Research
The tick factor
May 11th, 2012
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Like many Saskatchewan residents, I’ve have had to resign myself to dealing with ticks in recent years. Slowly but surely, ticks appear to be creeping into parts of the province that were previously (and blissfully) tick-free. The first tick I ever encountered was flung clear across the room in horror (never to be seen again). But I’ve since become a …
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Bat-killing fungus is European invader
Results from an experiment conducted in a University of Saskatchewan bio-safety lab suggest that bats in North America are dying from a European strain of fungus recently introduced to Canada and the United States. White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging disease of hibernating bats that’s associated with a skin infection caused by the fungus Geomyces destructans (Gd). The fungus grows …
April 13th, 2012 Full story »
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Mule deer capture: hurry up and wait
It’s a Monday afternoon in early March, and I’ve just arrived in Cabri, a rural community in southwestern Saskatchewan. I’m here for the annual mule deer capture — part of Drs. Trent Bollinger and Maria Mejia-Salazar’s ongoing chronic wasting disease (CWD) study at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. I have the chance to attend this fieldwork experience as part of …
April 07th, 2012 Full story »
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Do wildlife species get stressed?
We know that our pets can get stressed out, but what about wild animals? What would they have to worry about? It turns out, the answer is us. Human activities can negatively affect wildlife populations and, in some cases, may result in long-term stress and health problems in individual animals. Bears appear to be particularly affected. Aside from the normal stressors, …
March 06th, 2012 Full story »
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Reproductive research captures top spot
A unique bovine reproduction research study earned top spot for a Western College of Veterinary Medicine graduate student at a prominent embryo transfer meeting in early January. PhD student Dr. Jimena Yapura’s presentation and poster, “Treatment with aromatase inhibitor affects pre-ovulatory ovarian follicles in cattle,” captured first place in the student competition at the International Embryo Transfer Society conference. “Participating …
March 05th, 2012 Full story »
