Migratory birds are true global citizens. They do not recognize international borders, belong to a specific country, or call only one place home. Just as humans do, these birds follow good weather and food availability across great distances. In the spring and summer months, thousands of birds make the trip up to Canada to nest, mate, and raise their young.

Each spring, as the ice begins to thaw, the forests, wetlands and prairies awaken to the sound of birdsong, brought by hundreds of migratory bird species arriving home to their summer breeding grounds.

Read on to enjoy and share in some laughs at AJM’s annual holiday letter sent to our amazing network of colleagues, clients, friends and family!

Have you ever wondered what the bottom of the ocean looks like? Or how deep your favourite lake is? Using the science of bathymetry, we can investigate these mysterious biomes without ever leaving the surface! Bathymetry is the measurement of water depth in river, lake, and ocean ecosystems. It is a fundamental component of hydrography which studies the physical characteristics of a water body.

Under the cover of darkness, a small, sleek amphibian emerges from beneath ground cover. Part of the mole salamander family, the long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) is mostly nocturnal and spends much of its time hidden under rocks and woody debris in boreal habitats and montane basins …

lthough many of us have appreciated the melody of birdsong, the buzzing of insects, and the noises of wildlife, we might not realize just how unique and important these sounds are. Across the globe, scientists, naturalists, and wildlife aficionados tune into wildlife sounds to inventory species …

As spring sweeps into Alberta, ice thaws, snow melts away, and seasonal rains and flurries fall, all across the province waterbodies fill and wetlands come to life. Many of us will turn our eyes skyward watching flocks of birds wing their way north from their winter refuges, but from under the fallen leaves, rocks, holes …

AJM’s Fisheries Biologist, Hillary Keyes, recounts her recent adventures in Belize! The past few years in the month of March, you would have found me on a frozen Alberta lake with a tiny rod, jigging for any of our resident trout species or yellow perch, sometimes with a tip-up baited for northern pike nearby.

Alberta is home to an impressive variety of flora and fauna. One of the fauna groups that often tends to get overlooked are amphibians. Amphibians are animals that have life stages that occur both aquatically and terrestrially. One of their most prominent features is their permeable skin that allows them to regulate moisture and gas exchange (breathing!). This awesome adaption also leaves them prone to impacts from pollution …

It is winter here in Alberta, Canada and we are dreaming of warmer temperatures.

To turn the thermostat up a few notches, AJM’s Biologist, John Rich, transports us to the remote beaches of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in this latest post about his past work with endangered Marine Turtles!

In case you missed it, here’s yet another cheesy Christmas letter from the AJM family to yours! We hope you all had a merry Christmas, are enjoying the rest of the holiday season and have a happy New Year!

Wetlands provide vital habitat for an abundance of aquatic and terrestrial species, including, migratory waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans).

Many of these important wetland ecosystems can be found nestled within the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in Canada, as well as North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Montana in the United States. So it almost doesn’t come as a surprise that the PPR provides suitable habitat for almost 50% of all North American migratory waterfowl populations to feed, breed, and stop-over during migration movements!

Ord’s kangaroo rats are an amazing species, trust us, we could wax poetic for hours about their cute appearance and incredible adaptions. Instead, welcome to K-rat 101, an introduction to the wonderful world of Alberta’s nocturnal ninja. With no close relation to the invasive Norway rat, nor the leggy marsupials from Australia, the Ord’s kangaroo rat is part of a distinct group of rodents specially adapted to life in hot, arid environments.

For fisheries biologists, the month of September is an exciting one, as it marks the spawning season for many of Alberta’s Bull Trout populations. Bull Trout is Alberta's provincial fish and it is becoming a rare breed. Populations are considered "threatened" or of "special concern". Read AJM's latest blog to learn more about the species and how AJM is part of the BLTR conservation movement.

Alberta’s grasslands are an iconic eco-region and productive both agriculturally and industrially. These rangelands are home to some of Alberta’s most charismatic wildlife species like the burrowing owl, sharp-tailed grouse, pronghorn antelope, and the majority of our resident snake species. Snakes live the majority of their lives unseen and …