Whooping Crane Nesting Region (WCNR)
Breeding habitat for the only naturally reproducing population of critically endangered whooping crane, North America’s largest and rarest bird, lies in a remote pond-rich landscape that straddles the Alberta-NWT border within Wood Buffalo National Park. The ponds provide breeding pairs and their nestlings with food, nesting material, and protection from predators, but marked pond water-level variation (rise and drop) reduces nesting success of whooping crane. Little is known about factors influencing the water balance and habitat quality of the ponds, hampers an ability to anticipate consequences of future climate change for conservation of this species. Our collaborative research project aims to increase knowledge of the hydrological processes that regulate pond water balance and how they have changed over space and time by integrating contemporary measurements across the landscape and paleolimnological analyses at selected ponds.
We use:
- Water isotope tracers, depth loggers and water chemistry variables to measure hydrological conditions.
- Biological indicators (e.g., diatoms) to characterize ecological conditions.
- Analysis of contaminant deposition (primary pollutant metals and mercury) from near- and far-field sources to quantify the enrichment that has occurred in recent decades relative to the range of natural variation.
A goal of the research is to contribute to the development of an aquatic ecosystem monitoring program and provide information on the potential vulnerability or resiliency of the shallow ponds to shifts in climate and other potential stressors.
Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD)
Since the early 2000s, our program has undertaken research to inform the development of a monitoring framework for shallow lakes and wetlands in the Peace-Athabasca Delta (northeastern Alberta). The aim is to identify accessible methods for field sampling and data analysis capable of tracking changes in hydrology, water chemistry and contaminant deposition. We integrate contemporary spatial surveys of lakes and river sites that span the broad hydroecological gradients of the delta with paleolimnological analyses of lake sediment cores to disentangle effects of natural versus unnatural processes on changes to aquatic ecosystems.
We use:
- Water isotope tracers and depth loggers to detect changes in lake-water balance and the hydrological processes responsible.
- Water chemistry surveys to determine how hydrological changes alter water quality.
- Analyses of concentrations of metal(loids) and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in lake sediment and periphytic biofilms to quantify the degree to which substances of concern have become enriched (relative to the range of natural variation) since onset of industrial activities located upstream and upwind.
Results to date reveal profound hydrological variability across space and time driven by episodic ice-jam and open-water river flooding, and variations in meteorological and climatic conditions that alter the balance of inputs from precipitation and losses via evaporation. Concentrations of nickel and vanadium in lake surface sediment and periphytic algae are not yet elevated above pre-industrial baseline concentrations.
Our hope is that stakeholders benefit from the knowledge we have generated, and local agencies implement the monitoring approaches we developed.
Thermokarst Landscapes (Old Crow Flats, Hudson Bay Lowlands)
Lake-rich permafrost landscapes in northern Canada are sensitive to changing climate conditions, but ability to track real-time and potentially multiple hydrological responses (e.g. lake expansion, drawdown, drainage) is challenging due to absence of long-term, sustainable monitoring programs in these remote locations. At the Old Crow Flats in northern Yukon, we have collaborated with Vuntut National Park, the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation and others to implement a long-term monitoring program capable of tracking hydrological and ecological changes in the landscape’s abundant shallow lakes. A similar monitoring program has been implemented with Wapusk National Park to track changes shallow lakes of the Hudson Bay Lowlands. In both locations, the monitoring programs are an outcome of foundational research we undertook for several years prior to program implementation.
Grand River Watershed (GRW)
Plastic pollution has become pervasive in the environment, raising concern for ecosystem degradation by microplastics. Research on microplastics within Canadian freshwaters is rapidly emerging, however time trends of microplastics deposition remain largely unknown. Since 2022, we have conducted research in the Grand River Watershed to analyze sediment cores for temporal patterns of change in microplastics deposition. This is part of University of Waterloo’s Microplastics Fingerprinting Project, which aims to understand the sources, transport, and fate of microplastics at a watershed scale.
In our research, we aim to:
- Characterize microplastic abundance and composition through time in a rapidly urbanizing and agricultural watershed using paleolimnological analyses.
- Use this established historical record of microplastic abundance and composition to assess potential driving factors of microplastic accumulation in freshwater environments.
More information on the Microplastics Fingerprinting Project.
