Collaborative research for biodiversity conservation
The new IBioS Collaboratory is an innovation incubator that brings together researchers from multiple disciplines
Biological diversity in Canada is facing pressures unseen for millennia. According to the Canadian Species Index, between 1970 and 2016, vertebrates known and monitored by the federal government decreased by 4%. Within this category, monitored fish and mammal species declined by an average of 21% and 42%, respectively. These represent only a fraction of species loss in the Canadian wilderness.
Species loss is not only a concern for biodiversity, it inflicts collateral damage to many other species within habitats and ecosystems. For example, declines in salmon populations reduce a food source for many predators and human communities. This, in turn, decreases the availability of nutrients that benefit trees and other plant and animal life deposited via predator feces.
At its inception in June 2003, the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA) listed 233 species at risk. As of December 31, 2021, that number has jumped to 640, according to the 2021 SARA Annual Report to Parliament.
Addressing the decline in biodiversity involves conducting research into novel conservation approaches, as well as taking science-based actions to protect species in the coming years.
Asst. Prof. Alex Moore
29 Branchlines | Spring 2023
IBioS’s solutions-based, cross-disciplinary approach The Interdisciplinary Biodiversity Solutions (IBioS) Collaboratory is a cross-disciplinary, UBC consortium formed to address the challenges facing biodiversity loss. It aims to devise innovative solutions that draw on bright minds from various faculties, departments and disciplines across UBC, including the Faculty of Forestry. Its approach combines research and training to co-develop world-class studies, co-advise students, produce policy-relevant solutions and engage with communities, all levels of government and other academic institutions to protect biodiversity for future generations.