Deltaic Ecosystem Health, Oil Sands Region

Deltaic Wetlands Biomonitoring Wetland macroinvertebrates, comprising insects, crustaceans, molluscs and worms represent a group of organisms forming a critical food resource for consumer organisms (e.g. fish, birds), that are used widely in environmental monitoring programs to assess both the short-and long-term effects of change associated with water quality or physical habitat conditions on aquatic ecosystem health. Macroinverebrate samples from the Peace-Athabasca Delta have been collected annually since the initial reconnaissance year (2011). In addition, supporting water chemistry samples were collected at each site on the same date. The species richness of invertebrates recorded in the Peace-Athabasca Delta sites was reflective of the complex and diverse habitats found in that area, although definitive conclusions regarding natural variations and impacts of development will require several more years of sampling. The integration of the resulting macroinvertebrate data with supporting environmental information is ongoing at this time. Biomonitoring Water Quality Verified and validated water quality data from fall of 2011 through to the fall of 2013 collected to support…

Publisher

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Resources

9

Catalogue metadata updated

2022-04-07