INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

Hicatee Recovery Project in Belize

We have teamed up with the Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society (T.R.E.E.S) and BFREE field stations in Belize to study and help the critically endangered Hicatee turtle (Dermatemys mawii). The project is done to better understand their biology, reproductive behaviour, and diet. Individuals are captive bred to be closely monitored and are later released into the wild. This information is also used to raise awareness and inform the community on what they can do to help the dwindling population.

White-nose Syndrome Bat Probiotic Project

Since 2018, CPCS biologists, Aimee Mitchell and Chris Currie, have participated in this ground-breaking research as contractors of the Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada. This project is looking at ways to mitigate the impact of White-nose syndrome (WNS) on bats, particularly the Endangered Little Brown Bat, for which millions of bats have died in the east. A probiotic, composed of locally fostered biota swabbed from several bat species and individuals has experimentally been deployed in select colony locations throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. Since its detection in 2016 in Washington State, the BC Bat Team has been expecting the arrival of the fungus that causes WNS. A confirmed detection did occur in early 2023 in the Grand Forks area of British Columbia further highlighting the importance of this research in mitigating population declines in the west. A sister project is also being conducted in Washington State.