Alert
Alert is located at the northern tip of Canada, on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut. Our work at Alert began in 2007 as part of the international initiative ArcticWOLVES aiming at collecting ecological data throughout the Arctic to determine the current state and follow future trends in the status of arctic ecosystems. We are mainly gathering information on the status of small mammals, shorebirds and arthropods in collaboration with Guy Morrison from the Canadian Wildlife Service.
Bic
The Parc national du Bic is one of the most beautiful parks of Québec. It is located on the Southern shore of the St-Lawrence river and is characterized by numerous cliffs and steep slopes. Vegetation in the parc is boreal forest. We have been studying a population of North American porcupines at this site since 2000. In the northern forests, the porcupine is the only tree-dwelling mammals that feeds mainly from tree leaves. Because of an abundance of deep dens that offer year-round protection against predators and cold weather, densities of porcupines can be high at Bic. Pictures : Ecosystem, animals, work, camp.
Bonaventure
Bonaventure island is part of the parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé. It is located at the tip of the Gaspé peninsula, in the Gulf of St-Lawrence, and is home of more than 300 000 breeding marine birds, including its famous Northern Gannet colony. Bonaventure island serves mainly as a study model since 2004 in our research on the impacts of climate changes on sea ice and insular communities.
Bylot
Bylot Island is part of the Sirmilik canadian national park in the Canadian High Arctic. The island geography is dominated by a glacier and our work is concentrated on a tundra plain on the sourthern part of the isalnd where thousands of greater snow geese are nesting every year . The most common land vertebrates on the island are geese, lemmings, and arctic foxes. We are working on the mammals and birds of Bylot island since 1995 in collaboration with Gilles Gauthier from Université Laval.
Herschel
Herschel island (Qikiqtaruk) is located north of Yukon coast, in Beaufort Sea. It was established as Herschel Island Territorial Park in 1987, representing the first park of the kind in Yukon. This site is the most recently used by the Canada research chair in conservation of northern ecosystems. We are working since 2008 mainly on the arctic and red fox community coexisting on the island and our research is done in collaboration with Don Reid from the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Kluane
The Kluane study site is located in the boreal forest of the Southern Yukon, close to Kluane National Park and the border with Alaska. We are working there on a population of North American red squirrels since 1997, thanks to a collaboration with Stan Boutin from the University of Alberta. This site is interesting because of the high densities of squirrels, the small size of trees which permits easy visit of squirrel nests, and the rich history of ecological studies at this site (see The Kluane Project).
Mingan
The biological productivity is very high in the Mingan region of the St-Lawrence Gulf. Many whale species find there an abundance of food, and in 1979 Richard Sears has established at Mingan the Mingan Island Cetacean Study.The Canada research chair in conservation of northern ecosystems and the Mingan Island Cetacean Study are collaborating on a study of habitat selection by rorqual whales since 2001.
Qeqertaq
Qeqertaq island is located in the Disko Bay, on the west coast of Greenland. Important colonies of sea birds nest on Qeqertaq, which benefits from a relatively mild climate due to South-North water currents. A temporary research camp is established every year on Qeqartaq by David Grémillet, with the support of the French Polar Institute. A collaboration with the Canada research chair in conservation of northern ecosystems has started in 2002.
Rankin Inlet
Rankin Inlet is located on the west coast of Hudson Bay, in the Low Arctic. In addition to numerous marine birds (eiders, guillemots, long-tailed ducks), it is home of numerous birds of prey including one of the denser population of Peregrine Falcons in North America. Work by the Chair in Rankin Inlet has started in 2007, in collaboration with Alastair Franke from the University of Alberta, and we mainly study the reproductive ecology of Peregrine Falcons.
Southampton (East Bay)
Southampton Island is located in the north-west of Hudson Bay. Our research are mainly concentrated in the East Bay Bird Sanctuary where thousands of marine birds (gull, guillemots and a colony of more than 6000 breeding pairs of common eiders) nest annually. We are working in collaboration with Grant Gilchrist (Canadian Wildlife Service) and our research aims at better understand the physiology and phenology of reproduction of the common eider.