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LRTAP Research Database: Aquatic Food Chain Research
Information Holding Overview |
Information Holding Title: |
LRTAP Research Database: Aquatic Food Chain Research |
Description of Information Holding: |
This research studied the effects of acidification on aquatic food chains (fish, amphibians, invertebrates and their inter-relationships) in small lakes of acid-sensitive regions of Ontario. Information from these surveys (both methodology and results) formed the basis for the approach used in the LRTAP Biomonitoring Food Chain Monitoring Program conducted in Algoma, Muskoka and Sudbury in the years following 1987. These data consist of occurrence / counts of food chain organisms (primary waterfowl foods or important competitors / predators: aquatic invertebrates, fish and amphibians) collected from the littoral zone, and corresponding physical and chemical characteristics of small lakes in Algoma and Sudbury. Data is identified to the lowest taxonomic level (also by lifestage) but can by pooled to higher levels, and is also organized by collection method. Currently data are distributed across several files and require compilation into one database. |
Type of Information Holding: |
database |
Location: |
Wanapitei site near Sudbury; Ranger Lake near Sault Ste Marie; Carp Hills near Ottawa |
Habitat Under Study: |
lake |
Project Title: |
Long Range Transport of Air Pollutants (LRTAP) Research |
Description of Project: |
This project (now completed) was comprised of specific research questions directed towards filling knowledge gaps in acid rain research, namely: 1) the effects of acidification on wetlands (bogs and fens - peatlands) and the wildlife they support; 2) the effects of acidification on aquatic food chains of small lakes, with particular attention to waterfowl prey (macroinvertebrates and small, non-game fish); and 3) the effects of acidification on waterfowl, with respect to their distribution and habitat use, their reproductive biology, and their diet and physical condition. Information from these studies (both methodology and results) formed the basis for the waterfowl and aquatic food chain monitoring used in the LRTAP Biomonitoring Project in the years following 1987. |
Purpose of the Project: |
To fill a knowledge gap in the acid rain research, namely the effects of acidification on wetlands and their wildlife, aquatic food chains and waterfowl biology. |
Project Duration: |
1980 - 1990 |
Project Partners: |
ESSA Technologies Ltd. Ken Ross, Canadian Wildlife Service (Nepean) Barry Bendell, formerly Canadian Wildlife Service (Nepean) Tony Scheuhammer, Metals Research Scientist, Canadian Wildlife Service National Wildlife Research Centre Pat Weatherhead, Carleton University Mark Wayland, Canadian Wildlife Service (Saskatoon) Pete Blancher, Canadian Wildlife Service National Wildlife Research Centre
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Project Contact: |
Wildlife.Ontario@ec.gc.ca
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Links: |
(None)
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Publications: |
- Bendell, B. E. (1988).
Lake acidity and the distribution and abundance of water striders (Hemiptera: Gerridae) near Sudbury, Ontario. Can. J. Zool. 66(10): 2209-2211.
- Bendell, B. E. (1986).
The effects of fish and pH on the distribution and abundance of backswimmers (Hemiptera: Notonectidae). Can. J. Zool. 64(12): 2696-2699.
- Bendell, B. E. and D. K. McNicol. (1995).
The diet of insectivorous ducklings and the acidification of small Ontario lakes. Can. J. Zool. 73: 2044-2051.
- Bendell, B. E. and D. K. McNicol. (1995).
Lake acidity, fish predation and the distribution and abundance of some littoral insects. Hydrobiol. 302(2): 133-145.
- Bendell, B. E. and D. K. McNicol. (1993).
Gastropods from small northeastern Ontario lakes: their value as indicators of acidification. Can. Field-Nat. 107(3): 267-272.
- Bendell, B. E. and D. K. McNicol. (1991).
An assessment of leeches (Hirudinea) as indicators of lake acidification. Can. J. Zool. 69(1): 130-133.
- Bendell, B. E. and D. K. McNicol. (1987).
Fish predation, lake acidity and the composition of aquatic insect asemblages. Hydrobiol. 150: 193-202.
- Bendell, B. E. and D. K. McNicol. (1987).
Cyprinid assemblages, and the physical and chemical characteristics of small northern Ontario lakes. Environ. Biol. Fishes 19(3): 229-234.
- Bendell, B. E. and D. K. McNicol. (1987).
Estimation of nektonic insect populations. Freshwater Biol. 18: 105-108.
- Bendell, B. E. and D. K. McNicol. (1983).
Effects of acidic precipitation on waterfowl populations in northern Ontario II. Fish community associations in small lakes in the Ranger Lake area, their relationships to chemical and physiographical variables, and their implications for waterfowl productivity. CWS (Ontario Region) LRTAP Program Progress Report. 61 pp.
