AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Nesting Seabird Populations - Pacific Rim

This program assesses demographic parameters and breeding abundance of 5 species of ground (burrow) nesting seabirds: Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba), Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata), Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Leach's Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma furcata) at the Seabird Rocks Colony through population counts and capture-mark-recapture techniques. Counts of individuals at the colony are done 3-4 times throughout a breeding season (May-July) to estimate the size of the breeding populations. A banding (capture-mark-recapture) program to estimate annual survivorship of the two storm-petrel species is done via mist-net arrays on two consecutive nights in early May and/or mid-to-late July. This project seeks to track the present status of the ground and burrrow-nesting seabirds on Seabird Rocks and any recovery that may occur due to future habitat restoration and/or predator-control measures. Seabird Rocks is the major breeding location for several burrow-nesting seabirds in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and in the Barkley Sound area on southwest Vancouver Island.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Invasive Vascular Plants - Pacific Rim

This program aims to capture the extent of eradicated English Ivy (Hedera helix) and two species of invasive beachgrasses (European beachgrass/European marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) and American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) relative to the total extent mapped in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Areas of known or suspected distribution of invasive plants are mapped and treated as resources allow.  The projects generally follow four phases: discovery, mapping, initial treatment (removal), followed by monitoring and additional treatments until the patch is free of the invasives. Our measure is assessed by comparing the area from which invasive plants have been removed to the sum of the area of occurrences mapped to date. These datasets help to track the establishment and area of distribution of invasive plants while also assessing effectiveness of eradication efforts undertaken by the Park. The invasion of exotic plant species has been recognised as one of the most serious global risks to natural plant communities. They may out-compete the native plants for light (such as English Ivy) and they can change an entire habitat, placing sensitive ecosystems at risk (invasive beachgrasses have the potential to alter the sand budget, sand movement and thus entire foreshore and dune ecosystems, posing a threat to rare or sensitive dune plants and associated species).

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Black Oystercatcher Population – Pacific Rim

This program is used to track Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) population trend, local abundance, and annual survivorship. Bird banding, re-sighting visits and nesting population counts occur annually in the spring, with banding occurring in May to July since 2007, and nesting population counts occurring in late May or early June since 2008. The measurement for this species represents a complete annual census of birds nesting at key nesting locations across the park and is standardized across the three National Parks in the Coastal British Columbia bioregion with links to monitoring programs taking place in Alaska and Washington State. Completely dependent on marine shorelines for its food and nesting, these monogamous and long-lived birds establish well-defined breeding pairs and occupy composite feeding and nesting territories year after year, often along low-sloping gravel or rocky shorelines where intertidal prey are abundant. Black oystercatchers are generally considered to be good measures of quality of the rocky intertidal habitat in the North and North-West Pacific Region of North America.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Juvenile Salmonid Populations- Pacific Rim

This program is used to determine juvenile salmonid population status and trends for Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Surveys occur annually during the first two weeks of August and are focused on Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and Cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii). Data are derived from in-stream salmon fry sampling by use of minnow trap at select streams in the Long Beach and West Coast Trail units of the Park with historical runs of salmon. Salmonid fishes act as an ecological process vector, connecting and transporting energy and nutrients between the freshwater environments, coastal forests and marine ecosystems. They also integrate region-scale changes in the state of the marine environment. Streams flowing through the Long Beach Unit of PRNPR historically supported important runs of Coho, Chum (O. keta) and Chinook (O. tshawytscha) salmon with Sockeye (O. nerka) being an important species in a number of stream-lake systems in the West Coast Trail Unit. The datasets are used to determine the relative abundance of Salmonid fishes relative to a long term average and to assess how salmon bearing creeks respond to ecological restoration.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Kelp Fish Community - Pacific Rim

This program focuses on capturing the abundance and structure of groundfish communities typical of nearshore kelp forests including Black Rockfish (Sebastes melanops), Copper Rockfish (Sebastes caurinus), Kelp Greenling (Hexagrammos decagrammus) and Sea Perch: Kelp Perch (Brachyistius frenatus), Pile Perch (Rhacochilus vacca) and Striped Perch (Embiotoca lateralis) combined. Surveys were completed annually in August and September at sites within the Broken Group Islands and consisted of a transect through a kelp forest patch at approximately 10m depth. Surveys began in 2008 and changed methodology in 2013 from a 2 diver survey (2 surveyors along a 25m long by 4m wide band transect) to a 1 diver survey (1 diver along a 30m long by 2 m wide band transect). This data is used to determine the status and trend in kelp-forest associated fish, including fish abundance and the effectiveness of the Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) on fish abundance. Core areas of the Broken Group Islands have been designated as no angling zones, RCAs, and these are surrounded by a voluntary no-take zone. Therefore, the status of groundfish abundance, size, and distribution in relation to recreational anglers and commercially guided fishing pressures is an important fisheries management consideration for the region.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Fresh Water Quality - Pacific Rim

