E-Fauna BC 2014: New Bird Articles for Baikal Teal, Snowy Egret, Wood Stork and More

Several new rare bird articles are now posted on E-Fauna BC, authored by Rick Toochin, Jamie Fenneman and Don Cecile.  These include articles on Acorn Woodpecker, Baikal Teal, Costa's Hummingbird, Little Blue Heron, Wood Stork, Snowy Egret, Emperor Goose and more.  These detailed articles summarize species distribution globally and in North America, and include all known records for BC.  They include tables, graphs and photographs.

Visit our Notes and Articles section, listed in the home page menu, to call up each PDF. 

Citizen Science: E-Fauna Photographer Adam Blake Confirms Breeding Eastern Bumble Bees in BC

 

 Mating Eastern Bumble Bees (Bombus impatiens), photo by Adam Blake

When SFU entomology graduate student Adam Blake submitted his first photo of a queen and drone bumble bee mating out at Boundary Bay, it looked like it was going to be an important image.  As he indicated in the photo details, it looked like mating Eastern Bumble Bees.  On E-Fauna BC, we had already confirmed the presence of escaped eastern bumble bees in BC as we had received several photos taken in BC. But confirmed breeding would be significant.

Robbin Thorp, author of the recently published Bumble Bees of North America, took a look at the photo and confirmed the species identification and indicated that this was, indeed, a mating pair of Bombus impatiens. Robbin says:  "Interesting photo indeed!  And frightening.  These are a mating pair of the Eastern Bumble Bee, Bombus impatiens.   [It confirms] earlier photos suggesting this eastern species, introduced for use for commercial pollination in tomato greenhouses, has escaped and is now established in southwestern BC!"

Given this, we had to ask: why is the Eastern Bumble Bees being used in greenhouses in BC?

Robbin says:  "In the 1990's we had the Western Bumble Bee, Bombus occidentalis, available for pollination in the western states and provinces. But in 1997, both commercial producing companies reported an outbreak of a pathogen, Nosema bombi, in their rearing facilities and they stopped producing colonies of the western species shortly thereafter. Now we only have one NA bumble bee available as a managed pollinator...There is interest in developing commercial production of a western species for western markets, but it looks like that is too late.  It will be interesting and disturbing to follow the invasion of this eastern species in the west, with your area as a focal point for established and potential subsequent spread.  Unfortunately bumble bees do not need passports to cross international borders and being so close to [the US] border, it would seem only a matter of time before we have B. impatiens in WA and who knows where else in western NA."

Adam now has two photos up on E-Fauna BC confirming the breeding of this species in BC. Congratulations, Adam, on submitting such significant photo records!

Mating Eastern Bumble Bees (Bombus impatiens), photo by Adam Blake

Adam is a PhD candidate in entomology at Simon Fraser University, studying with Gerhard Gries.  His "research deals with insect communication, specifically the use of polarized light as a foraging cue in herbivorous insects."  Adam moved to Burnaby from Edmonton, Alberta to pursue his PhD in the fall of 2012. Previous to that he studied at the University of Alberta where he received both a Master's and undergraduate degrees. He is an avid naturalist and photographer with an interest in insects, birds and plants.  

View the E-Fauna atlas page for the Eastern Bumble Bee here.

View a video taken by Adam of these mating Eastern Bumble Bees here. 

Read our previous post on Robbin's bumble bee book here. 

Read Adam's blog. 

Eric (Rick) Taylor Takes on Fish on E-Fauna

BC is a province rich in fish, from the freshwater fish species found in our streams, lakes and other freshwater wetlands, to the marine species of the Pacific ocean, and to the species that live in both worlds.  They are a significant component of the biodiversity of British Columbia, with many considered species at risk in Canada. In order to assist us with covering fish species on E-Fauna BC, Eric Taylor has agreed to become Fish Editor.  Eric has been assisting us with identification of freshwater fish species and checklist additions for some time, and will now expand his role.

