Ripened seeds of wapato (Sagittaria latifolia) and water parsnip (Sium suave). It’s that time of year!

One of the highlights of digging through old grey literature is the hand-drawn illustrations. These drawings were included in "Estuarine Habitat Management: a Prospectus for Tilbury Slough" by Dorcey et al. (1983).

Beautiful day for vegetation, elevation, and sediment surveys in the Skeena Estuary, territory of the Gitxaała, Kitsumkalum, Ts’msyen and Lax Kw’Alaams Nations.

Thanks @ainsliecruickshank.bsky.social & @thenarwhal.ca for spotlighting some of the important research and restoration work I am a part of in the Lower Fraser!

NEW: Extraordinary footage has emerged of the huge tsunami that hit Russia’s remote Kamchatka peninsula after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake on July 30th. (🎥 Doni Nikz)

Every now and then you stumble across a news headline that brightens your day.

Another day working in the Fraser, another reminder that we still don’t have any form of vessel wake management in this important estuary.

The Narwhal is suing the RCMP for unlawfully arresting a photojournalist, Amber Bracken, for doing her job in Wetʼsuwetʼen. Canadian taxpayers are funding the RCMP's legal defence; our non-profit newsroom relies on reader support to uphold freedom of the press. More in the thread 👇

Traffic jam on the overpass into #vancouver yesterday afternoon… 😂 🪿 🪿 🪿 www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/...

As someone who has spent years working on Xwe’etay (Lasqueti Island), this article resonates deeply: “there is [now] hard, factual evidence showing Indigenous people have been on the island for more than 300 generations.” www.timescolonist.com/islander/in-...

These fragrant white bog orchids (Platanthera dilatata) always seem out of place in a tidal marsh. Today I smelled their sweet aroma long before I saw them.

Published an op-ed the other day--fast-tracking actions to protect lands, waters, fish, and wildlife. BC and Canadian policies are rushing natural resource extraction forward--there is a parallel need to fast-track safeguards of lands and waters. vancouversun.com/opinion/op-e...

Looks like it’s cattail pollen season again!

Not a bad setting for checking off some of my comprehensive exam readings!

New paper on the contributions of different marine sectors to underwater noise pollution within endangered Southern Resident killer whale habitat, highlighting potential impacts of vessel activity on acoustic habitat quality #SRKW www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Each spring this large dove tree/handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata) at Edmonds & Griffiths is the highlight of my morning commute. Native to the montane forests of China, this tree is named for its pair of showy white bracts.

can i do a referendum making it illegal for people to say "western alienation" when they aren't actually referring to the most heavily populated and most western part of the country

We need to stop treating the Fraser River like a junkyard and hold polluters accountable. The Queen of Sidney and Marpole rail trestle bridge have both gone up in flames in less than a year. Both unused & neglected.

These days I’m mostly wading through tidal marshes to net juvenile salmon, but today I was pleasantly distracted by this stunning patch of shooting star (Primula pauciflora var. macrocarpum) at Tilbury Island. One of the earliest plants to flower in the estuary!

🌱Plant distributions are frequently in disequilibrium with their environment, which can bias species distribution models. This latest review looks at methods used to reduce bias 🧪 🌏

Given the rapidly evolving political landscape in the United States and reports of individuals encountering difficulties crossing the border, CAUT strongly recommends that academic staff travel to the U.S. only if essential and necessary. Read more: www.caut.ca/latest/2025/...

We’re hiring! See details below.

How many lifetimes' worth of work is being destroyed by all this? And to what end?? www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

🦀 While conducting early detection monitoring for invasive European green crab, @waseagrant.bsky.social Crab Team discovered a non-native shrimp 🦐. The team were able to monitor the spread and increase of this species across WA Puget Sound. Find out more👇 www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

I've cracked the code of why byelection lineups are so long in Vancouver today. It's not just a turnout question. Compared to the 2017 byelection, the city decreased the number of election workers by EIGHTY PERCENT. From 1,250 in 2017 to 250 this time around. This was a staff recommendation.

I’m torn on this one. In one hand we have ecologists screaming that we need to manage introduced Canada Geese due to their impacts on wetland and oak meadow ecosystems. In the other hand we have a ton of resources being thrown at an injured bird so that it can be re-released into “the wild”.

