UBC Okanagan researcher working with community groups to develop online education

Researchers from UBC’s Okanagan campus have received over $1.3M in federal funding to prepare youth living with intellectual disabilities (ID) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to find meaningful employment later in life.

“For most, going to work and earning a paycheque is a routine part of life,” says Rachelle Hole, principal investigator on the Transiting Youth with Disabilities and Employment (TYDE) project. “But for those living with ID or ASD, finding a job can feel out of reach. It should come as no surprise, then, that only 22 per cent of Canadians with ID or ASD have some form of paid employment and those that do often receive low wages and work few hours.”

Hole, who is an associate professor at UBC Okanagan’s School of Social Work and Co-Director for the Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship, says that TYDE aims to shift those statistics. The project, which was recently awarded $742,089.00 from the Canadian Institute for Health Research and $589,561 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, will spend the next year developing curriculum for an online interactive learning environment to help those with ID and ASD—also called self-advocates for their efforts in speaking up for themselves and others—improve their knowledge and future employment outcomes.

“The research is very clear,” says Hole. “Supporting self-advocates as they transition from school to adult life and giving them opportunities to contribute through meaningful work has enormous benefits for both the individual and the businesses they work for.”

She also points out that self-advocates have above average attendance, a low turnover rate and evidence shows that businesses that offer employment opportunities have higher staff morale and are seen more favourably than their competitors.

The TYDE Project is unique in that its curriculum will be focused not just on self-advocates but also on their caregivers, who Hole says have often been overlooked but who play an important role in early interventions. Hole also highlights the diversity of partners on the project, which include academia, not-for-profit and government from across BC.

“This is certainly the first time this much expertise and resource from around the province have coordinated to help solve this problem,” says Hole. “We’ll spend the next 12 months pouring over past research and existing resources to develop the most effective learning modules we can, based on our collective knowledge.”

John Graham, director of UBC Okanagan’s School of Social Work, welcomes the new funding, which he says will make a real difference in the lives of self-advocates.

“This is an important initiative and one that will help those with developmental disabilities live richer and more fulfilling lives,” says Graham. “I’m proud that one of our professors is playing such a leading role.”

Hole is planning for the first cohort of self-advocates to test the new online tool in the fall of 2019 and the team expects that as the tool is refined, it will prove useful to self-advocates beyond just BC.

“While the resources are being developed here in BC, our intention is for this tool to be scalable and applicable nationally or even internationally,” says Hole.

“I’m hoping this can position a new generation of engaged and hard-working self-advocates to find their place in the job market.”

UBC Okanagan researcher working with community groups to develop online education

Researchers from UBC’s Okanagan campus have received over $1.3M in federal funding to prepare youth living with intellectual disabilities (ID) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to find meaningful employment later in life.

“For most, going to work and earning a paycheque is a routine part of life,” says Rachelle Hole, principal investigator on the Transiting Youth with Disabilities and Employment (TYDE) project. “But for those living with ID or ASD, finding a job can feel out of reach. It should come as no surprise, then, that only 22 per cent of Canadians with ID or ASD have some form of paid employment and those that do often receive low wages and work few hours.”

Hole, who is an associate professor at UBC Okanagan’s School of Social Work and Co-Director for the Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship, says that TYDE aims to shift those statistics. The project, which was recently awarded $742,089.00 from the Canadian Institute for Health Research and $589,561 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, will spend the next year developing curriculum for an online interactive learning environment to help those with ID and ASD—also called self-advocates for their efforts in speaking up for themselves and others—improve their knowledge and future employment outcomes.

“The research is very clear,” says Hole. “Supporting self-advocates as they transition from school to adult life and giving them opportunities to contribute through meaningful work has enormous benefits for both the individual and the businesses they work for.”

She also points out that self-advocates have above average attendance, a low turnover rate and evidence shows that businesses that offer employment opportunities have higher staff morale and are seen more favourably than their competitors.

