Parks Canada

Frogs, like all other amphibians, are declining all around the world, in both pristine and protected areas as well as suburban marshes bordered by highways. This decline is due to the combined effects of a number of factors, such as an increase in ultraviolet rays, chemical pollution, habitat...

Yoho National Park monitors invasive alien plants with the use of permanent, random stratified, transects established in each of the three management zones, in close proximity to vectors of spread (highways, trails, campgrounds, etc.). Percent cover of all detected non-native species is recorded...

Yoho National Park monitors invasive alien plants with the use of permanent, random stratified, belt transects established in the alpine. Occurrence frequency of all detected non-native species is recorded along a belt transect.

Vehicle-caused wildlife mortality and wildlife management destruction data for Yoho National Park between the years 2005 and 2017. Each species mortality is recorded by date, location, count, age, gender, and cause. For more recent records please refer to “Human-wildlife coexistence incidents in...

The Yoho National Park measures the condition of lake fish communities by the level of deviation of current fish presence in a lake from historic, pre-stocking fish presence.

Olive-sided Flycatcher observations from incidental observations and mortality data reported in Yoho National Park between 1981- 2017. Each observation is recorded by date, location and number of individuals observed.

The Area Burned Condition Class (ABCC) measure is based closely on the fire cycle concept and assesses the degree of departure from historic or reference area burned levels within a park. ABCC provides an indication on the state of fire as an ecological process. ABCC was developed as a medium to...

Whitebark pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) is an introduced pathogen affecting whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) and limber pine (Pinus flexilis). Whitebark pine is an endangered species protected under the Federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) and Limber pine is designated as an endangered...

A water quality monitoring station on the Yoho River at Yoho Crossing (and Kicking Horse River station near Field) are operated by Environment Canada in partnership with Parks Canada. The Canadian Council of Minister’s metric of Water Quality Index (WQI) is a unitless value between 0 and 100....

American Badger (jeffersonii subspecies) observations from remote wildlife cameras and incidental observations reported in Yoho National Park between 2004. Each observation is recorded by date, location, and number of individuals observed.

Wapusk National Park protects a vast landscape of coastal salt marshes, countless ponds, and a diversity of boreal-tundra interface habitats, and serves as staging areas for migrating birds, including the Lesser Snow Goose (LSGO). Over the last few decades LSGO populations have increased...

Presence of exotic species often represents a level of disturbance in an ecosystem.The park samples invasive wetland plants along coastal transects, which include submerged areas. The focus of this measure are Eurasian watermilfoil and European phragmites. Currently the park has sufficient data...

This measure tracks changes of the lake water level in the coastal ecosystem of GBINP. This is significant in driving ecological processes as well as acting as a stressor in the the park’s costal wetland ecosystem - as it is hydrologically connected to the lake water body, both at the surface and...

GBI monitors water quality in coastal wetlands to report on nutrient loads resulting from human use of day-use areas. The park uses Water Quality Index to assess this measure - which is also a part of the Great Lakes Shoreline monitoring network.

Stiff Yellow Flax (Linum medium var. medium) is considered as a representative shoreline species, its occurrence and presence are affected by water level fluctuations. The park surveys this species` area of occurrence and stem density at selected patches.

The park is developing a protocol to monitor Northern Map Turtles as they congregate to bask along rock outcrops and shorelines on Georgian Bay. The measure will be completed annually through field observations of suitable basking sites. Turtles are long-living slowly-reproducing reptiles and...

Abundance and diversity of frogs and toads is a good indicator for assessing ecological integrity. The park visually counts adult frogs and toads in coastal wetlands after the breeding season. This method does not permit assessment of early breeding species and may overestimate frog abundance...

Measuring decay rate in GBINP allows tracking changes in soil condition and processes. Decay rate was measured by placing wooden sticks in different forest plots and comparing dry wieghts of the sticks before and after the placement, in approximately one year.

The park monitors abundance of redback salamanders in deciduous and mixed forests of Beausoleil Island. These salamanders are the most abundant vertebrate species in eastern forests, and their densities reflect condition of forest habitats. The park uses the cover board method for salamander...

This measure consists of 2 field measurements: Tree Crown Conditions and Stem Defects. These parameters are used to assess overall forest health in the park, as a reduction in crown cover can provide early warning signs of change in forest stand health and succession.