Hubs of Expertise

- Extraction and purification of DNA or RNA from diverse biological samples (plants, fungi, bacteria, viruses, etc.). - Analyzes of carbon and nitrogen content on solid samples (soils, leaves, roots, etc.). - Analyzes of carbon content (organic and/or inorganic) on liquid samples. - Bench space in the molecular and biochemical laboratories with access to high performance research equipment.

The CSBQ pole of expertise in sharing and management of biodiversity data was established to offer CSBQ students and researchers a set of training workshops, standardized and customized protocols, as well as services to facilitate data publication. The proposed services include: 1) Workshops and training for students and researchers 2) Individual consultations (or for specialized groups) 3) Provide documentation and tutorials about structure, cleaning, standardization and publication of biodiversity data 4) Development of documents and forms for collection of data and metadata

Biodiversity science research relies on large databases and sophisticated analyses. The research steps from study design to statistical analyses pose significant challenges. We therefore propose a research group to support research at the stages of experimental design, sampling planning, data validation and management, and the development of analysis strategies. The group is based in the Department of Biological Sciences at UQAM and brings together six professors with broad and solid expertise in biodiversity science. It offers consultation for QCBS members, training workshops, and the organization of a support group allowing student members to meet to help each other and discuss the challenges posed by their research projects. This group thus complements the QCBS workshops and courses on statistical methods.

The eNA Discovery Hub operates as a fully equipped multi-user facility, offering dedicated pre- and post-PCR rooms, automated extraction platforms, digital PCR, field sampling kits, freezer storage, and access to a clean sequencing space at the McGill Genome Centre. A shared bioinformatics workstation supports data analysis. In addition to wet-lab workflows, the Hub provides bioinformatics support, including assistance with data processing, quality control, digital PCR pipelines, and workflow development for eDNA/eRNA datasets. This component is strengthened by the expertise of Wing-Zheng Ho, whose computational skills significantly enhance Hub services.

Human activities are increasingly influencing wildlife and natural environments. In this context, defining and describing biological interactions as a central aspect of the study of biodiversity becomes a priority. Within each species, these interactions participate in the social organization of individuals and influence many facets of their life such as their growth, reproduction and survival. They also play a fundamental role in the structure and functioning of communities, whether through predation, competition, parasitism, mutualism or symbiosis. At the center of the processes driving the observed changes in individuals, populations and communities, biological interactions have led to the structure of biodiversity as we know it today. Rapid environmental changes (REC) can disrupt biological interactions at the three levels mentioned above, with serious demographic, ecological and evolutionary consequences (eg extinction, invasion, increase, evolution), in turn affecting the structure of biodiversity. These consequences often result in changes in the mean and in the variation of traits within individuals (plasticity), populations (contemporary evolution) or communities (functional homogenization). These changes affect biological interactions and the structure of biodiversity. However, biodiversity assessments rarely manage to detect reduction in intraspecific variation. It is therefore essential to study intraspecific variation as an essential component of biodiversity; a main issue of axis 2 of QCBS 2.0 and GEOBON. IN ORDER TO IMPROVE OUR CAPABILITIES TO PREDICT THE CHALLENGES THAT BIODIVERSITY WILL FACE AND TO PRESERVE IT, WE NEED TO DEVELOP STATISTICAL TOOLS THAT ALLOW US TO STUDY THE LINKS BETWEEN RECS, BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS AND PROCESSES THAT AFFECT TRAITS. Our center of expertise brings together researchers who are interested in biological interactions at different levels and who have complementary expertise ranging from genomics, community ecology, through quantitative genetics, the study of selection, network analyses, biodemographic models or phylogenetic analyses.

The QCBS 2.0 focuses on establishing a Québec Biodiversity Observation Network and developing the science around it. Given the sheer size of Québec, and the speed at which changes in biodiversity are taking place, it is clear that remote sensing is required and that field observations will not be sufficient. The overall goal of this Hub of Expertise to share the team’s remote sensing expertise broadly across the QCBS, by offering data acquisition and processing services (e.g., drone imagery) and by providing specific training to HQP and researchers. The specific objectives of this Hub of Expertise are to: 1. offer drone data acquisition and processing services to members. 2. provide consulting services and access to tools to members for efficient field data acquisition workflows that require the integration of in-situ observations and remote sensing data (e.g. species annotations of high-resolution RGB imagery for training or validating deep learning models). 3. provide training about acquiring, accessing, processing and/or using remote sensing data for biodiversity research.