China's wetlands

In the summer of 2018, I participated in the Ontario Universities Program in Field Biology (OUPFB), and attended a field course hosted by Dr. Steven Lougheed and Dr. Yuxiang Wang of Queens University. Titled “Effect of human development on aquatic environments and biodiversity in China”, this module took us around the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China.

During the two-week long field course, we learned about wetland and aquatic biodiversity, with the guidance of the two professors and many guest researchers and guides from different conservation areas. We wrote a major paper on independent research we conducted assessing reconstructed wetland biodiversity, and presented a research seminar.

This field course was illuminating as it presented many different perceptions of conservation and urbanization between the Canadian and Chinese cultures. There are many challenges involved in conserving aquatic habitats, and the relationship with socioeconomic developments is complex.

Check out the blog we wrote during this trip!