Stream biomonitoring has been an important part of environmental protection in the Yukon for more than 3 decades. It is often the mechanism used to determine natural conditions in a stream environment and how development may be impacting the downstream receiving environment. Understanding the complex relationships that exist in northern aquatic ecosystems is a time consuming process of field data collection, sample analysis and interpretation. In order to better understand these complexities, in 1996 Environment Canada (Pacific and Yukon Region) began to combine historical stream biomonitoring data into a common electronic format that could be easily retrievable . As a result of this earlier work the Biomonitoring Information System of the Yukon (BISY) has evolved over the past several years into a repository for aquatic biological information from both published and unpublished sources.
The "corner stone" of the BISY is the nearly complete freshwater benthic invertebrate record that has been retrieved from published environmental and scientific reports in the Yukon starting with some of the earliest Environment Canada studies in 1973. An equally important component of BISY is the consolidation of much of the stream sediment chemistry record for the Yukon during this same period. In recent years more detailed biomonitoring information has been collected and added to BISY. This includes in situ stream measurements, geo-reference information, benthic invertebrate taxa photographs, site photographs and short video clips. In 2004 a water chemistry component was added to provide additional information collected from more than 50 Yukon stream sites along the Alaska Highway.
BISY currently holds raw data records collected from over 400 drainages in the Yukon and portions of Northern British Columbia. This represents more than 1500 unique site visits since 1973. Benthic invertebrate, stream sediment metals, in situ measurements and water chemistry searches can be done through the links below. Start your search by selecting from the list of major watersheds or use the map selection tool. Refer to the icon legend to determine what types of analysis data is available at each site.
