Dr. Donna J. Giberson University of Prince Edward Island Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada
The Biological Survey of Canada (BSC) was formed in 1977 through a partnership between the Entomological Society of Canada and the National Museum of Natural Sciences (now the Canadian Museum of Nature) to facilitate studies on Canada's terrestrial arthropod fauna. In 2009, the BSC became an independent, volunteer-driven, not-for-profit entity, with a continuing goal of encouraging and synthesizing studies of Canada's fauna. The volunteer board, consisting of biodiversity scientists from across the country, identifies potential gaps and priorities, then harnesses grass-roots scientific capabilities across regions and taxonomic groups. Funding is chiefly through existing resources of collaborators, with help from the BSC in synthesising and publishing material. These efforts have resulted in several major cooperative projects documenting faunas in the Yukon, Canadian grasslands, and other significant regions. Recent works include the first volume of the Biota of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods) and a monograph on the Ticks of Canada. Here I review the history of the BSC and explain how this grass-roots collaborative approach has allowed the Survey to continue despite many challenges over the 45 years since its inception.
