Speakers

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Presentation: A New Dragonfly Sub Order with Bruce Archibald
January 13th, 2026
Meeting starts at 7:00 PM at Princeton Museum

January 13, 2026

A New Dragonfly Sub Order with Bruce Archibald
A new dragonfly suborder, named Cephalozygoptera, was discovered in 2021 and consists of extinct fossil species from the Cretaceous and Cenozoic eras. This suborder was established by scientists after reviewing fossil records and discovering
distinct head shapes in these ancient insects, differentiating them from other groups within the order Odonata. The name “Cephalozygoptera” means “head damselfly” and highlights their unusual round heads and eyes compared to other damselflies.

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Presentation: Backyard Dinosaur Watching with Howard Richardson
February 10th, 2026
Meeting starts at 7:00 PM at Princeton Museum

February 10, 2026

Backyard Dinosaur Watching with Howard Richardson
This is in recognition of the fact that the birds we watch today are direct descendants of dinosaurs. It is an examination of the key fossils that link dinosaurs to birds, the people that made vital advances in our understanding and the modern techniques that have led us to this knowledge. The presentation will be illustrated with lots of good photos. Howard has retired from teaching at Okanagan College and Okanagan University College in order to pursue some serious birding and mountain biking.

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Presentation: Kokanee Salmon: Research and Conservation with Anna Jaquemart
March 10th, 2026
Meeting starts at 7:00 PM at Princeton Museum

March 10, 2026

Kokanee Salmon: Research and Conservation with Anna Jaquemart
Kokanee salmon are an economically, ecologically, and culturally important freshwater fish species in British Colombia. However, as a freshwater resident species, they are more at risk of being impacted by climate change and rising water temperatures. This presentation will explore the work being done and tools developed in salmon genetics to support conservation and fisheries research, and inform management efforts for this species.
Anna Jaquemart is a fourth year PhD student at UBCO. Her work has focused on helping operationalize genetic tools to inform fisheries management, especially in the face of climate change. In her free time, she likes camping, swimming, learning how to ski, and spending time outdoors in general.

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Presentation: Grasslands with Mike Dedels
April 14th, 2026
Meeting starts at 7:00 PM at Princeton Museum

April 14, 2026

Grasslands with Mike Dedels
Mike’s connection to Princeton grasslands goes back to the late 1970s/early 1980s when, among other things, he worked on a Forest Service weed crew. He is currently the Executive Director of the Grassland Conservation Council of BC. His visit to
Princeton will begin with a field trip on the afternoon of May 12 followed by the regular evening presentation.

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Presentation: The Southern BC Cougar Project with Siobhan Darlington
May 12th, 2026
Meeting starts at 7:00 PM at Princeton Museum

May 12, 2026

The Southern BC Cougar Project with Siobhan Darlington
Cougars are an important but understudied game species in British Columbia and are the main predators of mule deer. The Southern BC Cougar Project (www.bccougarproject.weebly.com) was launched in 2019 to capture, GPS-collar, and track adult cougars across three regions of the southern interior to better understand their demography, reproduction, habitat use, and diet. Over six years, our team monitored 56 cougars, tagged 62 kittens from 27 litters, and documented 916 confirmed cougar kills across the landscape. We found that males had significantly lower survival than females, with mortality risk doubling near urban areas. Female cougars had smaller litters than those reported elsewhere (averaging two kittens per litter). Males most often killed adult moose and elk, while females mainly preyed on deer; however, in summer, small prey made up nearly half of kills for both sexes. Cougars most often killed large ungulates along the edges of regenerating cutblocks and burns that were 10–20 years old during spring, summer, and fall. These findings fill major knowledge gaps in cougar ecology in BC, provide valuable baseline data for wildlife management, and highlight key threats to both cougars and their prey on the landscape.
Dr. Siobhan Darlington, RPBio (she/her) is a carnivore biologist specializing in the roles of landscape change in shaping predator-prey dynamics. Originally from Nova
Scotia, she has studied cougars, white-tailed deer, caribou, grizzly bear, and songbirds across western Canada and the maritime provinces in the past 10+ years. In her spare time, she and her partner David are naturalists, avid bird watchers, and bird banders at Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory near OK Falls.

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Presentation: Restoring Native Grasslands in the Face of Invasives with Wendy Gardner
June 9th, 2026
Meeting starts at 7:00 PM at Princeton Museum

June 9, 2026

Restoring Native Grasslands in the Face of Invasives with Wendy Gardner
Grasslands are among our most threatened ecosystems, providing critical habitat, biodiversity, and ecological services. Yet their restoration is increasingly challenged by invasive plants that alter soil, competition, and recovery dynamics. This talk will highlight the importance of native grasslands, the difficulties posed by invasive species, and case studies of student research on grassland restoration.

Wendy Gardner is a Professor in the Natural Resource Science Program at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC, Canada where she has been teaching for over 20 years. Her research program is based around disturbance and plant community change with a focus on rangeland systems. Within her discipline she is an active member on the executive for several organizations (Society for Range Management, BC Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation, Grasslands Conservation Council of BC) and is passionate about educating people about rangeland ecosystems.