The TYDE Project is unique in that its curriculum will be focused not just on self-advocates but also on their caregivers, who Hole says have often been overlooked but who play an important role in early interventions. Hole also highlights the diversity of partners on the project, which include academia, not-for-profit and government from across BC.

“This is certainly the first time this much expertise and resource from around the province have coordinated to help solve this problem,” says Hole. “We’ll spend the next 12 months pouring over past research and existing resources to develop the most effective learning modules we can, based on our collective knowledge.”

John Graham, director of UBC Okanagan’s School of Social Work, welcomes the new funding, which he says will make a real difference in the lives of self-advocates.

“This is an important initiative and one that will help those with developmental disabilities live richer and more fulfilling lives,” says Graham. “I’m proud that one of our professors is playing such a leading role.”

Hole is planning for the first cohort of self-advocates to test the new online tool in the fall of 2019 and the team expects that as the tool is refined, it will prove useful to self-advocates beyond just BC.

“While the resources are being developed here in BC, our intention is for this tool to be scalable and applicable nationally or even internationally,” says Hole.

“I’m hoping this can position a new generation of engaged and hard-working self-advocates to find their place in the job market.”

The post $1.3M grant to help those with developmental disabilities find work appeared first on UBC Okanagan News.

UBC Okanagan researcher working with community groups to develop online education

Researchers from UBC’s Okanagan campus have received over $1.3M in federal funding to prepare youth living with intellectual disabilities (ID) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to find meaningful employment later in life.

“For most, going to work and earning a paycheque is a routine part of life,” says Rachelle Hole, principal investigator on the Transiting Youth with Disabilities and Employment (TYDE) project. “But for those living with ID or ASD, finding a job can feel out of reach. It should come as no surprise, then, that only 22 per cent of Canadians with ID or ASD have some form of paid employment and those that do often receive low wages and work few hours.”

Hole, who is an associate professor at UBC Okanagan’s School of Social Work and Co-Director for the Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship, says that TYDE aims to shift those statistics. The project, which was recently awarded $742,089.00 from the Canadian Institute for Health Research and $589,561 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, will spend the next year developing curriculum for an online interactive learning environment to help those with ID and ASD—also called self-advocates for their efforts in speaking up for themselves and others—improve their knowledge and future employment outcomes.

“The research is very clear,” says Hole. “Supporting self-advocates as they transition from school to adult life and giving them opportunities to contribute through meaningful work has enormous benefits for both the individual and the businesses they work for.”

She also points out that self-advocates have above average attendance, a low turnover rate and evidence shows that businesses that offer employment opportunities have higher staff morale and are seen more favourably than their competitors.

The TYDE Project is unique in that its curriculum will be focused not just on self-advocates but also on their caregivers, who Hole says have often been overlooked but who play an important role in early interventions. Hole also highlights the diversity of partners on the project, which include academia, not-for-profit and government from across BC.

“This is certainly the first time this much expertise and resource from around the province have coordinated to help solve this problem,” says Hole. “We’ll spend the next 12 months pouring over past research and existing resources to develop the most effective learning modules we can, based on our collective knowledge.”

John Graham, director of UBC Okanagan’s School of Social Work, welcomes the new funding, which he says will make a real difference in the lives of self-advocates.

“This is an important initiative and one that will help those with developmental disabilities live richer and more fulfilling lives,” says Graham. “I’m proud that one of our professors is playing such a leading role.”

Hole is planning for the first cohort of self-advocates to test the new online tool in the fall of 2019 and the team expects that as the tool is refined, it will prove useful to self-advocates beyond just BC.

“While the resources are being developed here in BC, our intention is for this tool to be scalable and applicable nationally or even internationally,” says Hole.

“I’m hoping this can position a new generation of engaged and hard-working self-advocates to find their place in the job market.”

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Study proves people are able to control their own happiness

A UBC researcher has helped establish that, even for people who have a fear of happiness, brief positive psychology interventions embedded within university courses can enhance well-being.

Holli-Anne Passmore, a PhD candidate in psychology at UBC’s Okanagan campus, does research on well-being and personal happiness. There are conflicting views on the value of happiness, and a person’s culture or religion can significantly affect how personal happiness is understood.

