Migration: A Fascinating and Complex Journey Migration is one of nature’s most awe-inspiring phenomena. Countless species, from songbirds to bats and even tiny insects, embark on incredible journeys – some spanning thousands of kilometres! These migrations are essential for survival, driven by the need to breed, forage, and follow seasonal resources. Many migratory birds, for […]
Read More… from Uncovering the Wonders of Migration with Motus
The eastern coast of Georgian Bay is alive with research and monitoring efforts—some visible, some happening quietly behind the scenes. From researchers tracking wildlife movements to volunteers restoring fragile habitats, countless hands come together to care for this landscape. Whether it’s removing invasive species, protecting nesting turtles, or monitoring water quality, these efforts are shaping […]
Read More… from A Busy Year Ahead: Caretaking on the Coast in 2025
GBB’s iNaturalist project turns five this month! To celebrate the anniversary of our project, we’re taking a look back at how this project started, how it’s been going, and what the future holds. Since 2020, GBB has used iNaturalist to collect information about the plants and animals in the biosphere region. iNaturalist is a free […]
Lumber frames our houses and cottages. It floors, furnishes, and decorates the interior making it feel like a home. Wood chips mulch our gardens, and fences delineate our yards. Delicious Sunday brunch includes pancakes with locally sourced maple syrup, paired with locally grown berries. All of these are examples of forest products (timber and non-timber […]
Read More… from Planting for Tomorrow: Responding to Climate Challenges in the French-Severn Forest
Across eastern Georgian Bay, turtles face a perilous challenge—busy roads that cut through their habitats. In response, people are coming together to protect vulnerable turtle populations by testing innovative approaches to reducing road threats. In 2020, routine road maintenance in the Township of The Archipelago (TOA) created an opportunity to explore new ways to reduce […]
If you’ve sat around a campfire well after the sun has gone down, or looked out over the water as the moon rises and the stars reveal themselves overhead, you know that the world around you doesn’t just fall silent for the night. While we humans, and much of the wildlife we commonly see during […]
Read More… from Shawanaga First Nation Research Reveals New Insights About Bats in the Biosphere
It’s no secret that transportation corridors in the biosphere pose a significant threat to wildlife. Roads and railways cut through important habitats across eastern Georgian Bay, forcing wildlife to make dangerous crossings in order to carry out daily and seasonal movements. Furthermore, female turtles are often attracted to gravel road shoulders to lay their eggs, […]
Read More… from Reptile Research Aims to Reduce Road Mortality Threat
On a cold April morning, I’m greeted on a dock in Arnold’s Bay by three Upper Great Lakes Management Unit staff. The crew is dressed in bright orange floater suits and are busy preparing their boat and gear for another day on the water. By this point, the crew has been setting and checking nets […]
Read More… from Behind the Scenes Look at Fish Community Assessments in Georgian Bay
If you have been following State of the Bay for awhile now, you will know that we have spent a lot of time talking about invasive zebra and quagga mussels, and with good reason. Since their introduction in the late 1980s, these filter-feeding organisms have wreaked havoc on the Great Lakes ecosystem. Despite their small […]
Read More… from A Stunning Look at Life Below the Surface of the Great Lakes
What do you think of when you read ‘algae’? Probably the green slime that makes rocks slippery as you enter the water, or the scum that collects on the walls of your fish tank. But there is so much more to algae than something you have to clean from your betta fish’s home! Algae play […]
Read More… from All About Algae: What You Should Know About Harmful Algal Blooms
Have you ever been boating on the Bay and seen a team taking water samples? Been paddling along the shoreline and seen volunteers picking up litter or cutting down a stand of invasive Phragmites? How about driving to your cottage or favourite camping spot and seeing biologists stopped at the side of the road, carefully […]
Read More… from Stewardship Gathering Highlights Exciting Work Happening Across the Region in 2024
Gather ‘round anglers and residents of the Great Lakes watershed, as we dive into the fishy world of the invasive round goby. This small fish has caught the attention of fisheries managers and the public alike by outcompeting native species and rapidly reproducing throughout North American waters. These aggressive fish are making waves in the […]
Read More… from Innovations in Monitoring the Invasive Round Goby
While record low ice coverage on the Great Lakes may be preventing you from ice fishing this winter, it’s not too early to start dreaming about the open water season. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) recently released the 2024 Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary, and is reminding all anglers to review regulations for […]
