8/8
I hope you enjoyed the #MarshMadness photographs which I have been posting this month, which have included photos of many of the wetlands I have had the rare privilege to study over my career. Wetlands are increasingly threatened globally, even here in Canada, and deserve our protection as a matter of urgency.
#Wetlands #Science #Ecology #EcosystemServices #Conservation #AerialInsectivores #Bats #Swallows #Entomology #CrossEcosystemFlux

7/8
This highlights the importance of preserving these poorly-studied, ephemeral habitats, which are often the first to be lost as rivers become disconnected from their floodplains. When this happens, we lose not only the natural beauty of the riverscape, but also a larder for aerial insectivores - both birds and bats - which forage the river corridor
#MarshMadness #Wetlands #Science #Ecology #EcosystemServices #Conservation #AerialInsectivores #Bats #Swallows #Entomology #CrossEcosystemFlux

6/8
Early results from our study are showing that wetlands which fringe the main river channel, which may completely dry up by the end of the summer, nevertheless provide a much richer and more abundant source of food for insectivores when compared to more isolated wetlands, which are generally less productive.
#MarshMadness #Wetlands #Science #Ecology #EcosystemServices #Conservation #AerialInsectivores #Bats #Swallows #Entomology #CrossEcosystemFlux

5/8
Here in the Canadian Maritimes, rivers remain diverse and productive, hosting a rich insect fauna, which emerge around the time of arrival of migratory insectivores such as tree swallows. A close up of our light trapping system, shows both aquatic and terrestrial insects (including a very large hawk moth!).
#MarshMadness #Wetlands #Science #Ecology #EcosystemServices #Conservation #AerialInsectivores #Bats #Swallows #Entomology #CrossEcosystemFlux

4/8
In addition to quantifying insect biomass, we also collect specimens of flying insect species to analyze their fatty-acid content. Fatty acids are extremely important in the early development of swallow nestlings, and aquatic insects provide a rich source. Sampling is performed at dusk using UV light attractors, when insects are on the wing,.
#MarshMadness #Wetlands #Science #Ecology #EcosystemServices #Conservation #AerialInsectivores #Bats #Swallows #Entomology #CrossEcosystemFlux

3/8
The study, supported through an #NSERC Discovery Grant, is examining a set of five wetlands - four of which connect to the river, and another isolated (perched) basin. We measure flux of aquatic insects from these wetlands using pyramidal emergence traps, which collect emerging insects which provide a key food supply for aerial insectivores.
#MarshMadness #Wetlands #Science #Ecology #EcosystemServices #Conservation #AerialInsectivores #Bats #Swallows #Entomology #CrossEcosystemFlux

2/8
Aerial insectivore - both bats and birds - are declining globally. For this reason, knowing more about their critical breeding habitats is important to conserve these important species, many of whom migrate intercontinental distances from their overwintering areas to their summer breeding grounds here in Canada.
#MarshMadness #Wetlands #Science #Ecology #EcosystemServices #Conservation #AerialInsectivores #Bats #Swallows #Entomology #CrossEcosystemFlux

1/8
As a finale to my #MarshMadness posts this month, I’ll tell you about an ongoing project in my lab. With my field crew and PhD student Thamarasi Aththanayaka, we have been studying the role played by river floodplain wetlands in providing food to aerial insectivores including swallows and bats, in an urban river floodplain here in Fredericton, New Brunswick
#Wetlands #Science #Ecology #EcosystemServices #Conservation #AerialInsectivores #Bats #Swallows #Entomology #CrossEcosystemFlux