- Bendell, B. E. and D. K. McNicol. (1982).
Effects of acidic precipitation on waterfowl populations in northern Ontario I. Relationships between macroinvertebrate and fish faunas in smaller headwater lakes in the Ranger Lake area. CWS (Ontario Region) LRTAP Program Progress Report. 51 pp.
- Blancher, P. J., C. L. Furlonger, and D. K. McNicol. (1987).
Diet of nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) near Sudbury, Ontario, summer 1986. Can. Wildl. Serv. Tech. Rep. 31. 14 pp.
- Blancher, P. J. and D. G. McAuley. (1987).
Influence of wetland acidity on avian breeding success. Trans. N Am. Wildl. Nat. Resour. Conf. 52: 628-635.
- Blancher, P. J. and D. K. McNicol. (1991).
Tree swallow diet in relation to wetland acidity. Can. J. Zool. 69(10): 2629-2637.
- Blancher, P. J., and D. K. McNicol. (1988).
Breeding biology of tree swallows in relation to wetland acidity. Can. J. Zool. 66(4): 842-849.
- Blancher, P. J. and D. K. McNicol. (1987).
Peatland water chemistry in central Ontario in relation to acid deposition. Water Air Soil Pollut. 35: 217-232.
- Blancher, P. J. and D. K. McNicol. (1986).
Investigations into the effects of acid precipitation on wetland-dwelling wildlife in northeastern Ontario. Can. Wildl. Serv. Tech. Rep. 2. 153 pp.
- Blancher, P. J., D. K. McNicol, R. K. Ross, C. H. R. Wedeles, and P. Morrison. (1992).
Towards a model of acidification effects on waterfowl in eastern Canada. Environ. Pollut. 78: 57-63.
- Longcore, J. R., H. Boyd, R. T. Brooks, G. M. Haramis, D. K. McNicol, J. R. Newman, K. A. Smith, and F. Stearns. (1993).
Acidic depositions: effects on wildlife and habitats. Wildl. Soc. Tech. Rev. 93-1. 42 pp.
- Longcore, J. R., R. K. Ross, and K. L. Fischer. (1987).
Wildlife resources at risk through acidification of wetlands. Trans. N Am. Wildl. Nat. Resour. Conf. 52: 608-618.
- Mallory, M. L. (1991).
Acid precipitation, female quality and parental investment of Common Goldeneyes. M.Sc. Thesis, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario. 101 pp.
- Mallory, M. L., P. J. Blancher, P. J. Weatherhead, and D. K. McNicol. (1994).
Presence or absence of fish as a cue to macroinvertebrate abundance in boreal wetlands. Hydrobiol. 279/280: 345-351.
- Mallory, M. L. and D. K. McNicol. (1997).
Movements on the nest during incubation by cavity-nesting waterfowl. Wildfowl 48: 127-134.
- Mallory, M. L., D. K. McNicol, D. A. Cluis, and C. Laberge. (1998).
Chemical trends and status of small lakes near Sudbury, Ontario, 1983-1995: evidence of continued chemical recovery. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 55(1): 63-75.
- Mallory, M. L., D. K. McNicol, R. A. Walton, and M. Wayland. (1998).
Risk-taking by incubating Common Goldeneyes and Hooded Mergansers. Condor 100: 694-701.
- Mallory, M. L., D. K. McNicol, and P. J. Weatherhead. (1994).
Habitat quality and reproductive effort of Common Goldeneyes nesting near Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. J. Wildl. Manage. 58(3): 552-560.
- Mallory, M. L. and P. J. Weatherhead. (1992).
A comparison of three techniques for monitoring avian nest attentiveness and weight change. J. Field Ornithol. 63(4): 428-435.
- Mallory, M. L., P. J. Weatherhead, D. K. McNicol, and M. E. Wayland. (1993).
Nest site selection by common goldeneyes in response to habitat features influenced by acid precipitation. Ornis Scand. 24(1): 59-64.
- McNicol, D. K. (2002).
Relation of lake acidification and recovery to fish, common loon and common merganser occurrence in Algoma Lakes. Water Air Soil Pollut. Focus 00: 1-18 (in press).
- McNicol, D. K., B. E. Bendell, and D. G. McAuley. (1987).
Avian trophic relationships and wetland acidity. Trans. N Am. Wildl. Nat. Resour. Conf. 52: 619-627.
- McNicol, D. K., B. E. Bendell, and R. K. Ross. (1987).
Studies of the effects of acidification on aquatic wildlife in Canada: waterfowl and trophic relationships in small lakes in northern Ontario. Can. Wildl. Serv. Occas. Pap. 62. 76 pp.