Collaborating with international colleagues, Passmore recently examined the effects of a positive psychology intervention (PPI) study at the culturally diverse Canadian University of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. More than 270 students, from 39 different countries, participated in the study and 78 per cent of them were Muslim. For half of the students, the Happiness 101 program was added to the regular curriculum of an Introduction to Psychology course.

“Fear of happiness is a real thing. Others worry about the fragility of happiness,” Passmore says. “In some cultures, a person may not want to be too happy or believe that if they outwardly strive for happiness, they may tempt fate or create social disharmony. They may also believe that any happiness enjoyed will only be fleeting. Valuing happiness is not universally shared.”

“There are a lot of students who live with the underlying sentiment that happiness is beyond their control,” says Passmore. “They truly believe happiness is mainly controlled by specific events, or a religious deity or a being, or other circumstances.”

Passmore says participants learned to use positive psychology interventions—analytically validated and focused activities designed to increase the frequency of positive emotions and experiences. PPIs can help with anxiety, depression, somatic complaints, optimism, relationships, hopelessness, and the ability to deal with stress and trauma, she adds.

The researchers measured different aspects of the students’ well-being at the beginning and end of the semester, and three months later. Compared to students who were not exposed to the positive psychology interventions, students who had the PPI program added to the usual course content reported higher levels of well-being at the end of the semester. Additionally, says Passmore, fear of happiness decreased and the belief that happiness is fragile was also reduced. The boost in well-being and the decreases in beliefs regarding fear and fragility of happiness were still evident three months after the course.

“It’s important to validate the effectiveness of PPIs cross-culturally,” Passmore says. “This is the first study that we’re aware of, which shows you can manipulate beliefs in the fear and fragility of happiness. While no difference in religiosity was evident between the two groups at post-intervention, our participants came to the understanding that they do have some control over their own happiness.”

The study was published recently in the Journal of Happiness Studies.

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

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UBC Okanagan researchers say discovery could lead to better smelling lavender

For many, summer isn’t complete without fields of purple and the sweet smell of lavender. Valued especially for its pleasant aroma, a new study from UBC’s Okanagan campus has discovered the gene that gives lavender its iconic smell and researchers hope that one day it might lead to a super-smelling plant.

Lavender essential oil contains many different types of compounds, but one in particular—S-linalool—is responsible for giving the plant a well-known sweet aroma.

“There are many desirable compounds within the flowering body of lavender that produce its essential oil, each controlled by a host of different genes,” says Soheil Mahmoud, associate professor of biology at UBC Okanagan and study lead author. “Scientists have been trying to identify and sequence the gene responsible for the oil’s sweet smell for years, especially given its obvious application in the cosmetic industry.”

The problem is that the genetic instructions that produce the sweet compound have been poorly understood. Mahmoud explains that the gene, which is responsible for a protein that synthesizes the valuable compound, is rarely expressed and produces only very small quantities of the sweet molecule. That has made it difficult to isolate and study.

But Mahmoud and his team were able to overcome the challenge by sequencing an RNA copy of the gene—a temporary blueprint that gets copied and released into a cell as it gets turned into a functioning protein. From there, they were able to sequence the gene and model its function.

“Now that we have the gene sequence and understand how it works, the next step is to engineer a version of the gene that produces even more of the valuable S-linalool,” says Mahmoud. “Lavender essential oils rich in S-linalool are extremely expensive, so a super sweet-smelling lavender plant would certainly be appealing to the cosmetic and fragrance industries.”

“It’s exciting to find the mechanism that gives one of my favourite plants its wonderful smell.”

The research was published in the journal Planta with funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

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2017 graduates throw their mortarboards into the air to celebrate their success after receiving their degrees.

More than 1,750 students will cross the stage and receive degrees

UBC Okanagan’s gym and courtyard will be filled with traditional ceremony, shouts of celebrations and lifetime memories for two days this week.

