5/24/2016  |   10:30 - 10:45   |  304-305

WWF-CANADA WATERSHED REPORTS: CREATING A NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE HEALTH OF AND THREATS TO CANADA’S RIVERS Since 2011, WWF-Canada has been working to complete the first national assessment of the country’s rivers. Working with some of the country’s leading freshwater scientists, WWF-Canada developed two assessment frameworks. The health assessment framework is based on four key indicators of river health, whereas the threats assessment framework is based on seven key stressors. These two assessment frameworks – collectively known as Watershed Reports – provide a consistent basis for evaluating the health of and threats to Canada’s watersheds across the country. To date, Watershed Reports have been completed for half of Canada’s 25 major watersheds. Based on these findings, Canada’s watersheds are facing a series of significant threats, particularly pollution, habitat fragmentation and habitat loss. The results also reveal a pronounced lack of available and accessible data on the health of many watersheds, such as the Great Lakes watershed. Where the health of watersheds can confidently be determined based on available data, the majority fall below the threshold of good condition.

Eric Mysak ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), WWF-Canada, emysak@wwfcanada.org;


Catherine Paquette (Primary Presenter/Author), WWF-Canada, cpaquette@wwfcanada.org;


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5/24/2016  |   10:45 - 11:00   |  304-305

PATTERNS IN BENTHIC INVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES IN REFERENCE AREAS IN RIVERS WITHIN THE OIL SANDS DEVELOPMENT REGION OF NORTHERN ALBERTA, CANADA. Benthic invertebrate sampling in streams located in the oil sands development region of Northern Alberta began in the 1970’s. Recent scientific reviews recommended enhanced environmental monitoring to better assess the long-term cumulative effects of oil sands development. In 2012, the Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring set out a phased and adaptive monitoring plan that integrated air, water, land and biodiversity components. A key objective for aquatic ecosystem health was to improve the understanding of benthic community structure in local reference streams and rivers. In samples collected between 2011-2014 from over 50 reference sites, invertebrate communities were diverse, and consisted of typical erosional benthic taxa (EPT). Communities were similar within a river, and differences between rivers were linked to substrate, flow and algal primary production. Preliminary multivariate analyses revealed that, as the proportion of exposed or disturbed land (GIS land use analyses) in the watershed increased, benthic communities were less diverse than reference conditions. Next steps will include determining the causes of the reduced diversity

Joseph M. Culp (Primary Presenter/Author), Environment Canada & Canadian Rivers Institute, Department of Biology, University of New Brunwsick, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, jculp@unb.ca;


Nancy Glozier ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Environment and Climate Change Canada, nancy.glozier@canada.ca;


Allison Ritcey ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Environment and Climate Change Canada, allison.ritcey@canada.ca;


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5/24/2016  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  304-305

HISTORICAL PATTERNS IN WATER QUALITY IN RELATION TO OIL SANDS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT Canada’s oil sands in northern Alberta have been commercially developed since the late 1960s. Although monitoring and research activities have existed in the region, there has been a lack of integration among these efforts. We compiled a 38 year dataset (1972 to 2010) from government and industrial sources to evaluate long-term changes in water quality in relation to type and stage of oil sands mining activities, focusing on three elements associated with bitumen extraction: arsenic, selenium and vanadium. Concentrations did not differ between sites upstream versus downstream of future development, between sites upstream versus downstream of the bitumen geologic formation, or at an upstream site over the 33-year study period. In contrast, concentrations and loads of the three elements were greater (P < 0.01) post-development compared to reference values and were typically greatest (P < 0.01) during the early exploration and land clearing stage of mine development. These results indicate oil sands development, in particular erosion and subsequent runoff associated with early operational activities, have affected water quality in the oil sands region.

Patricia A. Chambers (Primary Presenter/Author), Environment and Climate Change Canada, 867 Lakeshore Rd., Burlington Ontario, Canada, L7R 4A6, patricia.chambers@canada.ca;


Alexa Alexander Trusiak ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Environment and Climate Change Canada, alexa@ecobmi.ca;


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5/24/2016  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  304-305

SEASONAL VARIABILITY OF WATER CHEMISTRY AND BIOTIC COMMUNITIES IN TWO ECOZONES IN NORTHERN ONTARIO, CANADA The Ring of Fire in the Far North of Ontario, Canada is considered be one of the most promising mineral development opportunities in Ontario in almost a century. Covering an area of about 5,000 km² in two Ecozones, recent estimates suggest that the Ring of Fire holds significant potential production of nickel, copper and platinum as well as potential for world-class multi-generational production of chromite. Baseline environmental data has been collected in the region, including mid-summer stream data to be used in future Reference Condition Approach bioassessments. In this study, we examined seasonal variability in water chemistry and benthic invertebrate and periphyton communities by sampling 43 stream sites, split between the Hudson Bay Lowland and Boreal Ecozones, at spring post-breakup, mid-summer and the fall of 2015. Quantifying seasonal variation of water chemistry and biotic communities at these sites, and the influence of Ecozone location on that variability, will be an important component for future bioassessments aimed at detecting and characterizing effects of mining development and associated activities in the region.

Vanessa Bourne (Primary Presenter/Author), Laurentian University, vbourne@laurentian.ca;


John L Bailey ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, jbailey@laurentian.ca;


Aaron Todd ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, aaron.todd@ontario.ca;


Nicole Novodvorsky ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Laurentian University, nnovodvo@gmail.com;


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5/24/2016  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  304-305

STREAM BASIN NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS AND HUMAN ACTIVITIES INTERACT TO INFLUENCE AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNTITIES Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) requires land-clearing for infrastructure, water withdrawal, and chemicals that could alter water quality. The degree that UOG development alters nearby stream quality may also depend on stream basin physical characteristics. We adapted a multi-metric model calculating basin sensitivity and exposure in Fayetteville Shale headwater stream basins. Basin vulnerability combined sensitivity and exposure to compute relative risk of biological degradation. We predicted macroinvertebrates in basins with UOG would be more vulnerable and experience greater change than basins without UOG. We sampled macroinvertebrates in 40 basins over a gradient of vulnerability in streams with and without UOG. Preliminary data show macroinvertebrate diversity decreased linearly with vulnerability regardless of UOG activity. Conversely, macroinvertebrate biomass increased linearly with vulnerability in basins without UOG and biomass increased to an apparent threshold and then declined across an UOG vulnerability gradient from the loss of a common shredder. The different biomass response in basins with and without UOG was likely from differences in the amount and intensity of exposure variables, particularly agriculture, rather than physical characteristics.

Lucy Baker (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Central Arkansas, lucybaker540@gmail.com;


Sally Entrekin ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Virginia Tech, sallye@vt.edu;


Michelle Evans-White ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Arkansas, mevanswh@uark.edu;


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