Despite global concern for biodiversity loss, soil biodiversity remains absent from mainstream conversations and policy agendas, even though soils harbour nearly 60% of Earth's biodiversity. Simultaneously, discourse around soil tends to emphasize carbon and “soil health”, while overlooking the foundational role that soil biodiversity plays in driving core soil functions. We present our wish-list for Canadian soil biodiversity research, training, and policy integration in support of achieving Canada's Nature Strategy 2030 goals. We identify disconnections between soil and biodiversity policy narratives, assess current strengths and data gaps, and evaluate the alignment of soil biodiversity with national strategies; Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (Targets 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, and 14), and the Sustainable Development Goals (2, 3, 13, 15, and 17). Unlocking the full potential of soil biodiversity would strengthen Canada's capacity for ecosystem-based management, nature-based solutions, and climate mitigation, delivering direct benefits to Canadian ecosystems and policy goals. To do this, Canada must focus on soil biodiversity and build on broader biodiversity science and global initiatives to align monitoring, reporting, and action. We emphasize the urgent need for national coordination across agencies and outline a path toward Canada as a global leader in soil biodiversity science, policy, and practice by 2030 and beyond.
Ecological forecasting is an emerging field, but for some applications, forecasting has existed for decades. Forecasting for the American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery has morphed from the 1970s to present in response to changes in science and technology, to management approaches and questions, and to social and ecological environments. Correspondingly, outcomes of forecasting efforts have changed too, including their efficacy for guiding decisions and their perceived reliability. News archives document forecasts of lobster fishery collapse that were consistently dismissed as unreliable by industry, against a backdrop of highly unusual environmental changes. Despite perceived unreliability, forecasting has continued to present day, becoming more nuanced. In recent years, increasingly complex models have produced forecasts over a range of time scales (year to century) and spatial scales (local to international), focusing on landings, abundance, and habitat, respectively, with increasing scale. Collectively, these models predict a shift of the fishery toward the northeast, echoing past predictions of collapse but not overcoming perceptions of forecast unreliability. The history of forecasting in this fishery illustrates how forecasts happen in a social context—for such forecasts to be successful, we need to understand this history, the existing power dynamics, and the social configurations in which forecasts are embedded.
Annual harvests of big-game animals taken with lead (Pb) ammunition across Canada, and the contiguous US states were derived to determine the numerical and geographic extent of Pb ingestion risk to scavenging wildlife. Data on Pb bullet fragmentation and contamination of discarded entrails were used to assess the ingestion risk to scavengers. Magnitude, level of ingestion risk, and responsible jurisdiction for this annual Pb exposure were defined. In 2023–2024, 383 402 animals were harvested with Pb-based bullets in Canadian provinces and territories, and 1711 508 in 12 states bordering Canada. An estimated 0.84 g of Pb from one representative 0.300 caliber bullet would be available to scavengers from one gut pile. This constitutes a large, annual, Pb ingestion risk to scavenging wildlife across Canada and the US states. Bald (Heliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) could be repeatedly Pb-exposed in Canada and the USA through two major toxic Pb ingestion traps along the western and eastern migratory flyways. Raptors in prairie regions may ingest Pb from discarded carcasses of prairie rodents shot with highly fragmenting bullets. Black bears (Ursus americanus) are an important Canada-wide scavenger that feeds on hunted animal remains. Non-Pb ammunition use would prevent this annual toxic risk to scavenging species.
Public funding of academic science has long been premised on the idea that scientists are best left to govern and direct themselves. There is growing unease with this idea, and mission-driven research—a broad set of policy ideas for funding this science, each imposing “direction” on the scientific enterprise—has become increasingly popular. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature on mission-driven research and its cognates, we offer an analysis of the role it might play in Canada as well as a stricter definition that we hope will be more useful to scientists, policymakers, and society in figuring out how Canadian science can move forward. Our conclusions are broadly supportive of missions as precision, targeted tools but not as a panacea for all the challenges we face.
