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Biology

This category contains 280 posts

Traditional management outperforms national protection

I’m really interested in the efficacy of traditional land and population management. There is quite a bit of evidence that First Nations and Indigenous communities have engaged in land and species management for centuries. This was actively prevented during colonization. As a result, declining population numbers and biodiversity arise from a combination of factors including … Continue reading

Oysters on drugs

When I used to teach invertebrate zoology, I found a surprising number of studies where they exposed different invertebrates to different drugs. My favourite was the spiders on drugs. You can search it and find images of the webs they built after exposure to different drugs. Today, an article popped up about oyster larvae and … Continue reading

Linking Tylenol to autism is not backed by science

I can’t not post something given the announcement from the US president yesterday. But I also don’t need to write anything new. There are an abundance of good news articles out already in response to the unfounded claim that taking Tylenol while pregnant can result in a child developing Autism Spectrum Disorder. Here are a … Continue reading

The hype versus the reality

I’m doing some rethinking of my blog at the moment. I enjoy the sustainability posts but I do miss my other science posts. Thinking about ways to do both and not overload myself. So today I’m going to post about walking. Specifically, walking after eating. If your feed is anything like mine, you’ve been seeing … Continue reading

Limited reporting in the ocean

There is a move towards more corporate reporting of sustainability targets, but what they report is generally limited. Greenhouse gas emissions and energy use are the most common. Sometimes there are also references to sustainably sourced materials such as palm oil, cocoa, or cotton. There are many areas that impact ecosystem health that companies impact … Continue reading

Bringing Beavers Back to the Right Neighbourhoods

After a summer hiatus, I’m back and looking into the research, starting with beavers. Beavers have long been fascinating to me. Their ability to change the landscape is incredible. Earlier this year, there were news stories about beavers in the Czech Republic who stepped in while the authorities argued. There had been a plan to … Continue reading

Using solar panels to support grasslands during drought

I admit, I’m the person who wonders why we don’t put solar panels on school roofs and over parking lots. It seems like these would be prime places. I have thought less about mixing solar panels and agriculture, mostly because agriculture is not my area of expertise. However, some research by Sturchio and Knapp (2025) shows that … Continue reading

It’s more than just the smoke

Wildfires are growing in size and intensity with climate change. Clearly the smoke from these fires has direct health consequences; however, some recent research shows that the concern goes beyond the smoke itself. Kelesidis and colleagues (2025) studied the impact of the 2023 Canadian wildfires on New York. They found that there were the expected … Continue reading

For adults, plant proteins lead to longer life expectancy

The environmental and social arguments for decreasing animal based protein intake and increasing plant ones have been around for a while. And surely they have convinced some to make changes in their diets. But what about a health link? If you knew that eating more plant proteins as an adult would help you live longer … Continue reading

We know insects are declining but we don’t have the data we need

Insects are the dominant form of animal life on earth. There are more species, more diversity, and more biomass. They are essential for life on the planet engaging in activities like pollination and decomposition. But the population health of 99% of species is poorly understood. Of the 1% of species that have had IUCN assessments, … Continue reading

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