I N T R O D U C T I O N

To protect the balance of ecosystems in the light of cultural and economic pressures placed on the
environment is a particular challenge in the 21st century. Fostering sustainability, “joined-up-
thinking” in policy decision making, and developing a harmonious relationship between society
and wildlife is a key objective. Whereas many conservation efforts focus on tropical biodiversity
hotspot conservation, this project is designed to address how temperate ecosystems, and their
biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife, which are prevalent in most parts of the industrialized
world, are being affected, and often degraded by human activities and climate change. To
maintain and enhance biodiversity, long-term monitoring and quantitative research are essential
to develop a thorough understanding of these processes, resulting from anthropogenic impacts
on a local (e.g. inappropriate habitat management, over-exploitation, etc.) to global (e.g. air
pollution, climate change, etc.) scale.
The primary aims of this project are two-fold. Through long-term ecological and ethological
study we will focus on monitoring the distribution, abundance and behavior of mammal
populations in a variety of terrestrial habitats in Nova Scotia, Canada. In the long-term, changes
in the success of these key species may be observed to correlate with advancing climatic change
as the atmosphere warms. Simultaneously, the project will also expand on our work assessing the
costs and benefits of citizen science in the wider sense.
Nova Scotia is an ideal site for environmental research for three distinct reasons. First, it lies on
the latitude 43-47¾ north, resulting in seasons with varied day lengths and temperatures. Here,
southerly climatic and deciduous forest regions make the transition into the northern coniferous
Boreal Zone. This creates a diversity of habitats and a measurable sensitivity to change. It is also
situated on the edge of the January 0oC isotherm, influenced by both the cold Nova Scotia
Current and the warm North Atlantic Current (the northern continuation of the Gulf Stream).
Positioned on the winter frigid isotherm, variation in the relative effects of these currents, subject
to climate change, will have profound effects in the province on resident flora, fauna and
ecosystems, over time, as climate conditions respond to changing oceanographic and
atmospheric dynamics, therefore placing Nova Scotia on the global warming frontline. Secondly,
Nova Scotia’s terrestrial ecosystems are still comparatively intact and inhabited by many species,
which have long gone extinct in many parts of industrialized Europe (e.g. bears, moose, beavers
etc.). In total, the province has lost only three species in the past century (sea mink, wolf, and
caribou). And thirdly, Nova Scotia has a forest cover of more than 75%, of which just under 10%
is protected with the remaining 90% being subjected to anthropogenic impacts, such as hunting,
forestry, farming and urban expansion.
Using a combination of long-term systematic monitoring techniques and controlled field
experiments, one of the project’s primary aims is to establish how changing climatic conditions
are putting pressures on ecosystems and species. Mammals represent a key taxon in looking at
such impacts due to their relative niche specializations rendering them vulnerable to the impacts
of perturbation events. A significant subsidiary aim of the project is to develop Ecological
Monitoring Protocols (EMPs) for terrestrial mammals to complement EMPs for other taxa and
habitats established by Environment Canada’s Ecological Monitoring Assessment Network
(EMAN). These monitoring techniques should be sensitive and potentially responsive to the
pressures placed upon the environment by anthropogenic factors (hunting, logging, farming,
urban expansion) and climate change. Optimal forest management strategies (e.g. in the context
of logging and Christmas tree plantations) and sustainable quotas for hunting and trapping are of
significant equity value for some sectors of the Nova Scotian community, while others will
benefit from ecotourism markets or through incommensurable lifestyle rewards. This project will
contribute data to EMAN and the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre, and assist the
Nova Scotia Nature Trust with community awareness programs wherever possible. Beyond the
context of applied climate change research, conservation policy and the potential for direct
conservation application, the project will also yield fundamental data on species ecology and
ethology with which to address scientific paradigms in the fields of population demographics
and adaptive behaviors.
All methods applied in this project will be evaluated and refined for their suitability for the use
by amateur volunteers. Special emphasis will be given to their teachability to novice volunteers.
The project emphasizes education. To achieve informing and engaging volunteers and ensuring
all global stakeholders understand the basic operations of nature and the crisis posed by global
environmental pressure/change, we aim to develop a base at Cook’s Lake as resource for
volunteer education and training.


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