The Beaver Hills Biosphere Project: Conserving coarse and fine filter biodiversity within a network of protected areas

Conserving Canadas biodiversity is important to help mitigate the impacts of future climate change. Protecting multiple areas within a landscape is one possible way to conserve biodiversity, however, we still are not sure what aspects of a landscape are best to protect and for which species. Here, we study mammals within the Beaver Hills Biosphere landscape of central Alberta an area not too large to fully inventory for different species. We use multiple methods to collect data and model the size, orientation, and protected status that can best help Canada meet international targets for biodiversity conservation through implementing and maintaining protected areas. The results of this work will help Canada manage, plan, and maintain other protected areas to ensure the conservation of healthy ecosystems.

Faculty Supervisor:

John Volpe

Student:

Frances Stewart

Partner:

Friends of Elk Island Society

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Natural resources

University:

Program: