Living on the edge: reducing species at risk data deficiency in the heart of Alberta’s most threatened ecological region – the Central Parkland

Located in the zone between Alberta’s grasslands and boreal forests, the Central Parkland natural subregion is an area of ecological transition, where many endangered species persist tenuously on the edge of their ranges, or have already been silently lost before conservationists understood what habitats and connections on the landscape were critical to their survival. In Alberta, only 5% of the Central Parkland’s natural vegetation remains, even less is protected, and virtually none has been restored. This project is intended to fill in gaps as to where Central Parkland affiliated species at risk and species of potential concern have been observed, survey sites within Alberta’s Capital Region to assess if those areas are still being used, and develop next steps for habitat conservation and restoration initiatives and recommendations.

As Canada’s only Zoological park located within the Central Parkland – a critically endangered ecological region – the Edmonton Valley Zoo and its conservation partners (SENSR, ABMI, University of Alberta) are working to conserve the endangered wildlife and wild spaces that call the Central Parkland home. By combining municipal collaboration with modern biodiversity monitoring sensor technologies, this project will strengthen environmental stewardship along Kisiskâciwani-sîpiy (the North Saskatchewan River) and provide practical tools to inform conservation across Alberta’s broader Central Parkland.

Faculty Supervisor:

Erin Bayne;Robert Summers

Student:

Partner:

Edmonton Valley Zoo

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Public administration

University:

University of Alberta

Program: