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Non-native plants have invaded most low-elevation habitats and physically disturbed sites in Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP). Parks Canada devotes substantial resources annually to efforts to control or eradicate the most invasive and persistent non-native plants. A Non-native Plant Condition...

Motion-detection cameras are a cost-effective and non-invasive tool used in Waterton Lakes National Park for sampling mammal populations and estimating species occurrence. Occupancy modelling, which uses detection/non-detection data from cameras, provides a useful and flexible framework for...

Freshwater fishes are some of the most imperiled taxa worldwide as evident by the number of threatened and endangered species. For example, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife (COSEWIC) in Canada has listed bull trout (BLTR, Saskatchewan - Nelson Rivers populations) as “threatened”...

Lakes and ponds are a significant aquatic feature in Waterton Lakes National Park. Due to the extreme topography, many of these water bodies were fishless prior to historic stocking. Historic stocking practices have highly altered fish communities. In many locations the presence of nonnative fish...

Long-term population data on birds can provide information on population trends, particularly for species of concern, but it can also provide information on ecosystem structure and function. Monitoring grassland birds is an effective method for assessing the condition of grassland ecosystems,...

Amphibians are vulnerable to an array of environmental changes because of their permeable skin, a complex life history, and a dependence on moist terrestrial or wetland habitats. These attributes make them excellent indicators of the health of aquatic ecosystems. Amphibians can indicate problems...

Birds are the most diverse of land vertebrates and are an important indicator of ecosystem health. Large protected areas, such as Waterton Lakes National Park, provide important habitat for a wide range of bird species. Data collected can provide a number of ecological indices; for example, used...

This program, led by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), is part of a larger national program serving to describe spatial and temporal patterns in water quality on many major rivers in Canada. In Waterton, physical and chemical variables are measured at water quality sites located on...

Elk are by far the dominant ungulate in Waterton Lakes Naitonal Park, with a population large enough to influence park ecosystems, particularly in the montane and aspen parkland ecoregions. As important grazers, they help to maintain grassland health by preventing woody plant encroachment, but...

Monitoring contaminants in gull and tern eggs is a useful tool for gaining insights into local environmental conditions because gulls and terns are integrators of processes occurring at lower levels in the food web and their eggs are generally formed using local food sources. Therefore, the...