Parks Canada

Non-native mammal species are monitored annually in areas critical for the protection important seabird islands. Remote cameras are deployed for 15-days to annually detect any changes to the mammal community at key sites. Non-native species pose the greatest ecological threat in Gwaii Haanas....

The forest understory vegetation community is a key ecosystem component of Haida Gwaii forests. Understory plants provide food for native fauna (bears, birds etc.), structure for nesting habitat (eg. songbirds, auklets), and medicines for Haida use (among others). In Gwaii Haanas, 3 sites are...

Annual visual surveys are used to assess annual occupancy of breeding western toads at 10 known breeding ponds. Because of their reliance on wetland habitat for breeding, western toads are used as a measure of aquatic ecosystem health. The western toad is the only amphibian native to Haida...

Gwaii Haanas has partnered with ECCC to monitor a set of permanent plots mapping colony structure and burrow occupancy rate by excavating samples of burrows of Ancient Murrelet and Cassin’s Auklet. The data are used to determine if the breeding population areas are changing at specific key...

Water Quality is measured annually in both streams and lakes in Gwaii Haanas. Many water quality parameters are collected and they can be grouped into three categories: (1) Physical (e.g. temperature, depth); (2) Chemical (e.g. pH, nutrients) and (3) Biological (chlorophyll a). Water quality is...

Forest loss is monitored annually in Gwaii Haanas with remote sensing, where forest loss is defined as a change from forest to non-forest state over a period of time. Forest loss in Gwaii Haanas is caused by 4 main mechanisms: mass wasting on steep slopes, extreme wind events, extreme rain events...

Counts of nesting pelicans and cormorants at the Lavallee Lake colony are conducted each spring via aerial photography, and mortality is counted each fall by walking transects through the colony. Pelicans and cormorants feed on small and large freshwater fish up to 100 km from the colony and are...

Avian point counts are conducted annually by collecting and transcribing acoustic recordings. Recording stations are located along 11 transects, and are visited on mornings between late May and early July. Songs and calls for all identifiable species are documented. Migratory songbirds are an...

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...

Rangeland health takes multiple ecosystem components into account and reflects overall ecosystem function. Forest and grassland sites are scored on criteria such as plant community composition, plant community structure, moisture retention, soil erosion and bare ground, weed cover and...

Water quality data is based around two of the largest lakes in Prince Albert National Park – Kingsmere and Waskesiu. Data is collected monthly from May through September each year, with additional water chemistry sampling in March. Water chemistry and Secchi disk depths are sampled by boat at...

Annual aerial surveys are conducted along transects in late February to monitor the size of the Sturgeon River Plains Bison population, one of the few wild populations remaining in North America. This species is a key grazer of grasslands and a unique part of regional biodiversity in and around...

The sustainability of species at risk is an important assessment of ecosystem biodiversity. The status of each threatened species can infer how well an ecosystem is functioning to maintain species diversity. Assessing the status of coastal species at risk, including piping plover (Charadrius...

Plant Watch is a national program which has been incorporated into ecological integrity monitoring in PEI National Park. The program adds to understanding of how common plant phenology is responding to climate change. PEI National Park monitors the first bloom Julian dates of four species within...

Plant Watch is a national program which has been incorporated into ecological integrity monitoring in PEI National Park. The program adds to understanding of how common plant phenology is responding to climate change. PEI National Park monitors the first bloom Julian dates of five species within...

Stream benthic invertebrates are important indicators of aquatic health and have been monitored in PEI National Park to assess community diversity as well as abundance of pollution tolerant and intolerant taxa in streams. Benthic invertebrates are collected on an annual basis using the sampling...

In PEI National Park tree health and growth are monitored in 20 long-term permanent forest monitoring plots. These plots were established in 2006 in mature white spruce forests under the Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) program. The measure reports on tree species dominance,...

Annual decay rates in soil humus are monitored in 12 permanent forest plots within PEI National Park using year-to-year dry weight losses of standardized wood pieces (tongue depressors) as a proxy for soil decomposition. Climate change, pollution, dominant vegetation and land-use can all have...

Existing invasive exotic species and the potential introduction of new invasive species pose a threat to forest biodiversity and function. The PEI National Park invasive species composite measure consists of two annual field measurements: the percentage of forest ecosystem with invasive species...

Hydrological patterns determine water depth, flow intensity, duration, and frequency of flooding, as well as low flow periods. Water levels in streams are not considered stable, but fluctuate seasonally. Hydrologic conditions primarily affect abiotic factors such as habitat structure, temperature...