Parks Canada

Elk Island National Park monitors primary productivity to determine the health of grassland vegetation throughout the park. This measure relies on remotely-sensed multispectral satellite imagery, specifically, the Landsat Shortwave Infrared (SWIR2) and Near Infrared (NIR) bands. Analysis is...

The Elk Island National Park monitors the functions and health of grassland and forest ecosystems that are influenced by herbivory. This includes monitoring vegetation structure, intensity of browsing, primary productivity, soil/site stability, capture and beneficial release of water, functional...

Forest birds in Elk Island National Park are surveyed annually along 24 established routes, with 4 stations along each route. The stations are spaced 400-600 meters apart. Sampling occurs between late May and early July. Forest bird surveys have occurred in the Park since 1985, but current...

The Elk Island National Park monitors the lake water quality annually in two lakes by measuring parameters such as: nutrients, heavy metals, major ions, physical characteristics, and pollutants/contaminants.

Elk Island National Park measures beaver abundance and distribution every three years in the fall using aerial surveys to count beaver food caches.

Elk Island National Park annually conducts an aerial census of bison populations of the entire park, as well as opportunistically surveying herd composition. Bison population data is in the same database as elk and moose populations.

The Elk Island National Park annually monitors the change in amphibian occupancy by using call counts, including data collected by citizen scientists.

Elk Island National Park conducts an ungulate aerial surveys of the entire park, to census the elk and moose populations. The surveys are carried out in the late fall or winter annually. Park staff also conducts opportunistic counts of elk and moose over the summer and obtain demographic...

Sensitivity analyses indicate that a small drop in black bear survival rates greatly increases the risk of extinction in both females and males. Since the mortality rate of bears in the park is directly affected by harvesting intensity and habitat alteration, La Mauricie National Park aims to...

The effects of climate warming, eutrophication, air pollutant inputs and forestry activity that occurred before La Mauricie National Park was created influenced and continue to influence today water quality in the park. These stress factors threaten the natural evolution of aquatic ecosystems....

The number of common loons and their breeding range have decreased significantly since the beginning of the century. There is concern about the number of breeding pairs and the number of fledglings. In order to determine what the population status is throughout La Mauricie National Park, loons...

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...

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...

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.

Georgian Bay Islands National Park uses point counts to monitor forest birds on Beausoleil Island; this measure focuses on the abundance of five common songbird species and overall diversity.