After a long week, one of the most enjoyable and relaxing activities that many people can think of is to venture into the outdoors and go fishing (Figure 1). In Canada alone, approximately 3.3...
Many people take for granted their ability to control lighting conditions with the flick of a switch. In major cities almost every corner of every street is illuminated, even in the middle of the...
Humans have long relied on coastal environments. Whether it be a family enjoying a relaxing day at the beach, or a multi-billion dollar company loading a ship that will carry their goods to consumers...
Proper functioning of ecosystems involves precise coordination between many individuals and/or species. Unfortunately, the majority of ecosystems are impacted by invasive species. Regardless of whether these species were introduced accidently or purposefully, invasive species...
Humans have major impacts on the environment around them. Some of these impacts are obvious and we are reminded of their presence on a daily basis (e.g. garbage bins). However, some of these effects...
Animals have to deal with a variety of factors that influence their daily lives. These factors can be grouped into those that relate to living things, or biotic factors, and physical, or abiotic, factors....
Winter can be an extremely challenging time for animals. To survive, animals that do not migrate or hibernate must increase their metabolism to continue functioning optimally—despite there being less food. This means that more...
Animals have evolved a suite of responses to help them cope with challenges. One of the most important is the stress response. When fish encounter stressors, they increase their production of the stress hormone,...
Ecosystems consist of many different habitats that interact to support a broad range of animals. Diversity of habitats is measured using ‘complexity’, and high complexity levels are generally associated with high biodiversity (Kovalenko et...
Aquatic habitat degradation is an increasing problem as we continue to encroach on aquatic ecosystems for industrial, agricultural, and urban expansion. These ventures cause increased levels of pollutants, nutrients, and sediment to enter watersheds,...
