PosterPDF Available

The ice age: the responsible of highest level of waterbird and aquatic biodiversity today?

December 2020

DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.16963.84009

Conference: Colloque CAFD 2020

Project: Biodiversity in esker lakes

Authors:

Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Guillaume Grosbois

Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Miguel Montoro Girona

Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Eskers are one of the most singular ecosystems in the World with important implications at the ecological and economical level providing crucial natural resources for Quebec. However, those ecosystems are vulnerable to human pressure such as mining and logging being thus a priority to conserve and manage this important ecosystem. This is a big challenge because of the huge knowledge gap about the biodiversity and functioning of eskers. This project aims to study waterbirds and their invertebrate resources, as they are both excellent biological indicators to evaluate the health of aquatic ecosystems because of their sensitivity to disturbances. We will evaluate the aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity on eskers with the sampling of 50 lakes (esker lakes and typical boreal lakes) from the MRC-Abitibi. This project will permit to characterize for the first time the unique biodiversity associated to esker lakes and evaluate the state of health of those ecosystems.

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The ice age: the responsible of highest level of waterbird and aquatic biodiversity today?

Akib Hasan, Guillaume Grosbois, Louis Imbeau, Miguel Montoro Girona.

Context Methods

Contribution

Guillaume Grosbois

Waterbird





Objective

 

 

Invertebrate















If you want to know more about Esker Biodiversity,

Send your OWL(!) to akib.hasan@uqat.ca























Study sites

Guillaume Grosbois

Kettle lake on esker

Mayfly larvae (Leptophlebia sp.)

Common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)

Environmental Factors

Biodiversity Measure

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.

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Legacy of the ice age: Contribution of esker lakes to aquatic biodiversity of boreal macro-invertebr...

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Eskers are complex geological formation formed by glaciers during the last ice age about 10,000 years ago. Eskers provide now important resources in all northern countries and are considered one of the most important ecosystems economically and ecologically. This is particularly true in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue region where eskers provide drinking water and important sites for outdoor ... [Show full abstract] activities. This ecosystem is particularly vulnerable to human pressure such as mining and logging practices. However, there is a huge knowledge gap about the biodiversity and functioning of eskers, and baseline ecological information is lacking to build an appropriate sustainable management and conservation of those important ecosystems. Esker lakes are unique as compared to most other lakes because they are fed by groundwaters and precipitations and are thus usually not connected to other aquatic ecosystems. Esker lakes often have reduced or absent fish communities, which promotes a unique diversity and abundance of aquatic invertebrates at the base of the food web for numerous waterbirds. The objective of the study is to characterize the waterbird communities associated to esker lakes and identify the resources that determine their presence and abundance. Benthic macro-invertebrate communities will be characterized as they represent important feeding resources for waterbirds and are important ecological indicator of the lake health. The experimental design includes 50 lakes over the territory of the MRC-Abitibi including lakes situated on eskers and more typical boreal lakes situated on the clay belt. The observational point and flush count method will be applied to identify the bird communities and stable isotope analysis will permit to characterize the aquatic food web structure and links to the waterbird community. This project will permit to characterize for the first time the unique biodiversity associated to esker lakes and evaluate the state of health of those ecosystems.

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Eskers are complex geological formation formed by glaciers during the last ice age. Eskers provide now crucial resources in all northern countries and are considered as an important formation providing drinking water, sand/gravel, outdoor recreational sites and productive Jack pine (Pinus banksiana) forests. However, there is a huge knowledge gap about the biodiversity and functioning of eskers, ... [Show full abstract] and baseline ecological information is missing to consider these unique formations in the sustainable management and conservation strategies. Esker lakes are different as compared to other boreal lakes as they are fed by groundwaters and precipitations and are thus usually not connected to other aquatic ecosystems. Thus, esker lakes often have reduced or absent fish communities, which promotes a unique diversity and abundance of aquatic invertebrates at the base of the food web for waterbirds. The objective of the study is to characterize the waterbird communities associated to esker lakes and identify the resources and ecological factors that determine their presence and abundance in MRC-Abitibi. Aquatic invertebrate communities will be characterized as they represent important feeding resources for waterbirds and are important ecological indicator of the lake health. Fifty lakes will be sampled including lakes situated on eskers and typical boreal lakes on the clay belt. The observational point and flush count method will be applied to identify the bird communities and stable isotope analysis will permit to characterize the aquatic food web structure and links to the waterbirds. We expect the waterbird community to be richer and more diverse in esker lakes than in other lakes. We also expect this richer biodiversity to be explained by the more abundant resources of the esker lakes, including more abundant and diverse aquatic invertebrate communities. This project will permit to characterize for the first time the unique biodiversity associated to esker lakes and evaluate the state of health of those ecosystems.

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