A guide to UVic’s wildlife
Photo by Fernanda Solorza.
Amidst the businesses of midterms, papers due, and scheduling issues with office hours, the biodiversity of the UVic campus invites students to be grounded in nature. A 2020 report by co-op student Larissa Bron reported 785 species of flora and fauna on the UVic campus. Here is a short guide on some of the fauna you can find while heading to your next class.
Arthropods, annelids, and platyhelminthes
Though people tend to group them together as “bugs,” arachnids, insects, and worms belong to different groups, known as “phylum.”
Arthropods are a large group of invertebrate animals with jointed legs and exoskeletons that include other groups such as arachnids and insects. According to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the most successful animals on earth are arthropods. The arthropod phylum includes more individuals and species than all the other groups combined. Think about all the reptiles and mammals on Earth — over 85 per cent of all known animal species on Earth are arthropods.
Annelids and Platyhelminthes are both commonly known as worms. The difference is that annelids have complex, rounded, segmented bodies, while platyhelminthes are flat.
At UVic, you can find hundreds of species that belong to these phyla. Maybe you’ve been relaxing in the quad when a ladybug lands in one of your books, or you’ve been walking to your class after the rain and notice earthworms crawling around on the pavement. We also can’t forget the garden spiders across Finnerty Gardens, or the microscopic flatworms eating bacteria in the ponds and puddles.
Fun bug facts:
One of the biggest insectaries in B.C. is the Pacific Forestry Centre (PFC), located in Victoria.
An insect can be easily identified because they have three distinct body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. They also have three pairs of jointed limbs, compound eyes, and a pair of antennae! So a wasp is clearly an insect, while a spider or a worm are not.
In the arthropod reference collection in the PFC, 41 per cent of the 153 800 insect specimens that make up the collection are from the order Coleoptera, which is composed of beetles. It is the largest of all orders in the animal kingdom.
Reptiles and amphibians
Though reptiles and amphibians are less commonly spotted on campus, they play crucial roles in the ecosystem. They are both prey and predators, and as predators, they keep many of the arthropod populations in check.
Amphibians, such as frogs and salamanders, depend on water for part of their life cycle, while reptiles, like snakes, lizards, and turtles, are terrestrial and rely on external heat sources to regulate their body temperature.
One of the most commonly found amphibians in Victoria is the Northern Pacific tree frog, which is barely five centimetres long. Mystic Vale would be the perfect spot to find them, as well as long-toed salamanders that rely on damp environments.
Fun reptile facts:
One of the most common reptiles in B.C. is the common wall lizard, an invasive species released on Vancouver Island in the late 1960s. Canada is quite cold, so reptiles, which need sunlight to regulate their temperature, tend to be small, as this is not their preferred environment. Common wall lizards can grow to be over 20 centimeters long in good conditions, like a near-Mediterranean climate where sun-heated garden rock walls are a haven for these lizards.
Aves
So majestic, flying across the sky. I’m talking about birds, of course! Aves is a taxonomical class that can be divided into 23 orders. More than half of all birds belong to the order Passeriformes, also known as perching birds.
The evening grosbeak is a small yellow passerine that can be found on the UVic campus. Evening grossbeaks have large conical bills and present sexual dimorphism, with the males being bright yellow and the females more gray-toned.
The UVic campus is also popular among the nocturnal birds of prey — birds in the order Caprimulgiformes. One of the best examples is the common nighthawk, a bird that roams the late evening skies hunting for flying insects. They are well-camouflaged, which helps them hunt and raise their offspring on unsheltered ground.
Fun bird facts:
Other nocturnal experts are the Strigiformes, better known as owls. Great horned owls and barred owls have been spotted in the Finnerty Gardens. Try to not get too close while these birds are nesting and raising their young, or you might face one of the fiercest avian predators.
We also can’t forget our campus star and unofficial UVic mascot, George the Peacock! Peacocks are not native to B.C., but there is a population of caged peacocks living in Beacon Hill Park, where George is theorized to have come from. Peacocks are from the order Galliformes, and blue peacocks, like George, are native to India. Males use their beautiful blue and green feathers to attract females.
Mammals
Finally, the class to which all humans belong. Mammals are warm-blooded, furry animals that give birth to their young and nurse them with milk. The UVic campus is home to a variety of mammals of all sizes.
The small and misunderstood rodents are characterized by continuously growing incisors in each of their jaws. Although you might think “rodent” and frown, about 40 per cent of all mammal species are rodents. One of the most familiar faces on campus are squirrels, particularly the eastern grey squirrel. They have big fluffy tails and can often be found bullying the native red squirrels over food or territory.
Another fluffy staple at UVic is the Eastern cottontail rabbit. These bunnies were introduced to Vancouver Island in the 1960s, not to be confused with the feral European rabbits that reigned over campus in 2011.
Fun mammal facts:
Larger mammals occasionally make appearances, as in the case of the black-tailed deer. They wander through wooded areas, particularly in the early morning or late evening when the campus is quieter. But these graceful animals can sometimes bring not-so-welcomed guests: cougars. Though cougar sightings are rare, Vancouver Island has the highest density of cougars in all of North America, so it is best to keep your distance from these elusive predators and report them to the authorities.
You’ll be surprised just how many different fauna species the UVic campus houses, from tiny little flatworms to big and scary cougars. Next time you stroll to class, open your senses and witness the life around you. Biodiversity at its finest!
