Research finds a wide range of wildlife species in the sask. City, and climate change can bring more

Researchers at the Royal Suskechewan Museum have documented hundreds of animals as part of an urban wildlife project in Regina region.

Researchers captured photographs and audio recording of 143 bird species and 15 mammals, using 28 monitoring stations across the city since the fall of 2021.

According to the research project, Jacobbete with Canadian Geese and White -tailed was one of the most common species, while American Minks were the rare species.

Ryan Fisher, curator of vertebral zoology at the museum, said the project aims to find out how urbanization affects wildlife. Till now, he said, it has not had much effect.

Fisher said, “We have a lot of green place for a city for our size.” “We have found this cute corridor that goes from the northwest Regina to the south -south -respective Regina.”

Fisher said that many species found in suburban areas-which are both natural habitat and man-made infrastructure-including many birds. Mousse was also detected on the city’s fringe.

The research of the museum comes on the heel A search It indicated that mousse are becoming more common around Saskatoon.

KT Harris, a PhD candidate in Animal and Poultry Sciences at the University of Suskechewan and co-writer KT Harris, said his surveillance stations recorded 60 mousse within the city borders between September 2020 and September 2023. In the first year of the study, this number increased by 29 in the third year.

Harris 2021 points to a notable event, when a mousse Crashed through Sylvia Fedoruk School windowAs an example of increasing interaction between humans and mousse in urban settings.

Harris is not sure why there is an increase, but wonders that green space plays a role.

Harris said, “We do all kinds of things for our (green) spaces in the cities that you won’t see, usually, outside a city in a natural area,” some of which can attract wildlife, said Harris.

“If you can get an area with an area of ​​an all-un-Can-Eat Buffet Vs. An area that is a single-time meal, then you are going to the all-yen-eat buffet.”

Climate change can increase urban wildlife

Hundreds of new species of animals could be seen in cities across Canada, according to this, according to this A recent study Co-writer by Alex Philazola, a data scientist who teaches biology at Western University.

While there are no specific data for Suskechewan cities, Philazola’s study also suggested under low-vigorous landscape, climate change can run more than 150 species in Vinipag, while only 30 species will leave that urban area only.

“There is a special niche of the variable which … (determine) where (AN) animal can live,” he said. “So if he changes the niche as a result of climate change … then we will expect to move the animal.”

The cities of the priories are often warm compared to the surrounding rural areas, said Philazola, which can lead to long growing seasons, which can provide a house for more cold-sensitive animals.

Philazola said that some species have already started appearing in cities across the country, where they have not been seen before, such as Ticks. The city could also see the influx of different types of reptiles, he said.

One of the researchers of the project of the Royal Suskechewan Museum, Jordan Rustad said another goal of research is to find out how cities can be better designed to allow wildlife and humans for co -existence.

Rustad, whichever president is Bird -friendly Regina CommitteeSaid that research found many free-romming cats in Vasakana Park. Cats are a major threat to birds, causing more bird deaths than other hazards, Birds according to Canada,

Rustad said that people can help by keeping their cats indoors or by maintaining them.

The U Ku of Suskechewan’s Harris said that green places are also necessary to allow wildlife to flourish in cities.

This means “there is not only a patch of lawn, which is nothing else,” he said, “but there are places that have trees, shrubs, grasses, different types of plants.”

“If we put our priority not only on preserving those green spaces that we have, but to improve those who are not very good to start, then it is a very big factor.”

Cities can be connected by laying wildlife-friendly fencing to keep animals out of some areas without damaging animals, as well as light bulbs that are not the cause of high light pollution, they said. This can help some birds and bats that thrive in deep places.