Read More… from New Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary Released
Celebrating the most recent State of the Bay ecosystem health report, the Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere (GBB) is hosting a State of the Bay: Lands and Waters Gathering to showcase research and caretaking work being done throughout the region. The gathering will be held November 29-30, 2023 at the Charles W. Stockey Centre in […]
Read More… from State of the Bay: Lands & Waters Gathering to Showcase Caretaking in Georgian Bay
Are you interested in Lake Huron and its water quality? Do you want to know what is happening to protect this beautiful and unique ecosystem and what you can do to help? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may want to check out the 2022-2026 Draft Lake Huron Lakewide Action and […]
What a weird winter! This is something you have probably heard said a few times over the past few months. Large fluctuations in air temperatures, severe lake effect snow storms, and limited Great Lakes ice cover made headlines this past winter. In February 2023, the Great Lakes hit a record low for ice cover. Mid-February […]
Read More… from Lack of Ice Cover on the Great Lakes Breaks Records
Ontario’s catch-and-release regulations may be changing! A bulletin posted on February 17, 2023 on the Environmental Registry of Ontario introduces proposed changes to the Ontario Fishery Regulations, 2007, an annex of the Fisheries Act. These changes would allow anglers more leeway in photographing, measuring, and weighing their catch before releasing it. What are the current […]
Read More… from Have Your Say on Proposed Revisions to Fishery Regulations in Ontario
Birds, bats, and insects present unique challenges for researchers due to their ability to travel long distances at heights that make them difficult to detect. So how are researchers able to determine if an individual observed in Canada one summer is the same as the one observed in Mexico the following winter? Although there are […]
Read More… from Wildlife Tracking With “Motus” Radio Telemetry
While the snow continues to fall in the biosphere region, many of us find ourselves dreaming about summer days spent on the water. For some, this time on the water means getting out to the best fishing spot early in the morning, for others it’s taking the kids out for an afternoon tube or ski, […]
Read More… from Watch Your Wake: Boat Wake Research Underway in the Region
Ever since the 1950s, Canadians have been applying 5-7 million tonnes of salt every winter to make our roads, parking lots, driveways, and other public areas safer for cars and pedestrians. When the snow begins to melt and the rain falls, all that salt leaches into the soil or washes into waterways and accumulates in […]
Read More… from Should roads in the biosphere region be put on a low-sodium diet?
Amphibians – like other cold-blooded animals – endure the harshest winter conditions without an internal source of body heat. They have evolved some extraordinary mechanisms to survive. Amphibians brumate over the winter months. Similar to hibernation, brumating animals slow their metabolism and allow their body temperature to drop. Although the Biosphere’s amphibians all face similar […]
Read More… from Amphibian Adaptations: Surviving Winter in the Biosphere
We’ve learned about invasive zebra and quagga mussels in the biosphere before (see Zebra and Quagga Mussels: Georgian Bay’s Filter-Feeding Invaders). Now the question is, what is being done to control them? Zebra and quagga mussels belong to the genus Dreissena and are collectively referred to as Dreissenids. While they first arrived in the Great […]
Read More… from Getting the Zebra and Quagga Mussel Problem Under Control
The State of the Great Lakes 2022 report, jointly prepared by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, is now available! The report provides a comprehensive update on how each of the five lakes is addressing current and emerging water quality and ecosystem challenges. Readers can flip through the highlights […]
Read More… from Fresh off the Press! The Latest State of the Great Lakes Report is Now Available
You see them everywhere. Dragonflies landing on fingers, mosquitoes buzzing in ears, moths swarming porch lights, and beetles crawling up legs. You can’t step foot anywhere in the Georgian Bay Biosphere during the summer without seeing or hearing an insect. What may surprise you is that this is also true for the water! Every time […]
Gardeners, hunters, and anglers alike know that there is something special about eating food that you have harvested yourself. Knowing where your food comes from, and being a part of the process of getting it to the table can be a rewarding experience that deeply connects you to your environment. Freshly caught Ontario sportfish can […]
Canada is home to a unique variety of species, over 9,000 of which are species of beetles. The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is an invasive beetle with a growing population in Ontario, including the Georgian Bay Biosphere region. Originating in Asia, this beetle likely made its way to North America in wood packaging or […]