Robust scientific integrity policies play a critical role in strengthening public trust in government science. To support this objective, the Office of the Chief Science Advisor developed the Model Policy on Scientific Integrity in 2018. Versions of this policy have since been adopted by 25 federal departments and agencies. The model policy has recently been updated to address several emerging issues, including the appropriate use of artificial intelligence tools, the tension between open science and research security, and the collection, use, and protection of Indigenous science and knowledge. While these amendments improve the policy's fitness in a rapidly changing political, social and technological environment, we are not convinced that they are sufficient. We argue that a complementary global scientific integrity covenant is also needed. Such a covenant would allow those who design, conduct, manage, administer, communicate, review, or use scientific research to publicly commit to shared principles of scientific integrity that guide behaviour and would serve to counter challenges such as the politicization and ideological polarization of science, the erosion of factual discourse, economic inequality, and the spread of scientific misinformation and disinformation.
Apartment residents can be overlooked as stakeholders of rural land-use decisions. However, we need to understand the needs and perspectives of apartment dwellers, especially on increasingly crowded coasts. Climate change is leading to a reimagination of rural coastlines worldwide, including in dyked agricultural land. This prompts local discussions about where to continue to defend such land uses through higher dykes, where to retreat the line of defense landward, and where to remove dykes entirely. We report on an exploratory survey of rural apartment residents around the hypertidal Bay of Fundy to understand if and how these residents benefit from linear dykes, drained dykelands and tidal wetlands, and how those benefits influence their adaptation preferences. Apartment residents report many benefits from all three landforms and may see dykes, dykelands, and tidal wetlands as complementary: a landscape complex delivering a non-material service bundle centred on nature enjoyment and opportunities for reflection, with dykes as a key access point. Apartment residents indicate a preference for managed dyke realignment that will sustain that landscape complex. Further research is needed to capture a more representative sample, as well as understand more about the vulnerabilities and needs of apartment residents as distinct from those in houses.
In Canada, the number of species at risk is escalating rapidly, prompting conservation managers to consider how best to allocate funding to effectively address species loss and support ecological integrity. Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) have declined extensively across Cananda and are central to the nation’s conservation strategy. We use national datasets of spatial distributions and threat listings to examine the extent that woodland caribou-focused conservation might benefit Canadian species at risk, quantified through geographic and threat overlap. Threat overlap is defined here as the extent two species share International Union for Conservation of Nature Threat Classification Scheme subcategories (45 total) published in national conservation documentation, measured using the Jaccard index. We found that 20% of species at risk overlap in range with woodland caribou, and of those 12% overlap in more than 20% of their range. The variables that best predicted an index of shared threats between woodland caribou and sympatric species at risk, were range size and taxonomic group. Woodland caribou were found to share more threats with species at risk that have large ranges, and those from specific taxonomic groups including amphibians and terrestrial molluscs. Management focus on woodland caribou though important in its own right, provides uneven protection for Canada’s species at risk, even those that are sympatric.
Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a global health threat, contributing to 4.71 million deaths in 2021. Characterized by bacterial adaptations such as mutations, horizontal gene transfer, and increased elimination, ABR results in the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. Sources of continuously cycled antibiotics, such as agricultural runoff, hospital and municipal effluents, along with improper disposal of unused or expired medications, are leading to the development and spread of resistant pathogens in surface water. Antibiotics, ARGs, and bacterial isolates can persist in wastewater and drinking water systems, impacting long-term human health. Conversations about the risk for short- and long-term effects of the presence of ABR in drinking water are just emerging. Furthermore, studies on the health effects of different classes of antibiotics in drinking water and their long-term effects are more prevalent than others. This review aims to elucidate the prevalence and health risk of ABR in drinking water systems, identify gaps in addressing ABR in wastewater and drinking water and provide recommendations to address these gaps through responsive measures, monitoring, reporting, and public education at municipal, national, and global levels. The authors generated an information sheet that has been adapted by various organizations in Southern Ontario to address public education.
