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Climate change – Analysis and Comment

Marine ecosystems across Canada’s coasts, such as eelgrass meadows that provide an important habitat for juvenile species, are threatened by human activities and climate change. (Nicolas Winkler)

Canada’s marine conservation toolbox needs an overhaul to counter climate change

It is time to acknowledge and address the rapid shifts in Canada’s oceans. To meet this challenge, Canada’s marine conservation toolbox — starting with the Oceans Act — needs an overhaul.
Changes in climate affect the timings of various points in the life cycle of plants, including when flowers bloom in spring and when leaves wither in autumn. (Shutterstock)

Climate change is altering the seasonal rhythm of plant life-cycle events

Climate change is modifying the timing of recurrent life-cycle events with critical consequences on ecological and economic levels.
Common hazel dispersing pollen in early spring. Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Achoo! 5 essential reads for pollen season

Pollen brings seasonal misery to millions of Americans, but it serves a critical purpose: fertilizing many kinds of plants, including food crops.
The red mangrove is among the species already selected for genome sequencing. Busara/Shutterstock

Why African scientists are studying the genes of African species, and how they do it

The African BioGenome Project is a pan-African project that seeks to sequence Africa’s endemic and indigenous plants and animals.
Spring herring and Atlantic mackerel fisheries are among the most lucrative in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and brought in more than $1.3 billion to Québec and Atlantic fishers in 2020. (Shutterstock)

Why Canada shuttered some mackerel and spring herring fisheries in Québec and Atlantic Canada

Suspending mackerel and spring herring fishing in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence will impact the fishing industry on many levels.
A man is seen searching through debris at the Blue Lagoon beach following heavy rains and winds in Durban, on April 12, 2022. Rajesh Jantilal/AFP via Getty Images

Local knowledge adds value to mapping flood risk in South Africa’s informal settlements

Flooding is arguably even more problematic in informal settlements because of the lack of planning.
Permafrost and ice wedges have built up over millennia in the Arctic. When they thaw, they destabilize the surrounding landscape. Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Thawing permafrost is roiling the Arctic landscape, driven by a hidden world of changes beneath the surface as the climate warms

Ground is collapsing and massive lakes are draining in a matter of days. Thawing permafrost is having profound effects on the region and its infrastructure.