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  • OPEN ACCESS
    Spatial and seasonal determinants of arthropod community composition across an agro-ecosystem landscape
    FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 15
    We used Malaise traps to sample arthropod community composition at biweekly intervals across an agroecosystem landscape in southern Ontario, Canada, to evaluate the relative impact of site spacing, seasonal timing, weather conditions, local plant community attributes, and agricultural extent across the local landscape on spatial and temporal variation in arthropod community composition. The 15 field sites sampled spanned a wide gradient of agricultural extent that in isolation had a strong impact on spatial variation in arthropod community composition. DNA metabarcoding of the samples identified >10 000 different arthropod biodiversity index numbers. Local variation in plant community composition and canopy cover best explained variation in arthropod community dissimilarity. Weather variables followed closely in explanatory power, driven primarily by seasonal variation in temperature. Significant effects of time remained after accounting for environmental variables, with little independent effect of spatial distance. The proportion of agricultural land at the landscape scale had little detectable effect after controlling for the influence of the other environmental variables. Our results suggest that plant community composition, cover, weather conditions, and seasonality structured the arthropod community to considerable degree.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    A comparison of approaches to quantify carbon for ecosystem service assessments through time
    FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 13
    Monitoring of global climate regulation ecosystem services is needed to inform national accounts, meet emission targets, and evaluate nature-based climate solutions. As carbon monitoring is context-dependent, the most useful methodological approach will depend on the spatial extent and resolution, temporal frequency, baseline, available data, funding, and dominant drivers of change, all of which will impact results and interpretation. Here, focusing on above and belowground carbon storage and sequestration, we review four groups of methods for estimating trends in carbon over time: (1) field-based measurements, (2) land cover maps with reference carbon values by land cover type, (3) statistical and machine learning models linking field measurements to remotely sensed data, and (4) mass balance models representing key carbon pools and flows between them. We discuss strengths, limitations, and best practices for each method to assist researchers in implementing an approach or critically evaluating whether an existing carbon dataset can be used for a different project. The best methods often account for spatial variability of carbon, ecosystem interconnections, and temporal stability of carbon stocks against future environmental changes. Effective carbon monitoring can help determine optimal conservation, restoration, and/or land management interventions with win-win outcomes for both conservation and nature-based climate solutions.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Survey of rice (Oryza sativa L.) production ecosystems in northern Ghana confirms low risk of exposure to potential toxic elements from local grain consumption
    FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 7
    Expanding local rice production to meet consumer demand is a priority action under the Government of Ghana’s Planting for Food and Jobs initiative. While studies on yield-enhancing interventions abound, fewer studies focus on food safety issues (e.g., the potential toxic element status of the production ecosystems). This study was, therefore, conducted to bridge the knowledge gap. Chemical analyses were conducted on water, soil, and rice grain samples from different production ecosystems in the Northern and Upper East regions of Ghana. Statistical analysis of the data showed that soil and rice grain arsenic concentrations were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in the Upper East region. In the Northern region, mean cadmium concentration in rice grains from the irrigated lowland fields (0.023±0.003 mg/kg) was significantly higher than in grains from the rainfed fields. All recorded concentrations of rice grain arsenic, cadmium, and lead were, however, within permissible limits, indicating a low risk of dietary exposure. The observed differences in concentrations within and between regions suggest that soil texture and other geogenic factors could influence the potential toxic element status of the rice production ecosystems. Regular monitoring is, therefore, recommended to maintain the safety of Ghana’s locally produced rice for human consumption.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    A toolkit for greater equity, diversity, and inclusion in early-career ecology funding
    FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 9
    Funding is critical in ecology and related fields, as it enables research and sustains livelihoods. However, early-career researchers (ECRs) from diverse backgrounds are disproportionately underrepresented as funding recipients. To help funding programs self-evaluate progress towards increasing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in their funding opportunities, we introduce the Stage-based Assessments of Grants for EDI (SAGE) Toolkit. Developed using existing literature, semi-structured interviews, and coauthors’ experiences, the toolkit considers how each funding stage (Advertisement, Application, Review, Awarding) interacts with applicants from racialized and other underrepresented backgrounds. The toolkit offers specific criteria and recommendations, with explanations and examples from funding agencies, to support applicants who have been historically marginalized in ecology and are often left out of equitable funding consideration. Changes in funding mechanisms alone will not reverse the marginalization of communities and peoples in the field of ecology, but advancing EDI must include action throughout the grant process. Efforts to increase EDI must be sustained, and the toolkit allows for additional considerations and evolving best practices. With the SAGE Toolkit, efforts to increase EDI can help to transition away from a transactional dynamic between funder and applicant to instead supportive community and collaboration. The SAGE Toolkit is available online at bit.ly/ediSAGEtoolkit.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Now is the time for academics to think and act beyond academia
    FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 3
    Despite the challenges posed by climate change and the biodiversity crisis, most academic research continues to stay within academia and the gaps between conservation science, policy, and practice remain intact. We need to improve the exchange of evidence between researchers and conservation practitioners and focus on solutions-oriented, interdisciplinary science and co-developed research. As we continue to break climate records and lose record numbers of species every year, now is the time for academics to think and act beyond their institutions.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Heliocaminiform structures: plant organs that function as microgreenhouses
    FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 20
    Plant structures that enclose trapped air are morphologically and taxonomically diverse. They range from pubescence (trichomes) on various parts of plants to flowers, inflorescences, stems, culms (above-ground jointed stems of grasses), petioles, peduncles, scapes, fruits, bracts, leaves, galls, algal pneumatocysts, moss sporophytes, lichen podetia, and fungal fruiting bodies. Despite being familiar, such structures have not been studied systematically until recently when their complex thermodynamic functionality as microgreenhouses has been recognized. We propose the term “heliocaminiform” (Greco-Latin origin for “sun-room”) provides an umbrella term that describes form and function. Almost all the hollow structures we have examined have elevated internal temperatures of several degrees C above the surrounding air in sunshine, but those are abolished under cloud or at night. The potential importance for the additional heat is presumed to be in growth, maturation, reproduction, sexual function, and overall fitness of the plants. There seem to be no experimental studies on those effects even though they may help explain aspects of plants’ responses to climate change and to phenological mismatches with symbionts (mutualists and herbivores) as ecologically co-dependent partners. Our review and observations opens a remarkably new and hitherto surprisingly neglected avenue in botany which we hope others will explore.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Still using genetic data? A comparative review of Canadian life insurance application forms before and after the GNDA
    FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 10
    Genetic testing's increased availability has raised concerns about “genetic discrimination” (GD), where individuals may face unfair treatment, particularly when purchasing personal insurance, because of their genetic characteristics. In 2017, Canada passed the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act (GNDA) to prevent GD. This manuscript reviews post-GNDA life insurance application forms and compares them with pre-2014 application forms to assess the impact of the GNDA on insurance practices in Canada. Based on our comparative assessment, we found that the GNDA has had a modest impact on the practice of life insurers in Canada. Our study also confirms that questions about family history of disease and broadly formulated inquiries are still used on life insurance application forms. Both can, in the absence of clear instructions, lead applicants to disclose protected genetic information.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Ideal free distributions form across a regulatory boundary in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Division 4X and 5Z groundfish fisheries
    FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 9
    We used isodars, developed from the ideal free distribution (IFD), to predict the distribution of fishing effort across regulatory boundaries in the south-western Scotian Shelf’s haddock fishery. Our analysis was focused around the boundary between Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization’s Divisions 4X and 5Z. While effort within 4X was related to the standardized catch value and effort experienced along the 4X–5Z boundary, most effort predictions across the boundary were also accurate. Accuracy of these cross-boundary isodars suggests that a high degree of movement across the boundary meets the IFD assumption of free movement and thus, effort on one side of the boundary is related to fishing success on the other side of the boundary. Fisheries management strategies should adopt a broad view that encompasses adjacent regulatory regions to understand where vessels may choose to fish when multiple regulatory regions are accessible. In fisheries where isodars describe effort distributions across a regulatory boundary, the relative abundance of the underlying fish population could be better indicated by effort distribution among regulatory regions than by catch rates.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Evaluating the design of the first marine protected area network in Pacific Canada under a changing climate
    FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 18
