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Controlled-environment facilities for Edmonton, Alberta
Hureomb : Protection o f Wild Life in London and its Outskirts by Public Authorities SUCCESS DEMONSTRATED
H o w far, it may be asked, are all these efforts effective? The best answer is obtained by making a short visit at any time of the year to any o f the parks, to look at the trees and to observe the birds, especially. In spring, at any rate, one can also find m a n y wild flowers in the outer parks, and at all times of course the deer. If more definite p r o o f is required, I will content myself by pointing out that, in the years 196566, no fewer than 138 species of birds were identified in the areas of L o n d o n under the Ministry's care alone, and that 70 species bred there--36 of them in the inner parks. If governments and public authorities accept the encouragement of wildlife in areas under their control as an important part of public policy; if they will appoint and cooperate with competent advisory committees; and if they publish for the general information of the citizens some account o f what they do, they can accomplish much, even in urban areas, to protect and foster interest in wildlife--thus enhancing the amenities of the natural surroundings u p o n which wildlife depends, and the sight of which the public will enjoy all the more because o f its naturalness. As
Controlled-Environment Facilities for Edmonton, Alberta The University of Alberta has received a grant of $400,000 from the National Research Council of Canada for the construction of an unusual type of research facility for the study of plants and animals that are native to Canada's northern areas. The research facility, first of its kind in Canada, will be a controlled-environment greenhouse in which temperature, humidity, and light, can be controlled over tong periods of time. It will be one of several controlled environment facilities to be built for the University's Department of Botany at a total cost in excess of $1,000,000. The other facilities include standard greenhouses, environmental growth-chambers for teaching and research, and controlled facilities for seed germination and plant propagation. These facilities will be located in and upon a new Biological Science Building to be constructed on the University's Edmonton campus at an estimated cost of $20,000,000. The controlled-environment laboratory will be the largest of the facilities and, in effect, will be a giant greenhouse in which the environment of northern areas, including that of the Arctic, can be simulated. The laboratory and some of the growth-chambers will be used for longterm ecological and physiological studies of arctic, boreal, and alpine plants, and for experiments on animals in the field of environmental physiology. Although much of this research can be carried out by using growth-chambers and low-temperature rooms, the construction of a controlled-environment greenhouse will
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C h a i r m a n of one of the advisory committees concerned and a member of the other, I can say f r o m my own experience that in these ways a great deal is being achieved in L o n d o n both by the central government and by local authorities. In spite of the inevitable increase in population pressure, wildlife can be enabled to hold its own, and some further species may be enticed to enter.
References ANON. (1968). Bird Life in the Royal Parks 1965-66. Report by the Committee on Bird Sanctuaries in the Royal Parks (England and Wales), HMSO, London, viii 35 pp., illustrated. FITTER, Richard S. R. (1949). London's Birds. Collins, London, 256 pp., illustrated. HUDSON, W. H. (1898). Birds in London. Longmans, London, xvi + 339 pp., illustrated. LONDONNATURALHISTORYSOCIETY(1957). The Birds o f the London Area Since 1900. Collins (New Naturalist series), London, x + 305 pp., illustrated. NICHOLSON, E. M. (1951). Birds and Men: The Bird Life o f British Towns, Villages, Gardens and Farmland. Collins (New Naturalist series), London, xvi - 256 pp., illustrated.
provide a facility with maximum radiation, equivalent to northern sunlight, in which temperatures can be kept constant if necessary. The greenhouse will contain a number of rooms in which different northern and mountain environments can be simulated. This will permit a variety of experiments to be conducted simultaneously in different environments. Few universities or research laboratories in Canada or the United States possess this kind of facility. One of the few comparable greenhouses in the world is located at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. The new controlled-environment greenhouse will make it possible for research workers to investigate the effects of single and simultaneously varying environmental factors on particular organisms, populations, and communities. It will also facilitate studies on growth-rates and productivity of populations, on tolerance, survival, and adaptation of organisms, and on interactions within communities-including such aspects as competition, commensalism, and predation--with every prospect of obtaining exact data on specific questions. The results of these research activities should lead to significant advances in knowledge of the arctic, boreal, and alpine areas which abound in Canada. The Director of these new facilities is Professor Lawrence C. Bliss, plant ecologist in the Department of Botany, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. NATIONAL RESEARCHCOUNCIL,
Ottawa 7, Ontario, Canada.
