Conference

Ecological monitoring of our ecosystems: from research to communities

Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Coalition on Sustainability,
Parks Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada in collaboration with the University of Prince Edward Island and Island Nature Trust

When: January 23rd -24th, 2004
Where: Quality Inn, 150 Euston Street, Charlottetown, PEI (rooms at rebate price for participants)
Registration: Free by email at
Objective: To examine how communities can benefit from more information from local researchers in their area as well as how they can contribute to research and ecological monitoring. Through presentations on research and active work on ecological monitoring, the participants will be asked to have a discussion on their common linkages and how a network of environmental monitoring could be formed with the help of communities from the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence in order to optimize the exchange of data and information.

Day 1 - January 23th

8:00 - 8:45 Registration and installation of posters
8:45 - 9:00 Welcoming comments
Liette Vasseur ; Mike Chadwick ; Denyse Lajeunesse

SESSION 1 Invited speakers
9:00 - 9:15 SGSL Coalition- Liette Vasseur- The SGSL Coalition on Sustainability: towards sustainable and environmentally healthy communities
9:15 - 9:30 DFO- Mike Chadwick- Long-term monitoring in the southern Gulf ecosystem
9:30 - 9:45 DFO- Simon Courtenay- Community aquatic monitoring program of environmental impacts
9:45 - 10:00 PC- Denyse Lajeunesse- Monitoring and reporting program of PC
10:00 - 10:10 Question period
10:10 - 10:30 Coffee break
10:30 - 10:45 CWS- Al Hanson- Habitat Venture project and protection of salt marshes
10:45 - 11:00 NRCAN- Donald Forbes- Monitoring shoreline change and assessing coastal vulnerability in the Maritimes
11:00 - 11:15 EMAN- Brian Craig- The use of standard environmental protocols, the EMAN approach to help communities participate in monitoring
11:15 - 11:40 Province PEI- Rosemary Curley/Randy Dibblee- Long Term Provincial Monitoring Programs- Populations and Habitats
11:40 - 12:00 Question period
12:00 - 13:30 Lunch and installation of posters

SESSION 2 Associations and community activities
13:30 - 13:45 PEI- Fishermen’s Association- Ken Campbell- Monitoring of PEI’s lobster fishery?
13:45 - 14:00 Bedeque Bay Environmental Management Association- Charmaine Noonan- Plantwatch PEI
14:00 - 14:15 Island Nature Trust- Jackie Waddell- Keeping Watch, Monitoring Piping Plovers and Natural Areas Outside National Park Boundaries
14:15 - 14:30 Miramichi River Environmental Assessment Committee- Harry Collins- Bridging the Gap between Government, Industry, Business and Community on the Miramichi
14:30 - 14:45 Coalition Scholarship- Marie-Hélène Thériault- Outils de monitoring pour évaluer l’effet des effluents d’usines de transformation des produits marins sur la communauté de poissons côtiers dans le sud du Golfe du St-Laurent
14:45 - 15:00 Question period
15:00 - 15:15 Coffee break
15:10 - 17:10 Discussion- Round Table: What are the common links between research and monitoring activities in the communities and how could we better link them
17:10 - 19:00 Poster session and reception Cash bar

POSTERS
UPEI- Lisa Purcell and Donna Giberson- Black flies in salt: occurrence of Simulium vittatum (Zett.) in beach streams affected by tidal incursions on Prince Edward Island

UPEI- Donna Giberson and Dylan Blacquiere- A Microlimnological Study of the Fluid Habitat of the Northern Pitcher Plant, and its Relationships with its Insect Inhabitants

Oliver Flint (Smithsonian Institute) and Donna Giberson (UPEI)- Salt Marsh Caddisflies: Discovery of the larva and larval habitat of Limnephilus ademus in Prince Edward Island, Canada

Donna Giberson (UPEI) and Michelle Dobrin (Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg)- Dragonflies and Damselflies of Prince Edward Island National Park

Coalition SGSL- Pascal Levesque- The Sustainable Community Initiative: SGSL Coalition helps mentoring communities in environmental activities

