Parks Canada

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.

This dataset includes annual average Julian dates of spring green-up, fall brown-down, and plant productivity from 2000-2012. The data were obtained from remote sensing. The MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite provides a composite image of the park every 10 days, which...

The estuary lagoons at Kejimkujik Seaside are important transition zones between saltwater and freshwater habitats providing a rich diversity of niches for organisms, including important nursery areas for some marine species. These barrier beaches are moving landward. It is necessary that they...

Soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria) are a dominant intertidal invertebrate in Kejimkujik lagoons where they perform several important ecological functions including stabilizing the mud flat for other benthic organisms, improving water quality, and providing an important food source to several native...

Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) is an Endangered Species at Risk in Nova Scotia. Its total population in Nova Scotia is < 500 individuals and is disjunct from its main population in Quebec and Ontario. It is important to monitor status and trends in Blanding's turtle populations to...

Wetland surface area may be strongly influenced by changing climate regime, land use change, and/or alterations in local and regional hydrological regime. Monitoring surface area provides a coarse level assessment of ecosystem change in response to potential stressors in the region. Digitized...

Wetland vegetation is strongly related to water level and nutrient availability. These variables can be influenced by many stressors including, acid deposition, long-range transport of air pollutants and climate change. Monitoring vegtation in wetlands will help us better understand changes...

The long-term monitoring of trees on a permanently marked forest plot gives important information on the structure and composition of a forest, the condition, growth rates and longevity of the species of trees composing that forest, changes in species composition or population size that occur...

Benthic invertebrates are considered to be strong indicators of aquatic health. They can be found in all fresh water ecosystems and are sensitive to a variety of environmental disturbances. Hundreds of species inhabit our streams and rivers, some of which are known to be more sensitive than...

Brook trout are top predators in aquatic ecosystems at Kejimkujik that integrate the effects of stressors throughout the aquatic trophic structure. They are sensitive to a variety of stressors, including acidification, changes in water quality, climate change, fishing pressure, exotic species...

Lichen abundance was selected as a measure of stress in forest ecosystems because lichens are well-established bioindicators and have been used for monitoring air pollution globally for many years. They are particularly sensitive to changes in their environment. Lichen species vary in their...

Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) are an important indicator of the health of aquatic ecosystems and are a valued resource for harvest by First Nations and for sport fishing by visitors. Parks Canada monitors lake trout using the Summer Profundal Index Netting (SPIN) method. Area weighted...

Most songbirds in Kluane National Park and Reserve are medium-distance migrants and could be threatened by habitat degradation along migration routes. Songbirds could also indicate whether Kluane’s forests have recovered essential components of habitat after the extensive spruce bark beetle...

Mountain goats are a key species in the alpine tundra in Kluane National Park and Reserve. The potential impacts of climate change on snow depth, the frequency of rain-on-snow-events and the position of altitudinal treeline may influence goat foraging, predator dynamics and thus the survival...

This dataset includes annual average Julian dates of spring green-up, fall brown-down, and plant productivity from 2000-2012. The data are from remote sensing. The MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite provides an image of the park every 10 days, which is used to...

Shrubs are projected to move upslope and expand into the alpine tundra with a warming climate in the Kluane region of Yukon. Shrub expansion will create habitat for some species, such as moose, but cause habitat loss for species such as hoary marmot, collared pika and ptarmigan. Parks Canada...

Amphibians worldwide are facing declines and possible extinction. Wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) are the only amphibian in Kluane National Park and Reserve. They are considered an important component of wetlands and are highly valued by Southern Tutchone peoples. Threats to wood frogs in...

Parks Canada monitors structural change in the spruce forests of Kluane National Park and Reserve following a spruce bark beetle outbreak that began in 1994. Understanding stand development after this landscape-level disturbance will be critical for assessing the resilience of this forest to a...

Parks Canada monitors vegetation composition in Kluane National Park and Reserve forests to determine resilience following a spruce bark beetle outbreak of unprecedented severity that occurred in the mid 1990’s. Understanding stand development after this landscape-level disturbance will be...

Shrubs are projected to move upslope and expand into the alpine tundra with a warming climate in the Kluane region of Yukon. Shrub expansion will create habitat for some species, such as moose, but cause habitat loss for species such as hoary marmot, collared pika and ptarmigan. Parks Canada...