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Conclusions:This report sets out guidelines intended to provide BCEAG member jurisdictions with a coordinated approach to recommendations regarding the management of human use activities within wildlife corridors and habitat patches in the Bow Valley of Alberta. The guidelines provide an advisory framework for decision making related to wildlife management as well as recommendations for mitigating the negative effects of human activity on wildlife in the region.Thresholds/Learnings:Male and female cougars avoided areas of high human use and where human use levels exceeded 250-500 users per month.
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Synopsis: A review of the scientific literature describing the effects of linear developments on wildlife, especially large mammals, was provided. Of particular interest were the types of roads and linear developments created by the oil and pipeline industries in western Canada. The effects of linear developments (roads, powerline/pipeline rights-of-way, deforested strips) on wildlife were examined in the context of regional and landscape ecology. The review describes the different classes of linear disturbances, the various response categories for animal species and the impacts on species for the different classes. The review also provides potential mitigations and recommendations for landscape scale planning...
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Synopsis: This report evaluates habitat requirements of the American badger according to parameters of soil texture, graminoid cover, slope, and proximity to roads. Badgers tend to prefer sandy loam and silty loam, medium and moderately coarse textured soils. In terms of graminoid coverage, badgers generally prefer open grassland habitat, but can also be found in agriculturally dominated landscapes containing isolated pockets of Richardson 's ground squirrel colonies. Graminoid coverage of 23% was chosen as the minimum requirement for suitable badger habitat. As slope increases, habitat suitability decreases to a point at which the likelihood of badgers existing there (i.e. cliffs and badlands) is extremely low...
Conclusions:Generally, mimimum buffer widths may help maintain natural physical and chemical characteristics of resources whereas greater buffer widths may be required to maintain biological components of many wetlands and streams. Fixed width buffers do not consider site-specific conditions, and therefore may not adequately buffer aquatic resources. Variable width buffers, albeit more site specific and effective, are more expensive and offer less predictability for planning purposes.Thresholds/Learnings:Stream buffers should be a minimum of 15 to 30m in width to be effective in protecting the ecological integrity of wetlands and streams.
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Synopsis: One of the most important trends in biodiversity is the increase in the number of species as the land area increases. Botanists call this trend the species-area relationship, and it is one of the most dependable rules in biology. Many human activities on the landscape, influence species directly by disrupting their habitat, by removing other organisms upon which they may depend, or by injuring or killing them. Less direct, but in many cases equally as disruptive to the native species of an area, is the introduction of exotic species. In this study, data from published studies on flora over the last two centuries was used to produce contour maps of flora size and percentage of exotic species in North America...
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Conclusions: Watersheds with low indices of biotic integrity (IBI) have been heavily developed. The biggest factors contributing to low IBIs were the presence of large dams, introduced fish, and road density. Dams at low to middle elevations had the greatest effect on IBI. Thresholds/Learnings: Dams at low to middle elevations had the greatest effect on IBI. Synopsis: Researchers developed a watershed index of biotic integrity to evaluate the biological health of 100 watersheds in the Sierra Nevada of California. In general, watersheds with low indices of biotic integrity (IBI) have been heavily developed by hydraulic mining, agriculture, and hydroelectric dams. The biggest factors contributing to low IBIs were...
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Synopsis: This study examines the influence of landscape fragmentation on trophic cascades in southern California. Results indicate that, as habitat fragmentation negatively affects the persistence of coyote populations, the abundance of smaller meso-predators increase, resulting in higher mortality rates in scrub-breeding birds. Fragment size was a strong indicator of coyote abundance, and coyote abundance was a strong indicator of bird diversity, as coyotes kept down the number of meso-predators that prey on birds. The positive effect of fragment area and the negative effect of fragment age were the strongest determinants of bird diversity in this system. Conclusions: Fragment size correlates with coyote abundance,...
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Conclusions: Richardson's ground squirrels prefer short grass native prairie / pasture but can also occupy small isolated islands within cropland. These squirrels prefer open prairies and tend to select against heavily forested areas. *Note that this study generated landscape level models with coarse variables, and the thresholds and values used may not be directly applicable to other areas or for site-specific analysis. Thresholds/Learnings: A threshold amount of 20% graminoid coverage is the minimum suitable proportion for habitat suitability for Richarson's ground squirrel. Areas with less than 20% forest/shrub cover were considered sutiable habitat, while those greater than 40% were considered unsuitable*. ...
Conclusions: Structurally complex landscapes support more species than simple landscapes, implying that habitat patches in complex landscapes receive a higher diversity of potential colonists from the overall species pool than do patches of the same size and quality in less complex landscapes. Thresholds/Learnings: Synopsis: Structurally complex landscapes support more species than simple landscapes, implying that habitat patches in complex landscapes receive a higher diversity of potential colonists from the overall species pool than do patches of the same size and quality in less complex landscapes. Movement across habitats is a common phenomenon in many species and the spillover of organisms from natural habitats...
