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Waterloo researchers are at the forefront of responding to the climate crisis with purpose-driven research and technology, including an interdisciplinary team who are in the field measuring methane emissions to support Canada's net-zero gas emissions goals. Methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas - approximately 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 20-year period.

Researchers express concern the animals' strategy may not be able to keep pace with rapidly changing conditions A new study led by McGill researchers indicates that humpback whales in the southeastern Pacific combine real-time environmental cues with their memories of conditions in their Antarctic feeding grounds to determine when to embark on their annual 10,000-kilometre journey.

The knock-on effects of cumulative threats to salmonids has Simon Fraser researchers pushing for more effective strategies to protect British Columbia's most important fish populations. Salmonids - which include salmon, trout, charr and grayling- are vital to communities and ecosystems such as those of the West Coast, yet little is known about how these species will respond as the stressors they face compound - an increasingly likely scenario under climate change.

McGill researchers want to harness a natural process that enables slime's transformation from liquid to fibre and back again A new discovery about the slime ejected by velvet worms could revolutionize sustainable material design, according to a study by McGill researchers. Their findings outline how a naturally occurring protein structure, conserved across species from Australia, Singapore and Barbados over nearly 400 million years of evolution, enables the slime's transformation from liquid to fibre and back again.

As climate change reshapes food web, McGill-led study introduces a new method for assessing impacts on marine mammals such as killer whales and polar bears that could help inform conservation management practices   A new method of tracking the dietary habits and contaminant exposure of animals in Arctic marine ecosystems is providing critical insights as climate change reshapes the region's food web.

New research shows artificial intelligence can accelerate species discovery, improve ecosystem tracking and help meet global conservation targets  A new study from McGill researchers suggests the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to rapidly analyze vast amounts of biodiversity data could revolutionize conservation efforts by enabling scientists and policymakers to make better-informed decisions.

Climate change limits progress on cleaning up the River Thames: study. A study led by a University of Waterloo researcher has learned that climate change is increasing the potential for algal blooms in the United Kingdom's River Thames despite a four-decade-long decline in phosphorus loads. The study completed a detailed analysis of the river's 150-year water quality record to learn this information.

Proactively exposing ecosystems to mild environmental stressors appears to offer protection, study finds McGill researchers say their work could have important implications for managing biodiversity in the face of increasing anthropogenic stressors, such as climate change and pollution Mild, proactive exposure to environmental stress can help biological communities resist severe disturbances and maintain genetic diversity, a recent study from McGill University has found.

"Out of science fiction": First 3D observations of an exoplanet's atmosphere reveal a unique climate The first three-dimensional observations of the atmosphere of the exoplanet Tylos, in which astronomers from IREx participated, have revealed its unique climate. Joost Wardenier and Romain Allart, both IREx postdoctoral reseachers who contributed to the study.

Biologist Jérémy De Bonville has analyzed the ability of four fish species to acclimate to temperature variations in their marine habitats. When exposed to an increase in the water temperature of their habitat, zebrafish, three-spined stickleback and flounder adapt more quickly than goldsinny wrasse, which dwells in deeper waters.

University of Waterloo researchers have pinpointed for the first time how microplastics accumulate in coral reefs, a key step to understanding how to protect vulnerable ecosystems.

Researchers led by an UdeM architecture professor look at how fear, anger and pride combine to shape responses to climate risks in four Latin American communities. Cecilia lives in Carahatas, a coastal village in Cuba threatened by rising sea levels caused by climate change. Experts predict that part of the village could be under water within 50 years.

A long-standing question about when archaic members of the genus Homo adapted to harsh environments such as deserts and rainforests has been answered in a new research paper. The study , published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment , finds it was earlier than originally thought. "We reveal how early humans - known as hominins - were able to thrive under harsh conditions," says lead author Dr. Julio Mercader , PhD, a professor in both the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science at the University of Calgary.

While greenhouse gases continue to cause temperatures to rise, a reduction in low-cloud cover over land serves as a natural brake: study McGill researchers have discovered that changes in clouds are slightly mitigating global warming. While greenhouse gases continue to cause temperatures to rise, a reduction in low-cloud cover over land has brought about a modest reduction of the amount of heat being trapped close to ground level.

Professor Juan Carlos Villarreal believes it's time to pay more attention to so-called inferior plants Two recently published studies by a research team that includes Université Laval's Juan Carlos Villarreal demonstrate that modest, little-known plants can provide valuable fundamental knowledge about the evolution of life on Earth, and inspire innovations that can increase agricultural production.

Researchers uncovered a prehistoric ecosystem teeming with giant marine reptiles, uncovering unmatched food web complexity  Predators at the top of a marine food chain 130 million years ago ruled with more power than any modern species, McGill research into a marine ecosystem from the Cretaceous period revealed.

Microplastics can go right through wastewater treatment plants, and researchers have engineered bacteria commonly found in there to break down this pollution before it can persist in the environment. Researchers from the University of Waterloo added DNA to several species of bacteria found in wastewater, allowing them to biodegrade polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic found in carpet, clothing and containers for food and beverages.

In the largest research effort to date, anthropologists at Université de Montréal succeed in sequencing the genomes of 162 lemurs from 50 species across the island of Madagascar - and solve an evolut Lemurs - those small, big-eyed primates that live in the trees of Madagascar off the southeast coast of Africa - are a mystery of evolution.

Researchers showed how records from missionaries and early explorers in 19th century Tanzania could be used to mitigate a legacy of scientific neglect An international team led by McGill researchers has devised a way to improve the accuracy of climate change models for the Global South by integrating historical records kept by missionaries and other visitors.

HFC-125 is a greenhouse gas becoming a major contributor to global warming, and in the first study to use satellites to measure its concentration in the atmosphere, researchers found it has increased exponentially in the past 20 years. The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment, a research group at the University of Waterloo, and under contract with the Canadian Space Agency, is the first to measure from space the atmospheric concentration of HFC-125, a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) commonly found in fire extinguishers and commercial cooling systems.