H o w far, it may be asked, are all these efforts effective? The best answer is obtained by making a short visit at any time of the year to any o f the parks, to look at the trees and to observe the birds, especially. In spring, at any rate, one can also find m a n y wild flowers in the outer parks, and at all times of course the deer. If more definite p r o o f is required, I will content myself by pointing out that, in the years 196566, no fewer than 138 species of birds were identified in the areas of L o n d o n under the Ministry's care alone, and that 70 species bred there--36 of them in the inner parks. If governments and public authorities accept the encouragement of wildlife in areas under their control as an important part of public policy; if they will appoint and cooperate with competent advisory committees; and if they publish for the general information of the citizens some account o f what they do, they can accomplish much, even in urban areas, to protect and foster interest in wildlife--thus enhancing the amenities of the natural surroundings u p o n which wildlife depends, and the sight of which the public will enjoy all the more because o f its naturalness. As
Controlled-Environment Facilities for Edmonton, Alberta The University of Alberta has received a grant of $400,000 from the National Research Council of Canada for the construction of an unusual type of research facility for the study of plants and animals that are native to Canada's northern areas. The research facility, first of its kind in Canada, will be a controlled-environment greenhouse in which temperature, humidity, and light, can be controlled over tong periods of time. It will be one of several controlled environment facilities to be built for the University's Department of Botany at a total cost in excess of $1,000,000. The other facilities include standard greenhouses, environmental growth-chambers for teaching and research, and controlled facilities for seed germination and plant propagation. These facilities will be located in and upon a new Biological Science Building to be constructed on the University's Edmonton campus at an estimated cost of $20,000,000. The controlled-environment laboratory will be the largest of the facilities and, in effect, will be a giant greenhouse in which the environment of northern areas, including that of the Arctic, can be simulated. The laboratory and some of the growth-chambers will be used for longterm ecological and physiological studies of arctic, boreal, and alpine plants, and for experiments on animals in the field of environmental physiology. Although much of this research can be carried out by using growth-chambers and low-temperature rooms, the construction of a controlled-environment greenhouse will
169
C h a i r m a n of one of the advisory committees concerned and a member of the other, I can say f r o m my own experience that in these ways a great deal is being achieved in L o n d o n both by the central government and by local authorities. In spite of the inevitable increase in population pressure, wildlife can be enabled to hold its own, and some further species may be enticed to enter.
References ANON. (1968). Bird Life in the Royal Parks 1965-66. Report by the Committee on Bird Sanctuaries in the Royal Parks (England and Wales), HMSO, London, viii 35 pp., illustrated. FITTER, Richard S. R. (1949). London's Birds. Collins, London, 256 pp., illustrated. HUDSON, W. H. (1898). Birds in London. Longmans, London, xvi + 339 pp., illustrated. LONDONNATURALHISTORYSOCIETY(1957). The Birds o f the London Area Since 1900. Collins (New Naturalist series), London, x + 305 pp., illustrated. NICHOLSON, E. M. (1951). Birds and Men: The Bird Life o f British Towns, Villages, Gardens and Farmland. Collins (New Naturalist series), London, xvi - 256 pp., illustrated.
provide a facility with maximum radiation, equivalent to northern sunlight, in which temperatures can be kept constant if necessary. The greenhouse will contain a number of rooms in which different northern and mountain environments can be simulated. This will permit a variety of experiments to be conducted simultaneously in different environments. Few universities or research laboratories in Canada or the United States possess this kind of facility. One of the few comparable greenhouses in the world is located at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. The new controlled-environment greenhouse will make it possible for research workers to investigate the effects of single and simultaneously varying environmental factors on particular organisms, populations, and communities. It will also facilitate studies on growth-rates and productivity of populations, on tolerance, survival, and adaptation of organisms, and on interactions within communities-including such aspects as competition, commensalism, and predation--with every prospect of obtaining exact data on specific questions. The results of these research activities should lead to significant advances in knowledge of the arctic, boreal, and alpine areas which abound in Canada. The Director of these new facilities is Professor Lawrence C. Bliss, plant ecologist in the Department of Botany, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. NATIONAL RESEARCHCOUNCIL,
Ottawa 7, Ontario, Canada.