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Conclusions: Results offer support for the use of land cover as an indicator of biotic integrity estimated by both vegetation and bird communities. Strong, significant predictions of IBI scores in plant and bird communities were achieved using land cover data from every spatial extent. Plant-based IBI scores were best predicted using data from 100 m buffers and bird-based IBI scores were best predicted using data extracted from 500 m buffers. Road density and measures of the proportion of disturbed land were consistent predictors of IBI score, suggesting their universal importance to plant and bird communities. Thresholds/Learnings: Road effects on bird communities were most pronounced at the 500m spatial extent....
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Synopsis: This document details the Milk River Basin project, designed to produce innovative approaches to multi-species management in Southern Alberta. The Milk River basin contains a variety of ‘sensitive’, ‘at risk’, and ‘may be at risk’ species. The process of prioritizing the landscape for conservation and stewardship was driven by species inventories to identify known locations, and Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) models to delimit suitable key habitat for the 17 selected species. The construction of the models was limited to the available variables and resolution of the databases. For MULTISAR: the Milk River Basin Project area this was the quarter section, the resolution of the Native Prairie Vegetation...
Conclusions: Report outlines habitat-based biodiversity standards specific to the prairie ecozone. It is intended to contribute to the delivery of habitat-based biodiversity standards in the prairie region via landscape-level indicators and targets Thresholds/Learnings: Synopsis: This report synthesizes the work completed to date on habitat-based biodiversity standards specific to the prairie ecozone. The intent of this report is to contribute to the delivery of habitat-based biodiversity standards in the Prairie region via landscape-level indicators and targets. Examples of key landscape targets for prairie landscapes that were identified included: * A minimum of 3 to 7% (<10%) of each major watershed should be...
Conclusions:Influx of woody vegetation associated with fragmentation correlates with decline in grassland bird speciesThresholds/Learnings:When native grassland cover dropped below 60% at one site, and 30-40% at another site, the arrangement or habitat patches became more important to the survival of populations than habitat amount alone
Conclusions:Swift foxes are typically found in open flat prairies, where visibility and prey availability are high. They prefer short or mixed grass unfragmented prairies that are predominately flat with sparse vegetation that allows them easy mobility and high visibility when it comes to eluding and detecting predators. Forest, coulees, steep slopes, broad agricultural areas, and dense shrubs are usually avoided because they often function as barriers between populations. *Note that this study generated landscape level models with coarse variables, and the thresholds and values used may not be directly applicable to other areas or for site-specific analysis.Thresholds/Learnings:75-100% grassland cover were deemed...
Conclusions: Globally, the pattern of East/South-East Asian rice paddy belts have higher ecosystem/habitat diversity index values than Eurasian, American, and Australian wheat or corn belts. Thresholds/Learnings: Synopsis: The most critical of the issues faced in addressing the targets of the Convention of Biological Diversity are ‘biodiversity conservation under agricultural development’ and ‘the sustainable use of natural resources and/or land’. Therefore, appropriate indicators for the status of biodiversity and the pressures placed on biodiversity in relation to the intensification of agriculture are needed. Agricultural development has had major impacts on biodiversity and the abandonment of traditional land...
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Conclusions: Presents environmental indicators for the purpose of guiding future planning efforts. These include 16 key indicators incorporating 64 separate measures highlighting the status and trends in environmental issues, as well targets to guide planning efforts. Thresholds/Learnings: Road density thresholds: Grizzly Bear 0.4km/km2; Black Bear 1.25km/km2; Elk 0.62 km/km2; and Bull Trout 0.1-1.31 km/km2 Synopsis: This document represents British Columbia’s third environmental indicators report, including 16 key indicators incorporating 64 separate measures highlighting the status and trends in environmental issues. The information is grouped into six theme areas: biodiversity, water, stewardship, human health...
    map background search result map search result map Environmental Trends in British Columbia 2002 Changing Patterns in the Number of Species in North American Floras. Richardson's Ground Squirrel. Evaluating the biotic integrity of watersheds in the Sierra Nevada, California. The accuracy of land cover-based wetland assessments is influenced by landscape extent. The Effects of Linear Developments on Wildlife: A Review of Selected Scientific Literature Mesopredator release and avifaunal extinctions in a fragmented system. The Milk River Basin Project; Habitat Suitability Models for Selected Wildlife Management Species No. 86. Alberta Species At Risk Report, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, 2004 American Badger. The accuracy of land cover-based wetland assessments is influenced by landscape extent. Evaluating the biotic integrity of watersheds in the Sierra Nevada, California. Mesopredator release and avifaunal extinctions in a fragmented system. Richardson's Ground Squirrel. Environmental Trends in British Columbia 2002 The Effects of Linear Developments on Wildlife: A Review of Selected Scientific Literature Changing Patterns in the Number of Species in North American Floras.