Knowledge to action (K2A) research groups

Many organizations investing in biodiversity initiatives struggle with evaluating the effectiveness of their efforts in a standardized and scientifically robust manner. Without reliable metrics, it remains difficult to assess whether initiatives are successfully supporting target populations, and how management strategies can be adjusted. This research project seeks to address this challenge for pollinators by developing a "pollinator preservation score," a scientifically validated scoring system that quantifies habitat success based on pollinator species detection. This tool will enable organizations such as Pollinature and their partners, including energy companies and municipal stakeholders, to assess and compare the quality of pollinator habitats with greater accuracy. This data-driven evaluation framework, will enhance bee diversity conservation efforts, provide a meaningful reporting scheme for conservation organizations and inform better habitat management practices.

Approaches to carrying out ecological restoration projects in parallel with sustainable urban development projects have major gaps in scientific and practical knowledge in Quebec. Our research aims to address this issue, more specifically in a highly anthropized context of industrial brownfields. The study of ecological restoration in the context of urban redevelopment is an element that is rarely present in the sites studied in the RARE project. This K2A project will broaden the spectrum of understanding the operationalization of wetland restoration in Quebec in an urbanized environment.

The objective of this Knowledge-to-Action (K2A) Research Group is to catalyze the transition to an organized and sustainable structure by establishing a collaboration between university researchers at the CSBQ, the Quebec Ministry of the Environment (MELCCFP), and FloraQuebeca, thereby creating a network that will then be able to more easily access other sources of funding. The specific objectives of this K2A are to: • Establish a permanent editorial committee bringing together researchers, professionals, and qualified amateur botanists; • Collectively define the project vision through targeted consultations (e.g., format, number of volumes, content, iconography, ecological data, etc.); • Organize four writing workshops to obtain a prototype presentable to publishers and funders; • Develop a manual of editorial standards and procedures based on these workshops; • Initially create a relational database of morphological traits (using, for example, DELTA or LUCID) to generate automated keys and descriptions.

Les objectifs de l’Accord de Kunming-Montréal (2022), auquel le Canada est signataire, visent à protéger 30 % des habitats naturels et restaurer 30 % des milieux dégradés d’ici 2030. Malgré une offre scientifique et technique diversifiée pour la restauration des milieux humides, rivières et forêts, le Québec accuse encore un retard important dans l’atteinte de ces cibles. Dans ce contexte, les liens entre politiques publiques, gouvernance et opportunités concrètes de restauration demeurent insuffisamment structurés pour soutenir un déploiement à grande échelle. Nous proposons la mise sur pied d’un groupe K2A rassemblant les parties prenantes de la restauration écologique au Québec afin de produire un livre blanc visant à améliorer la gouvernance et la mise en œuvre, avec un accent sur la biodiversité et fonctions écologiques. Le projet reposera sur une démarche itérative en trois étapes : (1) une revue documentaire en sciences naturelles et sociales sur les trajectoires de restauration, fonctions écologiques et freins à la mise en œuvre ; (2) une synthèse des constats ; et (3) une co-construction des recommandations avec les membres du K2A et la communauté de pratique, via sondage, atelier élargi et ateliers thématiques par écosystème. En mobilisant des expertises complémentaires du milieu académique et terrain, le projet vise à renforcer le dialogue entre recherche, pratique et décision publique et produire un outil structurant accélérant la restauration écologique au Québec

Bumble bee populations are in decline globally with multiple interacting stressors such as habitat loss, pathogens, and pesticide exposure being implicated. However, the role of mites, some of which may act as hidden parasites or disease vectors, remains poorly understood. This research will address this gap by:

1. Documenting the diversity and distribution of phoretic and nest-dwelling mites in wild and commercial Bombus spp.
2. Investigating their behavior and interactions with bee brood and nest resources
3. Assessing their potential as vectors of key bee pathogens (e.g. Nosema bombi, Crithidia bombi)
4. Comparing mite communities between commercial colonies and wild bee populations

This project was developed in response to questions from maple syrup producers in Quebec and New Brunswick concerned about potential effects of an on-going forest tent caterpillar (FTC) outbreak on reductions and sap and eventual tree mortality. Both growers and provincial managers are interested in which FTC parasitoid species are present in eastern Canadian forests, and how different forest management strategies might affect the frequency and magnitude of future FTC outbreaks. We will collaborate with grower organizations (PPAQ, NB MSA), provincial resource managers (NB DNR, MNRF, MAPAQ) and a conservation organization (WWF Canada) to quantify the diversity and spatial structure of FTC parasitoid communities in sugar maple forests of eastern Canada, and to develop concrete products to help our partners translate these findings into management actions.

The purpose of this group is to inform and consult biodiversity management stakeholders on the ways to include information and data about biotic interactions. Specifically, this work will lay the foundation for the development of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) that draw information from ecological interactions and the structure of species interaction networks.

Despite major advances in wetland restoration in recent years, Quebec is currently failing to effectively compensate for the loss of wetlands on its territory. Our team aims to inform restoration projects about governance and restoration methods that need to be employed to ensure success. More specifically, the objectives of our K2A group are to promote collaborative work in multidisciplinary teams composed of people from various sectors (universities, ministries, cities, NPOs) to catalyse action to restore wetlands; identify the brakes and levers on restoration projects; train HQP and graduate students; and create summaries and tools to inform and support restoration projects.

In Canada, 7 species of bumble bees are threatened with extinction according to the COSEWIC. However, most of the knowledge on bumble bees available is on commercially bred species, such as Bombus impatiens. Information on wild species is comparatively lacking. As part of the “Solutions for Farmers and Food for Bees” project (supported by the Liber-Ero program), we initiated work on the benefits of native pollen on the reproductive performances native bumble bee species, in collaboration with farmers, ENGOs and industry partners. The general objective of our K2A group is to build on this work to improve knowledge on the nutritional requirements and health of native bumble bees and provide science-based solutions to the conservation of endangered species. Specifically, we aim at: 1. Characterizing the nutrient profile of native plants’ pollen and of pollen maximizing queen reproduction. 2. Developing non-invasive techniques to assess bumble bees’ health, including parasite loads and viral loads.

This K2A project is focused on the exchange of knowledge between basic research and end users, with a specific purpose of informing policy, decision making, and action for conserving genetic diversity. This project will leverage a group of QCBS participants and stakeholder involvement to implement a novel research direction which has been highlighted through sustained dialogue with end user partners, who have expressed a need for new methods and tools for genetic diversity indicators. The K2A project will work on two new research directions: the first implementation of genetic diversity indicators at a sub-national level (in Quebec), and the first temporal calculation of genetic indicators in order to understand rates of change in indicator values, including hindcasting indicator values on a decadal scale. This will require integrating three of the QCBS research axes: Observe and monitor, Detect changes, and Support decisions. It will require integration of these different axes, and it will require communication and hand-in-hand work with the end users