Address:

Royal Canadian Legion Branch 126, N3H1S5
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Event Category:

Community Submitted Events

Event Details:

Join us on January 28th at the Preston Legion for a special presentation about research completed at rare! 

The Hidden Effects of Urban Life on City Dwelling Squirrels

Eastern Grey Squirrels are experts in food storage, carefully burying hundreds of nuts each autumn to survive the winter. But what happens if city squirrels have access to food all year round? In this talk, Alannah shares her research comparing urban squirrels from the University of Guelph campus with their natural counterparts from rare. Her work reveals that urban squirrels may no longer experience the same seasonal cycles as their natural neighbours, thanks to easy access to resources provided by humans. By examining the metabolic hormones leptin and ghrelin, Alannah uncovers how this abundance may disrupt natural rhythms and reshape one of our most familiar urban wildlife species.

Audience members will learn how squirrels are able to find hundreds of their hidden food caches, how human activity can reshape wildlife physiology, what hormones reveal about the hidden effects of urban life, and how our everyday choices - from litter to bird feeders - can ripple through the natural rhythms of city-dwelling animals.

Squirrel photo by @ aditya_param (Instagram), obtained with permission

About Alannah Grant

Alannah is a PhD candidate at the University of Guelph studying how urban environments influence the physiology (internal body processes) of Eastern Grey Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis). Her research compares squirrels living on the bustling University of Guelph campus with those inhabiting the natural landscapes of rare to uncover how city living shapes the stress, brain development, and seasonal biology of squirrels. Growing up in a large city sparked Alannah’s curiosity about the wildlife that thrive in urban spaces, inspiring her to pursue a career in Urban Ecology. Today, she uses physiology to reveal the hidden ways urban areas impact the animals that share our cities.

Pay What You Can

rare strives to host community events for everyone with a 'pay what you can' model. If you are in a position to make a contribution, all proceeds help us to offer meaningful events and activities for our community to engage with and learn about our natural world.

Venue

During the colder months, the Conversations for Conservation series will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 126 (Preston), located at 334 Westminster Dr N, Cambridge.  Parking is available on site.

The Conversations for Conservation series is supported by the City of Cambridge.

Questions? Contact Amanda Humphreys, Events & Development Coordinator, at Amanda.Humphreys@raresites.org or (519) 650-9336 x122.