Research
Monthly Archive: December Rese
Yukon BioBlitz: Strange Things Done in the Midnight Sun

Blog by Stacey Lee Kerr, Biodiversity Storyteller / Creative Producer for the ROM's Centre for Biodiversity
The idea of what “midnight sun” really means is rather obscure to the uninitiated traveller. It doesn’t strike home until you’ve been sitting at a picnic table with some entomologists while they pin bees and flies without anything more than the ambient light, and you realize it’s almost midnight when it looks and feels more like 8pm...
Behind the Blitz: The Heart of the Data

Guest blog by Angela Telfer, the Data Management Lead for Bio-Inventory and Collections Unit of the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO), and Database Coordinator for the Ontario BioBlitz program
Ever wonder what happens to all those observations made at the Ontario BioBlitz? Where do your species lists and iNaturalist observations go? Angela has those answers and some tips for making sure that everyone's hard work collecting data in the field is preserved and accessible to everyone for years to come.
Behind the Blitz: Three Young Scientists

Blog by Nadine Leone, ROM Hands-on Biodiversity Gallery Assistant Coordinator
The first of four blogs in our Ontario BioBlitz: Behind the Blitz series is an interview with three young ROM scientists, who share their favourite highlights from last year's event in the Don Watershed.
How Drone Photography is Saving Wildlife

Guest Blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Lisa Milosavljevic
A number of photos in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibit make use of aerial photography techniques, including the use of drone photography. There is also a growing demand for its use in professional and academic fields as people are recognizing how drones can be a valuable tool in their work; one of these areas is wildlife conservation. Here we are going to look at the different ways in how drone photography is saving wildlife around the world, as well as some of the controversies and questions that this developing technology raises.
Have you got 15 minutes to be part of something BIG?

Guest blog written by Bird Studies Canada's Toronto Projects Coordinator, Emily Rondel
What if you could be part of a global conservation project by standing in your yard (or local park, or well…anywhere) for 15 minutes? This coming Family Day weekend (Feb 12-15), be part of the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), a four day worldwide “blitz” of wild birds. The GBBC is an invaluable snapshot of worldwide bird abundance and distribution; and it’s only possible due to the participation of tens of thousands of “citizen scientist” volunteers around the globe.
Mexican Cartel lands are home to a newly described species: Goode’s Thornscrub Tortoise

ROM curator of reptiles and amphibians, Dr. Bob Murphy and a team of international scientists use leading edge genetic techniques and dangerous fieldwork activities to describe a new species of tortoise in Mexico and shine light on the conservation status of other rare and threatened tortoises from the region
ROM in the Field: Bats, Barcoding, and a Baby

ROM Biodiversity (@ROMBiodiversity) is in the fields and forests of Sri Lanka for an intense four weeks doing the first comprehensive survey of bats and other small mammals in close to 80 years. Follow the South Asian adventure on social media with #ROMSriLanka, and join Burton Lim and the Team LIVE from the field on September 10 at noon: https://www.rom.on.ca/en/activities-programs/events-calendar/hangout-with-our-rom-biodiversity-team-in-sri-lanka
My Experience as a Web Intern at the ROM

Jaime Clifton-Ross reflects on her Summer 2014 internship at the ROM.
The Monastery of St Moses, Syria: The Cave Survey

The monastery at Deir Mar Musa would not have just comprised the main buildings, the monks would actually have been dispersed in hermitages across the landscape.
Montréal Botanical Garden hosts the 50th Anniversary meeting of the Canadian Botanical Association

Deb Metsger and I are on the train coming back from Montréal where we attended the 50th Anniversary meeting of the Canadian Botanical Association.