News & Stories

The Cowan Tetrapod Collection Staff are thrilled to announce the repatriation of the type specimen of Spinus psaltria witti, a subspecies of Lesser Goldfinch collected on Maria Magdelena, Tres Marias Islands, Mexico. Dr. Peter Larkin, a former Dean of Graduate Studies at UBC, collected this specimen on March 1st 1961. Dr. Peter Grant, who is best known for his work on Galapagos Finches, described this subspecies when he was a PhD Candidate at the University of British Columbia.

Scientists say a recently located fossil site on the Alberta-B.C. border is already yielding major new discoveries about early animal evolution. The Marble Canyon fossil beds were located in 2012 by a team of Canadian, U.S. and Swedish researchers in Kootenay National Park, about 40 kilometres from the 505-million-year-old Burgess Shale in Yoho National Park — which is considered one of the most important fossil fields in the world.

Outer Shores Expeditions  I was recently asked: “Why, after completing a PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowship in marine ecosystem science in the Department of Zoology, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), and the Biodiversity Rese

Connecting Human Progression and Reduction of Nature Through Art Human progression comes at the cost to nature. Through drawing and collage, UBC Botanical Garden’s Artist in Residence, Dana Cromie explores his reaction to this happening in Remnants: A

Thursday, January 23, 2014 | 10:30 a.m.James W. Hagadorn, Denver Museum of Nature & Science Long before fish-like animals began to crawl from the sea onto land, the ancestors of scorpions and snails began colonizing the terrestrial realm. Learn about the behaviours and identities of the first animals.

Virginia Noble, winner of Best of Way Cool 2013, tells us her thoughts upon hearing the wonderful news.

Blue Whales and Other Skeletons in My Closet On February 1, Dr. Andrew Trites, an associate member of the UBC Department of Zoology will speak at The Art of Conservation, an evening of lectures, museum tours, and films organized by the BC/Yukon Region 

Scientists and artists from different corners of the world bring their perspective on biodiversity to the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. A wide range of topics from photography to conservation, gyotaku to ice ages, and stranger-than-fiction organisms have

Guided by a crew of professional mariners and naturalists, Outer Shores Expeditions escorts small groups to explore, experience, and learn about the stunning wildlife and ancient cultures of coastal British Columbia. Check out the Outer Shores Expediti

Bryophytes are plants without specialized tissues for moving water or nutrients. They reproduce by spores, have very tiny leaves, or no leaves at all, and do not have flowers. The bryophyte collection houses mosses, liverworts, and hornworts and is a t