WELCOME

About BIO

The Institute

Biodiversity measures the variation of life shaped through ecology and evolution from genes to species and ecosystems. Genetic variation plays a critical role in the ability of individuals and species to respond and adapt to environmental change while the diversity of species within and between ecosystems provides significant advantages to ecosystem function and resilience. One of the ironies of biological research is that after more than 250 years of dedicated biological science, the total number of species within any country or region remains unknown. While we often have a good idea of the identities and ecological roles of the larger, more charismatic animals (birds, mammals) the truth of the matter is that most of life is small (insects, bacteria, fungi) and currently undescribed. Shedding light onto these lesser known groups is important because all of the larger groups, including ourselves, depend on these smaller organisms for some part of their daily natural history. In order to protect and understand the diversity of life in Ontario, we must be able to know the species and ecosystems upon which humans, and our industry and lifestyle, depend.

Within Canada, Ontario is the most biodiverse province and although most of the northern part of the province is remains directly untouched by anthropogenic change – the ecosystems of the southern regions of the province are under enormous development pressures. It is these same southern regions that provide the habitat for nearly 40% of Canada’s endangered species. In order to answer questions of species identity, genetic variation, ecological roles and ecosystem processes requires a novel, multi-disciplinary approach. The diverse elements of such an approach are now fostered at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO).