Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Apr 8

Tonight's the night for multilingual social ecology! Hope to see you at the Publican at 7:30pm for Dr. Sandra Klemet-N'Guessan's exciting talk.

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Mar 18

April 8th's Conservation Cafe with Dr. Sandra Klemet-N'Guessan will blend multilingualism, Indigenous knowledge systems, and social-ecology. Join us at 7:30pm at the Publican for some great stories of conservation in action. Free, as always, with a cash bar 🥂💬🐟

A black woman in a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses holding a digging tool against a rich, green plant-filled background. The text on top reads: Et si je te l’explique en français, le résultat est-il le même ?
On the role of language in environmental sciences.Dr. Sandra Klemet-N'Guessan, April 8th, 7:30pm, Upstairs at the Publican

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Mar 18

April 8th's Conservation Cafe with Dr. Sandra Klemet-N'Guessan will blend multilingualism, Indigenous knowledge systems, and social-ecology. Join us at 7:30pm at the Publican for some great stories of conservation in action. Free, as always, with a cash bar 🥂💬🐟

2 3

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Mar 11

Hey #PTBO, tonight's the night to geek out on fly ecology!

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Feb 26

Summer is coming and with it, some less-than-charismatic fauna. Join us + Trent's own Dr. David Beresford on Tues the 11th for the science of the pesky flies that can so define time at the lake. The talk starts at 7:30pm and, as always, is free (with a cash bar on site).

A photo of a beige bucket hat with sticky tape applied to it. On the tape are several flies stuck in place. The text reads: Horse Flies and Deer Flies: Friends or Foes? Mar 11, 7:30pm, upstairs at the Publican, 294 Charlotte St, Dr. David Beresford, Trent University

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Mar 3

Next week will be buzzing

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Feb 26

Summer is coming and with it, some less-than-charismatic fauna. Join us + Trent's own Dr. David Beresford on Tues the 11th for the science of the pesky flies that can so define time at the lake. The talk starts at 7:30pm and, as always, is free (with a cash bar on site).

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Feb 26

Summer is coming and with it, some less-than-charismatic fauna. Join us + Trent's own Dr. David Beresford on Tues the 11th for the science of the pesky flies that can so define time at the lake. The talk starts at 7:30pm and, as always, is free (with a cash bar on site).

2

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Jan 9

We're back in February for more conservation science! Join Dr. Mark Ridgway for the scoop on Algonquin Park lake fish. There's more going on beneath the waters than we thought!

A poster for our pub talk Islands of Water in a Sea of Land: Newly Discovered Species Diversity of Fish in Algonquin Park. Feb 11, 7:30 pm, the Publican. Dr. Mark Ridgway is pictured holding up a 2 foot fish with blue lakewater stretching out in the background

9 12

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Jan 7

Tonight's the night!

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Jan 2

Next week's pub talk is salty! We'll hear from Dr. Stephanie Melles on the evolving science of road salt & lake ecosystems, with a particular look at the tiny but mighty parts of that food web: zooplankton. Do they like it briny? If not, how do we hold the salt? Join us at 7:30, Jan 7 @ the Publican

a photo of a pile of road salt spilled on an asphalt road. The text reads: Salinization of Freshwater Ecosystems: current evidence and unknowns about impacts on zooplankton. Dr. Stephanie Milles, TMU, jan 7 7:30pm the publican.

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Jan 6

Come join us tomorrow for the scoop on salt

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Jan 2

Next week's pub talk is salty! We'll hear from Dr. Stephanie Melles on the evolving science of road salt & lake ecosystems, with a particular look at the tiny but mighty parts of that food web: zooplankton. Do they like it briny? If not, how do we hold the salt? Join us at 7:30, Jan 7 @ the Publican

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Jan 2

Next week's pub talk is salty! We'll hear from Dr. Stephanie Melles on the evolving science of road salt & lake ecosystems, with a particular look at the tiny but mighty parts of that food web: zooplankton. Do they like it briny? If not, how do we hold the salt? Join us at 7:30, Jan 7 @ the Publican

1 2

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 11

That's it for us tonight. Join us Jan 7 to learn what happens when fresh water ecosystem gets salty...in the meantime, take care, enjoy the winter break, and get lots of rest (especially you parents!)

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 11

Let's end on a high note though: parasitic castration. Sacculuna barnacles attach themselves to history crabs, taking over its hormonal machinery to care for its own young. Only female crabs will do, so if a barnacles finds a male, it'll feminize him. That's complicated parenting!

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 11

True parasites, however, always get other species to do the work for them. Cowbirds are a local example, but Cuckoos are of course most famous to this end. (They're even skilled egg mimics! Could you spot the difference?)

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 11

But perhaps the king of cost cutting is simply dumping eggs in other nests. Coots try this, spreading their eggs outside their own nests. Wood Ducks and Mergansers end up doing this a little by accident do to limited nest sites (mixed broods can follow, with imprinted x-species ducklings!)

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 11

Or, there's always babysitting (aka alloparenting). Canadian Geese are pro at this, keeping big crèches of goslings. It's not that much of a burden to add more yellow fluff to the group, since they feed themselves.

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 11

So why not get cooperative? Greater Anis pool together and nest in groups. This helps with the shortage of nest sites, but doesn't give much in the way of active care (cool birds tho!).

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 11

Less commonly, birds like the African Jacanas can do polyandry. A female lays multiple clutches of eggs for different male partners, who keep the nest. Great for her a lot of the time, but it leads to egg trampling between rival females.

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 11

Some species shift between polygyny (1 male + multiple female partners) + monogamy. When a male controls enough resources to keep a bit of a harem, his reproductive success goes up, but females don't perform as well as their monogamous peers.

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 11

What about social monogamy? It helps males chill out a little and compete less. They might even help out around the nest. But with a species like the Hooded Warbler, there's about a 30% chance that they aren't the genetic father of all those eggs. On the plus side, genetic diversity?

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 11

Secondly, courtship is also taxing! For promiscuous species, like say Bowerbirds, males have to build beautiful architectures, mimic songs, do complicated dances, and may.... come up empty. Plus the female still ends up doing all the parenting alone.

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 11

First off, brood size really matters. Having more babies means that parents become much more likely to die, in some species, or less likely to have the regular amount of eggs next season, in others.

(Not relatable in a 1:1 way, but ooof, we see you, birds!)

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 11

Ok, cool bird stories are immanent.

Alex kicks us off with a provocative question: Do you have 'depleted Mom syndrome'? Parenting is a costly thing, biologically. Let's talk about how some birds find a way to cut back on the work of reproduction.

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 10

In fact, you can catch us tonight with a fascinating look at cuckoos! How do bird brood parasites offload the work of parenting? Dr. Alexander Mills will give us the scoop, starting at 7:30 (though do come a little earlier to guarantee yourself a seat). If you can't make it, we'll skeet it out here.

A poster for the talk 'Deadbeats, surrogates, sitters, and suckers'. It features a wren-like bird perched near a nest made of sticks and straw. A red mouth from a baby bird extends upwards, expectantly waiting to be fed.

2 1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 10

We run a(n almost) monthly pub talk series: the Conservation Cafe! Every month during the academic year we invite an expert to the upper floor of the Publican to share their work and love of conservation science and ecological restoration. Our events are free, fun, and open to all (with a cash bar)

1

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · Dec 10

Hello world! We're making the move to bluer skies. We're the Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation, a bunch of folks who are very enthused about the science behind efforts to keep the natural world and its denizens around, as well as the art of making those efforts more public.

1 3