Read More… from Small Beetle, Big Impact: The Invasive Emerald Ash Borer
You never forget a great fireworks display. You might have been quite young, sitting on the shoulders of a loved one, looking up towards the stars, and then suddenly those stars were gone, replaced by bright lights and brilliant colours. As summer in the biosphere unfolds, plans are being made for summer celebrations. This may […]
Fishing topwater as the sun comes up. Casting toward a weed line, anticipating a big hit. Jigging in your favourite (top secret) fishing hole until there’s barely enough light left to see the tip of your rod. Just thinking about these kinds of moments makes anglers giddy with excitement, eager for the open water season. […]
Read More… from What You Need to Know About Fishing in the Biosphere
The last two articles shared the importance of biodiversity and how selecting native plants can enhance biodiversity on one’s property. We hope we have inspired individuals and families in the biosphere region to rethink their garden and landscaping choices with native plants and wildlife in mind. But let’s face it, not everyone has the time, […]
Read More… from Homegrown Biodiversity: Helpful Hints for a Hands-off Approach
Last month, in Homegrown Biodiversity: It’s Time to Get Growing!, we talked about how important native plants are for supporting biodiversity and healthy food webs. By planting or encouraging the growth of native plants to attract local insects and birds, you can help play an important role in maintaining local ecosystems. Choosing native plants that […]
Read More… from Homegrown Biodiversity: A Quick Guide to Get Growing
As we continue to hear news stories about species extinctions and habitat loss around the world, it can be tempting to throw up our hands and claim that there’s no way any one individual can make a difference. But that’s simply, and fortunately, not true. If you have access to, or care for, land that […]
Read More… from Homegrown Biodiversity: It’s Time to Get Growing!
It is impossible to overstate the importance of phosphorus in the aquatic food web, as it forms the foundation of life in these waters. Everything from the tiniest phytoplankton all the way up to top predators like lake trout and loons rely on phosphorus. You may have heard the terms “nutrient-rich” and “nutrient-poor”. In the […]
Clusters of a sticky zooplankton (Holopedium glacialis) are crowding out a previously abundant and ecologically important species (Daphnia spp.) in many Ontario inland lakes. The name for this phenomenon is “jellification,” and it’s an apt description for the masses of clear jelly spheres afloat in many provincial waters. To be clear, Holopedium is not an […]
Read More… from Masses of jelly-covered zooplankton are afloat in Ontario’s inland lakes
The Parry Sound 33 (PS33) wildfire burned over 11,000 hectares of the eastern Georgian Bay landscape between mid July and the end of October 2018. In the years since the fire, researchers from the McMaster University Ecohydrology Lab have been measuring burn severity and tracking ecosystem recovery at several sites in the Georgian Bay Biosphere, […]
Read More… from Learning From Fire: Studying Ecosystem Recovery Following Parry Sound 33
Think of the last time you went for a swim. Before walking away from the shore, you probably gathered up all your things: your towel, sandals, sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, and perhaps a book or magazine. Yet despite your careful attention there was still something you left behind. Did you know you left some of your […]
Read More… from eDNA: Learning From the Molecule That’s Always Left Behind
Georgian Bay and the surrounding inland lakes and rivers are full of wonderful surprises. Every summer we receive emails from residents and visitors with questions about the interesting things they see in the water. For this month’s blog post, we have compiled a list of some of the water wonders that we are most commonly […]
Here at the Biosphere, we love hearing uplifting stories about sightings of species at risk! Lots of Biosphere residents see turtles on a regular basis during the summer months. There are six species of turtles found in the Georgian Bay Biosphere. Sadly, all six species are listed as “species at risk” by the Federal Species […]
Georgian Bay is well known for producing trophy-sized fish, but the smaller inhabitants of the waters are often overlooked. Zooplankton are small aquatic animals that make up part of what is referred to as the lower food web of Georgian Bay. This month we take a closer look at one zooplankton in particular, the spiny […]
Read More… from The Spiny Water Flea: The Tiny Zooplankton Creating Big Problems
If you have been outside recently exploring the trails in your area or just getting out in your yard, you have probably encountered numerous caterpillars and their handiwork. These are LDD caterpillars, also called gypsy moth caterpillars. The LDD moth (whose acronym arises from its Latin name Lymantria dispar dispar) originates in Asia and Europe. […]