This project monitors water quality at 14 sites (streams and lakes) within the Long Beach Unit of the Park. A total of 46 water quality parameters are recorded at each site twice per year (spring and fall), including concentrations of nutrients, metals, and physical properties. The thresholds applied to the data are standards prescribed by the federal or provincial government for freshwater aquatic life and overall water quality is ranked based on the annual average CCME WQI (Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index). This measure is used to report and act on issues related to water quality and water pollution in the park from external sources, answering the important questions of: (1) Is water quality, in selected streams or lakes of the Long Beach Unit, within set water quality limits for aquatic wildlife as determined from concentrations of anthropogenically generated contaminants and (2) Is the overall water quality within the specified quality bounds?

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Shoreline Dune Plants - Pacific Rim

This program monitors the extent of three shoreline (dune) plants that are either endangered (Pink Sand-verbena (Abronia umbellata)), threatened (Silky Beach Pea (Lathyrus littoralis), also known as dune sweet-pea, and grey beach peavine), or the obligate habitat of an endangered species (Yellow Sand-verbena (Abronia latifolia), habitat for Sand-verbena moth (Copablepharon fuscum)). The survey is done annually at the end of August/beginning of September and involves a complete census of the Wickaninnish dunes and foredune down to high water mark using an RTK GPS (2.5cm 2DRMS 95%) system. To adjust for surveyor bias (choice of patch boundary and estimates of patch dimensions) and seasonal variations, polygons have been resampled to a 5m square grid and the metric is the sum of the occupied grid cells (area of occupancy). Where practicable the number of individuals has been recorded. In 2010 the survey extent did not include most of the back dune and 2012 data for a portion of the foredune was lost, therefore, data points for these years were imputed. Coastal sand dune habitats are relatively rare and have been declining in extent throughout British Columbia and the Park. Efforts to restore these habitats and fulfill the recovery strategy for Pink Sand-verbena by establishing three self-sustaining populations are ongoing. This measure is also linked to the study of invasive European beachgrass extent along Wickaninnish beach.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Migratory Shorebird Habitat Use - Pacific Rim

This program aims to monitor migratory shorebird abundance, distribution and use on sandy beaches of the Long Beach Unit as an Ecological Integrity condition measure and to monitor the effectiveness of management activities directed at increasing the rate of compliance with domestic animal (leash) regulations as a management effectiveness measure. These datasets result from annual migratory shorebird surveys, during which birds passing through a 100 m section of beach over the course of 30 minutes are counted as are the disturbance events affecting them. Sites (n=20) are surveyed throughout the day (between 6am and 6pm) during the height of spring (20 April to 25 May) and fall (15 July to 1 Oct) migrations and are surveyed 4 to 8 times per migration period per year. It is well-established that migratory shorebirds operate on very tight time and energy budgets and that unexpected loss of time and/or energy reserves can compromise both survival and breeding success of these birds. The effect of human disturbance on migrant birds is a conservation issue of international importance as it can lead to negative long-term population effects. Sandy beaches, which are the primary habitat for some species (e.g. Sanderling (Calidris alba)), are also a focal point visitors to Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and thus of human-wildlife conflict between recreational use, particularly dog running, and shorebird use.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Black bear and other forest mammal populations – Pacific Rim

This project aims to capture population trends by estimating absolute abundance of American Black Bears (Ursus americanus) every 2-3 years and relative abundance of three forest mammals (American Black Bear, Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) and Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus ssp.)) annually. Forty two 6.8 km2 grid cell units on the landscape are surveyed for animal presence three times per season between May and September using remote wildlife cameras. Cameras are cycled through the 42 sites over the course of the sampling season with each survey lasting ca. 2 weeks within a 6 week period. At present 2 methods of abundance estimation are being considered and compared: (1) A DNA-based spatially explicit capture-recapture method that will allow for unbiased estimation of absolute abundance and (2) A wildlife camera trapping method that allows to estimate site occupancy on the landscape as a measure of relative abundance. Forest carnivores provide an excellent resource for long term ecological integrity monitoring and the analysis of population changes over time. Ecosystems with top carnivores are thought to have high biodiversity and be functioning well in terms of nutrient and energy cycling.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Elk - Waterton Lakes - Grasslands

