Community Composition of Lake Zooplankton, Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Forage Fish Across a pH Gradient in Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada

Bowman, Michelle F.; Nussbaumer, Christina; Burgess, Neil M.

Community Composition of Lake Zooplankton, Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Forage Fish Across a pH Gradient in Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada

2014

Bowman, Michelle F. | Nussbaumer, Christina | Burgess, Neil M.

The composition of zooplankton, benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) and forage fish communities of 20 lakes in and near Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site were evaluated as part of Environment Canada’s Acid Rain Biomonitoring Program. The pH of study lakes ranged from 4.3 to 6.6. Lake pH was positively correlated with alkalinity, calcium and magnesium concentrations and negatively correlated with colour, aluminium, total organic carbon and nitrogen. Gradients in overall BMI community composition and total BMI richness were strongly related to the gradient in pH, but the composition of zooplankton and forage fish communities were more strongly related to other environmental parameters such as elevation. Potential indicator species for future acid rain monitoring included Daphnia catawba, the amphipod Hyalella azteca, pill/pea clams Pisidium casertanum and Pisidium ferrugineum and larval water scavenger beetle Berosus. These chemical and biological data provide a baseline for future evaluation of the continued effects of anthropogenic deposition to this acid-sensitive region of Atlantic Canada.

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