Paleontological Society of Canada

Paleontological Society of Canada
Name	Paleontological Society of Canada
Formation	1960
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	Ottawa, Ontario
Region served	Canada
Language	English, French
Leader title	President

Paleontological Society of Canada

The Paleontological Society of Canada is a national learned society dedicated to the study, preservation, and promotion of paleontology in Canada. Founded in 1960, it engages with institutions such as the Royal Ontario Museum, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Alberta while fostering ties to international bodies like the Geological Society of America, the Palaeontological Association, the International Paleontological Association, the Royal Society, and the Smithsonian Institution.

History

The society was established amid postwar expansion of scientific institutions including the National Research Council (Canada), the Canadian Geological Survey, the University of Saskatchewan, the McGill University Department of Geology, and the University of Calgary to coordinate research across provinces such as Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba. Early leaders included members affiliated with the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Nature, and centers like the Field Museum of Natural History, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Natural History Museum, London. The society’s milestones mirror developments at the Burgess Shale, the Morrison Formation, the Dinosaur Provincial Park, and research campaigns at sites like Saskatchewan River, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Canadian Arctic.

Purpose and Activities

The society promotes research priorities that intersect with institutions such as Paleoecology, Stratigraphy, Paleoceanography, Micropaleontology, and applied programs at the National Parks of Canada and in collaboration with agencies like Parks Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. It supports fieldwork in fossil-rich regions such as the Burgess Shale, the Sierras of British Columbia, the Mackenzie Basin, and the St. Lawrence Lowlands, and engages with scholarly venues like the Royal Society of London, the British Geological Survey, the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences, and the International Union of Geological Sciences.

Publications and Communications

The society publishes peer-reviewed outlets and communicates through channels linked to the Journal of Paleontology, the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, the Bulletin of Canadian Paleontology, the Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, and conference proceedings at meetings hosted with the Geological Association of Canada, the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, and the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. It issues newsletters to members, organizes symposia with the Royal Ontario Museum, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the University of Manitoba, the Dalhousie University, and the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and distributes abstracts to repositories like the Biodiversity Heritage Library and the Palaeontologia Electronica archive.

Membership and Governance

Membership spans academics and professionals affiliated with the University of Calgary, the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Victoria, the University of New Brunswick, and the University of Ottawa, as well as curators from the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the Canadian Museum of Nature, and the Royal Ontario Museum. Governance follows a board structure drawing on expertise from the Royal Society of Canada, the Geological Society of America, the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences, and provincial geological surveys such as the Ontario Geological Survey and the Alberta Geological Survey. Officers have included faculty who held positions at Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Oxford University, and the University of Cambridge.

Awards and Grants

The society administers awards and grants that support work in collaboration with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and foundations such as the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. It honors achievements with prizes akin to those awarded by the Geological Society of America, the Royal Society, and the Palaeontological Association, and funds field grants to projects in regions like Nunavut, Yukon, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Northwest Territories.

Research and Education Initiatives

Initiatives emphasize undergraduate and graduate training at centers including the University of Toronto, the McGill University, the University of Alberta, and the University of British Columbia and support fossil curation at institutions such as the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Thunder Bay Museum. Programs partner with the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, the Geological Association of Canada, the International Paleontological Association, and international universities like Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Chicago, and the University of Tokyo.

Outreach and Collaborations

The society collaborates with museums and agencies including the Royal Ontario Museum, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Parks Canada, and many universities to host public lectures, exhibitions, and field schools at locations such as the Dinosaur Provincial Park, the Burgess Shale World Heritage Site, and the Mount Stephen Trilobite Beds. It coordinates with international partners including the Smithsonian Institution, the Natural History Museum, London, the Field Museum of Natural History, the American Museum of Natural History, the Australian Museum, the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to advance specimen exchange, digitization, and global research networks.

Category:Scientific societies based in Canada Category:Paleontology in Canada