wetland ecosystem monitoring: multi-metric...
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Wetland ecosystem monitoring: multi-metric indicesDr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
25 Oct 2017 Department of Biology
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
1. Background on reference condition approach and MMIsReference condition approachEcological Integrity
2. Application to OSM reclaimed marshes3. Extension to Beaverhills Sub-watershed4. Expansion to Parkland & Grassland AB5. Plans
Existing dataNew data
Overview
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
Background Continuum
Reference Degraded Continuum
Degraded ConditionLeast Disturbed/
Reference
High confidence High confidence
Range of Natural Variability?
Range of Natural Variability?Range of Natural Variability?Range of Natural Variability?
Healthy, Diverse, Functional?Unhealthy, Poor, Dysfunctional?
Why we need wetland evaluation tools
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
What is an MMI?
Multi-metric index is a tool Characterize the range of natural variability Characterize the degraded condition Use metrics to situate “test sites” on that gradient
Multi-metric
IBIsBEASTRIVPACS
Under bioassessment theory
ANOSIM
RCAs
Multivariate
MMIs
Estimate ecological integrity
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
1978 – Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological
integrity of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem”
1992 – UN Conference on Env. and Development, Rio de Janeiro “ecosystem integrity is a goal for all countries when considering
development”
1998 – Canada National Parks Act legally defines ecological integrity “A condition that is determined to be characteristic of its natural
region and likely to persist, including abiotic components and the composition and abundance of native species and biological communities, rates of change and supporting processes.”
2004 – Convention on Biological Diversity COP 7 Decision VII/28
Ecological integrity
Equivalent land capability• Similar in structure and
function to a naturally occurring analogue
• Self-sustaining: capable of adapting to change and recovering from stress
• Integrated with the surrounding landscape
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
MMIs to measure Ecological Integrity
Habitat type
Assemblage(s) Select Citations
Forests Arthropods, Ants,Birds, Moss, Lianas, Vegetation
O’Connell et al. 2000; Major and Beeston 2002; Glennon et al. 2005; Cardoso et al. 2007; Frego et al. 2007; Merganic et al. 2012;
Shrub Arthropods; Birds, Frogs, Vegetation
Karr and Kimberling 2003; Diffendorfer et al. 2007
Rivers & streams
Benthic Invertebrates, Diatoms, Fish
Karr 1981; Steedman et al. 1988; Lyons et al. 1995; Hill et al. 2000; Oberdorff et al. 2002; Griffith et al. 2005; Wang et al. 2005; Pont et al. 2006
Riparian Birds Bryce et al. 2002; Canterbury et al. 2000;
Estuary Benthic Invertebrates, Fish
Weisberg et al. 1997; Deegan et al. 1997; Van Dolan et al. 1999;
Wetlands Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Vegetation
Dekeyser et al. 2003; Raab and Bayley 2012; Rooney and Bayley 2012; Wilson and Bayley 2012; Wilcox et al. 2002; Howe et al. 2007
Lakes Benthic Invertebrates, Fish, Phytoplankton
Minns et al. 1994; Blocksom et al. 2002; Kane et al. 2009; Lyons et al. 2000
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
MMI development and validation steps
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
Assessment of Indices of Biotic Integrity and Performance Indicators of Wetland Health for Oil Sands and Natural Reference Wetlands
2007 – 2011, P.I. Dr. Suzanne Bayley Objective: develop and test an approach to evaluate ecological
integrity across a range of constructed, disturbed, and natural shallow open water marshes
Characterize environmental stress gradient Select suitable biological metrics Develop an IBI Test the IBI on an independent set of sites
Application in OSM reclamation
OS Process Affected OS Reference Reference
63 wetlands• 38 REF• 12 OSREF• 13 OSPADr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
Abiotic MMI“Stress gradient”
Water
Sediment
Physical
Cont.
Cations
TN
% water
Max depthSecchi/TotalAmplitude
% oil
Cl-
PC 1 Scores
-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8
PC 2
Sco
res
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
TP
Conductivity
TDN
TDS
NH4+
TN
NaCationsAnions
Just need 8
Roon
ey a
nd B
ayle
y(2
010)
Eco
logi
cal I
ndic
ator
s.
52 environmental variablesOrdination to summarize
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
Biological MMIs
Biotic integrity in reclaimed wetlands?Submersed aquatic vegetation
InvertebratesWet meadow vegetation
Algae pigments
Vege
tatio
n-ba
sed
IBIs
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
Advantages of vegetation
Advantages of vegetation Relatively easy to sample and ID
Data available immediately
Integrative (temporal & environmental)
Biologically important Habitat/food to inverts, algae, waterfowl
Cultural importance (e.g., Tracy Howlett) Traditional foods and medicines
Indicative of ecosystem functions Nutrient cycling Carbon sequestration
Diagnostic indicators (e.g., Neal Tanna) Halophytes and alkali species Ruderal species Drought tolerators
Cairns (1993) A proposed framework for developing indicators of ecosystem health. Hydrobiologia.Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
Bayley et al. 2014. URL: http://www.ai-es.ca/media/12948/assessment_methods_for_reclamation_of_permanent_marshes_in_the_oil_sands.pdf
Technology Transfer
Simple to implement and tech transfer investment• Takes 1-2 hrs per site in the field to
measure• Scores can be calculated by hand• Less taxonomic expertise required• Smaller datasets to manage and
QA/QC
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
Extension to Beaverhills
AWRI project
Naturalized Stormwater pondStormwaterpond
Reference
Agricultural
Restored
Led by Dr. Suzanne Bayley
2008-2011
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
Using different biological communities
Reference
Agricultural
Restored by DUC
Naturalized SWPClassic SWP
Wils
on, M
. and
Bay
ley,
S.E
. (20
12).
Eco
logi
cal I
ndic
ator
s
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
Expansion to Parkland and Grassland (White Zone):Increased objectivity
Alberta Innovates Wetland Project: 2013-2017
Lead Rebecca Rooney
Co-PIs Suzanne Bayley, Rich Petrone, Derek Robinson
Develop and validate MMIs for evaluation of natural and restored wetlands in ag landscapes
Vegetation Floristic composition Spatial arrangement
Birds
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
Concluding thoughts
Benefits of MMIs Rapid, effective, scientifically sound Metrics can emphasize function, structure, Metrics may reflect stressors or responses or both New methods eliminate redundancy in an objective
manner through permutations
Limitations Must be tailored to the disturbance of interest Must be calibrated to wetland type
USEPA National Wetland Condition Assessment has a 4 metric IBI for all wetlands in the conterminous USA!
Region specific
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
Plans: Seeking a PDF!
Recruiting a PDF – please help us Use existing data Assess ABMI veg to identify “terrestrial”
sites that are peatlands Seek sensitive indicators of human
footprint Collect new data Survey intensive sites (Petrone, Wieder,
etc.) to test a priori hypotheses about drivers and stressors
Sample additional sites to evaluate candidate metrics derived from ABMI data
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]
Acknowledgements
The Rooney Lab thanks:
AEP: Danielle Cobbaert, Matt Wilson, Marsha Trites, Thorsten Hebben, Shane Patterson
HQP: D. Anderson, A. Badger, J. Basso, M. Bolding, R. Bonin, S. Coogan, J. Gleason, G. Howell, N. Meyers, H. Polan, D. Raab
Co-investigators: Dr. Suzanne Bayley, Dr. Jan Ciborowski, Dr. Irena Creed, Dr. Lee Foote, Dr. Naomi Krogman, Dr. Rich Petrone, Dr. Derek Robinson, Dr. Claudia Sheedy
Funders
Dr. Rebecca Rooney [email protected]