Parks Canada

Rail- and vehicle-caused wildlife mortality and wildlife management destruction data for Banff National Park between the years 2005 and 2017. Each species mortality is recorded by date, location, count, age, gender, and cause. For more recent records please refer to “Human-wildlife coexistence...

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 beaver (Castor canadensis) is a large, primarily nocturnal semi-aquatic rodent used as an indicator of the conditions in freshwater ecosystems due to its role as a keystone species and an ecosystem engineer. The potential for beaver colonization within Kouchibouguac National Park is...

The Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) is a valuable multi-metric approach to assess the integrity of fish assemblages in aquatic ecosystems. The purpose of the estuarine IBI monitoring program at Kouchibouguac National Park is to use this index in order to evaluate the condition of selected rivers...

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...

At the establishment of Kouchibouguac National Park in 1969, remnants of past human history and intervention activities such as agriculture and wood harvesting since the mid-1880s have significantly influenced the Park’s current landscape. To this day, human-caused disturbance continues through...

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...

Songbirds are indicators of habitat conditions within forest or bog ecosystems, as these species have a high level of specialisation to various ecological niches and are extremely sensitive to natural processes. In consequence, these communities can demonstrate a rapid response to a broad range...

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...

The Acadian forest in a natural state is one of the richest and more diverse temperate forests in the World, however it has been listed as one of six endangered forests in North America and is also the predominant ecosystem within Kouchibouguac National Park. A few key tree species of priority...

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...

On insular Newfoundland, the Arctic Hare reaches the southernmost limit of their distribution and are typically found in mountainous areas where elevation and climate have created an arctic-like landscape therefore making it an important herbivore species within the Tundra/Barrens ecosystem. A...

In eastern Canada, Harlequin ducks are uncommon and are listed by COSEWIC as a species of special concern. Resident of fast flowing-rivers and streams during the breeding season, their presence and abundance reflects the health of these ecosystems. The park censuses harlequin ducks on four rivers...

Herb willow is dominant Arctic-alpine plant in snowbeds and, being a low-growing species, could potentially be crowded out if southern species colonise these sites. Herb willow is being monitored at 14 snowbeds in Gros Morne. At each snowbed willow is sampled along a 1 m x 15 m permanent strip...