More than 1,750 graduates will receive their degrees as the university celebrates the class of 2018 and convocation takes over campus on Thursday and Friday. It’s one of the largest cohorts of graduates in UBC Okanagan’s history, illustrating the growth that continues to shape the university.

“Over the past 13 years we’ve watched with pride as UBC Okanagan’s graduating classes have grown along with the campus,” says Deborah Buszard, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal. “As the campus continues to develop – including with the opening of the new Commons building later this year – we look forward to seeing the impact of UBC Okanagan’s newest alumni in their communities and around the world.”

On Thursday, June 7 more than 620 graduates will cross the stage as students in the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences and the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies are conferred their degrees.

Two honorary degrees will also be issued Thursday. Astrophysicist Victoria Kaspi will receive an honorary Doctor of Science at the 11 a.m. ceremony. Rosalind Williams will be presented with a Doctor of Letters at the 1:30 p.m. ceremony.

That same day, chemistry Professor Stephen McNeil will be presented with the Killam Teaching Prize, the first time a UBC Okanagan faculty member has received this prestigious award. The Killam award is given to a professor nominated by students, colleagues and alumni in recognition of excellence in teaching. The Governor General Gold Medal Winner, an award presented to the student with the highest academic accomplishment at a university, will also be presented Thursday morning.

There are three convocation ceremonies Friday, June 8 as students in the School of Engineering, the Faculty of Management, the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Health and Social Development— School of Health and Exercise Sciences, School of Nursing and the School of Social Work all graduate.

Mission Hill Family Estate founder Anthony von Mandl will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws at Friday’s 11 a.m. ceremony. At the same ceremony, Education professor Leyton Schnellert will be presented with the Teaching Award of Excellence and Innovation. School of Engineering Professor Yang Cao will also be presented with the Teaching Award of Excellence and Innovation at the 8:30 a.m. ceremony that day.

Of the 1,752 degrees being presented this week, 107 students will earn their master’s degree and 33 are being conferred as PhDs. All outstanding achievements, says Buszard.

“I offer the UBC Okanagan class of 2018 my warmest congratulations on their remarkable achievements,” she adds. “Whether they go on to create a new venture, take on a societal challenge or pursue further studies, I know our graduates have the intellectual tools to flourish in the face of change, wherever they go from here.”

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

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Psychedelics may help improve emotion regulation and keep violent tendencies at bay

In a new study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, researchers from UBC’s Okanagan campus have discovered that men who have used psychedelic drugs in the past have a lower likelihood of engaging in violence against their intimate partners.

“Although use of certain drugs like alcohol, methamphetamine or cocaine is associated with increased aggression and partner violence, use of psychedelics appears to have the opposite effect,” says clinical psychology graduate student and study lead author Michelle Thiessen. “We found that among men who have used psychedelics one or more times, the odds of engaging in partner violence was reduced by roughly half. That’s significant.”

Psychedelic drugs act on serotonin receptors in the brain. Classic psychedelics include lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin (magic mushrooms), mescaline and dimethyltryptamine (DMT). The effects vary but can produce mystical experiences and changes in perception, emotion, cognition and the sense of self. Classic psychedelics are not considered to be addictive.

“Previous research from our lab that looked at men in the criminal justice system found that hallucinogen users were substantially less likely to perpetrate violence against their intimate partners,” notes UBC professor and supervising author Zach Walsh. “Our new study is important because it suggests that these effects might also apply to the general population”

Thiessen, Walsh and colleagues Adele LaFrance and Brian Bird from Laurentian University based their results on an anonymous online survey of 1,266 people recruited from universities and through social media. Respondents were asked to disclose their lifetime use of LSD and psilocybin mushrooms and then complete a questionnaire that assessed multiple aspects of their emotion regulation.

“Past research found a clear association between psychedelic drug use and reduced partner violence, but the reasons for this effect remained unclear,” says Thiessen. “We found that better ability to manage negative emotions may help explain why the hallucinogen users were less violent.”

