St. Albert

An unusual surge in aphid populations in St. Albert, Alberta, led to widespread honeydew residue on artificial surfaces, attributed to climate conditions favoring aphid reproduction.

Due to excessively wet weather, Leduc County has declared a municipal state of agricultural disaster.

A coyote was observed in urban Edmonton, when they are usually found in grasslands, agricultural lands, or forested areas.

Edmonton is on its way to the snowiest Sept. 21 since 1968, perhaps not what people wanted to see on the last full day of summer, says Dan Kulak, meteorologist with Environment Canada.

Farmers in Edmonton and into northern Alberta, still have plenty of crop out on the fields and the early arrival of winter conditions does not bode well for harvest season.

A relatively rare tapeworm has popped up in several patients in Alberta, Canada in the past few years, which may not sound like much; however, the only other human case in Canada was in 1928 in Manitoba. The parasite is called Echinococcus multilocularis and it appearance in Alberta has caught the attention of some infectious …

University of Alberta scientists are alerting the public to a potentially lethal tapeworm, Echinococcus multilocularis which infects humans through the feces of coyotes and dogs.

Chronic wasting disease long thought not to affect human health.

A pair of rare, presumably mating, Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) were spotted in Spruce Grove, Alberta CAD.

A study is looking into why birch trees are dying off in the prairies and British Columbia, but a researcher says they can be salvaged.

Data cited by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control suggests 75 per cent of wild Pacific salmon are infected with the parasite. If fish is to be consumed uncooked, killing the parasites requires it to be frozen at -20 C for at least a week, Young said. Most commercial sushi-grade seafood suppliers freeze at -40 C.

Lichens can provide valuable information about air quality and environmental conditions, as different species have different sensitivities to pollution and humidity levels, making them useful indicators of climate and pollution levels in a given area.

The river, which starts at the Saskatchewan Glacier in the Columbia Icefields and flows through to central Saskatchewan, is usually murky brown by the time it reaches Edmonton in summer. In recent weeks, however, the water has taken on the hues of Alberta's glacial lakes, thanks to dry, hot weather combined with maintenance at a major dam.