- McNicol, D. K. and P. J. Blancher. (1986).
Breeding waterfowl as indicators of aquatic ecosystem acidification in wetlands of northeastern Ontario. CWS (Ontario Region) LRTAP Program Progress Report. 38 pp.
- McNicol, D. K., P.J. Blancher, and B. E. Bendell. (1987).
Waterfowl as indicators of wetland acidification in Ontario. Pages 149-166. In Diamond, A. W. and Filion, F. L. (Eds.). The Value of Birds. I.C.B. P. Tech. Pub. No. 6. Cambridge/Princeton.
- McNicol, D.K. and Jeffries, D.S. (2000).
Acid rain still plaguing lakes and loons. Science and the Environment Bulletin No. 20: 4-5.
- McNicol, D. K. and S. LaFramboise. (1984).
Effects of acidic precipitation on waterfowl populations in northern Ontario III. Assessment of age class and condition indices among non-game fish species collected in headwater lakes in the Ranger Lake area, in relation to lake acidification and fish community structure. CWS (Ontario Region) LRTAP Program Progress Report. 53 pp.
- McNicol, D. K., M. L. Mallory, and B. E. Bendell. (1996).
The Canadian Wildlife Service LRTAP Biomonitoring Program, Part 2. Food Chain Monitoring in Ontario Lakes: Taxonomic Codes and Collections. Can. Wildl. Serv. Tech. Rep. 246. 32 pp.
- McNicol, D. K., M. L. Mallory, G. Mierle, A. M. Scheuhammer, and A. H. K. Wong. (1997).
Leeches as indicators of dietary mercury exposure in non-piscivorous waterfowl in central Ontario, Canada. Environ. Pollut. 95(2):177-181.
- McNicol, D. K., M. L. Mallory, and J. Sechley. (1998).
Acid rain and wildlife: an annotated bibliography of Canadian Wildlife Service (Ontario Region) LRTAP Program Publications (1980-1997). Can. Wildl. Serv. Tech. Rep. 305. 16 pp. plus appendices.
- McNicol, D. K. and K. R. Ross. (1982).
Effects of acidic precipitation on waterfowl populations in northern Ontario, 1980-81. CWS (Ontario Region) LRTAP Program Progress Report. 44 pp.
- McNicol, D. K., R. K. Ross, and P. J. Blancher. (1990).
Waterfowl as indicators of acidification in Ontario, Canada. Trans. Int. Union Game Biol. 19: 251-258.
- McNicol, D. K., R. A. Walton, and M. L. Mallory. (1997).
Monitoring nest-box use by cavity-nesting ducks on acid-stressed lakes in Ontario, Canada. Wildl. Biol. 3:1-13.
- McNicol, D. K. and M. Wayland. (1992).
Distribution of waterfowl broods in Sudbury area lakes in relation to fish, macroinvertebrates, and water chemistry. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 49(Suppl.1): 122-133.
- Ross, R. K. (1987).
Interim report on waterfowl breeding pair surveys in northern Ontario, 1980-1983. Can. Wildl. Serv. Progress Note Ser. 168. 9 pp.
- Ross, R. K. and D. R. Fillman. (1989).
Distribution of American Black Duck and Mallard in northern Ontario. Can. Wildl. Serv. Progress Note Ser. 189. 5 pp.
- Scheuhammer, A. M. (1991).
Effects of acidification on the availability of toxic metals and calcium to wild birds and mammals. Environ. Pollut. 71: 329-375.
- Scheuhammer, A. M., D. K. McNicol, M. L. Mallory and J. J. Kerekes. (1997).
Relationships between lake chemistry, and calcium and trace metal concentrations of aquatic invertebrates eaten by breeding insectivorous waterfowl. Environ. Pollut. 96(2): 235-248.
- Shalk, G., D. K. McNicol, and M. L. Mallory. (2001).
Leeches in acidified lakes of central Ontario, Canada: status and trends. Ecoscience 8(4): 421-429.
- Wayland, M. and D. K. McNicol. (1994).
Movements and survival of common goldeneye broods near Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Can. J. Zool. 72(7): 1252-1259.
- Wayland, M. and D. K. McNicol. (1990).
Status report on the effects of acid precipitation on Common Loon reproduction in Ontario: the Ontario Lakes Loon Survey. Can. Wildl. Serv. Tech. Rep. 92. 26 pp.
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Data Collection Period: |
1980 - 1990 |
Status: |
completed |
Number and Type of Stations: |
~ 1100 stations (5 per lake) |
Unit of Data Collected: |
actual count; derived indices; concentration |
Frequency of Data Collection: |
during the summer (repeat visits) |
Sampling Time: |
early May to late August |
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