Thiessen says that her results could one day lead to novel treatments to reduce violence.

“These findings add to the literature on the positive use of psychedelics and suggest that future research should explore the potential for psychedelic therapies to help address the international public health priority of reducing domestic violence.”

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

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New method to help meet increasing demand for cannabis potency testing

With the coming legalization of cannabis in Canada, producers are increasingly looking for quick and accurate means of determining the potency and quality of their products.

Researchers at UBC’s Okanagan campus have developed a new method of measuring phytocannabinoids—the primary bioactive molecules in cannabis—that will lead to faster, safer and more accurate information for producers, regulators and consumers alike.

“There is growing demand on testing labs from licensed cannabis growers across the US and Canada who are under pressure to perform potency testing on ever-increasing quantities of product,” says Matthew Noestheden, PhD chemistry student under Prof. Wesley Zandberg at UBC’s Okanagan campus. “Traditional tests can take upwards of 20 minutes to perform, where we can do it in under seven. It will save a great deal of time and money for producers with enormous greenhouses full of thousands of samples requiring testing.”

Noestheden says that not only can he test the substance in record time, but he can also test for a virtually limitless number of phytocannabinoid variants.

“Most people are familiar with THC as the primary bioactive compound in cannabis. But in reality, there are more than 100 different phytocannabinoid variants, many with their own unique biological effects,” says Noestheden. “The problem is that it’s very difficult to differentiate between them when testing cannabis potency.”

The research team overcame the problem by using high-pressure liquid chromatography—an instrument that isolates each phytocannabinoid to measure them independently. They were able to discern the potency of 11 unique phytocannabinoids in cannabis extracts, which is important for determining the safety and authenticity of cannabis products.

“We tested twice as many phytocannabinoids compared to what most labs are testing for now, and more than twice as fast,” says Noestheden. “We limited our tests to 11 variants because these were the only ones commercially available at the time. We could just as easily test for 50 or even all 100 variants, including some synthetic cannabinoids that can be added to products to increase potency.”

Noestheden says his method was designed to be rolled out in labs around the world. Having worked with Rob O’Brien, president of Supra Research and Development, a cannabis testing lab and industry partner of this study, Noestheden now hopes his new method can be put straight to good use by helping researchers connect variation in phytocannabinoids with the pharmacological effects of various cannabis products.

“It’s an elegant solution because any cannabis testing lab with the appropriate instrumentation should be able to adopt the new method with minimal additional investment, making the whole process cheaper and faster.”

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

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Infrared fingerprinting of cancer cells can lead to better radiation therapies

Researchers from UBC’s Okanagan campus have discovered a new method of using infrared light to monitor cancer progression during radiation treatment that may lead to better and more personalized therapies.

Cancers are typically treated using a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. The challenge for physicians is that once a treatment begins, it can last for weeks and usually isn’t adjusted to reflect how the cancer is responding.

“Previous research tells us that patients can be either over- or under-treated with radiation,” says Andrew Jirasek, associate professor of physics at UBC Okanagan and one of the study’s lead authors. “The problem is that even cancers of the same type, like breast cancer, can have different behaviours in individual patients.”

One of the most important behaviours, explains Jirasek, is sensitivity to radiation.

“Our goal was to identify a technique that can monitor a cancer’s sensitivity and response to radiation so that the dose can be adjusted to meet an individual patient’s needs,” says Jirasek. “It turns out that Raman spectroscopy is a minimally invasive means of doing just that.”

Relatively simple to perform and minimally invasive, Raman spectroscopy provides information about a sample of cancer tissue by shining an infrared light on it. Different components within the cells absorb the infrared light at specific wavelengths, creating a cancer ‘fingerprint’.

“The important difference is that as the cancer is exposed to radiation, levels of particular components in the cells will change over time and so too will the spectral ‘fingerprint’,” says Jirasek. “This opens up exciting new opportunities to track the progression in individual patients and personalize their radiation dose.”

While the technique isn’t ready to be applied to cancer patients yet, Jirasek is encouraged by the possibilities.