Elk are by far the dominant ungulate in
Waterton Lakes Naitonal Park, with a
population large enough to influence
park ecosystems, particularly in the
montane and aspen parkland ecoregions.
As important grazers, they help to
maintain grassland health by preventing
woody plant encroachment, but overgrazing
will cause grassland health to
deteriorate. In Waterton Lakes National
Park, aerial elk surveys (Figure 1) have
been conducted since the early 1970s. The winter elk population census is conducted by means of an aerial or ground survey, in which a complete minimum population count is calculated, with the goal of detecting change over time. Historic counts are collated from park files and annual reports, as well as survey reports.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Forest Area Burned - Kootenay

The Area Burned Condition Class (ABCC) measure is based closely on the fire cycle concept and assesses the degree of departure from historic or reference area burned levels within a park. ABCC provides an indication on the state of fire as an ecological process.  ABCC was developed as a medium to long term ecological integrity monitoring measure that is fully integrated with the national program of Ecological Integrity (EI) indicators, and measures. Calculations of area burned condition class are according to the methods outlined in the Park Canada Agency’s Fire Monitoring Guide.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Water Quality - Waterton Lakes - Freshwater

This program, led by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), is part of a larger national program serving to describe spatial and temporal patterns in water quality on many major rivers in Canada. In Waterton, physical and chemical variables are measured at water quality sites located on the two major rivers that originate in or flow through the park, the Waterton River and the Belly River. These sites are in the headwaters of major rivers that provide ecosystem services for many downstream users (e.g. drinking water) and are upstream of major point- and non-point source pollution. National park sites represent “reference conditions” for comparison to downstream sites. These sites represent a large upstream catchment that can theoretically capture any potential impacts to water quality.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Terrestrial Birds - Waterton Lakes - Forest

Birds are the most diverse of land vertebrates and are an important indicator of ecosystem health. Large protected areas, such as Waterton Lakes National Park, provide important habitat for a wide range of bird species. Data collected can provide a number of ecological indices; for example, used to assess the effects of land use and climate change. Yearly data are collected at these sites using audio recorders to determine indices of bird diversity and occupancy trends to inform management.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Grassland Birds - Waterton Lakes - Grasslands

Long-term population data on birds can provide information on population trends, particularly for species of concern, but it can also provide information on ecosystem structure and function. Monitoring grassland birds is an effective method for assessing the condition of grassland ecosystems, which are amongst the most dynamic ecosystems in Canada. Grassland ecosystems include ecoregions such as bunchgrass, tall-grass prairies and shrubland, but also open forests such as open ponderosa pine and interior Douglas-fir forests. Grassland ecosystems are maintained by fire and grazing, and are threatened by tree encroachment, intensive agriculture, invasive species, use of pesticides, climate change and overgrazing and trampling by cattle.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Lake Fish Index - Waterton Lakes - Freshwater

Lakes and ponds are a significant aquatic feature in Waterton Lakes National Park. Due to the extreme topography, many of these water bodies were fishless prior to historic stocking. Historic stocking practices have highly altered fish
communities. In many locations the presence of nonnative fish is putting native fish populations in jeopardy. In addition, the stocking of fishless lakes has altered food webs and impacted zooplankton, amphibians and possibly avian distribution.This is a simple measure to describe deviations of current lake fish diversity from historic diversity.The lake fish index measures deviations of current lake fish diversity compared with historic lake fish diversity prior to fish stocking.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Stream Fish Occupancy - Waterton Lakes - Freshwater

Freshwater fishes are some of the most imperiled taxa worldwide as evident by the number of threatened and endangered species. For example, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife (COSEWIC) in Canada has listed bull trout (BLTR, Saskatchewan - Nelson Rivers populations) as “threatened” and westslope cutthroat trout (WSCT, Saskatchewan - Nelson Rivers
populations) have been listed as threatened under the Species at Risk Act (SARA Schedule 1). Parks Canada developed an occupancy
monitoring protocol to understand the relative distribution of both native and nonnative species, and to track these distributions over time. This occupancy survey program is being used to track replacement and/or displacement of our native species and could potentially track the efficacy of restoration
projects.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Multi-Species Mammal Occupancy - Waterton Lakes - Forest

Motion-detection cameras are a cost-effective and non-invasive tool used in Waterton Lakes National Park for sampling mammal populations and estimating species occurrence. Occupancy modelling, which uses detection/non-detection data from cameras, provides a useful and flexible framework for population trend analyses. Data are collected throughout the year across Waterton Lakes National Park to determine change in the distribution of key animal populations as well as supporting demographic predictions to better inform management. 

