Category Archives: Uncategorized

Our class was also able to attend very informative seminars that focused on the importance of open access, and how to form research questions. These seminars were led by Ilo Maimets from the Steacie library. Ms. Maimets helped us create Racer and Mendeley accounts that would aide us with our future research papers. During myContinue reading “Racer to the Rescue”

Charles Elton was an important figure in the history of ecology. He was an English zoologist and animal ecologist best known for being the founder of Journal of Animal Ecology. In his book Animal Ecology, he talks about how ecosystems are ordered and organized. Elton is also credited for introducing the terms “food chain”, “foodContinue reading “Elton and Ecology”

Agriculture is the production, cultivation and distribution of food sources. It plays an important role in the economy, as the agriculture sector provides many people with nourishment and employment. However, agriculture is also one of the leading causes of the loss of biodiversity. Bad farming practices such as excessive herbicide and pesticide use, floor irrigationContinue reading “Hope for Agriculture”

A steady climate is important in maintaining success for life and environments on Earth over time. As the Earth gets warmer, species become displaced because of floods, volatile weather or simply moving away in search of better environments. Climate suddenly changing can mean bad results to organisms used to living a certain way. As temperaturesContinue reading “Climate Change and Plant Migration”

We live in a time were information can be accessed with ease, and with a swiftness that doesn’t always guarantee validity. This points to the importance of being able to judge and analytically assess the contents of your search results off the net. When looking for articles or journals off the net, it is importantContinue reading “A guide to distinguishing between Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary literature.”

I recently listened to Episode 174 from the podcast “People Behind the Science”, hosted by Dr. Marie McNeely. This is a great episode where Dr. Dawn Bazely, an ecologist and professor at York University, is interviewed about her field of research in plant-animal interactions. Towards the end (57:10), Dr. Bazely provides a piece of adviceContinue reading “Advice for Science Students!”

Accessing peer-reviewed journal articles For students, it is very important to be able to access peer-reviewed journal articles in order to write papers. You may be able to get free access to some articles using Google Scholar, but many others will be often stuck behind paywalls. Thankfully, educational institutions have agreements with many different journalContinue reading “Getting behind paywalls (legally)!”

I must admit that when I was growing up, I was more of an animal person than a plant person (sorry Prof. Bazely!) and yet here I am today, the proud owner of the all the Aloe vera plants in the pictures! You may be thinking, why or how did I come to own allContinue reading “The story behind how the Aloe vera became my favourite plant”

At some point during your education, I am sure that you have encountered assignments that mention the use of primary, secondary or tertiary literature. If you are like me and don’t have the greatest memory, you may find yourself having to refresh yourself on the differences between these three types of literature. Therefore, I decidedContinue reading “A simple guide to understanding primary, secondary and tertiary literature”