Assessing the effectiveness of land-based stewardship on Unionid Species at Risk habitats in the Sydenham River watershed
Keywords
Land-based stewardship, in-stream habitat, fine sediment deposition, Unionid freshwater mussels, riparian buffer
Type of Proposal
Oral Presentation
Faculty
Faculty of Science
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Catherine Febria
Proposal
Habitat stewardship is pivotal in protecting Canada’s endangered aquatic species. Various stewardship measures, including riparian planting and fencing, mitigate negative impacts of land use changes and erosion. In practice, local conservation practitioners are responsible for implementing these actions, however budgetary constraints often impede post-implementation monitoring, especially over longer timescales. Such is the case in the Sydenham River watershed, home to the highest diversity of Unionid freshwater mussels. Therefore, this research asks: how effective are habitat stewardship actions in mitigating erosion-based impacts on instream Unionid Species at Risk (SAR) mussel habitats? I predict that the quality of riparian buffer zone protection will be a more critical driver of SAR populations than habitat stewardship type, size, or age alone. To evaluate this, I am assessing the riparian vegetation, habitat and soil characteristics, stream water quality, sediment, and substrate composition across 10 previously freshwater mussels surveyed sites. With varying stewardship levels and stream sizes in the Northern and Eastern branches of the Sydenham River. Each site will be quantitatively assessed for streambed grain size analysis, in-stream, and riparian soil nutrients. Variables, including benthic and Unionid mussel SAR data will be subjected to multivariate statistics, including PCA, NMDS, CCA and indicator analyses. The aim is to assess the extent, stewardship correlate with in-stream habitat conditions and mussel community composition. The results will provide insight into the necessity of post-implementation evaluation of stewardship actions, guiding informed conservation efforts for SAR and healthy stream ecosystems.
Assessing the effectiveness of land-based stewardship on Unionid Species at Risk habitats in the Sydenham River watershed
Habitat stewardship is pivotal in protecting Canada’s endangered aquatic species. Various stewardship measures, including riparian planting and fencing, mitigate negative impacts of land use changes and erosion. In practice, local conservation practitioners are responsible for implementing these actions, however budgetary constraints often impede post-implementation monitoring, especially over longer timescales. Such is the case in the Sydenham River watershed, home to the highest diversity of Unionid freshwater mussels. Therefore, this research asks: how effective are habitat stewardship actions in mitigating erosion-based impacts on instream Unionid Species at Risk (SAR) mussel habitats? I predict that the quality of riparian buffer zone protection will be a more critical driver of SAR populations than habitat stewardship type, size, or age alone. To evaluate this, I am assessing the riparian vegetation, habitat and soil characteristics, stream water quality, sediment, and substrate composition across 10 previously freshwater mussels surveyed sites. With varying stewardship levels and stream sizes in the Northern and Eastern branches of the Sydenham River. Each site will be quantitatively assessed for streambed grain size analysis, in-stream, and riparian soil nutrients. Variables, including benthic and Unionid mussel SAR data will be subjected to multivariate statistics, including PCA, NMDS, CCA and indicator analyses. The aim is to assess the extent, stewardship correlate with in-stream habitat conditions and mussel community composition. The results will provide insight into the necessity of post-implementation evaluation of stewardship actions, guiding informed conservation efforts for SAR and healthy stream ecosystems.