The future of biodiversity conservation depends on balancing the needs of people and wildlife through collaborative, equitable approaches. While protected areas are essential, they often carry legacies of exclusion and injustice. Around the world, efforts to improve collaboration in protected areas vary in inclusivity and power-sharing—especially in cross-cultural contexts where shared decision-making is not legally mandated. Pacific Rim National Park Reserve’s (PRNPR) Wild About Wolves project exemplifies the promises and tensions of government-led collaboration. The initiative aimed to foster regional cooperation, research, and action around growing human–wolf conflict. We interviewed 32 individuals—including PRNPR staff, Nuu-chah-nulth citizens, local community members, and organization representatives—with current or past involvement in the project. Participants identified several challenges: cultural differences in views on wolf management, unclear project timelines and expectations, and concerns about managerial priorities. Yet they also highlighted opportunities: strong regional conservation values, the depth of Nuu-chah-nulth and local knowledge, and PRNPR’s growing capacity for collaboration. From these insights, we co-produced a framework to improve PRNPR-led collaboration, emphasizing institutional clarity, alignment of social and cultural priorities, and more durable models of leadership and governance. While grounded in PRNPR, the lessons offer valuable guidance for collaborative conservation worldwide.
The relationships among caribou, moose, and First Nations peoples in southern British Columbia have shifted over recent generations. For the Splatsin people of south-central British Columbia, rapid declines and extirpations of caribou over the past century have severed food, utilitarian, and cultural relationships that endured for millennia. These declines are closely linked to the industrial transformation of forests, which shifted landscapes from intact old-growth interior rainforests that once provided predation refuge for caribou—to younger, regenerating forests that favour moose and sustain higher predator densities. As a result, landscape change and increasing moose populations present challenges for caribou recovery. This study documents Splatsin community values, knowledge, and future visions regarding caribou recovery, moose management, and hunting protocols within Splatsin’s caretaker responsibility area. We hosted a 3-day Ungulate Knowledge Forum in Enderby, British Columbia, in 2022, and conducted 13 semi-structured interviews with Splatsin ungulate knowledge holders and hunters. Thematic analysis revealed strong reliance on moose hunting for wild food acquisition, limited and fragmented knowledge of caribou, and a unified desire to restore cultural relationships with caribou by recovering populations to culturally meaningful levels. This work offers a model supporting caribou recovery and moose management within First Nations jurisdictions.
Scientifically informed decision-making for environmental management requires scientists to present research clearly and translate knowledge to a diversity of audiences. Yet, many scientists do not receive formal communication training and early-career researchers (ECR) rarely gain structured experience in communication outside of typical peer-reviewed research articles and conference presentations. Considering that a large proportion of Canada’s research is publicly funded, many scientists have a responsibility to communicate their results to decision-makers and or the public (i.e., non-specialists). As early-career aquatic scientists in Canada who took part in the Consortium of Aquatic Science Society’s first cohort of the SP2ARK (Scientists Promoting Policy, Access, Research, and Knowledge) fellowship, we highlight three challenges in accessing and navigating communication training for ECR and present a set of solutions. Challenges include: navigating public trust and communication, training program capacity and design, and valuing participant time as a resource. Solutions include: knowing target audiences, being ready to have challenging conversations, accessing media training, building training cohorts that are knowledge diverse, training ECR in policy engagement, and rewiring research impact assessment mechanisms to reward ECR who engage in communication activities and training. Ultimately, by improving access to and quality of knowledge translation training for ECR, return on investments in science and research in Canada will increase.
Health research institutions are increasingly showing interest in co-design to engage communities in developing innovative solutions and services. Unfortunately, many researchers, especially those addressing healthcare challenges, lack co-design skills. This study aimed to explore barriers and enablers in a subset of Australian health researchers with knowledge of co-design. This exploration aimed to identify changes that may help health researchers and research organizations in Australia engage in co-design. We used mixed methods, including an online survey and a POLIS conversation. Survey results from 154 health researcher respondents reported a medium to high level of knowledge and understanding of co-design steps across the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) research domains, with at least 55% rating good to expert level of knowledge across each domain. However, respondents reported a low level of practical experience in engaging with consumer and community at each step of the research pipeline. The main barriers to co-design research were a lack of resources, insufficient funding, time and effort constraints, organizational and policy issues, and challenges in recruiting community members. Additionally, 85 researchers participated in a POLIS conversation, which identified three main proposals to address co-design research hurdles: increasing funding for projects, improving organizational systems, and building researchers’ capacity for co-design research activities. We provide recommendations for research organizations, funding bodies, and individual researchers to help make the research environment more amenable to delivering co-designed projects.
