News and Notes

At the Fall 2007 BSC Scientific Committee meeting, it was decided that a vision document should be produced for the Biological Survey of Canada. The purpose of this document is to promote the BSC by articulating the goals of the organization while giving a brief overview of accomplishments, capabilities, and credentials. The text of the vision document is reproduced below and the full formatted version can be downloaded in the Overview section of the BSC web site.

The Biological Survey of Canada (BSC) is a network of scientists who discover, synthesize, and freely share knowledge about Canada’s biological diversity. The BSC is a high-quality source of expert scientific advice for biodiversity science, and provides national and international leadership in this field.

Objectives
1. Discover, survey, and inventory Canada’s biological diversity and provide universal access to biodiversity information;

2. Detect, measure, and predict changes in Canadian biological diversity, and provide science-based advice for sustaining native biodiversity in Canadian ecosystems;

3. Promote the importance of taxonomic research and provide access to taxonomic expertise;

4. Promote awareness of the values and vulnerabilities of Canada’s biological diversity by inspiring, educating, and engaging Canadians.

What drives the need for our research?
The BSC directly addresses the shortage of fundamental research about Canada’s biological diversity, thereby providing the information and knowledge synthesis necessary to inform policy decisions around issues such as: environmental change (climate change, water quality, pollution, habitat destruction, invasive species, species at risk), health and biosecurity (clean air and water and the protection of crop production and food supplies), sustainable resource development, Canadian sovereignty and international responsibilities (including the arctic), and ensuring market accessibility. Understanding species, their ecological boundaries, and their changes through time are crucial to dealing with these issues effectively.

Strength through collaboration
With a secretariat based at the Canadian Museum of Nature, our network forges collaborations among federal and provincial departments and museums, academic institutions, and concerned citizens to increase knowledge about Canadian fauna and flora. The BSC has a 30-year history of scientific credibility and of high productivity of scientific publications about Canadian biological wealth, especially with respect to arthropods. We have a diverse national composition that works effectively and efficiently to address emerging issues. Members of the BSC have a long history of undertaking collaborative field expeditions to study Canada’s biodiversity, and of documenting biological diversity through the archiving of specimens and critical baseline data.

Activities and projects
The BSC maintains a diverse and dynamic project portfolio. Current projects include:

1. publication of a new electronic journal – The Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification;

2. a northern insect survey that measures changes in biodiversity using a century of data on arctic and boreal species;

3. production of a multi-volume publication on the arthropods of Canadian grasslands;

4. development of specimen databases of Canadian arthropods based on museum specimens;

5. arthropod inventories of several Canadian biodiversity hotspots; and

6. monitoring species at risk and invasive alien species.

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Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods)

Volume 27 No. 1, Spring 2008