Characterizing Exposure to and Sharing Knowledge of Drivers of Environmental Change in the St. Lawrence System in Canada

Beauchesne, David; Daigle, Rémi M.; Vissault, Steve; Gravel, Dominique; Bastien, Andréane; Bélanger, Simon; Bernatchez, Pascal; Blais, Marjolaine; Bourdages, Hugo; Chion, Clément; Galbraith, Peter S.; Halpern, Benjamin S.; Lavoie, Camille; McKindsey, Christopher W.; Mucci, Alfonso; Pineault, Simon; Starr, Michel; Ste-Marie, Anne-Sophie; Archambault, Philippe

doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00383

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Data on environmental predictors were obtained from two datasets: the fisheries multidisciplinary research survey and eDrivers, an open-knowledge data platform (Beauchesne et al, 2020). For the fisheries survey data, an SBE19plusTM CTD mounted on the outside of the top of the trawl recorded temperature, salinity, and oxygen concentration on the bottom during the trawling at each site (Bourdages et al, 2018).…”

Section: Environmental Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Depth was also recorded at the beginning and end of each trawl to provide a mean for each site. The second set of predictors was extracted from the eDrivers platform for EGSL environmental data (Beauchesne et al, 2020). Selected drivers were aragonite (indicating acidification) and positive temperature anomalies (posAnom), as described in Galbraith et al (2019).…”

Section: Environmental Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Combined with global changes, this intense human use has concomitantly exposed this ecosystem to multiple environmental changes. Like many inland seas, the EGSL has internal dynamics that restrict flushing and are subject to a convergence of pressures from land-based and marine disturbances as well as climatic changes (MacCraken et al, 2008;Beauchesne et al, 2020). Deep waters of the EGSL are warming, reaching new temperature records in 2019 due to altered ocean circulation dynamics (Claret et al, 2018;Galbraith et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Detection of Ecological Thresholds and Selection of Indicator Taxa for Epibenthic Communities Exposed to Multiple Pressures

et al. 2021

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The estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence (EGSL), eastern Canada form a vast inland sea that is subjected to numerous anthropogenic pressures. Management tools are needed to detect and quantify their effect on benthic communities. The aims of this study are to analyze the spatial distribution of epibenthic communities in the EGSL and quantify the impact of important pressures on them to identify indicator taxa. Epibenthic communities were sampled at 1314 EGSL sites between 2011 and 2018 by bottom trawling. Cluster analyses revealed the presence of six distinct epibenthic communities that seem to be strongly influenced by oxygen concentration. Threshold analyses confirm that oxygen is an important predictor of epibenthic community composition and distribution. A major oxygen threshold is observed around 50–100 μmol O2 L–1, resulting in a shift of community type. At these concentrations and below, opportunistic taxa dominate the community while sensitive taxa are absent or present at very low abundance. Biomass of the latter only starts to increase when oxygen concentrations reach 150 μmol O2 L–1. The species Actinostola callosa, Actinauge cristata, Ctenodiscus crispatus, and Brisaster fragilis were identified as good indicators for detecting this impact threshold forepibenthic communities. This study provides threshold-based indicator species that help to establish and monitor the ecological state of epibenthic communities in a marine ecosystem exposed to multiple pressures.

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Section: Environmental Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Environmental Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Detection of Ecological Thresholds and Selection of Indicator Taxa for Epibenthic Communities Exposed to Multiple Pressures

et al. 2021

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“…Many international organizations have recognized the importance of biologically diverse ecosystems for humanity and have established objectives and targets for their protection and sustainable use (United Nations, 1992; Secretariat of the CBD, 2010;SDG, 2015). The management of ecosystems requires an understanding of how habitats and communities respond to drivers of change, i.e., forces that affect environmental processes and modify ecosystem state from equilibrium (Boonstra et al, 2015;Beauchesne et al, 2020;Orr et al, 2020). In addition to natural drivers (e.g., temperature anomalies, freshwater inputs, hypoxic events), influences from human activities (e.g., fisheries, chemical pollution, species introductions) are also considered as ecosystem drivers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining the Ecological Status of Benthic Coastal Communities: A Case in an Anthropized Sub-Arctic Area

et al. 2021

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With the widespread influence of human activities on marine ecosystems, evaluation of ecological status provides valuable information for conservation initiatives and sustainable development. To this end, many environmental indicators have been developed worldwide and there is a growing need to evaluate their performance by calculating ecological status in a wide range of ecosystems at multiple spatial and temporal scales. This study calculated and contrasted sixteen indicators of ecological status from three methodological categories: abundance measures, diversity parameters and characteristic species. This selection was applied to coastal benthic ecosystems at Sept-Îles (Québec, Canada), an important industrial harbor area in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and related to habitat parameters (organic matter, grain size fractions, and heavy metal concentrations). Nearly all indicators highlighted a generally good ecological status in the study area, where communities presented an unperturbed profile with high taxa and functional diversities and without the dominance of opportunistic taxa. Some correlations with habitat parameters were detected, especially with heavy metals, and bootstrap analyses indicated quite robust results. This study provides valuable information on the application of environmental indicators in Canadian coastal ecosystems, along with insights on their use for environmental assessments.

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“…Reasons for the non-recovery and low recruitment rate of the population could be a result of one or multiple anthropogenic stressors acting on SLE beluga or their habitat, either independently or in synergy (Beauchesne et al 2020). SLE beluga live downstream of highly industrialized and urbanized regions discharging toxic chemical substances which eventually reach their habitat (Martel et al 1986;Gearing et al 1994;Gobeil et al 1995;Viglino et al 2004;Lebeuf & Nunes 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

The challenges of a small population exposed to multiple anthropogenic stressors and a changing climate: the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga

Lesage

2021

Polar Research

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Until 2012, the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga population was considered stable with about 1100 individuals. An abnormally high number of calves reported dead that year triggered a population status reassessment. This review article summarizes the findings from this reassessment and various studies subsequent to it and provides an updated analysis of carcass recovery rates up to 2019. The 2013 review indicated a decreased incidence of cancer in adults, suggesting positive impacts from the regulation of toxic substances (e.g., PCBs and PAHs). However, the review also revealed that the population initiated a decline of ca. 1% per year in the early 2000s and had reached a size of ca. 900 individuals by 2012. This decline was accompanied by high inter-annual variability in calf survival and pregnancy rates and by more frequent peripartum complications among dead females. The change in population dynamics coincided with a shift in the St. Lawrence ecosystem structure and warmer environmental conditions, suggesting a link through effects on reproductive success and adult female body condition. This was supported by the continued high calf mortality after 2012 and a documented decline of fat reserves in beluga blubber from 1998 to 2016. Other factors, such as the exposure to chronic vessel noise, increasing whale-watching activities, high contaminant levels and episodic harmful algal blooms, may also be contributing to the long-term non-recovery and current decline of the population. The strong natal philopatry and complex social system of the beluga likely increase its vulnerability to extinction risk by limiting dispersal.

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Characterizing Exposure to and Sharing Knowledge of Drivers of Environmental Change in the St. Lawrence System in Canada

Cited by 20 publications

References 39 publications

Detection of Ecological Thresholds and Selection of Indicator Taxa for Epibenthic Communities Exposed to Multiple Pressures

Detection of Ecological Thresholds and Selection of Indicator Taxa for Epibenthic Communities Exposed to Multiple Pressures

Determining the Ecological Status of Benthic Coastal Communities: A Case in an Anthropized Sub-Arctic Area

The challenges of a small population exposed to multiple anthropogenic stressors and a changing climate: the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga

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