    Marine protected area (MPAs) networks can buffer marine ecosystems from the impacts of climate change by allowing species to redistribute as conditions change and by reducing other stressors. There are, however, few examples where climate change has been considered in MPA network design. In this paper, we assess how climate change considerations were integrated into the design of a newly released MPA network in the Northern Shelf Bioregion in British Columbia, Canada, and then evaluate the resulting network against projected physical and biogeochemical changes and biological responses. We found that representation, replication, and size and spacing recommendations integrated into the design phase were met in most cases. Furthermore, despite varying degrees of projected changes in temperature, dissolved oxygen, and aragonite saturation across the MPA network, suitable habitat for demersal fish species is projected to remain in the network despite some redistribution among sites. We also found that mid-depth MPAs are particularly important for persistence, as fish are projected to move deeper to avoid warming in shallower areas. Our results highlight that a representative MPA network with adequate replication, that incorporates areas of varying climate change trajectory, should buffer against the impacts of climate change.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Estimating size-at-harvest from Indigenous archaeological clamshell assemblages in Coastal British Columbia
    FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 15
    Shellfish have supported Indigenous lifeways on the Pacific Coast of North America for millennia. Despite the ubiquity of clamshells in archaeological sites, shell size measurements are rarely reported due to a lack of applicable basis for generating size estimates from fragmentary remains. We present a linear regression-based method for determining shell length from hinge and umbo measurements of littleneck (Leukoma staminea; n = 239), butter (Saxidomus gigantea; n = 274), and horse (Tresus nuttallii; n = 92) clams using both contemporary and archaeological shells collected from three regions in coastal British Columbia, Canada. We examine the accuracy of these size estimations, which indicate that 83%–97% of the variability in dorsal shell length is predicted by umbo thickness and hinge length. Hinge length generated higher R2 values yet exhibited greater intra- and inter-observer error. While the predicted dorsal length for each species differed by region, this size difference was smaller than intra- and inter-observer error, suggesting broad applicability for these simple measurements. We applied these formulae to a Tseshaht First Nation archaeological clamshell assemblage (n = 488) on western Vancouver Island spanning 3000 years and observed profiles that resemble contemporary legal size limits, which suggests the sustained use and maintenance of local shellfisheries. The accuracy of these regression models for determining shell length from fragments highlights the utility of this approach as a basis for assessing past shellfish management practices.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Burrow nests fall below critical temperatures of threatened seabirds but offer thermal refuge during extreme cold events
    FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 11
    Climate change is altering the severity and intensity of extreme weather events. Occupying microhabitats that buffer extreme weather may help species avoid harsh environmental conditions. We describe the thermal microclimate of Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) and Leach’s Storm-petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous) burrows and quantify whether burrows are thermal refuges during extreme cold weather events. We further test for the effect of weather conditions and burrow characteristics on nest microclimate and buffering capacity during extreme cold weather. We find that both species actively breed in burrow microclimates that are below their lower critical temperatures, which may impose significant thermoregulatory costs. However, burrows do act as thermal refuges because nests are kept 7.4–8.0 °C warmer than ambient temperatures during extreme cold weather events. Overall, external temperature and wind speed were strong drivers of burrow temperature, but burrow and habitat characteristics did not explain the variability in burrow buffering capacity during extreme cold weather. Our results suggest that burrows may provide a direct line of defence for seabird chicks against cold events. Given the complex responses of burrow microclimates to extreme events, quantifying how changes in environmental conditions will impact burrow-nesting seabirds in the future is key.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    The long-term effects of water resource development on blood mercury levels and the trophic ecology of Namew (lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens)
    FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 13
    Water resource development can alter the movement and ecology of sturgeons. We studied total (THg) and methylmercury concentrations in whole blood sampled non-lethally from namew (Moose Cree L-dialect, lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens), an endangered and culturally important subsistence fish. Namew were sampled from two tributaries within the Moose Cree Homeland: the Lower Mattagami River (an impacted system with four hydroelectric generating stations) and the North French River (a reference system that is free-flowing system with no development). Results indicated namew from the North French River had higher blood [THg] than those from the Mattagami River. Further modeling showed that trophic position was the primary driver of these differences, with North French namew having the highest nitrogen isotope ratios. Based on further isotope modeling, crayfish were major components of namew diet at all sites, while other prey items differed between sites. Specifically, namew with unobstructed access to the lower watershed had notably more enriched isotope values when compared to the freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates sampled, implying that other prey not captured herein may contribute to their diets and [THg]. Overall, we found differences in namew’s trophic ecology but no elevation in blood mercury levels at a site impacted by hydroelectric operations 60+ years post-impoundment.
