February 9, 2024
Our own Nicole Fenton won the prestigious Richard Spruce Award in 2023!
The Award is presented by the International Association of Bryologists and recognizes a scientist who has made important contributions to bryology within the first 25 years of their career. Congratulations to Nicole!
February 2nd, 2024
January 12, 2024
Two M.Sc’s positions available on rare Quebec plant species
Freshwater estuaries are ecosystems characterized by high tides (>2m) hosting flora threatened by climate change and urban sprawl. The laboratory of systematics, phylogeny, biogeography and floristics directed by Étienne Léveillé-Bourret is beginning two studies on rare plant species in the freshwater estuary of the St. Lawrence, financed by the Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP).
- Taxonomy of the rare Victorin’s waterhemlock (Cicuta maculata var. victorinii) This variety endemic to Quebec is designated as threatened at the provincial and federal level. However, morphological intermediates with the more common variety (var. maculata) create uncertainty regarding its taxonomic validity. Clarifying its status is imperative to be able to justify the conservation efforts currently underway. The study will combine field work, experiments in a common garden, herbarium and laboratory studies, to clarify the taxonomic status and characterize the genetic diversity of Victorin’s waterhemlock.
- Taxonomy of the rare Provancher fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus var. provancheri) This variety is endemic to northeastern North America, with a distribution centered on the St. Lawrence estuary. The limit between this taxon and the more common variety (var. philadelphicus) is controversial, and there is debate on the real identity of the populations outside Quebec. Work in the field, in the common garden, in the herbarium and in the laboratory will help clarify its taxonomy and determine whether populations in Ontario and the United States are sufficiently genetically isolated to justify specific conservation measures.
Please find more information here
June 1st, 2023
Volume 4 of Northern Flora of Quebec and Labrador is now available
To mark the occasion, we are offering a discount of 50% off the retail price until the end of June 2023 when you purchase the book from the University of Laval Press website using the promotional code 5820FLOR50. Leaf through the PDF excerpt.
Mar 29, 2023
Invitation to collaborate with collection of important samples
Project: Possible intriguing genetic pattern of Salix brachycarpa
We are seeking collaborators familiar with Salix brachycarpa that could help us to get samples from a larger array of sites from Canada and the United States. If you are willing to participate in this research (collecting 5-10 fresh leaves per sample), let us know by email (luc_sirois@uqar.ca) your complete postal address, so we can send you precise instructions and sampling material.
Please see more details of the project here.
Jan 23, 2023
The Flora of North America is almost completed: your financial support can help us finish this incredible project
Geoffrey A. Levin, President, Flora of North America Association
Bruce Ford, FNA Regional Coordinator, Western Canada
We are sure that many of you are familiar with the Flora of America (FNA; http://floranorthamerica.org), especially those iconic green, hard covered books, which have become the first place we turn to for information about plants.
Since the first volumes appeared in 1993, this work has become the definitive treatment of the plant diversity of North America providing detailed distributional, morphological, and taxonomic information on some 20,000 species of plants (including mosses, liverworts, and hornworts), about 7% of the world’s total. And, VASCAN (Database of Vascular Plants of Canada; https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/search), our only comprehensive record of all the vascular plants that occur in Canada, relies on the taxonomy published in the Flora of North America to produce its list.
Work on the FNA is approaching completion. Twenty-two of the planned 30 volumes, have been published, and three more are with the publisher, Oxford University Press, or are in the final stages of page layout. The remaining four volumes with taxonomic content (Volume 30 will contain summary information about the flora and the project), containing about 2,700 species, are moving along well and it is realistic to expect that all 30 volumes of the Flora will be with the publisher in 2024.
We are so close to finishing!
Although the publication of all of FNA is in sight, funding remains tight. We estimate that it will require a final $150,000 to pay technical editors and the managing editor, and to cover the last illustrations for these volumes. If you can contribute any amount (tax deductible in the US), we would be very grateful. Go to http://floranorthamerica.org and click on the “donate” button or send a check (U.S. $ only) to FNA Business Office, P. O. Box 716, Point Arena, CA 95468.
Over the past 30 years the FNA has become the gold standard for modern floristic research and the foundation upon which many regional floras and online resources are based. The completion of this monumental work will be a remarkable scientific achievement.
Call for Research Papers: Climate Change x Invasive Species
| The Canadian Council on Invasive Species (CCIS) is growing a National Invasive Species and Climate Change (NISCC) Network. The NISCC Network works closely with the Northeast Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (RISCC) Network based in the USA, to leverage it’s successful approach and apply it within Canada. Like RISCC, the NISCC Network will work to reduce the joint effects of climate change and invasive species by synthesizing relevant science, sharing the needs and knowledge of managers, and building stronger scientist-manager communities. In collaboration with the RISCC Network, invasive species organizations, and government partners, CCIS is taking steps to develop tools to support invasive species management efforts in Canada. At this time, we are seeking Canadian-based research papers that have linkages between invasive species and climate change. With approval from the authors, submitted research will be summarized into one page, highlighting key findings, and shared online to support invasive species management in Canada. Submit research papers to programs@canadainvasives.ca Please include “NISCC Research Submission” in the subject line. Learn more: https://canadainvasives.ca/invasive-species/invasive-species-and-climate-change/ |