Environment and Climate Change Canada

An Area of Concern (AOC) is a location where environmental quality is degraded compared to other areas in the Great Lake Basin resulting in the impairment of beneficial uses. A total of 43 AOCs were identified as a result of Annex 2 of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA).The...

Ringed seals (Phoca hispida) are harvested annually in Arviat and Resolute (Nunavut), Sachs Harbour (Northwest Territories) and Nain (Labrador) with the help of the communities in the context of an environmental monitoring program. Samples of meat, blubber, liver and kidney are collected for...

Expanded Geographic Area (M9, M10, M11a, M12, BI1, RI1, SL1, SL2, QU1 [2013] and M9, M10, M11a, M12, BI1, BU1, BU2, RI1, SL1, SL2, QU1, MC2 [2011-March 2018]) Water quality chemistry data for 17 sites in the lower Athabasca River (LAR), the Peace and Slave rivers, and their tributaries, including...

Shallow groundwater and the interaction of these waters with surface water in the mineable area of the Athabasca oil sands region are being examined to assess the role and importance of groundwater in the regional river ecosystems. Groundwater quality chemistry data is available from 182 shallow...

Water chemistry, 26 different metals, and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) were measured at 21 wetland sites where studies of amphibian health are being conducted. The water chemistry measurements (pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, etc.) are used to further assess water quality,...

Avian Health and Contaminants Data on tree swallow clutch size and nestling weight, wing length, organ size, and measures of thyroid function were collected from study sites near active mine pits, tailings ponds and processing plants on oil sands leases in Alberta, and at relatively undisturbed...

Metals in Mallards (pooled 2013 collections) Adult male mallards were collected in 2013 in the area surrounding five Alberta communities south of the Athabasca oil sands industrial region (Mayerthorpe, Barrhead, Lac La Biche, St. Paul and Vermilion) and from two communities north of the...

Assessing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and naphthenic acid concentrations in soils collected in 2012 – Field and Laboratory Assessment of Contaminants The concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and naphthenic acids (NAs) were measured in soil samples collected in 2012....

Colonial Waterbird Health and Contaminants This data set contains concentrations of heavy metals, including mercury, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and stable nitrogen isotopes in five species of colonial waterbird eggs (California Gull, Herring...

Plant species richness, composition, and soil chemistry parameters were assessed in wetlands and uplands in the oil sands region of northern Alberta. The concentrations of metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in soil and plant samples collected from 2012-2014, and...

In this study, the chronic effects of 2 BZT-UVs, 2-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4,6-bis(1-methyl-1-phenylethyl)phenol (UV-234) and 2-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4,6-di-tert-pentylphenol (UV-328) were evaluated for each compound alone and in a mixture on the freshwater green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii...

The objectives of the present long‐term study, spanning a 45 year period, were to 1) investigate the temporal trends of total mercury (THg; muscle and liver) and selenium (Se; liver) in ringed seals (Pusa hispida) from different regions of the Canadian Arctic; and 2) examine possible...

This dataset contains the concentrations of contaminants found in individual and pooled captured Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) and Shorthead Redhorse (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) from 5 site locations (Stag Island, Lake Huron, Walpole Marsh, Chanel Ecarte, and Chenal Ecarte/Port Lambton) within...

Acute and chronic toxicity and modes of action of benzotriazoles (BZTs) and benzotriazoles UV-stabilizers (BZT-UVs) were evaluated in freshwater invertebrates, algae, and fish. Gene transcription, life history (viability, growth, reproduction), and protein activities were measured after short and...

Restrictions in the utilization of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) mixtures have led to the increased usage of alternative flame retardant additives in a wide range of commercial applications. The present study examined the occurrence of established and emerging flame retardants (EFRs) in...

Ringed seals (Phoca hispida) have been used as bioindicator species of environmental contamination in Canada since the 1970s. In the present study, seals were harvested during subsistence hunts in four regions of the Canadian Arctic: Beaufort Sea, Arctic Archipelago, Hudson Bay, and coastal...

Freshwater mussels contribute important ecological functions to aquatic systems. The water filtered by mussel assemblages can improve water quality, and the mixing of sediments by burrowing mussels can improve oxygen content and release nutrients. However, nearly 70 percent of North American...

Oil Sands Sediment Exposures of Embryo-larval Fathead Minnows Dataset contains laboratory-studied fathead minnow egg and larval survival rates when exposed to sediments collected from 18 sites in the Athabasca watershed (2010-2014). A controlled laboratory study examined the impacts on fathead...

Fish Status and Ecosystem Health - Caged Invertebrates In situ exposures of Hyalella azteca in Athabasca River tributaries - Summary of activities (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) In situ exposures with Hyalella azteca were conducted within the oil sands region to assess differences in survival and...

Dataset contains laboratory-studied Fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) survival when exposed to bitumen sediments from the oil sands region of northern Alberta, cut through the McMurray Formation (MF). These are the results of the toxicological exposures, when Fathead minnow embryos were...