  • OPEN ACCESS
    Note of appreciation
      FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. i
    • OPEN ACCESS
      A pilot bioavailable strontium isotope baseline map of Southern British Columbia, Canada
      FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 11
      Strontium isotopes are used for provenience and mobility studies in archaeology, ecology, and forensic studies, and rely on accurate baseline maps that are used to compare and interpret human and animal strontium ratios. Here, we present a bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr map, also called an isoscape, for southern British Columbia derived from modern plant samples’ 87Sr/86Sr ratios. We sampled 67 medium root depth plants over a 900 km transect from the southern BC coast to inland BC to capture the natural 87Sr/86Sr ratios of plants along the four major geological belts in British Columbia. Non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis and pairwise Wilcox tests were used to examine whether the geological belts had statistically significant mean differences. It was found that the province could be effectively divided into east and west, with the Coastal–Intermontane and Omineca–Foreland regions having statistically different means from each other. 87Sr/86Sr ratios had statistically significant relationships with salt deposition, volcanic deposition, and mean age of the underlying lithology. Generally, 87Sr/86Sr ratios increased with distance from the coast as the atmospheric input of radiogenic strontium from marine-derived rainwater decreased and the input of radiogenic strontium isotopes from the underlying geology of the Rockies in the far east of the province increased.
    • OPEN ACCESS
      Spatiotemporal patterns of low and highly pathogenic avian influenza virus prevalence in murres in Canada from 2007 to 2022—a case study for wildlife viral monitoring
      FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 13
      Migratory seabirds move across ocean basins and are one of the primary reservoirs of low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV). This includes the millions of thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) and common murres (Uria aalge) that are distributed across northern hemisphere oceans. In response to increasingly frequent detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) in Europe in 2020–2021, avian influenza virus (AIV) monitoring in wildlife has increased. We compiled data from murres tested for AIV in Canada between 2007 and 2022 to quantify spatiotemporal variation in the prevalence of LPAIV and HPAIV in these birds. No HPAIV was detected in murres prior to 2022, but HPAIV was present in 46% of both live/harvested and found dead murres in the northwestern Atlantic in 2022 with prevalence peaking at 63% among live birds in the summer. In the eastern Canadian Arctic, HPAIV prevalence in 2022 was <1% while LPAIV prevalence was 21%, which was significantly higher than previous sampling years. Power analyses suggest approximately 100 samples from breeding murres should be collected annually per colony or region to detect moderate changes in HPAIV prevalence. These analyses inform robust monitoring of viruses in wildlife, with implications for conservation, harvest management, and public health.
    • OPEN ACCESS
      Julie Morand-Ferron retrospective (1977–2022) for FACETS
      FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 4
    • OPEN ACCESS
      The effect of riffle restoration on the recovery of endangered Nooksack Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae sp. cataractae)
      FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 15
      The Nooksack Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae sp. cataractae) is a federally endangered riffle specialist endemic to the lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada, with historic population declines associated with riffle loss from stream dredging, channelization, and excessive sediment inputs. To assess the effectiveness of riffle restoration as a recovery strategy, gravel and cobble riffles were constructed in two replicate tributaries of the Nooksack River as a before-after-control-impact experiment, measuring dace abundance, substrate composition, and invertebrate biomass before and one year after restoration. Nooksack Dace density increased significantly in cobble (but not gravel) treatments relative to control riffles. Dace abundance was strongly associated with increased availability of interstitial refuges rather than substrate effects on invertebrate prey abundance, suggesting that interstitial space limits adult dace abundance. Young-of-the-year dace were not observed in one of the two restored streams despite riffle restoration, indicating increased dace density due to aggregation in higher-quality restored riffles. This recruitment limitation indicates persistence of a population bottleneck at an early life history stage that is not addressed by successful restoration of adult riffle habitat.
