 — and facing the rise of competing systems, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), for searching the literature. “ Anurag Acharya, who co-founded Google Scholar, says he welcomes all efforts to make scholarly information easier to find, understand and build on.
At the ASPB, we regularly receive notifications from Google Scholar and other sources which we select and share below in the BIWEEKLY. Here is the latest batch (the links are HOT):
Effects of noise from oil and gas development on raptors and songbirds—A science synthesis to inform National Environmental Policy Act analyses
Some academics flee Twitter for Bluesky
Drivers of woody dominance across global drylands
Evaluation of Wood Fibers Derived from Different Tree Species and Processing Methods on Crop Growth and Microbial Activity in Soilless Substrates
Scaling Up: The Promise and Perils of Canada's Biofuels Strategy
Terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea) in Alberta: species diversity, symbionts, and population structure
Pollinator Abundance at Solar Farms in Alberta, Canada
Growth and physiology of mycorrhizal plants in soil containing enhanced non-segregating oil sands tailings
Assessing spider (Araneae) diversity and pitfall trap retention in canola (Brassica napus L.) agroecosystems in north-central Alberta, Canada
The role of forage quantity and quality in the migration and diet of a northern ungulate during their neonatal period
Revisiting reclaimed well pads in boreal forests: the role of time and changing criteria in the recovery of vegetation composition, forest structure, and plant traits
Experimental Models of Demonstration Pit Lakes: Evaluating Long-Term Effects on Water Quality, Biogeochemical Processes, and Metagenomic Profiles in Oil Sands …
Effects of Terrain on Climate and Consequences for Boreal Songbird Distribution and Refugia
Presence of trailers reduces culvert‐style trap success in American black bears (Ursus americanus)
Linking proximate drivers and fitness returns of vigilance in a large ungulate
A synthesis of the characteristics and drivers of introduced fishes in prairie streams: can we manage introduced harmful fishes in these dynamic environments?
Long-Term Changes in Nesting Raptor Communities After Construction of Wind Power Projects
Plants Do it Better: How Constructed Floating Wetlands Can Improve the Wastewater Treatment Process at Lake County's Southeast Treatment Facility
How to thwart ‘forever chemicals’
Grizzly bear behavior in south-central Alaska: Use of a hidden Markov model to assess behavior
Divergent values and perspectives drive three distinct viewpoints on grizzly bear reintroduction in Washington, the United States
Fish Bulletin 185. The Use of Low-Tech Process-Based Stream Habitat Restoration
“Green means good:” challenging the absence of international justice in just transition plans
(B.C. Canada) Teenage case of bird flu rings alarm bells
Mackenzie Valley Highway Project: Inferring the Potential Barriers to Boreal Caribou Movement
Long-term evaluation of evapotranspiration from a reclaimed boreal forest in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region of Northern Alberta, Canada
Effect of Aquatic Worms and Straw Amendments on the Geotechnical and Biogeochemical Properties of Oil Sands Tailings
Managing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes: Conservation, restoration and rewilding
Indigenous-led analysis of important subsistence species response to resource extraction
Impact of stockpiling on soil fungal communities and their functions
Land Markets Anticipate Future Regulatory Boundary Changes
Earthworms in Canadian Forest Regions Revisited
When avifauna collide: the case for lethal control of barred owls in western North America
Impact of stockpiling on soil fungal communities and their functions
Land Markets Anticipate Future Regulatory Boundary Changes
Restoration of forestry-drained boreal peatland ecosystems can effectively stop and reverse ecosystem degradation
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This week’s banner photo:
Reflections!
This photo, taken with an iPhone 14 pro on a rare calm day on the tundra, was submitted by Sandra Scott, who was also first place winner of the 2024 ASPB Photo Contest with her photo Caribou of the Tundra, which we featured as the banner on the November 15 edition.
PROFESSIONAL BIOLOGISTS PROTECT THE PUBLIC INTEREST
In Alberta, Professional Biologists are registrants of the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists (ASPB), and are subject to a code of ethics, continuing competency requirements, and a disciplinary process. The ASPB is a self-regulated organization under legislation in the Province of Alberta, meaning its purpose is to protect the public of Alberta by ensuring biologists are qualified to practice biology in accordance with that legislation. The society is governed by a Board of Directors elected by its registrants.
You are probably receiving this newsletter because you are an ASPB Registrant. This newsletter provides relevant information and professional development opportunities for our members, as well as essential member-related society business; if you are registered with the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists, please DO NOT unsubscribe.
For more information about the Society or to contact the administration, please visit the website: https://www.aspb.ab.ca
Opinions and general news published in this e-newsletter
do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Society or its Board of Directors.
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