Limitations of sediment quality surveys: A case study of an urban watershed in British Columbia, Canada

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (11) ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (11) ◽  
pp. 201-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. McCallum ◽  
K. J. Hall

This case study of a 7200 ha. urban watershed illustrates the challenges involved in using sediment quality surveys to determine pollutant sources and trends. Trace metal and chlorinated hydrocarbon analyses were performed on sediment samples obtained from 33 stream, 24 street, and 1 lake (sediment core) locations. The stream and street sediment survey was initially conducted in 1973 and repeated in 1993. Consistent results across all sediment media indicate significant reductions in Pb, PCB, and DDT levels have occurred since the 1970's as a result of source controls. While streambed results indicate Hg and Mn levels have increased significantly since 1973, neither a spatial analysis of streambed results or a comparison to street concentrations indicate a source for the increase. A more detailed geo-chemical analysis and/or atmospheric contaminant survey may provide more conclusive source information.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Melissa Guzman ◽  
Tyler Kelly ◽  
Lora Morandin ◽  
Leithen M’Gonigle ◽  
Elizabeth Elle

AbstractA challenge in conservation is the gap between knowledge generated by researchers and the information being used to inform conservation practice. This gap, widely known as the research-implementation gap, can limit the effectiveness of conservation practice. One way to address this is to design conservation tools that are easy for practitioners to use. Here, we implement data science methods to develop a tool to aid in conservation of pollinators in British Columbia. Specifically, in collaboration with Pollinator Partnership Canada, we jointly develop an interactive web app, the goal of which is two-fold: (i) to allow end users to easily find and interact with the data collected by researchers on pollinators in British Columbia (prior to development of this app, data were buried in supplements from individual research publications) and (ii) employ up to date statistical tools in order to analyse phenological coverage of a set of plants. Previously, these tools required high programming competency in order to access. Our app provides an example of one way that we can make the products of academic research more accessible to conservation practitioners. We also provide the source code to allow other developers to develop similar apps suitable for their data.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-108
Author(s):  
Jacey Magnussen ◽  
Irene Shankar

Faced with a growing demand for adequate policies and programs that meaningfully address sexual violence on campus, the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario and Manitoba have introduced legislation requiring all post-secondary institutions to institute a sexual assault policy. The remaining provinces and territories do not have similar legislation. In absence of such legislation, using the case study of Alberta, we examined how equipped post-secondary institutions in this province are to assist students in need. Utilizing publicly available data we examined: 1) whether Alberta’s post-secondary institutions have a sexual violence policy which is readily and easily accessible to the student; and 2) the ease with which students can access university resources and support services for sexual violence. The results indicate that most institutions do not have an accessible policy and support services for students in need. We are hopeful that this study can inform those designing and advocating for sexual violence policies on campus to institute measures to clarify institutions’ sexual violence policies, increase accessibility to those policies, create policies where they are missing, and work on clarifying the availability of resources for students on and off campus.


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