Parks Canada

On insular Newfoundland, the Arctic Hare reaches the southernmost limit of their distribution and are typically found in mountainous areas where elevation and climate have created an arctic-like landscape therefore making it an important herbivore species within the Tundra/Barrens ecosystem. A...

In eastern Canada, Harlequin ducks are uncommon and are listed by COSEWIC as a species of special concern. Resident of fast flowing-rivers and streams during the breeding season, their presence and abundance reflects the health of these ecosystems. The park censuses harlequin ducks on four rivers...

Herb willow is dominant Arctic-alpine plant in snowbeds and, being a low-growing species, could potentially be crowded out if southern species colonise these sites. Herb willow is being monitored at 14 snowbeds in Gros Morne. At each snowbed willow is sampled along a 1 m x 15 m permanent strip...

Overbrowsing of balsam fir saplings by introduced moose can lead to stand conversion to non-forest. The park measures the browse rates of fir saplings in mature forest stands, which will indicate whether non-browsed advanced regeneration is sufficent to allow stand replacement following...

Birds are an important component of the biodiversity of boreal forests and bird populations can serve as a useful measure of forest health. The monitoring of winter forest bird assemblage combines a passive point count with broadcasts of chickadee and Red Crossbill calls. The survey is done for...

Beavers are important ecosystem architects, creating wetland habitats, thickets and meadows by damming streams and cutting down woody vegetation along stream banks. This measure consist of an aerial survey of the number of active beaver colonies in lowland forests of Gros Morne National Park. It...

Intensive moose browsing appears to have led to a large reduction in woody plant abundance and diversity in Gros Morne National Park mature forests.This measure assess the biodiversity of native shrubs and tree saplings in the understory of mature balsam fir forest stands. Stems are being...

Introduced Moose, lacking natural predators in Gros Morne, are causing widespread damage in park forests. Park-wide Moose density will be monitored using aerial surveys and estimated using the Gasaway (1986) stratified random block method. Bull, cow, calf and unknown Moose are counted in...

Terra Nova National Park monitors non-native mammal browse pressure on forest plant communities on transects and plots.

Late snowbeds afford critical habitat for many species of Arctic and alpine plants in Gros Morne National Park. Temperature loggers are being anchored at ground level within the perimeter of 14 late snowbeds, which allows measurement of the meltout date for that point in each snowbed each year.

The park correlates pitcher plant morpology with availability of atmospheric nitrogen, as the latter may affect pitcher-plant development.

The park monitors water quality of streams and ponds (lakes) on a triennial cycle, reporting on total organic carbon, acidity, phosphorus, nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and Chlorophyll A. These metrics are compiled into a water quality index (WQI) that summarizes overall water quality.

The park is developing a protocol to monitor the extent of eelgrass beds through remote sensing.

Terra Nova National Park employs a kicknet sampling procedure to monitor the species richness and relative species abundance of stream invertebrates. Streams chosen for sampling are randomly selected within second order watersheds.

The park employs aerial surveys to map active beaver lodges/dams in Terra Nova. A selection of sites are ground-thruthed on foot or by canoe.

Terra Nova National Park monitors wetland plant richness at 30 randomly selected plots along a 80 meter transect.

This measure includes monitoring of browsing impacts of non-native mammals on populations of the balsam fir populations at 30 randomly selected plots. This measure records percent of browsing on particular firs, and collects multiple metrics, including species diversity, seral stage, etc.

Terra Nova National Park monitors intertidal invertebrate communities using a line transect and quadrat sampling method. The survey focusses on invertebrate community composition and diversity, and should detect presence of invasive marine species.

The park monitors angling stress in several ponds (lakes) in Terra Nova with Fyke nets. Angling stress is assesed against calculated values of fish biomass and fish condition (Fulton’s condition factor, K).

Terra Nova National Park employs fixed station pressure/temperature loggers to continuously monitor stream water temperatures over the entire summer at designated stream study sites.