Recently in The Conversation SFU professors Arne Mooers and John Reynolds wrote:

Canada risks losing its polar bears in the North. And many runs of Chinook salmon on the Southern West Coast. And the black ash tree, currently widespread from Manitoba to Newfoundland.

In late November 2018, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) affirmed that all these wildlife species are at risk of disappearing from Canada. But if they were to go, what would we really lose?

Arne Mooers is a professor of biodiversity, phylogeny and evolution with Simon Fraser University's Department of Biological Sciences. From his research interests:

We (me, my students and close colleagues) are very interested in explaining patterns of biodiversity. My primary training is in looking for patterns among species, using a phylogenetic perspective (a phylogeny is just a family tree of species). I am interested in the traits or situations that increase the number of species in a group, either because they speciate more rapidly, or because those that are produced last longer before they go extinct. This second aspect has immediate practical relevance, given the number of species currently being lost. I am also interested in how species form, and specifically how sexual selection and mate choice might affect the process.

All are welcome to attend. Join us at 10 am for BYO coffee, tea, and socializing. At 10:30 am we start our presentation and discuss topics of interest to our members.

The BC Humanist Association was formed in 1984 and we have a regular attendance of over 30 people at our Sunday meetings.

Click here for more details on how to find the Centre. Our events are independent of the Seniors' Centre and are open to people of all ages and backgrounds.