“We’ve shown that Raman spectroscopy can be an incredibly useful tool in measuring biochemical changes in cancer tissue,” says Jirasek. “Our next step will be to document what kinds of spectral fingerprints correspond to radiation sensitivity or resistance.”

“This could well open up new avenues for more effective and safer personalized medicine.”

The study was published in the journal Radiation Research and is supported by funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Western Economic Diversification, the BC Cancer Foundation and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

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Scientists identify hotspots for Canada’s protected areas

Location, location, location is not just a buzzword for homebuyers.

A new study, by 17 conservation scientists and environmental scholars, say the exact location of protective wild spaces is just as vital as committing to set these areas aside.

“Where Canada protects land is a significant decision,” says UBC Okanagan researcher Laura Coristine, the study’s lead author. “We wouldn’t build a school in the highest traffic density area in a city—especially if few children live there. Selecting a site for a protected area similarly needs to guard against current threats to species and safeguard biodiversity into the future.”

The research provides a first-ever framework to identify geographical hotspots that have the ecological potential to protect wild places and species from biodiversity loss associated with the global extinction crisis. The study, “Informing Canada’s Commitment to Biodiversity Conservation” uses five key ecological principles to guide the creation of the next generation of Canada’s protected areas: preserve habitat for species at risk, represent Canada’s diverse ecosystems, conserve remaining wilderness, ensure landscape connectivity, and protect areas that are more resilient to climate changes.

“Canada is a country rich and diverse in natural beauty, wildlife and resources,” says Coristine. “As one of the largest countries in the world, Canada’s commitment to protect 17 per cent of our land and inland water areas by 2020 is of global consequence. However, the Canadian government currently has no systematic, scientific way of accomplishing this goal to maximize conservation benefits.”

Coristine is a Liber Ero postdoctoral researcher at UBC’s Okanagan campus. She works out of the Wildlife Restoration Ecology research lab with Assistant Professor Adam T. Ford, who teaches biology in the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences.

“The world’s wildlife is in rapid decline,” says Ford, a Canada Research Chair in Wildlife Restoration Ecology. “Decisions about where land is protected and the extent of protection are of paramount importance.”

Canada and 167 other countries are signatories to the international Convention on Biological Diversity, which pledges to reverse trends in species decline. Increasing the amount of protected lands is one way to do this.

“The framework provides a first step in the broader process of protected area decision-making and is intended to help identify the best ecological opportunities to protect Canada’s rich natural heritage, explains Ford.

“Our research brings into focus the tough choices that need to be made—do we protect species at risk or pristine environments? Do we focus on the present day or ensure connectivity in a changing world?” says study co-author, Sally Otto, at UBC’s Vancouver campus. “Or, as presented in our paper, do we strive to balance each of these needs?”

The paper states that Canada, a diverse land with 194 unique ecoregions, is home to much of the world’s remaining intact wilderness. But most of this country’s at-risk species live in the highly-populated south. Hundreds of bird, mammal and fish species have declined in population—in many cases due to habitat loss—and more than 735 species are at risk of extinction. Because climate change is causing additional problems, the report stresses the importance of connecting areas for migration while also protecting areas that are more resilient to climate change.

“Now is a critical time for the country to decide what is it that we most want to protect,” says Coristine. “What we choose not to protect, we risk losing; what we protect remains a legacy for the future.”

The study provides maps where protected areas would best meet conservation goals and an online tool where people can identify protected area sites using their own criteria (climaterefugia.ca/research/canada-target-1).

Coristine is one of 13 of the 17 co-authors who are members of the Liber Ero Fellowship Program, which supports emerging environmental leaders and their research. Details can be found at: liberero.ca

The study is funded by the program and will be published Monday, May 15 in the Canadian journal FACETS.

Polar bears are listed as a species of ‘special concern’ in Canada. Their numbers are declining from the combination of losing habitat and feeding opportunities related to climate change. (Evan Richardson photo)

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

The post New research says location of protected areas vital to wildlife survival appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.