Eric is a Professor of Zoolgy at UBC, and is presently Director and Curator of Fishes, Beaty Biodiversity Museum (UBC). He is also Co-chair of the Freshwater Fishes Specialist Subcommittee of COSEWIC (the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada). In his research, Eric is interested "population structure and the historical and contemporary processes that influence population structure, speciation and hybridization (both ecological and genetic mechanisms of divergence and persistance in the face of gene flow), and the implications of these processes to biodiversity conservation."

Read more about Eric here and here. 
 

Michael Hawkes, E-Flora's New Algae Editor

Mike Hawkes photographing seaweeds at Bamfield, photo by Denise Bonin

Michael Hawkes is a BC botanist with broad interests.  He has a special fondness for marine and desert ecosystems, he has been involved with the biology and horticulture of succulents since 1967 and, since 1972, his marine research has focused on the seaweeed flora of British Columbia. As part of his work on seaweeds, he has been involved in conducting intertidal and subtidal surveys along much of the BC coast, a significant endeavour.  He has spent 3 years as a Research Fellow at the University of Auckland's Leigh Marine Laboratory.

Overall, Mike is interested in the natural history, biogeography, and systematics of Pacific Northwest & New Zealand seaweed floras, the reproductive biology of red algae, and the role of marine protected areas (MPA's) in coastal zone conservation strategies.

Mike teaches several courses at UBC, including Introductory Biology: Ecology, Genetics and Evolution, Biology of Non-vascular Plants (the algal portion of the course), Plants and People, and Phytogeography

For several years now, Mike has been submitting seaweed photos to E-Flora and updating the seaweed species list for the province.  Now he's taken on the task of editor of the algae section on E-Flora.

View Mike's photo gallery on E-Flora here.
View a partial list of Mike's publications here. 

Moths, moths moths: Libby Avis becomes E-Fauna's Moth Editor

 Dart Moth (Abagrotis pulchrata), photo by Rick and Libby Avis

After reviewing moth photos on E-Fauna BC for some time, as well as submitting more than a thousand photos to the moth photo gallery, Libby Avis has agreed to expand her role in E-Fauna and take on the role of moth editor.  Libby will be both reviewing and publishing photos, as well as tracking nomenclature and handling moth inquiries.

View Libby's moth photo gallery here.
Read more about Libby and Rick Avis, and their moth work, here.

E-Fauna BC: Ian Gardiner becomes editor for freshwater molluscs.

  Ubiquitous Peaclam (Cyclocalyx casertanum), photo by Ian Gardiner.  Specimen carrying young.

Ian Gardiner has been stunning us all with his photos of freshwater molluscs and crustaceans for some time now, and he has collected and reported several new species for BC.  Now he takes on the role of editor for freshwater molluscs, a group that is often overlooked.  Ian will continue to provide species checklists for groups of freshwater molluscs as well as provide short introductions to species, but now he will add photo publishing to that list. 

 

View Ian's photos on E-Fauna here.
View Ian's photos on E-Flora here.
Read more about Ian's work on E-Fauna here.

Steven Joya: E-Flora BC's new bryophyte editor

Exciting news on E-Flora BC.  Bryologist Steve Joya has taken on the role of bryophyte editor. Steve is a bryologist from Vancouver, whose main area of interest is in British Columbia mosses. His interest in bryophytes was sparked after attending a workshop conducted by Shona Ellis and Wilf Schofield. Since earning a B.Sc. in plant biology from UBC, he has worked on various bryophyte-related projects, assisting with field surveys, identifying collections, and databasing herbarium specimens. He has also participated in several bioblitzes as a bryophyte expert.

Steve has been reviewing bryophyte photos for identification on E-Flora for several years, and it is great to have him take on this expanded role, where he will not only continue to identify bryophytes, but also make the best selections of photos as the default photos on our bryophyte atlas pages.

View Steve's bryophyte photos on E-Flora here.