magazine / mj03
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May/June 2003 issue |
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Curbing the purple peril
 In
the 1990s, an army of European beetles was intentionally unleashed at more than 200 sites
across Ontario in an effort to stem the spread of purple loose-strife, the "zebra mussel
of the wetlands." Since then, however, there has been little scientific monitoring of
the effect of the biological control program on the pretty but invasive Eurasian plant, says
Jennifer Hiscott (right), a student in environmental biology at Nipissing University in North
Bay, Ont.
With the support of a research
grant from The Royal Canadian
Geographical Society, Hiscott has studied the impact of the introduction
of the Galerucella beetle, which feeds exclusively on purple loosestrife.
Last summer, she surveyed wetlands near Hamilton, North Bay and Peterborough,
where the minuscule leaf-eating insects were released in 1993, 1995 and 1997,
and discovered that they have had a significant impact on the loosestrife’s
ability to produce flowers and seeds. A single plant can yield more than
two million air- or waterborne seeds, which explains how loose-strife can
spread like a brush fire.
Hiscott’s field studies showed ample evidence of the beetles’ characteristic
paper-punch holes in loosestrife leaves. But she was surprised to find that
at the site of the most recent beetle release, in Peterborough, there were
no flowers and there was a greater amount of grazing. Hiscott had expected
the Hamilton location, where the beetles were introduced four years earlier,
would have shown more signs of insect damage. "I’m not sure whether
the loosestrife [near Hamilton] is starting to defend itself against the beetles," says
Hiscott. She is studying the results of chemical analyses of leaves to find
out whether the loosestrife near Hamilton is producing more phenols, the plant’s
natural defence mechanism against leaf-eating insects.
In the meantime, Hiscott hopes her research will "add to the scientific
evidence around this important ecological issue." Some scientists are
even questioning whether purple loosestrife is as invasive as once thought. "There
haven’t been a lot of studies to see whether purple loosestrife is actually
displacing native plants from wetlands," she says.
Monique Roy-Sole
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Cyber-challenge
Thirty-five students from across Canada will face off online during the national finals of
The Great Canadian Geography Challenge on May 24. For the first time in the Challenge’s
nine-year history, the finals will be held via the Internet. Members of the public can
log on to www.geochallenge.ca from the comfort of their home computers at noon (Eastern
Standard Time) to follow the competition’s progress and to test themselves on sample
questions.
All national finalists will receive an educational prize package. The top three students
will be awarded HSBC Bank Canada scholarships worth $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.
The winner will also earn a berth on the Canadian team that will compete at the National
Geographic World Championship in Tampa, Fla., on July 12-17. Canada won a silver medal at
the last international competition, held in Vancouver in 2001.
For more information on the Challenge finals, visit their website.
75 years young
It’s still a little too early to uncork the champagne bottles, but preparations are
under way for The
Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s 75th- anniversary
celebrations in 2004-2005.
One of the year’s major endeavours will be the publication of The
Canadian Atlas: Our Nation, Environment and People, a joint venture
of Canadian Geographic and Reader’s Digest. The 192-page
volume, to be released in July 2004 in both English and French editions,
will feature up-to-date maps of all parts of Canada and a thematic section
emphasizing Canada’s environment and its people.
Plans are also in progress to build a $7.5 million endowment fund to ensure
a secure future for the Society and its educational programs.
And watch for a special anniversary issue of Canadian
Geographic, to be published in November/December
2004, as well as commemorative events planned for Ottawa and Toronto
in the fall of 2004.
Visit the Canadian Atlas Online.
National exhibit showcases CG maps
 Canadian
Geographic’s cartographic talents are featured in a new
permanent exhibition dedicated to the cultures, history and contributions of aboriginal peoples
across Canada, which opened January 30 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau,
Que.
Twenty-eight maps, produced by Signy Fridriksson in collaboration with Canadian
Geographic cartographer Steven Fick, grace the
displays in the First Peoples Hall. They illustrate a variety of themes,
including trade, the origin of place names and the historical and current
distribution of First Nations groups across the country.
Fridriksson, who attended the official opening, says it was exciting to see
the maps as part of an exquisitely designed exhibit. "It’s a beautiful,
artistic presentation of the information," she says. More than 1,500 historical
objects and works of art and about 500 documents and illustrations are displayed
along a half-kilometre-long footpath.
Trail-blazing guides
How do you research guidebooks on the world’s longest recreational trail? On a mountain
bike, if you’re Sue Lebrecht. The intrepid travel writer has penned the first two volumes
in a series of guides to the Trans Canada Trail published this spring by Canadian Geographic
Enterprises.
Lebrecht and her research team started work on the books, which cover the
Newfoundland and Manitoba segments of the trail, several summers ago. "As
we’re on our mountain bikes, we’re talking into our respective
tape recorders and stopping to take photos," Lebrecht explains. "That’s
the most amazing thing about a trail — everything slows down. The more
you look, the more you see."
She has spent the winter immersed in the next volume on New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia and Prince Edward Island and looks forward to working on future guides
in the series. "My mission in life," says Lebrecht, "is to inspire
people to get out so they’ll appreciate nature and the environment and
want to preserve it."
Jodi Di Menna
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