F E AT U R E
By Claudia Copley, Entomology Collection Manager and Researcher, and Dr. Ken Marr, Curator of Botany
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A Return to Fieldwork for Natural History Staff
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fter a year’s hiatus caused by the pandemic, and despite heat domes, wildfires and smoke-filled skies, the Spider Diversity of BC and the Botany of BC Mountains teams returned to the field in July 2021 as part of our continued effort to document the biodiversity of this vast, diverse and unique province. Participants included curator of botany Ken Marr, entomology collections manager Claudia Copley, collection manager Darren Copley and research associate Robb Bennett. Various staff joined us from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (MoE). In addition to collecting plants, spiders and insects, we collected mushroom tissue samples for DNA analysis on behalf of retired MoE mycologist Dr. Shannon Berch, who has discovered species new to science among our previous collections.
