Parks Canada

Invasive plants can reduce biodiversity and compromise ecosystem function by out-competing native species, altering nutrient cycling, destabilizing soils and causing erosion, among other impacts. Prevention of colonization by weedy invaders is achieved through rapid restoration and reduced...

Black swift (Cypseloides niger) have been listed as an Endangered Species by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). In Jasper National Park, black swifts nest in canyon waterfalls and may be affected by decreases in water flow on account of decreased snow pack and...

Common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) inventory supports Jasper National Park’s Multi-species Action Plan. Common nighthawks are a Threatened Species protected under the Federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). Common nighthawks migrate north between early May to mid-June to breed in or near open or...

Forest fires can provide positive effects on forest ecosystems, such as controlling the spread of detrimental insects, maintaining diverse habitats, and the recycling of nutrients across landscapes. Fire management in Jasper National Park aims to maintain these natural processes, and includes...

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

These data are water quality parameters sampled by Environment Canada via a Memorandom of Understanding. The individual parameters were used to calculate results for the Canadian Council of Environment Ministers (CCME) water quality index (WQI).

Bank swallows (Riparia riparia) and Barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) have been listed as Threatened species by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). In Jasper National Park, black swifts nest at variety of sites associated with vertical soil banks, including...

Amphibians around the world are in decline and this has led to many international initiatives to monitor and catalog amphibian biodiversity. The western toad (Bufo boreas) found in Jasper National Park is a species of special concern protected under the Federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). Jasper...

Motion-detection cameras are a cost-effective and non-invasive tool used in Jasper 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 population...

Wapusk National Park (WNP), 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...

Wapusk National Park protects a vast landscape of coastal salt marshes, countless lakes and ponds, and a diversity of boreal-tundra interface habitats, and serves as staging areas for migrating birds, and habitat for a diversity of wildlife. Shallow lakes and ponds are created in part by...

Wapusk National Park is a sub-Arctic protected area covered with snow for over half of the year. Snowpack characteristics can provide important clues to impacts of climate change and park ecological integrity. Snow cover duration and characteristics affect soil and plant and animal components of...

What? Boreal Forest area is currently being monitored for deviations from historical land class types in Cape Breton Highlands National Park using remote sensing. The dataset for this measure is spatial and was created using Geographic Information System Technology. A parameter summary table has...

What? Adult Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) populations are being monitored in the Clyburn River in Cape Breton Highlands National Park during the fall salmon run. When? Monitoring frequency is annually during the adult Atlantic salmon fall run in the Clyburn River. How? Approximately eight...

What? Bicknell’s Thrush (a SARA listed Species at Risk) and other boreal avifauna species abundance is being monitored in the boreal land regions of Cape Breton Highlands National Park to determine if occupancy rates are changing or have changed historically. When? Monitoring frequency occurs...

What? Owl abundance is being monitored in the Acadian land regions of Cape Breton Highlands National Park to determine if occupancy rates are changing or have changed historically. When? Monitoring frequency occurs annually in the spring of each year for the survey routes in Cape Breton Highlands...

What? Lake fish health is being monitored in five lakes throughout Cape Breton Highlands National Park (Freshwater Lake, Warren Lake, Broad Cove Mountain Lake, Branch Pond, and Benjie’s Lake). Data collected is used to determine species presence, CPUE (catch per unit effort), and body condition....

What? Stream flow discharge is being monitored at the Robert’s Brook Gauge Station on the Chéticamp River in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. When? Hourly discharge measurements are taken in real time at the gauge station 365 days per year. How? Hourly discharge measurements are used to...

What? Water samples are collected in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in various freshwater lakes and streams. When? Water samples are taken in select park lakes biannually (ie. spring and fall) and in select park streams annually (during fall season). How? Water samples are collected by hand...

What? Juvenile salmonid densities are being monitored in various rivers within Cape Breton Highlands National Park using electrofishing surveys. When? Monitoring frequency occurs annually in the late summer/early fall once water temperatures have dropped below thermal stress thresholds for...