A Mite-y Experience

Hi Everyone,

The summer has really flown by in the blink of an eye. Luckily, I feel like I was able to accomplish a lot and learn something new each day I spent at Centre for Biodiversity Genomics. This summer I had a chance to experience both the Ontario BioBlitz in the Credit River watershed, as well as the Bioblitz hosted at the rare Charitable Research Reserve in Cambridge. Continue reading “A Mite-y Experience”

DNA barcoding and Malaise traps capture the remarkable diversity in Canada’s National Parks

Hi everyone!

As some of you may know, we here at BIO spend a great deal of our field work sampling in Canada’s beautiful National Parks. In fact, from 2012 to 2014, BIO and Parks Canada partnered up to complete a massive national barcoding project that aimed to map out the country’s arthropod biodiversity: the Canadian National Parks (CNP) Malaise Program. I spent a lot of time planning, organizing, and coordinating this project and am thrilled to finally have results! Continue reading “DNA barcoding and Malaise traps capture the remarkable diversity in Canada’s National Parks”

The Tans Will Fade, but the Barcodes Will Last Forever

Hello again everyone,

This will be my final blog of the season, as the summer wraps up and all the students head back to school. This past week was my final week working in BIO as a student, but luckily for me I get to come back as a full time employee! My summer at BIO was absolutely amazing, between learning how to work in the lab, and the multiple field work experiences I got to have. Continue reading “The Tans Will Fade, but the Barcodes Will Last Forever”

Busy Barcoding Bees Building Blitzes

Hello again faithful readers,

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog, and a lot has happened! I’m sure you know all about the 6th Barcode of Life Conference that happened a few weeks ago from the other blogs, but I’ll give you a bit of a refresher. It was busy, crowded with fervent biologists, and a great melting pot of ideas and experiences to advance the state of DNA barcoding all over the world. Continue reading “Busy Barcoding Bees Building Blitzes”

Beecoming interested in the Yukon

Hey guys!

With this year’s beautiful summer coming to a close it has once again come time to dust the backpack off and get back into school mode. I had an amazing experience working with the BIObus team these past few months and I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to share some of that experience with all of you. Since this is the my last blog of the season, I’ve decided to make this blog about one of the coolest parks I’ve come across so far (which is also conveniently the one I’m sorting through at the moment). Continue reading “Beecoming interested in the Yukon”

BINs and Loans

Welcome back loyal readers!

This summer has just sped by; it is already my last week as a full-time employee at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, consequently this will be my last blog. I am looking forward to returning to school in the fall to complete my Bachelor of Biological Science. I am so appreciative of everything that I was able to participate in this summer. Continue reading “BINs and Loans”

My Training Period in Canada

This training period was my first real scientific work experience and I had no idea what to expect from a Canadian laboratory. During my first day of work at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, I realized my expectations of what the lab would be like was very different from reality. I imagined a building mainly made up of white corridors and lab mates who would not necessarily speak to each other. Instead I found myself inside a beautiful modern building with large open rooms and a team that made me feel like it was a big family: everyone was very friendly with each other and I soon became one of their friends as well. I soon participated in many different tasks within the Institute. Continue reading “My Training Period in Canada”

My Internship Experience at BIO

My name is Anaïs and I’m from Montpellier, which is located in the South of France. It is a big university town and I study Biology at the University in Montpellier. I just completed my first year and now I’m in Guelph for 6 weeks (July 8th –August 19th, 2015) doing an internship with the Collections Department at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario. During the 6 weeks I am in Guelph, I am hoping to learn more about DNA barcoding and what the Barcode of Life project is. Continue reading “My Internship Experience at BIO”

A little ticked off

Hey folks!

This past week I had been doing some standardized sampling again in the rare Charitable Research Reserve with some of my co-workers.  It was a great week for weather so it made the field work even more enjoyable! I have been going to rare quite a bit recently and every now and then I involuntarily bring home a very small hitchhiker. These hitchhikers are better known by the common name ticks, and they are a very important topic! Continue reading “A little ticked off”