Closing the Climate Gap
What’s the problem?
Canada hosts a wide range of climates due to its vast size and diverse geography. Understanding how different climates contribute to the collective housing of biodiversity helps us make predictions about how biodiversity is adapted for its environment, and therefore how it might change in the future. Much of the biodiversity across complex and varied climates remains poorly understood, limiting our ability to describe biodiversity in the full range of climates across Canada.
Where should you go?
To bridge this gap, we encourage you to visit some areas that represent unique Canadian climates that have yet to be surveyed thoroughly. We’ve highlighted these areas across the country for you to choose from, which you can see on this map:
The locations on this map are suggestions and not exact coordinates of where to sample. We cannot determine safety, ownership, or access to these lands. Please verify that you can legally and safely access these sites.
Who created this challenge?
This challenge was created by a team of ecologists, graduate students, and community scientists. The Blitz-the-Gap umbrella project seeks to increase the number of iNaturalist observations that can be used for science and conservation, and is supported by: Canadian Wildlife Federation, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Canada Key Biodiversity Areas, Campus Biodiversity Network, University of British Columbia’s Data4Nature cluster, McGill University, and the Canadian Institute for Ecology and Evolution, including the Living Data Project. The working group is led by Laura Pollock, Diane Srivastava, Katherine Hébert, David Hunt, Sandra Emry from McGill University and University of British Columbia.
Nicole Kester is a MSc student studying invasive plants and patterns of their spread into new climatic conditions.
Joshua Lee is a PhD student studying how additional biodiversity metrics can be integrated into conservation management in Australia.
Brian Starzomski is the Ian McTaggart Cowan Professor of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, and co-leads the BC Biodiversity project.
Diane Srivastava leads the Living Data Project and studies how species and food webs respond to climate change and other environmental shifts.
Sandra Emry is a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Data Project, and studies the effects of heat waves and other disturbances on marine ecology.
Shirley Morrison is an avid iNaturalist user and contributor to the Butterflies in My Backyard Project (BIMBY).
Stephen Deedes-Vincke volunteers with the BIMBY project and is a Certified Pollinator Steward and Butterfly Ranger.
Michelle Tseng is an Associate Professor who studies how climate change affects insect communities and aquatic food webs. She uses iNaturalist data extensively in her research, including the BIMBY data.