West Nile bird vaccine developed at UBC
Article re-posted from CBCNews.ca Researchers at the University of British Columbia have synthesized a vaccine that may prevent the spread…
Leptospirosis in urban Rats – new findings from the Vancouver Rat Project
The Vancouver Rat Project continues to produce new information of importance to public health and wildlife ecology. This project is…
Could Urban Ports Be a Site of Introduction for Foreign Rats and Their Diseases?
A recent study on urban rats in Vancouver revealed the presence of an ear mange mite, Notoedres muris in almost…
Hoooo can be hurt by rat poisons…? Owls!
Rat poisons are widely used to suppress rats and mice, and they can be quite effective at suppressing these and…
Mortality in Wildlife: More than meets the eye
“It died of natural causes” and “there’s not a mark on them.” These are common statements when government staff or…
Rodenticide poisoning in an urban coyote
In January 2013, a dead juvenile coyote was found in an urban park in Vancouver, British Columbia. The coyote was…
A potentially deadly fungus is widespread in BC’s frog and toad populations
A deadly disease called chytridiomycosis (caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, aka chytrid fungus) has been decimating amphibian populations all…
An Emerging Fungal Disease in the Pacific Northwest
“Emerging diseases” are infections that occur in some new and unexpected way or are new to science altogether. The fungus…
Snowy owl sightings in BC – 2012/13 possibly highest numbers ever reported.
For the second winter in a row, majestic snowy owls are being spotted in unusually large numbers in British Columbia,…
The river otter: A biological monitor for environmental contamination in Victoria Harbour
In collaboration with Environment Canada and the BC Ministry Environment, UBC graduate student, Cait Nelson, investigated contaminant exposure in coastal…