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Sensitive Species Secure Habitat - Waterton Lakes - Forest

In Waterton Lakes National Park, grizzly bears are used as an umbrella species representing wildlife that are sensitive to human disturbance, whereas the status of secure habitat is used as a surrogate measure for assessing cumulative effects. The status of grizzly bear habitat is therefore considered to be a landscape level indicator of the ecological integrity in Waterton Lakes National Park and the significantly larger regional ecosystem upon which this wide ranging species depends. The Sensitive Species Secure Habitat measureassesses the percent of available grizzly bear habitat in Waterton Lakes National Park; this assessment is based on digital elevation models, remote sensing data, and human activity trail counters.




Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Invasive non-native plants - Waterton Lakes - Grasslands

Non-native plants have invaded most low-elevation habitats and physically disturbed sites in Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP). Parks Canada devotes substantial resources annually to efforts to control or eradicate the most invasive and persistent non-native plants. A Non-native Plant Condition Monitoring protocol was developed to detect changes in the abundance and distribution of non-native plant species across vulnerable regions of WLNP, and to gain an understanding of the severities and differences in impacts that non-native plants have on native plant communities. Relative abundance (I.e. percent cover) of non-native invasive plant species in the fescue grasslands and aspen parkland regions in the WLNP is  estimated using spatially balanced random sampling.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Area disturbed by Fire - Waterton Lakes - Forest

Fire plays an important role in restoring health to our forests and maintains biodiversity by creating a mosaic of forest stands of varying age structure. Forests in the Montane and Subalpine ecoregions have become overgrown and dense. Fire history studies have suggested that fire use by First Nations was common, although probably not ubiquitous. The removal of most human caused fires by the beginning of the 20th century along with fire suppression and landscape fragmentation since that time have greatly decreased area burned and modified fire regimes. The Area Burned Condition Class (ABCC) measure has been designed to be evaluated and reported as a condition monitoring measure within the Parks Canada Agency National Ecological Integrity (EI) Monitoring program in all national parks with fire-dependent vegetation. This measure is based closely on the fire cycle concept and assesses the degree of departure (Area Burned Difference) from historic or reference area burned levels within a park.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Area disturbed by Fire - Waterton Lakes - Grasslands

Fire plays an important role in maintaining health of forests and grasslands, and maintains biodiversity by creating a mosaic of varying age structure. The fescue grasslands of the Foothills Parkland Ecoregion were historically maintained by fire, both from natural causes and by First Nations. More than a century of fire suppression has contributed to loss of open grasslands due to shrub and aspen encroachment. The Area Burned Condition Class (ABCC) measure is designed to be evaluated and reported as a condition monitoring measure within the Parks Canada Agency National Ecological Integrity (EI) Monitoring program in all national parks with fire-dependent vegetation. This measure is based closely on the fire cycle concept and assesses the degree of departure (Area Burned Difference) from historic or reference area burned levels within a park.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
5 Needled Pine - Health transects - Waterton Lakes - Forest

Whitebark pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) is an introduced pathogen affecting whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) and limber pine (Pinus flexilis).  Whitebark pine is an endangered species protected under the Federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) and Limber pine is designated as an endangered species by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). Infection and mortality rates of these species are increasing across their northern range. Every five years, data are collected from permanently marked plots to monitor infection levels across the mountain national parks. Survey data are collected to quantify infection for Waterton Lakes National Park to inform management action. 

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Invasive Plant Cover - Waterton Lakes - Conservation and Restoration Project (Fescue)

Only 2.1% of the Foothills Parkland ecoregion is protected within any federal or provincial park in Canada. Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP) is the only national park where this scenic and biologically diverse ecoregion is protected.  Scarcity of fire and lack of bison grazing have contributed to encroachment of aspen forest and homogenization of the fescue grassland. This area also has the highest occurrence of non-native invasive plants. As part of WLNP's Conservation and Restoration (CORE) project (Rescue the Fescue), an early detection rapid response system for new high priority invasive plant infestations has been implemented, along with an inventory and control protocols for known infestations. A monitoring program is in place to assess if we are meeting our goal of a 10% reduction in the cover of priority invasive non-native plants by 2019. Measurements are based on a visual assessment of the percent foliar cover of each species in the plot. 

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada