The office has been full of energy from the arrival of two summer crews. The caribou and grizzly bear field techs were in a 2-week crash course on everything from the scientific protocols they’ll be following as they gather data down to how to winch a truck out of the ditch. We throw a huge amount of information at the new members of our team, so it’s only fair that we ask them to share a few things they know.
As has become tradition, we’re updating our playlist with new-to-us music and adding to our store of wonderful and bizarre facts about nature. Now when we hear the buzz of a bee, we’ll wonder about what fate this hive’s queen will meet; the elk on the side of the road will make us picture their giant, tusked ancestors; and if our allergies start acting up, we’ll blame in part the energetic pollination of Cornus canadensis.
In no particular order: meet the field techs!
Emma Branicki
Grizzly Bear Crew
Nature Fact: A mantis shrimp “punches” so fast it heats water to thousands of degrees.
Listening to: All Over You by Live
Maia Hoban
Caribou Crew
Nature Fact: Freeman’s maple trees are hybrids of red and silver maples.
Listening to: Creatures in Heaven by Glass Animals
Sadie Whitford
Grizzly Bear Crew
Nature Fact: Trees can communicate with each other.
Listening to: More or Less Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4
Kieran Bradbury
Grizzly Bear Crew
Nature Fact: Thresher sharks can use their extra long tails to stun prey.
Listening to: Lady Stardust by David Bowie
Marianne Sigouin
Caribou Crew
Nature Fact: Catfish can have over 175,000 taste buds on their body.
Listening to: Down at the Bottom by Jeffrey Martin
Tyler Edwards
Grizzly Bear Crew
Nature Fact: Trees can be heard “crying” when it is very VERY cold.
Listening to: The Grand Tour by George Jones
Olivia St. Hilaire
Grizzly Bear Crew
Nature Fact: Elk have vestigial ivory teeth.
Listening to: The Wild with Chris Morgan
Skylar Shepherd
Caribou Crew
Nature Fact: Alberta has flying squirrels.
Listening to: Breezeblocks by alt-J
Sierra Makasoff
Grizzly Bear Crew
Nature Fact: Prairie dogs have an exceptionally wide repertoire of vocalizations, able to name shapes, colours, and sizes.
Listening to: Next to You by John Vincent III
Suzanne MacKinnon
Grizzly Bear Crew
Nature Hot Take: Alberta’s provincial lichen should be the Candy Dot (Icmadophila ericetorum) AKA Fairy Puke.
Listening to: Lonely Road by mgk & Jelly Roll
Shayna Nicol
Caribou Crew
Nature Fact: The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.
Listening to: Live Well by Palace
Kirsty McFadyen
Grizzly Bear Crew
Nature Fact: Bunchberry has an explosive pollination mechanism: it shoots into the air when triggered.
Listening to: Speed of the Sound of Loneliness by Alabama 3
Katelyn Grado
Caribou Crew
Nature Fact: Honey bees will swarm and form a ball around their unwanted queen. Their vibrations overheat and kill her.
Listening to: You’re a Superstar by Love Inc.
Charles Daychief
Grizzly Bear Crew
Nature Fact: Red pine needles are an excellent fire starter.
Listening to: Lust by SAINt JHN
fRI Research
We love all our crews equally
Nature Fact: Prehistoric elephants evolved on Mediterranean islands to be just 1m tall.
Listening to: former fRI Research biologist Doug Macnearney.
