Parks Canada

Elk are by far the dominant ungulate in Waterton Lakes Naitonal Park, with a population large enough to influence park ecosystems, particularly in the montane and aspen parkland ecoregions. As important grazers, they help to maintain grassland health by preventing woody plant encroachment, but...

Monitoring contaminants in gull and tern eggs is a useful tool for gaining insights into local environmental conditions because gulls and terns are integrators of processes occurring at lower levels in the food web and their eggs are generally formed using local food sources. Therefore, the...

The Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) Bison Abundance database is a data set that documents numbers of bison observed during bison population estimate surveys conducted in WBNP. Survey methodology was standardized from 2002 to present. A strip transect survey allows for both minimum counts and a...

Elk Island National Park uses land cover classification to determine spatial changes of grassland vegetation throughout the park. This measure relies on a supervised classification of remotely-sensed multispectral satellite imagery (Landsat). Analysis is performed roughly every five years, using...

Elk Island National Park uses land cover classification to determine spatial changes of forest vegetation throughout the park. This measure relies on a supervised classification of remotely-sensed multispectral satellite imagery (Landsat). Analysis is performed roughly every five years, using...

Elk Island National Park monitors spatial changes to open water features throughout the park. This measure relies on an unsupervised classification of remotely-sensed multispectral satellite imagery (Landsat). Analysis is performed roughly every five years, using images from mid-July.

Elk Island National Park monitors primary productivity to determine the health of forest 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...

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...

"Birds are the most diverse of land vertebrates and are an important indicator of ecosystem health. Large protected areas, such as Banff 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...

“Waterton Lakes National Park - Total GHG Emissions” datasets consist of estimates of GHG emissions (carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)) in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) from forested ecosystems in Waterton Lakes National Park from 1990 to 2020 (tonnes carbon dioxide...

“Elk Island National Park – Total GHG Emissions” datasets consist of estimates of GHG emissions (carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)) in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) from forested ecosystems in Banff National Park from 1990 to 2020 (tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent...

“Elk Island National Park - Total Ecosystem Forest Carbon Density” is the annual carbon density (tonnes carbon per hectare) within Elk Island’s forested ecosystems over a 31-year period from 1990 to 2020. Total Ecosystem Forest Carbon Density includes aboveground and belowground biomass, soil...

“Waterton Lakes National Park - Total Ecosystem Forest Carbon Density” is the annual carbon density (tonnes carbon per hectare) within Waterton Lake’s forested over a 31-year period from 1990 to 2020. Total Ecosystem Forest Carbon Density includes aboveground and belowground biomass, soil carbon,...