Meet the Virtual BioBlitz Taxonomy Team

Need help identifying a caterpillar you found in the park? How about that fuzzy green stuff that grows on trees? Or maybe you can’t decide whether the bird in your backyard is a House Finch or a Purple Finch? Either way, you’ve come to the right place!

Our Virtual BioBlitz Taxonomy Team is here to help.

May 22 is International Biodiversity Day and we’re encouraging you to spend some time outside exploring the amazing world of biodiversity in common places like your backyard, garden or local park. As part of our Virtual BioBlitz under BioBlitz Canada 150, you can post photos and video of the species you discover on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #BioBlitz150. This amazing team of scientists will be online to answer your questions and to help celebrate the fact that Canada is one of the most unique places on the planet!

Meet the Virtual BioBlitz Taxonomy Team

Hi! My name is Morgan Jackson. I am a PhD Student at the University of Guelph in Guelph, ON. Animals have always been my favourite things, but it wasn’t until I got to university that I realized insects are the greatest animals of all. Now I make a living studying insects, especially flies, and am working to find new species (in the wild and in museums), figuring out what to call them, and trying to understand how they’re related to one another. When I need a break from learning more about insects myself, I like to share what I’ve learned with others, hopefully in a way that gets them to appreciate the little things that make our lives possible.

I can help you learn more about: insects

Ask me a question at @Bioinfocus on Twitter or @morgandjackson on Instagram using the hashtag #BioBlitz150.

Hi! My name is Catherine Scott. I am a PhD Student at the University of Toronto Scarborough in Scarborough, ON. I’m a behavioural ecologist and arachnologist who studies sexual communication in black widow spiders. I love spending time outdoors searching for spiders and learning about their natural history, and sharing stories about these amazing, under-appreciated animals on twitter and my blog (spiderbytes.org).

I can help you learn more about: spiders

Ask me a question at @Cataranea on Twitter using the hashtag #BioBlitz150.

Hi! My name is Troy McMullin. I am a Research Scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, ON. I grew-up in southern Ontario, but spent my summers in more northern wild places, where I learned to appreciate the small things in life, like lichens!

I can help you learn more about: lichens

Ask me a question at @TroyMcMullin on Twitter using the hashtag #BioBlitz150.

Hi! My name is Sean McCann. I am a Biologist at the University of Toronto Scarborough in Toronto, ON. I am a keen natural historian and have always been so. I study animal behaviour, and I enjoy documenting my work through photography.

I can help you learn more about: wasps, ants, spiders and various other taxa

Ask me a question at @Ibycter on Twitter using the hashtag #BioBlitz150.

Hi! My name is Andrea Wishart. I am a PhD student at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, SK. I currently study red squirrel caching behaviour at a research site in the Yukon, but I spent most of my life in my hometown of London, ON where I grew up catching toads at my farm and hanging out in the local fen. I worked at a wildlife rehabilitation centre (Salthaven), in a herbarium, and in zoological collections, in order to learn more about plants, birds, and mammals. I love traveling and I’m currently reading Lab Girl by Hope Jahren.

I can help you learn more about: mammals

Ask me a question at @wishartae on Twitter using the hashtag #BioBlitz150.

Hi! My name is Annie Langlois. I am the Hinterland Who’s Who Coordinator at the Canadian Wildlife Federation in Kanata, ON. I’m a biologist who loves to simplify science for the general public. Managing the Hinterland Who’s Who program is an awesome job! 🙂

I can help you learn more about: water birds, seabirds and mammals, including marine mammals

Ask me a question at @HinterlandWhosW on Twitter using the hashtag #BioBlitz150.

Remember, you don’t have to be a nature expert to make a contribution to conservation. Every time you share an observation, you add to our iNaturalist database which helps scientists make important decisions about species. So join our Virtual BioBlitz project and then get outside and get sharing on May 22!

Follow BioBlitz Canada 150 on Facebook and Twitter (@BioBlitzCanada) for more updates about International Biodiversity Day and the Virtual BioBlitz.

Want to be a part of our taxonomy team? Send an email to deyraf@cwf-fcf.org and let us know!

BioBlitz Canada 150 is a Canada 150 Signature Project coordinated by the Canadian Wildlife Federation on behalf of its fellow members of Bioblitz Canada and other partner organizations, with funding from the Government of Canada.