Entomologist who created a buzz on P.E.I. wins national achievement award
Throughout her 25 years at UPEI, entomologist Donna Giberson taught 1000’s of scholars and carried out analysis into aquatic bugs and biodiversity.
Giberson just lately obtained the 2022 Entomological Society of Canada Gold Medal, which acknowledges excellent achievement in Canadian entomology.
The award is given to 1 individual annually.
Giberson retired from the college in 2015 and now lives in Sechelt, British Columbia. We requested her some questions on her work, and what sorts of adjustments she’s seen through the years.
Q. What sort of bugs do you examine?
Giberson: I primarily have a look at aquatic entomology. So that is the issues that stay in streams, rivers, ponds and different aquatic habitats. And the way in which I received into that was that I’ve at all times liked rivers, I’ve at all times liked fishing. And after I determined to return to grad faculty, I made a decision to see if there have been any packages in aquatic entomology that I might get into … Anyone who fly fishes would in all probability be fairly aware of the mayflies, stone flies and caddis flies. They’re those that almost all fly fishers attempt to emulate with the little flies that they they tie or purchase.
Q. You additionally studied mosquitoes, proper?
Giberson: The explanation I received into that was P.E.I. is a small province and so it’s potential to be sitting at your desk at UPEI and get a telephone name from anyone within the P.E.I. authorities saying ‘What sort of mosquitoes do now we have right here on P.E.I.?’ After which I mentioned, ‘Properly, no person’s actually studied that since in regards to the Fifties or ’60s, so I could not inform you for positive.’
So we rounded up some discipline assistants and we went and did a survey of the mosquitoes on P.E.I. We discovered a whole lot of species, a stunning quantity, at the moment we discovered 34 species. However of these 34 species, solely a couple of third of them are frequent and never all of them really even chew individuals.
Q. How do you are feeling about mosquitoes typically?
Giberson: Properly, I spent a little bit of time attempting to give you a purpose for mosquitoes as a result of it’s fairly robust to know why we might have them. They’re necessary pollinators in sure areas, so yeah, they must be there. However that being mentioned, I do not like mosquitoes. Similar to all people else, I am not eager on any form of biting fly after I’m out working. And I’ve an added factor in that I am fairly allergic to most insect repellents. So I’ve every kind of bug shirts that I exploit after I go outdoors.
Bugs are sometimes misunderstood
Q. What do you suppose the general public does not perceive about bugs?
Giberson: “Properly, I feel the most important factor is many individuals do not perceive that the overwhelming majority of bugs on the market are both actually innocuous … or extraordinarily useful. So there’s form of a sense that you just see an insect, particularly one in your own home, you have to kill it. However in reality nearly all of bugs on the market … are very useful to us of their ecological roles, you realize breaking down leaf litter and contributing to ecosystems.”
Q. What was the most important problem you confronted by way of your profession?
Giberson: I have been fairly fortunate in my profession in that I’ve had nice alternatives to work and do work I am inquisitive about. However I do need to admit that within the early days and this goes again to the Seventies … it was fairly difficult and fairly troublesome to be a lady attempting to do discipline biology. It was onerous to interrupt in … and it was fairly difficult to attempt to get by way of that interval.
Younger ladies can go searching and see that there are ladies doing the form of work that they is likely to be inquisitive about.— Donna Giberson
Q. And what do you see now in the case of ladies within the discipline?
Giberson: It is quite a bit higher. There’s much more mentors on the market so that ladies, younger ladies, can go searching and see that there are ladies doing the form of work that they is likely to be inquisitive about. There are nonetheless a whole lot of challenges that stay for numerous teams. So you realize people who find themselves attempting to interrupt in from varied BIPOC communities and that type of factor. However I feel it definitely has improved no less than for girls within the discipline.
Q. What’s probably the most dramatic change you have seen within the insect world throughout your profession?
Giberson: Oh boy, I suppose we might have a look at numbers. It is turning into a worldwide development that we have seen fairly a discount in numbers. There’s a whole lot of causes — they vary from habitat destruction, that is in all probability one of many largest ones.
UPEI years pivotal to profession
Q. What does it imply to you to be acknowledged with this award?
Giberson: I’ve to say that you just once they referred to as me to let me know, I used to be speechless. And anybody who is aware of me will say that that is a really uncommon occasion. I am humbled and honoured suddenly and I am unable to inform you how excited I’m to to have obtained this recognition.
One of many issues I want to point out is that the years I as capable of spend on P.E.I. working on the College of Prince Edward Island had been completely pivotal in having the ability to develop my profession. I am unable to inform you how fortunate I used to be to land in a spot that the first mission is instructing in order that I might work together with college students and work with them, but additionally share their pleasure and their concepts. It is stored me younger through the years and the truth that UPEI has at all times let me pursue the areas of examine that I needed to, that was additionally extraordinarily necessary.
