Evaluation of Toronto Region Area of Concern Degradation of Phytoplankton and Zooplankton Populations and Analysis to Support Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat Beneficial Use Impairments (BUI)

This dataset supports the assessment of plankton community structure and water quality within Toronto Area of Concern (AOC). The data was collected to evaluate the Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) 13 - Degradation of Phytoplankton and Zooplankton Populations, and to provide georeferenced habitat information relevant to BUI 14 - Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat. The dataset provides a complete suite of water quality, microbial, phytoplankton and zooplankton observations collected from multiple georeferenced stations throughout the Toronto Harbor. Each datapoint includes latitude and longitude, sampling date, year and season, along with physiochemical measurements such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, nitrate + nitrite, chlorophyll-a and turbidity. Biological data includes phytoplankton, zooplankton and rotifer abundance and biomass across major taxonomic groups, as well as size structured zooplankton data distinguishing small and large taxa. The dataset also includes microbial community metrics and rate-based parameters such as bacterial growth rates, primary productivity and bacterial production. Sampling was conducted across multiple ecotypes…

Publisher

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Resources

7

Catalogue metadata updated

2026-03-24