| This research involves the development and implementation of ecological indicators for monitoring coastal ecosystems in Kejimkujik National Park Seaside, Nova Scotia. In the first phase of the research, Parks Canada's El Framework, literature review, expert consultation and pilot study were used to identify a core suite of EI measures that represent key biodiversity, process and stressor components of the coastal ecosystem. In the second phase of the research, a subset of the selected measures, including salt marsh extent and vegetation composition, soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria) population condition, eelgrass (Zostera marina) extent and condition, and lagoon water quality, was implemented in the field. Field implementation included developing formal monitoring protocols as well as collecting, analysing and reporting preliminary baseline data for Kejimkujik's forthcoming State of the Park Report (SOPR). The thesis concludes with an overall assessment of coastal El at Kejimkujik Seaside, recognition of the limitations of the study, and recommendations for further monitoring program development.;All data are preliminary, pending further baseline data collection and protocol refinement. No invasive species were detected in long-term salt marsh vegetation monitoring plots, but understanding the status and trend of this measure requires additional data collection. The size structure of the soft-shell clam population indicates an under-representation of spat and juvenile size classes. The reasons for the low numbers of smaller size classes are still undetermined, and various hypotheses are explored. Results from eelgrass monitoring indicate a greater than 80% decline in eelgrass extent in the park over the last two decades, as well as serious concerns for eelgrass condition. The decline appears to be a result of an outbreak of eelgrass wasting disease, in combination with physical disturbance by green crabs and temperature and light stress. Preliminary water quality data indicate that water clarity and chemistry are strongly controlled by episodic precipitation events which introduce fresh water carrying coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) from the surrounding uplands into the lagoon. The effects of these events are more noticeable in the upper reaches of the lagoon (e.g., Basin Lake) than closer to the lagoon mouth, where tidal flushing is more rapid. Nutrient data indicate that natural nutrient enrichment occurs in some area of the lagoon as a result of restricted tidal flushing, but not to a level that indicates eutrophication. |
