Come hear Donna Giberson give an illustrated presentation about bugs in the barrens and adventures on Arctic entomology at a Sunshine Coast Natural History Society meeting, 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 3, at the Sechelt Arts Centre.
You will hear tales about paddling, wildlife viewing, and collecting aquatic insects, like mayflies and stoneflies, in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, as she shares some photos and buggy data from these trips.
Giberson has been collecting bugs from rivers and lakes across Canada for nearly 40 years while working on biodiversity and environmental impact studies. She did her first major Arctic sampling trip in 1981, and has spent as many summers in the north as possible since then. Her most recent northern projects focused on the biodiversity of mayflies and stoneflies across the Arctic; work that has taken her from Yukon to Labrador, and from the northern provinces to as far north as Ellesmere Island.
Mayflies and stoneflies are not very familiar to the public, despite being very important food sources for fish and migrating birds. The main reasons for this are sampling difficulties and high price tags for helicopter travel.
Dr. Giberson taught entomology, ecology, and biology courses at University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, P.E.I., for 25 years. She retired to Sechelt in 2017.
The Sechelt Arts Centre is located at Medusa and Trail. Coffee and cookies will be served. Visitors are welcomed.
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