Connecting biodiversity from urban to wild areas by connecting practitioners, managers and researchers

Toronto has a large (and increasing) human population yet contains numerous urban parks with both important terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Conservation biology increasingly seeks to understand the impacts cities have on the nature within and around them. Canada has a large latitudinal gradient and contains some of the coldest environments on earth. However, many of these ecosystems are already changing due to land use or climate change. Furthermore, Canada will eventually receive species moving northward as they shift habitat due to land use change and climate change. While climate change is already causing some species to shift their ranges northward, some of these will be less than expected due to natural barriers like the Great Lakes as well as habitat changes due to urbanization, and expansion of agriculture, roads and industrial forestry that can create barriers to species movement. In order to maintain biodiversity across ecosystems embedded within urban, rural, and wild landscapes, the 2018 congress will focus on the need to build ecological connections among regions and landscapes and support connections among practitioners, managers, and researchers.

Through numerous symposia, concurrent sessions, workshops, short courses and field trips, we will advance discourse across conservation disciplines, from biological to social sciences. The 2018 congress will provide an open platform to foster collaborative partnerships, and to create and adapt emerging ideas, technologies, and methods in conservation science.

The Fourth North America Congress for Conservation Biology will play an important role in advancing science and stimulating conservation action through effective dialogue, networking, and multi-stakeholder engagement. This biannual Congress in North America is critical to our success as conservation professionals. We expect to attract over 1,000 participants. Although attendees come from throughout the world, our location in the Great Lakes region will facilitate attendance from both the US and Canada, especially among those scientists and practitioners working on transboundary conservation issues.

NACCB 2018 is being planned in cooperation with local partners among the many conservation science organizations based in the Toronto area. NACCB 2018 will also immediately follow the conference of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution (CSEE) being held in Guelph, Ontario, in order to help build connections between SCBNA and CSEE members.