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SFS Annual Meeting

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EXPANDING THE GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE OF THE CANADIAN AQUATIC BIOMONITORING NETWORK

The Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) is a national program led by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) that promotes inter-agency collaboration and data sharing through a common database to achieve consistent and comparable collection and reporting on freshwater aquatic ecosystem conditions. Over 10,000 sites have been sampled across Canada with the majority on the coasts and in Ontario. Canada’s north, the three territories and regions of the provinces with permafrost, covers nearly two thirds of Canada’s landmass. Monitoring in the north provides critical information about the effects of climate change. ECCC faces major challenges in expanding CABIN in the north as remote areas are difficult to access and much of Canada’s north is covered by wetland habitat. To address these challenges, ECCC is developing a Northern Biomonitoring Plan that will focus on engaging Indigenous communities, promoting community-based monitoring and offering alternative training delivery formats that will better meet community needs. In spring 2019, ECCC will also launch the training program for a new standardized wetland sampling protocol to address the monitoring needs for wetland habitats in the north as well as the Prairie Provinces.

Cari-Lyn Epp (Primary Presenter/Author), Environment and Climate Change Canada, cari-lyn.epp@canada.ca;