NLIS 2
September 24, 2004
(Environment and Conservation)
Scientific research in
protected areas of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2004
The Minister of Environment and Conservation,
Tom Osborne, said today that a total of 19 scientific research permits were
issued in 2004 for wilderness and ecological reserves and provincial parks.
Minister Osborne said that collecting
information on the natural features within our protected areas is important
when addressing management issues. "Researchers provide Parks and
Natural Areas Division with important biophysical data and assist in the
management of protected areas in the province."
Inland Fish and Wildlife Division and numerous agencies, such as
Environment Canada (Canadian Wildlife Service), Memorial University conduct research in the provincial reserves and parks.
"Research is encouraged in our protected areas and new researchers are
welcome to contact Parks and Natural Areas Division for more
information." said Minister Osborne. Permits to conduct scientific
research and monitoring in the parks and reserves are mandatory and can be
obtained by contacting Nicole Lights, biologist, Parks and Natural Areas
Division at (709) 635-4529.
Minister Osborne stated 12 of the 19 permits
were for seabird reserves and of the 12, nine were for Witless Bay Islands
Ecological Reserve. "There seems to be an increased interest in seabird
research as evidenced by the increase in number of seabird reserve permits
from seven in 2003 to 12 in 2004," said Minister Osborne.
Researchers in 2004 studied seabird
population dynamics, ecosystem dynamics, caribou, snowshoe hare, fossils and
endangered plants. Dr. Guy Narbonne of Queen�s University in Ontario
published several articles on some of the oldest complex life forms
discovered at Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve. These fossils are gaining
international attention as the reserve has been nominated for UNESCO World
Heritage Site designation. Some research also focused on rare plants. A
number of Memorial University students and professors monitored pathogens
and effects of climate change on Long�s Braya and Fernald�s Braya,
endangered and threatened species. These unique species are found only on
the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. For
a more detailed list of research projects please see attached table.
The Parks and Natural Areas Division of the
Department of Environment and Conservation is the management agency
responsible for the 19 wilderness and ecological reserves and 32 provincial
parks in Newfoundland and Labrador. For further information on reserves and
parks, please visit //www.gov.nl.ca/parks&reserves/
or call (709) 635-4520.
Media contact: Tina Coffey, Communications
(709) 729-5783
Table 1: List of Scientific Research in Parks
and Reserves in 2004
Name and Affiliation |
Reserve/Park |
Project Title |
Dr. Guy Narbonne, Queen�s University |
Mistaken Point, Mistaken Point Extension |
Paleobiology of Ediacaran fronds at Mistaken
Point |
Rob Otto, Department of Environment and
Conservation |
Bay du Nord Wilderness Reserve |
Caribou and coyote interactions and demographics |
Dr. Luise Hermanutz, Memorial University |
Cape St. Mary�s |
Demographic analysis of moss campion |
Dr. Luise Hermanutz, Memorial University |
Burnt Cape, Watt�s Point |
Risk assessment of insect pests and pathogens on
endangered plants of the limestone barrens of Newfoundland |
Dr. Luise Hermanutz, Memorial University |
Burnt Cape |
Vulnerability assessment, management
implications and socio-economic impacts of future climate change on
rare plants of the limestone barrens ecosystem, Great Northern
Peninsula, Newfoundland |
Sarah Hustins, Memorial University |
13 Provincial Parks |
The ecology of Newfoundland and Labrador
mosquitoes in relation to land-use and their potential as vectors of
West Nile Virus |
John Neville, Department of Environment and
Conservation |
Bay du Nord Wilderness Reserve |
Determining cause-specific rates of caribou calf
mortality and adult movement in the Middle Ridge caribou herd |
Brian Nakashima, Fisheries and Oceans, Canada |
Bellevue Beach Provincial Park |
Spawning, egg deposition, and recruitment of
capelin, Bellevue Beach, Trinity Bay |
Sabir Bin Muzaffar, Memorial University |
Witless Bay Islands |
The ecology of parasitism in seabird colonies in
eastern Canada |
Neil Burgess, Canadian Wildlife Service |
Witless Bay Islands
|
Organochlorine contaminants of the marine
environment: trends in eastern Canadian seabirds |
Neil Burgess, Canadian Wildlife Service |
Gannet Islands |
Organochlorine contaminants of the marine
environment: trends in Labrador |
John Chardine, Canadian Wildlife Service |
Cape St. Mary�s, Baccalieu Island, Funk Island |
Report of five-year North American northern
Gannet colony census |
David Fifield, Alder Institute |
Witless Bay Islands |
Attachment of dummy data loggers to Atlantic
Puffins as an initial phase in determining post-breeding dispersal
patterns and winter distribution |
Dr. Bill Montevecchi, Memorial University |
Baccalieu Island, Cape St. Mary�s, Funk
Island, Witless Bay Islands |
Foraging and feeding ecology of Newfoundland
seabirds |
Dr. Anne Storey, Memorial University |
Witless Bay Islands |
Effects of boat tours on stress hormones in
Atlantic Puffins on Great and Gull Islands |
Dr. Anne Storey, Memorial University |
Witless Bay Islands |
Reproductive behaviour, body condition and
productivity in Common Murres on Great Island |
Dr. Anne Storey, Memorial University |
Witless Bay Islands |
Monitoring kittiwake breeding success |
Dr. Gregory Robertson, Canadian Wildlife Service |
Witless Bay Islands |
Demographic studies of seabirds on Gull Island,
Witless Bay |
Dr. Gregory Robertson, Canadian Wildlife Service |
Witless Bay Islands |
Censuses of selected seabirds in the Witless Bay
Seabird Ecological Reserve |
2004 09
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