Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

In the face of global environmental changes, there is a strong interest to conserve and protect wildlife- not only for their intrinsic value, but also because they tend to act as a gauge of the relative magnitude of these changes. Birds as a group are widely recognized as sensitive indicators of environmental problems- capable of responding to subtle perturbations and cumulative effects. Using wild birds as indicators is challenging, however, because it is difficult to isolate the factors that cause changes in the health of individuals and relate these changes to population declines observed in the wild. The use of controlled experimental conditions represents one of the best strategies to identify the underlying mechanisms related to individual health effects and species declines. The new Facility for Applied Avian Research (FAAR) at the University of Saskatchewan opening in January 2016, is a multi-purpose housing and avian research facility and the only of its kind in Western Canada.  It will include state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor bird holding areas suitable for a variety of study species in addition to several unique research facilities for conducting integrated studies of ecotoxicology, behaviour, ecophysiology and wildlife health on domestic and wild caught birds. We are requesting a self contained walk in Environment chamber to include within this new infrastructure - a key piece of equipment to allow for captive studies requiring fine tuned climate and light controls within a specially designed room. The environment chamber will be essential for controlled and repeatable studies that require simulations of changing seasons and environmental conditions such as extremes of temperature, changes in light, moisture or humidity, and sound. The environment chamber will greatly enhance the breadth and capacity of the interdisciplinary avian research facility conducted by numerous faculty members, collaborators as well as students at all training levels, with a common goal to better understand current and future threats to wild birds and the environment. Research will inform conservation plans for wild populations and enhance ecosystem services by improving our understanding of how to protect avian wildlife.