Active wetland restoration kickstarts vegetation establishment, but natural development promotes greater plant diversity 🌊 🧪 Results imply that restoration projects face a trade-off 💭 🌏 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/1365...

Here's my piece on the end of the McBarge. Dreams die, boats sink, memories for millions of British Columbians will fade. But friendships are forever.

RIP McBarge 1986-2025 You were too pure for this world

First beach seine of the season! High tides are pretty early these days in the Lower Fraser. #salmon #ubcforestry #ubc #fieldwork

Last year, the U.S. government debated then followed through on banning TikTok. They said an app owned by someone close to an autocratic leader might be used as propaganda. From a Canadian perspective, these concerns apply to the app formerly known as Twitter, writes @djclimenhaga.bsky.social.

Monitoring goose exclosures in the Fraser River estuary.

We have a new paper out today, where, among other things, we find evidence that a locally adaptive chromosomal inversion likely trapped an even older inversion along its path to becoming the supergene it is today. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Canadian favourability of the United States hits a new low

Experts say a Fraser River monitoring centre is needed.

There is no point in trying to satisfy the demands of someone who so clearly doesn't care about the credibility of anything he promises, good or bad. Threats and agreements alike become equally meaningless if they are so lacking in credibility.

It's been like this for years. For #conservation, being charismatic or pretty helps. Being crucial for #ecosystem functioning, maybe less so. #funding should not be dependent on psycholoveability! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Native seed density & non-native invasive species arrival order independently affect biotic resistance to invasion 📊 Established a competition experiment involving 4 native species & 1 invasive species, leveraging concepts of density & priority effects 🧪 🌏 🔗 https://buff.ly/42VlKEd

Wonderful new documentary by @seadocsociety.bsky.social feat. Dr. Greg Hood on the role of beavers in enhancing salmon habitat in estuaries. Their observations certainly align with what we are seeing in areas of the Fraser Estuary (notably the South Arm Marshes).

Someone in Kitsilano has a very funny sense of humour. Apparently this isn’t their first installation either 😂

For those unable to join us last night, here is a link to my conversation with Robin Wall Kimmerer youtu.be/bt4zcK2cQU0?... #ecology #indigenousstem #conservation @forestry.ubc.ca @ubclfs.bsky.social

PhD project alert! 🚨 I'm recruiting a PhD student to join my lab and the MacroSize network to investigate the trends, patterns, and processes driving intraspecific variation in fish body size in the Anthropocene. Exciting opportunity to explore ecological dynamics in a changing world! :) 🌎🐟🐠🐡

Hello Bluesky science community - I'm searching for a manual/dichotomous key for identifying North American insects, particularly airborne species occurring in wetlands and riparian areas. Ideally to the family level. Thus far I haven't found a lot - any recommendations?

I consider myself a casual sports fan. It doesn’t help in retaining my interest that most teams and reporters I follow direct most or all of their energy towards X. Is there a moral threshold for these people/organizations? And what is it if it hasn’t been crossed already?

Proud to be partnering with @raincoast.org on revitalizing this 30-year-old tidal marsh compensation project. The site had been homogenized by hybrid cattail, and this project aims to minimize their impact, increase heterogeneity, and increase access for salmon. www.raincoast.org/2025/02/habi...

*Job alert*: Assistant Professor in Waterfowl Ecology and Management at Clemson University's Baruch Institute in Georgetown, SC. 9-mo 100% research position. Due Feb 16. Focal expertise in movement ecology, habitat, disease, genetics, or demography apply.interfolio.com/160483

Canada considers tariffs on US canned water

If you missed it, here’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s, quite sincerely, historic speech. It’s for, and is galvanizing, Canadians but he also speaks very directly to our allies in the US. Please hear us out. I do find myself thinking how much I’d give up, and do, for this imperfect country.

Reposting this for my American friends to show some of the local changes occurring in response to Trump’s tariffs.

Come work with me and @raincoast.org this summer in the Fraser River Estuary! A variety of positions need to be filled, with tasks including fish sampling, vegetation surveys, marsh restoration activities, and elevation surveys. www.raincoast.org/2025/01/job-...