    • OPEN ACCESS
      Seasonal movement and habitat use of Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) near the northern geographic range extent
      FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 15
      The movement ecology of Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in watersheds at the northern geographic range extent is not well understood. We implanted 54 Bull Trout with acoustic transmitters in the Prairie Creek watershed, Northwest Territories, Canada and tracked fish from July 2011 to October 2012 using 19 stationary hydrophones. Bull Trout movement patterns generally corresponded to two groups, as a result of individual variation within and across seasons. The first group exhibited seasonal variations in movement and habitat use, moving most (range 11.7–115.9 km) and occupying the largest home ranges in summer and autumn, while exhibiting little movement during winter and spring. The second group made negligible movements within seasons and resided in localized areas. Restricted movement in winter resulted in a severe range contraction. The average distance moved within a season was 11.5 km (range 0.3–64.9 km per fish). The unusually high prevalence of stationarity in this watershed suggest fish can complete all life processes (spawning, feeding, and rearing) in short reaches (<10 km) of Prairie Creek and tributaries. We encourage researchers to replicate our work in other northern watersheds to determine if the life history we describe represents a regional divergence from more southerly populations.
    • OPEN ACCESS
      Effects of acute suspended sediment exposure on the swimming and schooling performance of imperilled Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus)
      FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 10
      Urbanization is a widespread threat to freshwater ecosystems. After rainfall, urban streams often experience unnaturally fast water flows and acute increases in suspended sediment due to the high degree of adjacent impervious land surface. Suspended sediments may negatively affect fishes by impairing respiration, and reduced water clarity may also affect social behaviours such as schooling that are dependent on visual cues. Given these two mechanisms of harm, suspended sediments may therefore exacerbate the difficulty of swimming at high water velocities. We tested this idea using imperilled Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus) to examine the consequences of suspended sediment on swimming performance and schooling behaviour. Using individual fish, we assayed swimming performance (standard critical swim speed test) and tail beat frequency and amplitude under a range of ecologically relevant sediment concentrations. Next, we measured the impact of sediment on the cohesion and polarization of schools. Swimming performance of individual fish was not affected by suspended sediment levels we examined. School polarization was positively correlated with water flow overall and at the fastest flows we tested; schools were more polarized when exposed to sediment. School cohesion decreased with increasing flows and was unaffected by the suspended sediment levels we examined. Our results collectively suggest that swimming performance of Redside Dace may be resilient to ecologically relevant acute suspended sediment exposure.
    • OPEN ACCESS
      Bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) growth rates as climate stress indicators for Canada’s Pacific coast
      FACETS • Vol. 9 • pp. 1 - 19
      Primary producers’ growth rates are ideal bioindicators of changing climate due to their sensitivity to environmental conditions. On the Central Coast of British Columbia, we assessed growth rates of Nereocystis luetkeana, a canopy-forming annual kelp, by assessing baseline variability in growth rates and their response to environmental conditions of over 600 individuals and across three sites (2016–2019). Optimal growth rates for blades and stipes (∼13–14 cm/day) occurred within a narrow range of local environmental conditions. Growth decreased at temperatures > 10 °C, below 1 µm/L nitrate concentration, and surface light availability reduced blade growth at low and high levels (daily light integral or DLI <20 and >40 mol/m2/day). Spatiotemporal variability in these environmental drivers co-occurred with differences in growth rates, suggesting that local conditions strongly influenced growth. In particular, temperature and nutrients were un-coupled seasonally in this region, with more variable responses in growth over the primary growing season (May to September). Overall, the sensitivity of the growth rates of this annual kelp to changing climatic conditions suggests that it is a useful bioindicator for management and marine planning efforts (e.g., restoration and aquaculture) across its species range and provides a feasible metric for monitoring.