Parks Canada

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...

This measure tracks changes of the lake water level in the coastal ecosystem of GBINP. This is significant in driving ecological processes as well as acting as a stressor in the the park’s costal wetland ecosystem - as it is hydrologically connected to the lake water body, both at the surface and...

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.

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.

The park measures forest regeneration and succession on 15 EMAN plots in deciduous and mixed forests on Beausoleil Island. The surveys report on the number, height class and survival of tree seedlings and saplings.

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...

This dataset is a simplified version of water quality measurements taken in Ivvavik National Park. It is a collection of measurements which make up two water quality indexes: Nutrients and Major Ions (NMI) Index and Metals Index. The measurements are taken along the Firth River annually in...

This dataset is a record of bird species that have been observed at Sheep Creek and Margaret Lake in Ivvavik National Park. The survey is designed to detect changes in the abundance of a selected suite of individual species within each of the vegetation communities at selected elevations sampled...

This dataset contains species counts that have been collected using an array of 30 remote wildlife cameras. The purpose of the study is to monitor grizzly populations. The wildlife cameras are therefore placed strategically in Grizzly habitat within and adjacent to the Firth River Corridor in...

This dataset contains monitoring data for benthic invertebrate communities along the Firth River Corridor. The raw data in this dataset is used to calculate benthic invertebrate richness and the percentage of Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Trichoptera (caddisflies) (EPT)...

This dataset is a collection of measurements which make up two water quality indexes: Nutrients, Physical and Major Ions (NPMI) Index and Metals Index. The measurements are taken at two different locations along the Firth River (at the mouth of the river and at Sheeps Creek) annually in mid-July....

This dataset measures the temperature of the soil at 4 depths: 1 meter, 5 meters, 10 meters and 14 meters. This permafrost data is collected using Hobodata loggers that collect data at 12 hour intervals throughout the year. Field maintenance and station updates occur annually in late March and...

Wetland water quality is an important determinant of wetland condition. Wetland water quality can be strongly influenced by many stressors, including land use change and forestry practices, acid deposition and long-range transport of air pollutants and climate change. Monitoring water quality...

Water quality is a globally accepted and widely used measure for assessing and monitoring the condition of freshwater ecosystems. It has a pivotal affect on the integrity of aquatic ecosystems. The physical and chemical characteristics of water have a strong influence on aquatic biota and...