NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Dehcho Region

Tags: water quality, zooplankton, climate change, benthic invertebrates, wildfire, cumulative impacts

Objective(s): 1) To assess the impact of recent 2023 wildfires on the aquatic ecosystem in small ponds in the Dehcho and South Slave area. 2) To assess whether small ponds impacted by the 2014 wildfire season had recovered to pre-fire conditions. 3) To assess whether there were cumulative impacts of repeated wildfires on small ponds impacted by both 2014 and 2023 wildfire seasons.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5970. 1) To assess the impact of recent 2023 wildfires on the aquatic ecosystem in small ponds in the Dehcho and South Slave area. 2) To assess whether small ponds impacted by the 2014 wildfire season had recovered to pre-fire conditions. 3) To assess whether there were cumulative impacts of repeated wildfires on small ponds impacted by both 2014 and 2023 wildfire seasons. Approximately thirty road accessible ponds have been selected near Kakisa, Hay River, and Fort Smith, spread across four different fire histories (burned in 2014 fires, burned in 2023, burned in both 2014 and 2023, and no recent burn history). Small ponds are at higher risk of large impacts from wildfire and can provide important information about how larger lake ecosystems may respond to wildfire. Reports from on the ground suggest that water levels are already extremely low (May 2024), and many of the ponds in this area are dry. We will finalize site selection after driving down to Fort Smith and assessing water levels at the road accessible sites. Ponds will be accessed by road and a canoe will be used to collect water and zooplankton samples and measure key water quality properties such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and conductivity from the center of the pond. The Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network (OBBN) protocol will also be used to collect benthic invertebrates along the edge of the pond. Sampling will take place in mid-June and August/September. Water samples will be delivered to the Taiga Environmental Laboratory so that they can be analyzed. Zooplankton and benthic invertebrate samples will be sent to expert taxonomists for identification. During the monitoring program, the research team will have regular discussions and updates with the stakeholders to discuss project progress, preliminary findings and any questions or concerns. Zooplankton and benthic invertebrate data will not be available until approximately May 2025, after which the research team will lead a discussion of project results with the stakeholders. Preliminary discussions on the water chemistry and algae results will happen in September. Based on this discussion, the research team will write up both a plain language report (NERB) and a scientific report. The research team will try to ensure these are both available prior to the 2025 fire season. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: July 18 - September 30, 2024