Freshwater mussels (Unionidae) are among the most imperiled animal groups globally, with declines driven by habitat loss, pollution, and invasive species. In many regions, including Canada, mitigation translocations (i.e., the relocation of mussels ahead of in-water construction) are used to prevent immediate harm, particularly where threatened species occur. However, their effectiveness beyond the short-term remains poorly evaluated. We synthesized data from 11 translocation events in southern Ontario rivers, comparing displaced mussels from the prescribed search area, resident populations at relocation sites, and mussels from control sites across standard monitoring intervals (initial, 1-month, 1-year, and 2-years). The proportion of threatened species remained stable over time, with no evidence of disproportionate declines. Detection of tagged mussels declined rapidly within the first month across all groups, followed by more gradual decreases; observed mortality remained low, including limited first-month mortality in displaced (0.74%) and resident (0.23%) populations and none at control sites, consistent with handling effects. Community composition shifted significantly between initial and 2-year surveys across all groups, including controls, indicating assemblage change was not unique to relocated populations. These findings support mitigation translocation in reducing acute construction-related mortality while underscoring the need for improved long-term monitoring, standardized reporting, habitat assessment, and community involvement to strengthen evaluation and long-term recovery outcomes.
The science of rangeland ecology has a long history in British Columbia (BC), first being introduced as a science in the 1930s to address severe overgrazing and loss of forage productivity in grasslands of the province’s southern interior. A network of range reference areas (fenced exclosures on rangelands, designed to allow comparison of ungrazed and adjacent grazed vegetation) has been foundational in the development of rangeland ecology and range management. The reference area program represents ecosystems across the interior and north of BC, with a focus on sites having economically important forage resources. The foundation for rangeland ecology is “ecosystem potential”, a benchmark for ecosystem characteristics and functioning. In BC, the greatest ecosystem potential is described per ecosystem as a “reference”, theoretically coinciding with ecological “climax” or “potential natural community” (PNC)—two closely related concepts representing a stable single equilibrium of the most mature vegetation that could potentially occur on a site with the long-term exclusion of grazing, burning, and other disturbances. Here, we narrate the historical co-development of the reference area program, rangeland sciences, rangeland assessment procedures, and legislated management objectives on Crown Land. We introduce conceptual problems with applying the PNC and climax as management benchmarks and discuss considerations for developing an updated conceptual foundation.
Cyanotoxins have been a well-documented challenge for drinking water supplies across several Canadian provinces, but not in the northern territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut). In this paper, we report on the first detection of microcystins in a municipal drinking source water (untreated) in the Northwest Territories based on Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) screening. In July 2024, a cyanobacteria bloom was observed in the seasonal fill reservoir of the drinking water treatment plant at Sambaa K'e, prompting the draining and re-filling of the reservoir and household water tanks. ELISA screening assays performed by an accredited commercial lab on surface water samples from the reservoir identified the presence of total microcystins above detection limits (0.2 µg/L) over four days of sampling, at concentrations ranging from 1.14 to 1.72 µg/L. Microscope analysis revealed that the bloom was numerically dominated by Dolichospermum (29.9%), Aphanocapsa (15.0%), and Microcystis (12.6%), all of which are capable of microcystin (and other cyanotoxin) production. The detection of microcystins in the drinking water reservoir at Sambaa K'e highlights the need to better understand potential public health risks from cyanotoxin exposure in small northern communities, and to develop policies and programs for monitoring and responding to cyanobacterial blooms in northern drinking source waters.
Indium (In) is a critical mineral used in communications technology, optical displays, and alternative energy delivery, and is a byproduct of Zn and/or Sn mining. It is often found in low concentrations (10 s to 100 s of ppm) in Canadian clastic-dominated sediment-hosted Zn–Pb, polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS), magmatic–hydrothermal, and orogenic vein deposits. Indium in Zn-rich mineralization is associated with sphalerite that is spatially associated with chalcopyrite and was influenced by Cu-rich fluids; it is commonly hosted in roquesite (CuInS2) or as Cu–In nanoparticles within sphalerite. In Sn-rich mineralization, In is associated with roquesite, and to a lesser extent sphalerite, chalcopyrite, wolframite, and Sn-phases (e.g., cassiterite and stannite). Indium occurs in deposits that had evidence for magmatic–hydrothermal fluid input and/or with deposits that have strong associations with black shales/organic-rich mudstones. Future resources will likely come from similar deposits outlined above, but additional resources may be found in carbonate-hosted Zn–Pb deposits and porphyry Cu–Mo deposits, in addition to historic mine tailings. Understanding baseline geochemical and mineralogical distributions of In in rocks and minerals in historic and existing deposits is essential if we are to secure future supplies of In from Canadian mineral deposits.
The Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) has expanded across eastern North America, raising concerns about predation pressure on fish populations. Lake Saint-Pierre (Québec, Canada) supports large fall aggregations of migratory cormorants that roost on anthropogenic navigation structures and forage in shallow littoral habitats. From 2021 to 2025, a non-lethal management program led by the W8banaki First Nation installed elevated netting deterrents on these structures to reduce roosting and associated predation. We evaluated the system-scale effects of this intervention using drone surveys of nocturnal roosts, plane surveys of foraging habitats, generalized linear mixed-effects models, and bioenergetic consumption estimates. Following full deterrent implementation (2023–2025), mean roosting group size declined by 54% at the site level and 72% at the system level. Although site-level foraging group size showed no significant change, total system-level foraging abundance decreased by 58%. Estimated cormorant foraging use-days and annual fish consumption also declined markedly following implementation. These results suggest that physical roost deterrents can reduce localized cormorant abundance and associated predation pressure without lethal control. However, additional monitoring and testing are required to determine whether these reductions translate into measurable improvements in fish populations and contribute to the long-term recovery of vulnerable species.
Over the past 15 years, there has been a resurgence of interest in nuclear power and advanced nuclear fuel cycles because nuclear energy can have a significant impact on the reduction of greenhouse gases. For nuclear power to supplant fossil fuel energy production, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a significant increase in the number of nuclear power plants is required. Therefore, a significant increase in uranium production will also be required. Canada is the world’s second largest producer of uranium, with numerous (>2600) uranium occurrences and deposits. Canada hosts six major types of uranium deposits: (1) intrusive, (2) metasomatite, (3) metamorphite, (4) Proterozoic unconformity-related, (5) Paleo quartz-pebble conglomerate deposits, and (6) mafic intrusions in Proterozoic sandstone. Uranium mined from the exceptionally high-grade, high-tonnage Proterozoic unconformity-related deposits of the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan accounts for all of Canada’s current production; however, there are significant examples of the five other deposit types. In this paper, we introduce uranium geochemistry, classification of deposit types, and review examples of the major types of U deposits in Canada. Specifically, we highlight the geology, alteration and uranium mineralogy, geochemistry, geochronology, and genetic models for the Bancroft district (intrusive), the Michelin deposit (metasomatite), the Beaverlodge and Great Bear Lake districts (metamorphite), the Athabasca Basin deposits (Proterozoic unconformity), the Elliot Lake district (Paleo quartz-pebble conglomerate), and the Matoush deposit (sandstone/mafic dikes in Proterozoic sandstone).
Our study describes how Canadian government officials developed and utilized health communications during the COVID-19 pandemic and identifies strategies to optimize communications for future health emergencies. We conducted a qualitative narrative study using semi-structured interviews with Canadian government officials. Participants were asked to describe their experiences with developing or disseminating COVID-19-related public health information. We probed for challenges and enablers to developing and disseminating these communications and recommendations for future communication strategies. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a framework approach. The study received research ethics approval. Twenty-five interviews were conducted between July 2020 and June 2021, representing the first three COVID-19 waves in Canada. Challenges to developing and disseminating COVID-19 communications included navigating evolving guidance, difficulty communicating COVID-19 risk, dealing with stigmatizing messages, and poor cross-agency coordination. Challenges evolved throughout the study period; during the second COVID-19 wave, participants experienced difficulty navigating COVID-19 evidence, while in the third wave, participants experienced challenges related to misinformation and the public’s vaccine confidence. Recommendations to optimize future public health communications included prioritizing disease prevention and vaccine availability messaging, targeted communications, increasing transparency, leveraging diverse communication platforms and messengers, and improving cross-agency coordination.
