For more than 65 years, the Biogeoscience Institute’s R.B. Miller and Barrier Lake field research stations have been a cornerstone of the University of Calgary’s mountain and foothills ecology, environmental and wildlife research.
For more than 65 years, the Biogeoscience Institute’s R.B. Miller and Barrier Lake field research stations have been a cornerstone of the University of Calgary’s mountain and foothills ecology, environmental and wildlife research. These frontline stations are now well equipped for researchers to continue carrying out their critical research while making a smaller environmental footprint thanks to recent upgrades through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund (PSI-SIF).
R.B. Miller and Barrier Lake stations are remotely located right where the research looking at wildlife and other responses to changes in the environment is carried out. These facilities are unlike any other in Canada, and the research that has been conducted there for decades is well recognized and unique worldwide. Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and ground squirrel biology research specifically have driven the research program at R.B. Miller continuously for more than 30 years.
“The studies look at adaptation to change, either rapidly or over generations through genetics. This includes adaptation to climate change and changes in the health status of the animals, either caused by infectious diseases, parasites or other things associated with these changes,” says Dr. Andre Buret, associate vice-president, research.
The findings help governments better understand how environmental changes affect wildlife, which in turn can help drive their wildlife management plans. This collaboration is similarly important to give visibility to the public and engage the community in the university’s research activities and findings related to mountain and foothills ecology and environmental research.
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