Since 2020, U-Links has partnered with Upper Stoney Lake Association (USLA), Trent University, and Fleming College to monitor and report on the lake’s benthic macroinvertebrate populations. This study is currently in year three of a proposed total of five years, after which a baseline knowledge will be reached regarding the lake’s macroinvertebrate species richness and diversity. Research spanning five years is considered long-term, and the data in such studies has a high level of validity. Macroinvertebrates serve as excellent bioindicators of overall littoral ecosystem health. With five years' worth of macroinvertebrate data, trends may be recognized and recommendations for the future can be made.
Several areas of concern make Stoney Lake a good candidate for continued research. According to E. Paleczny (personal communication, December 5, 2022), the stressors to aquatic ecosystem integrity of Stoney Lake include climate change, invasive species (e.g., Nitellopsis obtusa (starry stonewort (SSW))), decline in water quality (e.g., nutrient input, blue-green algal blooms, chemical contaminants), water level fluctuation, and development pressures (e.g., marina's, golf courses, proposed condo and tiny home developments, shoreline development, watershed scale impacts from forestry, mining and agriculture). E. Paleczny (personal communication, December 5, 2022) further stated that the synergistic effects of these stressors are resulting in rapid decline in healthy populations of aquatic species (e.g., walleye), increases in the number of species at risk (e.g., wood turtle), and increased eutrophication leading to increased occurrence and abundance of algal blooms. There are also many unseen effects including increased toxic effects on aquatic life.
Excess algae growth may be fueled by phosphorus and nutrient runoff from the golf course and cottage lawns. If algae growth increases dramatically, lake eutrophication may occur, which would have detrimental effects on animal populations. Algae blooms increase the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) level by encouraging the growth of specific bacteria (Encyclopedia.com, 2019). A greater BOD rapidly reduces oxygen levels, which can cause fish and other aquatic animals to lose their oxygen supply.
In 2022, there were no observable impacts or changes in macroinvertebrate species presence at a lake scale, however, this study does not address localized impacts from stressors or other shifts or changes in aquatic ecosystem function. It also does not address any changes to baseline conditions prior to 2020. Increasing sampling sites where there are concerns about localized stressors such as development impacts would help to assess if there are localized impacts to macroinvertebrate populations.
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Melanie Logan, Fleming College School of Environment and Resource Sciences]]> Environmental Studies ]]> Joseph Gentile
Hannah Williams
Stephanie Barrie
Julia Herault]]> Waste Diversion]]> ​
The options that the team explored in Chapter 1 include 1) weighing the items donated, 2) using an average weight and applying it to all donations and 3) associating a weight with a specific volume and quantifying the donations through volume. Chapter 2 makes recommendations for how most donations could be measured by the cubic yard using appropriately sized bins. Chapters 2 and 3 both make recommendations for grant programs related to waste diversion and waste reduction that SIRCH could consider applying to. Also in Chapter 3, student explored examples of existing municipal-thrift partnerships, and what practices could be applied to the SIRCH warehouse. The final chapter is a review of thrifting and thrift stores in Canada.]]>
Jaspreet Kaur, Kirandeep Kaur, Pooja Lally, Hetal Solanki, Spencer Yeo, Charlotte Banks, Josh Handley, Harpreet Kaur, Sandeep Kaur, Ramandeep Kaur, Shawn Emmett, Erin Mellor, Mary Katherine Glen, Amandeep Jawandha, Rupinder Kaur, Merin Sara John, Kirandeep Dhaliwal, Sumandeep Kaur, & Kamanpreet Kaur
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The objective of this report is to provide information to support the Municipality of Dysart et al’s desire to ban the sale of plastic-bottled water in its municipal buildings and public spaces along with the provision of suitable alternatives and appropriate communication, education and engagement to ensure the public is aware of and adopts the use of these alternatives.]]> Fish Ecology
Wastwater Treatment]]>
Conclusions regarding a CTW to retain the five trout related pathogens common to Ontario is that they should be effectively removed or inactivated from the wastewater. However, the determination of this purifications is speculative and based on the assumptions that a similar microbial community would be present in the CTW servicing the HFH that exists in the CTWs servicing human domestic applications. Paramount, though, is the validation of this hypothesis with quantitative investigations. ]]>