Scientific projects: summary

A relatively small number of specific scientific projects of the Survey are carefully chosen because of their scientific importance in understanding the fauna, as well as their current feasibility. For more current project updates please refer to the Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods).

Active projects of the Biological Survey of Canada include: 

Arthropods of Canadian grasslands
The arthropods of Canadian grasslands are surprisingly inadequately known. This hinders the understanding of the fauna of the centre of the continent in general, and in particular an understanding of the origin and setting of the faunas of present day agricultural lands. Among other elements, the project aims to identify sites that represent "undisturbed" grassland habitats, and characterize their faunas (in selected groups) for comparison with the fauna of modified range and crop habitats. See also the Grasslands project page on this website

BioBlitzes
The annual BSC BioBlitz location is chosen to help increase the scientific knowledge of the arthropods of an area. Curation Blitzes are also held to encourage members of the entomological community to gather at an under-curated collection and assess and identify the material See the BioBlitz page for more information and reports from past BioBlitzes.

Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification
The Biological Survey of Canada has launched a new e-journal devoted to the publication of works that contribute significantly to the recognition and documentation of Canada's arthropod fauna. The Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification is a modular, regional, and fully reviewed e-journal of the Biological Survey of Canada. It is a significant source of expert-authored taxonomic reviews and associated digital identification tools. It is a cost-effective and universally available tool for rapid arthropod identification, meeting user demand while providing authors with a unique opportunity to contribute to a growing body of digital identification tools by sharing their regional taxonomic expertise. We encourage the submission of digital keys and associated products that facilitate the identification of arthropod groups that include Canadian species. The Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification is fully reviewed to ensure uniformly high standards.

Terrestrial arthropods of Newfoundland and Labrador 
The fauna of Newfoundland is of particular interest in a Canadian context as a boreal fauna that includes mainly postglacial immigration from the mainland. A complete treatment of the arthropod fauna is being developed from new collecting and study of existing collections and literature. See also the Terrestrial arthropods of Newfoundland and Labrador project page on this website.

General interests of the Survey include:

• Collections and collections policies

• Systematics and entomology

• Study of biodiversity

• Databasing

• Invasions and reductions
  Long-standing interest in invasive species and their effect on native fauna was focussed on analysis through a symposium and databases, and in a specific project on lady beetles in Canada. An international symposium on the  Ecological impacts of Non-Native Invertebrates and Fungi on Terrestrial Ecosystems was held November 18, 2006 at the 2006 joint Annual Meeting of the ESC and SEQ in Montreal. Invited symposium papers, with a small number of additional titles, were published in a special issue of Biological Invasions.

Several other projects, for example on aquatic insects of freshwater wetlands, arthropods of Canadian peatlands, arthropods of springs, seasonal adaptations and insects of the Yukon have evolved to staging points that allow the Survey to be less actively involved. The results of these projects, as well as work from continuing projects, are summarized in various scientific publications by the Survey.

This page last updated 02/08/2012