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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

October's here, and with it a new pub talk on high-tech ways to hang out with wolves. Join us for a wolf's eyed view of the moose hunt! 7:30 pm, upstairs at the Publican, free with a cash bar. 🐺🤳

A photo taken from a camera under the chin of one wolf, looking out across a snowy field with another wolf in the foreground. The text reads: Harnessing New Technologies to Understand Wolf Predation on Moose in Northern Ontario. Dr. Brent Patterson, OMNR. Oct 13th

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Reposted by Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

We're back to school and back to our pub talks this September! In a few short weeks come join us at The Publican for an exciting and accessible view on using biocontrols to push back against invasive species in our province. Jenn Baici, of the University of Toronto, will walk us through new research

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

As always, we are a free event open to the public! The vibes are nice, the facts are fascinating, and there's cash bar if you feel so inclined. Catch us Sep 8 at 7:30 pm at 249 Charlotte Street.

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

April's Conservation Cafe pub talk will be high tech and high colour! Join us at 7:30 pm at the Publican on April 14th for an electrifying discussion on bluetooth butterflies 🦋🛜

A photo of a gorgeous orange and black monarch butterfly resting on someone's hand. The text imposed reads: Monarchs and the internet of things: tracking eastern migratory monarch fall migration using bluetooth low energy beacons. April 14 7:30 pm upstairs at the Publican, 294 charlotte st. Greg Mitchell. Research Scientist. Human Dominated Ecosystems, wildlife research division, environment and climate change Cnada

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Tonight's the night! Runaway (like these hybrid plant species) to the Publican at 7:30 pm for a quality science pub talk!

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Reposted by Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation

Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

When species meet, do they always get along? Do they perhaps sometimes get along all too well? Trent's own Dr Joanna Freeland brings us into the weird world of plant hybrids + ecosystem action on March 10th. Same plant time (7:30 pm), same plant channel (Upstairs at the Publican) 🌿

A poster with catails in bloom in the background. The text reads: From failed crosses to runaway hybrids: How plant hybridization can shape ecosystems. Mar 10, 7:30 pm, the publican, Dr Joanna Freeland, Trent University

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Attention birders (and bird gossips): On Tues Feb 10th we'll be treated to a tell-all account of the domestic habits of the Alpine swift by the talented Dr Michela Dumas. Come by early for seats + drinks, upstairs at the Publican, anytime before 7:30pm 🪶

A gorgeous coloured pencil (?) drawing of three Alpine swifts soaring over a town's terra cotta roofs and a white clocktower with an orange clock face. The swifts are shown in a rotating set of poses, with their distinctively long and tapered wing shapes and buff/brown feathers with white patches on their bellies and throats. The text reads:

Who keeps the house after divorcing? Partner and nest (in)fidelity in the long-lived Alpine swift.

Feb 10 7:30 pm
Upstairs at the Publican
294 Charlotte St
Dr. Michela Dumas
Wildlife Research Analyst
Ministry of Natural Resources, Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

New Year's coming, and with it more great conservation talks! This January's it'll be Trent's own Dr. Mary-Claire Buell, on bringing community + environmental forensics together in investigations of pollution. Should be great!

A photo of two figures in waders, walking through a swamp in beautiful sunny weather next to green, long grasses. The text reads Pollution, People, and Place: Community-Driven Investigations into Environmental Contaminants. Jan 13, 7:30 pm, Upstairs at The Publican. 294 Charlotte St. Dr. Mary-Claire Buell. School of the Environment and Department of Forensic Science, Trent University.

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

And we're back in action Dec 9th! Join us at the Publican at 7:30 pm for drinks, good company, and an account of the conservation fight for arctic shorebirds with Paul A. Smith

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Tonight's the night for multilingual social ecology! Hope to see you at the Publican at 7:30pm for Dr. Sandra Klemet-N'Guessan's exciting talk.

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

April 8th's Conservation Cafe with Dr. Sandra Klemet-N'Guessan will blend multilingualism, Indigenous knowledge systems, and social-ecology. Join us at 7:30pm at the Publican for some great stories of conservation in action. Free, as always, with a cash bar 🥂💬🐟

A black woman in a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses holding a digging tool against a rich, green plant-filled background. The text on top reads: Et si je te l’explique en français, le résultat est-il le même ?
On the role of language in environmental sciences.Dr. Sandra Klemet-N'Guessan, April 8th, 7:30pm, Upstairs at the Publican

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Summer is coming and with it, some less-than-charismatic fauna. Join us + Trent's own Dr. David Beresford on Tues the 11th for the science of the pesky flies that can so define time at the lake. The talk starts at 7:30pm and, as always, is free (with a cash bar on site).

A photo of a beige bucket hat with sticky tape applied to it. On the tape are several flies stuck in place. The text reads: Horse Flies and Deer Flies: Friends or Foes? Mar 11, 7:30pm, upstairs at the Publican, 294 Charlotte St, Dr. David Beresford, Trent University

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

We're back in February for more conservation science! Join Dr. Mark Ridgway for the scoop on Algonquin Park lake fish. There's more going on beneath the waters than we thought!

A poster for our pub talk Islands of Water in a Sea of Land: Newly Discovered Species Diversity of Fish in Algonquin Park. Feb 11, 7:30 pm, the Publican. Dr. Mark Ridgway is pictured holding up a 2 foot fish with blue lakewater stretching out in the background

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Next week's pub talk is salty! We'll hear from Dr. Stephanie Melles on the evolving science of road salt & lake ecosystems, with a particular look at the tiny but mighty parts of that food web: zooplankton. Do they like it briny? If not, how do we hold the salt? Join us at 7:30, Jan 7 @ the Publican

a photo of a pile of road salt spilled on an asphalt road. The text reads: Salinization of Freshwater Ecosystems: current evidence and unknowns about impacts on zooplankton. Dr. Stephanie Milles, TMU, jan 7 7:30pm the publican.

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

That's it for us tonight. Join us Jan 7 to learn what happens when fresh water ecosystem gets salty...in the meantime, take care, enjoy the winter break, and get lots of rest (especially you parents!)

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Let's end on a high note though: parasitic castration. Sacculuna barnacles attach themselves to history crabs, taking over its hormonal machinery to care for its own young. Only female crabs will do, so if a barnacles finds a male, it'll feminize him. That's complicated parenting!

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

True parasites, however, always get other species to do the work for them. Cowbirds are a local example, but Cuckoos are of course most famous to this end. (They're even skilled egg mimics! Could you spot the difference?)

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

But perhaps the king of cost cutting is simply dumping eggs in other nests. Coots try this, spreading their eggs outside their own nests. Wood Ducks and Mergansers end up doing this a little by accident do to limited nest sites (mixed broods can follow, with imprinted x-species ducklings!)

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Or, there's always babysitting (aka alloparenting). Canadian Geese are pro at this, keeping big crèches of goslings. It's not that much of a burden to add more yellow fluff to the group, since they feed themselves.

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

So why not get cooperative? Greater Anis pool together and nest in groups. This helps with the shortage of nest sites, but doesn't give much in the way of active care (cool birds tho!).

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Less commonly, birds like the African Jacanas can do polyandry. A female lays multiple clutches of eggs for different male partners, who keep the nest. Great for her a lot of the time, but it leads to egg trampling between rival females.

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Some species shift between polygyny (1 male + multiple female partners) + monogamy. When a male controls enough resources to keep a bit of a harem, his reproductive success goes up, but females don't perform as well as their monogamous peers.

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

What about social monogamy? It helps males chill out a little and compete less. They might even help out around the nest. But with a species like the Hooded Warbler, there's about a 30% chance that they aren't the genetic father of all those eggs. On the plus side, genetic diversity?

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Secondly, courtship is also taxing! For promiscuous species, like say Bowerbirds, males have to build beautiful architectures, mimic songs, do complicated dances, and may.... come up empty. Plus the female still ends up doing all the parenting alone.

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

First off, brood size really matters. Having more babies means that parents become much more likely to die, in some species, or less likely to have the regular amount of eggs next season, in others. (Not relatable in a 1:1 way, but ooof, we see you, birds!)

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Ok, cool bird stories are immanent. Alex kicks us off with a provocative question: Do you have 'depleted Mom syndrome'? Parenting is a costly thing, biologically. Let's talk about how some birds find a way to cut back on the work of reproduction.

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

In fact, you can catch us tonight with a fascinating look at cuckoos! How do bird brood parasites offload the work of parenting? Dr. Alexander Mills will give us the scoop, starting at 7:30 (though do come a little earlier to guarantee yourself a seat). If you can't make it, we'll skeet it out here.

A poster for the talk 'Deadbeats, surrogates, sitters, and suckers'. It features a wren-like bird perched near a nest made of sticks and straw. A red mouth from a baby bird extends upwards, expectantly waiting to be fed.

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

We run a(n almost) monthly pub talk series: the Conservation Cafe! Every month during the academic year we invite an expert to the upper floor of the Publican to share their work and love of conservation science and ecological restoration. Our events are free, fun, and open to all (with a cash bar)

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Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation @trentconservation.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Hello world! We're making the move to bluer skies. We're the Trent Centre for Communicating Conservation, a bunch of folks who are very enthused about the science behind efforts to keep the natural world and its denizens around, as well as the art of making those efforts more public.

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