CWS- Al Hanson- Climate change and conservation of coastal habitat

NRCAN- Donald Forbes- Coastal and seabed mapping for climate impacts modelling and habitat delineation: an example from the North Shore of PEI

PC- Linda Thomas- Monitoring Piping Plover in Prince Edward Island National Park of Canada

UPEI- Christian Lacroix- Estimation of seed bank and see viability of the Gulf of St. Lawrence Aster, Symphyotrichum laurentianum

UdeMoncton- Geneviève Duclos- Sujet : L’Aster du St. Laurent (Titre à être confirmé)

BBEMA- Charmaine Noonan- Plantwatch PEI

MPO- Carole Godin- Community Aquatic Monitoring Program

UQAR- Valérie Tremblay- Reproductive strategy of American eel among five subpopulations

STFX- Edwin Demon- Sujet : Homard- Titre à être confirmé

UPEI- Kevin Teather and Marina Silva- Abundance and species richness of Amphibians in Prince Edward Island

UdeMoncton- Lisa Léger- How can humans and beavers live in the same environment in Kouchibouguac National Park of Canada?

UdeMoncton- Daniel Gallant- Assessment of the potential use of river otters (Lontra Canadensis) as indicators of ecological integrity for riparian habitats at the regional scale

UdeMoncton- Anne Sophie Bertrand- Eastern cougar sighting: myth or reality? A study to revisit the issue

Day 2 - January 24th

SESSION 3 Research and monitoring projects in national parks and their greater ecosystems of the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence region
8:30 - 8:45 Welcoming comments
8:45 - 9:00 UPEI- Kevin Teather- Ecological Monitoring: A Cooperative Venture 9:00 - 9:15 UPEI- Lisa Purcell- Agricultural Tills and Fish Kills
9:15 - 9:30 DFO- Scott Douglas- Monitoring striped bass in the southern Gulf
9:30 - 9:45 DFO & PC- Valerie Tremblay- American eel status, research and management in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence
9:45 - 10:00 DFO & UNB- Heather Lamson- Movement of the American Eel between fresh and salt water using strontium and calcium microchemistry techniques
10:00 - 10:10 Question period
10:10 - 10:30 Coffee break
10:30 - 10:45 DFO- Andrea Locke- Monitoring invasive species in the Southern Gulf
10:45 - 11:00 PC- Eric Tremblay- Partnership in the monitoring for Ecological Integrity in Kouchibouguac National Park
11:00 - 11:15 UPEI- Donna Giberson- Aquatic insect studies in PEI National Park
11:15 - 11:30 MTA- Jeff Ollerhead- Seasonal variations in the beach and foredune system, Greenwich dunes, Prince Edward Island National Park
11:30 - 11:45 UPEI- Leslie Hartling- Effects of habitat fragmentation on movement of small mammals species
11:45 - 12:00 Questions and comments
12:00 - 13:30 Lunch
13:30 - 13:45 Province PEI- Kate MacQuarrie- Significant botany of Greenwich, PEI National Park
13:45 - 14:00 Province PEI- Kate MacQuarrie- Fragmentation and invasive plants in PEI's upland hardwood forest
14:00 - 14:15 UdeMoncton & PC- David Mazerolle- Survey and assessment of Kouchibouguac National Park's exotic flora; towards the development of a management strategy
14:15 - 14:30 UdeMoncton- Nadia Cavalin- Old fields of PEI National Park returning to forest, but in red or white spruce?
14:30 - 14:45 UdeMoncton- Mireille Gravel- Amphibian response to paved roads in the Greater Kouchibouguac Ecosystem
14:45 - 15:00 UPEI- Karen Johnson- Movements, habitat use and home range of foxes and coyotes
15:00 - 15:10 Question period
15:10 - 15:20 Coffee break
15:20 - 15:30 The SGSL Coalition and the partners offer two prices to student presentations and posters
15:30 - 16:00 Discussion: What are the steps needed to create better linkages and to promote a network of environmental monitoring within the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence
16:00 - 17:30 Round table to conclude