It's the last few hours of #MarshMadness and the first night of the spring peepers. Sound up, but not too much 😉

OK, I've gotta get one in here before the month ends.
#marshmadness

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