david markwei
Spiders in Borneo – Entangled and Pierced
You’re walking through a Borneo rainforest, keeping your eyes focused on shrubs and tree trunks that might be good opportunities for spider hunting, and suddenly your forward progress is halted. Three possible explanations: (1) You’re in one of those nightmares where you keep trying to get somewhere but mysteriously can’t move. (2) You’ve become entangled […]
Plastic-Eating Fungi Found in the Amazon May Solve World’s Waste Problem
A group of students and professors from Yale University have found a fungi in the Amazon rainforest that can degrade and utilize the common plastic polyurethane (PUR). As part of the university’s Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory educational program, designed to engage undergraduate students in discovery-based research, the group searched for plants and cultured the micro-organisms […]
Seabirds Study Shows Plastic Pollution at Surprising Levels Off Pacific Northwest Coast
Plastic pollution off the northwest coast of North America is reaching the level of the notoriously polluted North Sea, according to a new study led by a researcher at UBC. The study, published online in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, examined stomach contents of beached northern fulmars on the coasts of BC, Canada and the […]
Federal Government not doing what majority of Canadians want when it comes to species at risk
A recent Ispos Reid poll found that 62% of Canadians think the federal Government is not doing enough to protect species at risk. One way that the government could do more was highlighted in a recent Op-ed in the Globe and Mail, co-authored by Sally Otto and Jeannette Whitton from UBC’s Biodiversity Research Centre, along […]
Spiders in Borneo – The Spiders Who Wouldn’t Be
With the field work done, our attention turns to handling all of the specimens. We have barely had time to glance at most of them. My curiosity to peruse them under a microscope is strong, as I want to figure out what we got, but that will have to wait until after we get home […]
The New Federal Fisheries Act and its Effects
On Monday Nov 25th, the new federal Fisheries Act (FA) came into effect (see previous Museum blog post). The new FA results in a shift from a general biodiversity-based set of protections to a fishery-based set of regulations. The FA used to protect all Canadian fishes from the harmful effects of alteration, damage and destruction […]
In the Shadow of the Great War
The UBC Herbarium is pleased to announce the publication of Jay Sherwood’s latest book: In the Shadow of the Great War, the Milligan and Hart Explorations of Northeastern British Columbia, 1913-1914. The Vancouver-based author and historian visited the herbarium to research some of the earliest BC specimens of the collection – pressed and mounted plants dating back to 1913.
The 4th Annual Schofield Bryophyte & Lichen Foray
The 4th Annual Schofield Bryophyte & Lichen Foray was held September 26-29, 2013, in Wells Gray Provincial Park, as one of the many events of the Park’s heritage year celebration.
Ancient Soils Reveal Clues to Early Life on Earth
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and University of British Columbia examined the chemical composition of three-billion-year-old soils from South Africa – the oldest soils on Earth – and found evidence for low concentrations of atmospheric oxygen.
The Beaty Education Team had a Fantastic Time at Apple Festival
The Beaty Education team had a fantastic time at UBC Botanical Garden’s Apple Festival this year! The weather held out for us, and we had some wonderful conversations with people.