Parks Canada

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

These data are counts of Banff Springs Snails from 7 thermal springs in Banff National Park. Counts are assumed to be a census as all snails at each springs were counted.

The Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) is a national aquatic biomonitoring program, established and maintained by Environment and Climate Change Canada, to provide a standardized protocol for the ecological assessment of freshwater ecosystems with the use of benthic macroinvertebrate...

Red-breasted mergansers (Mergus serrator) are colonial birds found on Tern Islands, a set of three small barrier islands separated by water at high tide located within Kouchibouguac National Park. These piscivorous sea ducks are indicators for the state of the breeding islands and associated...

The second largest concentration of common terns (Sterna hirundo) in North America is found on Tern Islands, a set of three small barrier islands separated by water at high tide located within Kouchibouguac National Park. These seabirds are indicators for the condition of coastal, marine, as well...

The influence of water temperature on the ecology of aquatic organisms with optimal thermal ranges is quite substantial, as these regimes regulate activity, growth, survival, and spawning behaviour. In consequence, a deviation from normal temperature ranges often cause displacement, disease, or...

The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is a small endangered shorebird listed under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). This species uses ocean shorelines as breeding grounds and nests in soft sandy areas with sparse vegetation above the high tide water line. These birds are indicators for...

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) has designed a Water Quality Index (WQI) to translate complex water quality data into an overall integrated score from 0-100. This score is based on the number of measured variables, which have observations exceeding water quality...

River otters (Lontra canadensis) are semi-aquatic mammalian predators closely associated to freshwater resources but also linked to terrestrial habitat features, at the aquatic-terrestrial interface of riparian zones. This species is an indicator of freshwater ecosystem conditions as healthy...

Peatlands are valuable ecosystems due to their critical ecological functions, however these sensitive habitats are vulnerable to various anthropogenic (e.g., peat-moss extraction, forestry or land-use practices, hydrological modifications, fragmentation, infrastructures); atmospheric (e.g., acid...

Plethodontid salamanders are ‘early warning’ indicators of biodiversity and forest conditions due to the high densities of populations in addition to the keystone role of this species in ecosystem processes as well as in food web dynamics. The purpose of the salamanders monitoring program at...

The Island of Newfoundland is home to the most southerly population of Rock Ptarmigan in North America and is the only place where the subspecies Lagopus mutus welchi can be found. Rock Ptarmigan are the only species of bird that live year round in the Alpine tundra of Gros Morne. This measure...

Stream thermal regime has important consequences for aquatic organisms, and is sensitive to climate and land use. The Park is monitoring thermal regimes at 10 sites annually from spring to fall using temperature loggers. The water temperature is recorded hourly and these data used to assess the...

Atlantic salmon are an ecologically and culturally important species in healthy aquatic systems of western Newfoundland. This measure determines the status and trend, over a 10 year period, of Atlantic salmon returning to spawn in three rivers in Gros Morne - Western Brook, Trout River and Deer...

Stream hydrology strongly affects habitat quality for most stream-dwelling species, and is affected by both climate and land use. This measure, which is colocated with stream temperature regime, reports on flow parameters in 10-12 park streams over time - using in-situ water level data loggers,...

Terra Nova National Park conducts weekly shorebird surveys during August and early September in order to monitor the abundance of Greater Yellowlegs and other shorebird species.

Terra Nova National Park monitors crab populations for the presence of the invasive European Green Crab; the abundance of native Rock Crab is also monitored. Park personnel uses baited traps for these surveys.

Terra Nova National Park uses fixed station stream gauges and pressure temperature loggers to monitor the following stream flow aspects: Richards-Baker index of flashiness, ratio of yearly precipitation to runoff, low flow volume, annual maxima/minima, and mean monthly flow.

Occupancy data for wildlife species are collected from seven snow track transects, where the presence or absence of tracks for each species is recorded every 100m. Tracks are allowed to accumulate for at least 48 hours after transects have been set by a fresh snowfall or a snowmobile pulling a...

This dataset identifies the location and area burned for fires within the current Prince Albert National Park boundary. All fires over 2 ha from 1930--2017 are included and fires under 2 ha are included opportunistically. Multiple sources are used to gather information about each fire. If area...