Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat) header
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Catriona Leven

@NaturalistCat

Ecologist, naturalist, #UWaterloo #RooneyLab MSc student studying Columbia Wetlands beaver dams in BC; born in Hong Kong, living in Canada; she/her 🏳️‍🌈

 Waterloo, Ontario
Joined November 2010
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Photo by Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)Photo by Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)Photo by Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)Photo by Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)Photo by Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)Photo by Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)Photo by Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)Photo by Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)Photo by Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)Photo by Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Do you like wetlands, rivers, and mountains? Do you like beavers, loons, and pondweed? Do you like kayaking, long days on the water, and getting muddy? If yes, maybe you want to come work with me and many awesome people this summer in the Columbia Valley!
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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@LivingLakesCA and Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners are hiring a wetlands technician for a year, starting May 5th. The full job ad and where to apply to is here: livinglakescanada.ca/2023/03…
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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Water, sky, trees, mountains, beaver lodge, occasionally patient dog - what more could one ask for?
A fluffy white dog sits facing away from the camera, looking over an area of open water. There are trees on the far side and mountains in the background; the sky is blue with white clouds. There is a beaver lodge with a large stash of food in the water (good job beavers!).

ALT A fluffy white dog sits facing away from the camera, looking over an area of open water. There are trees on the far side and mountains in the background; the sky is blue with white clouds. There is a beaver lodge with a large stash of food in the water (good job beavers!).

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And in the Rooney Lab the prophecy remains as yet unfulfilled…
Claire Schon (@ClaireSchon) profile pictureClaire Schon@ClaireSchon28 Sep 2022
In ecology labs we determine who is king of the lab similar to King Arthur and the legendary sword but it’s just two buckets stuck together
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It’s a beautiful morning to be out early doing bird surveys!
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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Terrible photos of yesterday’s fun wildlife encounters, featuring pre-dawn tail splashing beaver and a young black bear wandering through the yard. I never have my camera on me at the right moments!
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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Lazy Sunday hammock time in between much-needed rain
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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Dawn bird surveys might be a struggle to get out of bed for, but they’re so worth it once you’re up!
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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The fieldwork bonus of Very Good Dogs to be friends with is an excellent perk ❤️
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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It's #InternationalBeaverDay, so here are a few beautiful beaver dams from the Columbia Wetlands! I remain endlessly amazed by their construction and the scale of the water they hold back!
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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Back in the Columbia Valley for fieldwork, and I couldn’t be happier! I’m looking forward to going out tomorrow to count some waterbirds and to see what my study wetlands look like in early spring!
A view of the Columbia River winding its way through its floodplain, with the early spring wetlands looking brown and dry. There are snow capped mountains in the background, and conifers in the foreground. The picture is taken from a slope above the river.

ALT A view of the Columbia River winding its way through its floodplain, with the early spring wetlands looking brown and dry. There are snow capped mountains in the background, and conifers in the foreground. The picture is taken from a slope above the river.

A picture of a ridge of rocky snowy mountains, with blue sky and fluffy clouds above, and conifers close to the photographer.

ALT A picture of a ridge of rocky snowy mountains, with blue sky and fluffy clouds above, and conifers close to the photographer.

Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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Submerged aquatic vegetation quadrats with a view; what more could anyone want from fieldwork? (Featuring my new favourite plant, Beck’s water marigold with the adorable little yellow flowers)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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Smoky morning bird surveys – at East Kootenay G, British Columbia
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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So many awesome talks at the Latornell Symposium today, including one on responses to Phragmites australis suppression from @cdrobich! It's always a delight to listen to her speak!
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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Also super cool to hear from @j_erin_g about using DNA sequencing to look at communities of aquatic invertebrates in southern Ontario!
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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Add your name to stop Premier Kenney & Minister LaGrange from sneaking through education cuts during COVID-19 act.leadnow.ca/covid19-abed-… #COVID19
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'The last piece of the skyline': the battle to save Canada's ‘prairie castles’ theguardian.com/world/2020/j…
Gorgeous day in KW today - apparently seven years into this living-in-Canada thing, and I still get excited by snow! (Right down to going out at lunchtime and rolling around in it a bit!) – at Kitchener, Ontario
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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Thanks to WEN for organising, and to all the speakers for everything - I found it really useful and encouraging, and I came out feeling very optimistic about the future!
WEN 🌿 (@WaterlooEcology) profile pictureWEN 🌿@WaterlooEcology7 Nov 2019
Thanks to everyone who came to our Early Career Ecologist panel last night and to our panelists for taking the time to talk to our members. #ecologycareers @ScootJD @JuliaShonfield @ers_uw @envwaterloo @GeogWaterloo @WaterlooBio
Image from WEN 🌿 (@WaterlooEcology)
Image from WEN 🌿 (@WaterlooEcology)
Image from WEN 🌿 (@WaterlooEcology)
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Wow, that's amazing!
Ian Beavis (@iancbeavis) profile pictureIan Beavis@iancbeavis30 Sep 2019
This one has been recorded on Scilly and is the only known trans-Atlantic dragonfly migrant to the UK (although several butterfly & moth species cross the Atlantic, some like Monarch quite regularly). I'm waiting for the first trans-Atlantic bee or hoverfly!
#InverteFest day 2: tent caterpillars! Super cool, and these ones all started and stopped wriggling at the same time which was both cool and kind of creepy. Possibly Fall Webworm Moth? (Again thanks @inaturalist for ID) – at Ontario, Canada
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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Hi #InverteFest, here's a Common Green Darner (thanks @inaturalist for the ID!) I found chilling unwisely on a platform (and then gently relocated to some nearby shrubbery). That green almost glowed in the sunlight!
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
Image from Catriona Leven (@NaturalistCat)
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