Biodiversity
Monthly Archive: December Biod
Biodiversity in the City: Toronto Biodiversity Series Launch
![A volunteer gathers a stack of Biodiversity Series books. Photo by Vincent Luk A volunteer gathers a stack of Toronto Biodiversity Series books on a table](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/vincent_luk_1-2-2_1.jpg?itok=qEpwgJ9T)
Earlier this summer, the public was invited to the Evergreen Brickworks for the launch of the “Biodiversity Series of Toronto”. The initiative, a project by the City of Toronto and a number of GTA partners like the ROM, is intended to connect Torontonians with the biodiversity found in their very own backyards.
Gamers Unite for ROM Game Jam 2014
![The 2014 ROM Game Jam event runs from August 8-10 Logo of the 2014 ROM Game Jam with the theme "The Evolution Revolution"](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/rom_game_jam_title.jpg?itok=199CUKYH)
The second annual ROM Game Jam will begin this Friday, August 8th, bringing together gaming enthusiasts and game developers to work together to create interactive games inspired by the unique setting of the ROM. This year's theme is "The Evolution Revolution".
Plant Sex on Display at the World Pride FNL "OUT of the Cupboards" Event
![The Secret Sex-Lives of Plants Sign for the botany table in the Schad Gallery for the "OUT of the cupboards" event](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/out-of-the-cupboards.jpg?itok=dyMor6La)
On Friday June 27th, I manned the Botanical Battlestation in the Schad Gallery for a Friday Night Live feast of strange, symbolic and sexual plant specimens.
Montréal Botanical Garden hosts the 50th Anniversary meeting of the Canadian Botanical Association
![By being late for the banquet, we came across a family of foxes who were moving out into the Garden after most of the human visitors had left. By being late for the banquet, we came across a family of foxes who were moving out into the Garden after most of the human visitors had left.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/tinyfoxes.jpg?itok=dqThrN4O)
Deb Metsger and I are on the train coming back from Montréal where we attended the 50th Anniversary meeting of the Canadian Botanical Association.
Sloth Life
![Upside-down Two-toed sloth http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Two_toed_sloth.JPG Upside-down Two-toed sloth](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/upside-down-two-toed-sloth.jpg?itok=k5FIXtI4)
What you may or may not know about this unusual mammal.
Ontario BioBlitz Brings Bad News for Arachnophobes
![A young BioBlitzer gently holds a crawling spider in his hands. Photo by Vincent Luk a young boy carefully lets a spider crawl across his palms](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/2014-05-24_bioblitz148-2_0.jpg?itok=2lR-TPCX)
Guest Blogger and 2014 Ontario Bioblitz Arachnid Taxon team leader Dr. Gergin Blagoev, Research Associate at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO), tells us about finding double the expected number of spider species in the Humber River Watershed and shares a couple of the most interesting species that were found.
2014 Ontario Bioblitz Bird Count Gets Results!
![A Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) rests on a fence post | Photo by Tallie Garey, EVC Student A small blue and white bird sits on a post against background of vegetation.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/talliegarey_bioblitz_2014-5630.jpg?itok=zKYzPkLH)
Guest blogger and 2014 Ontario Bioblitz Bird Taxon team leader Kevin Kerr, Curator of Birds at Toronto Zoo, writes on some of his experiences inventorying birds, including 9 species-at-risk, from the Humber River Watershed.
Snapshots of Biodiversity: A Photo Essay on the 2014 Ontario BioBlitz
![A scientist and a youth look closely at a specimen on a table next to a microscope.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/2014-05-24_bioblitz_vincentluk03.jpg?itok=ahh8ZDrF)
The 2014 Ontario BioBlitz brought 500+ registrants together this past weekend to find and catalogue biodiversity in the Humber River watershed, and students from the Environmental Visual Communication (EVC) Program were there to capture the event from every angle.
Study explores evolution of flightless birds
![Tinamous are the closest living relatives of the flightless ratites. Brian Gratwicke/Flickr, CC BY Tinamous](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/hzzq4h65-1399768480.jpg?itok=WrHC0_em)