The Atlantic Colonial Waterbird Monitoring database captures geo-referenced data collected under the Atlantic Region’s Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Colonial Seabird Monitoring program, and data collected under CWS’ waterfowl and protected areas programs. These programs collectively monitor 22 species of colonial waterbirds breeding in the Atlantic Region of the following groups: fulmars, shearwaters, storm-petrels, gannets, gulls, terns, alcids, eiders, herons and cormorants, with the primary outcome to update information on the distribution, status, and trends of waterbirds breeding in all four Atlantic provinces. Surveys are conducted using one of three platforms: aerial, boat, or ground. Aerial surveys provide the most cost-effective way of conducting a comprehensive population census of diurnal species visible from air, namely gulls (Herring, Great Black-backed, Ring-billed, Glaucous), Black-legged Kittiwakes, Northern Gannets, terns (Arctic, Common, Roseate, Caspian), cormorants (Greater, Double-crested), Black Guillemots, and Common Eiders.Aerial surveys are also effective in identifying new colonies and provide additional information on how to most effectively conduct boat and ground surveys. Boat and ground surveys are conducted at smaller geographic scales and are necessary to obtain complementary information on the species composition of colonies and correction factors to finalize gull, tern and eider estimates obtained from the aerial surveys. Ground and/or boat surveys are also necessary to conduct colony counts of cliff-nesting birds (murres and fulmars), crevice nesting birds (razorbills and guillemots) and burrow-nesting birds (puffins, storm-petrels, shearwaters). Raw data are captured using various survey methods, including:1) visual estimates, 2) direct counts of number of individuals or apparently occupied sites and/or photo counts, 3) sub-sampling the colony through plot counts and extrapolating the estimated occupied densities over the occupied area which in turn is estimated using a variety of geographic information system approaches (e.g., Wilhelm et al. 2015). Important outcomes for how data are used include informing marine spatial planning, emergency preparedness, impact assessment of various anthropogenic threats, and COSEWIC status assessment (e.g., COSEWIC 2020). Further, these data are regularly used internally or in collaboration with partners to form the basis of peer-reviewed publications on regional, national, and/or global population trends for target species (e.g., Langlois Lopez et al. 2022, Iles et al. 2025).This dataset represents a subset of data collected from surveys led by CWS spanning from 1910 to 2024 and summarized to present, at a given colony, the year and count of birds from the most recent survey, the year and maximum count of birds within the last 20 years (if available), and the year and maximum count of birds ever recorded. In addition, CWS works closely with a variety of partners (e.g., provincial, other federal departments, academic, not-for profit organizations) to supplement colonial waterbird data collected in the Atlantic Region. To request additional census or survey data, please contact CWS.COSEWIC. 2020. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Leach’s Storm-Petrel (Atlantic population) Oceanodroma leucorhoa in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. xii + 70 pp. (https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry.html). Iles, D.T., S.E. Gutowsky, A.M. Calvert, S.I. Wilhelm, J.-F. Rail, A. Hedd, H.L. Major, A.C. Smith, and G.J. Robertson. 2025. Estimating regional trajectories and trends of seabirds from sparse and inconsistent colony counts: case studies from eastern Canada with Leach’s Storm-Petrel and Atlantic Puffin. Avian Conservation and Ecology 20(2):16. https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-02931-200216Langlois Lopez, S., Bond, A.L., O’Hanlon, N.J., Wilson, J.M., Vitz, A., Mostello, C.S., Hamilton, F., Rail, J.-F., Welch, L., Boettcher, R., Wilhelm, S.I., Anker-Nilssen, T., Daunt, F., and Masden, E. 2022. Global population and conservation status of the Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus. Bird Conservation International, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270922000181Wilhelm, S.I., Mailhiot, J., Arany, J., Chardine, J.W., Robertson, G.J., and Ryan, P.C. 2015. Update and trends of three important seabird populations in the western North Atlantic using a geographic information system approach. Marine Ornithology 43: 211-222.

PURPOSE:Given the paucity of information on Arctic char along western Hudson Bay, in 2018, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) hosted an Arctic char workshop in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, bringing together local resource users, knowledge holders, and co-management groups (e.g., Hunters and Trappers Organizations, Regional Wildlife Organization) to identify and discuss community-based Arctic char research priorities across the Kivalliq region of Nunavut. Communities were especially interested in examining “what Arctic char were eating” and “why the colour of their muscle is different” along the western Hudson Bay coastline, and in the summer of 2018, a regional community-based Arctic char monitoring program was implemented across the region. DESCRIPTION:Climate-induced alterations to Arctic sea ice dynamics are influencing the availability and distribution of resources, and in turn, the nutrient and energy intake of opportunistic predators across the food web. These temporal changes in local prey communities likely influence the availability of carotenoid-rich prey types, as well as the foraging ecology of opportunistic predators that forage in the marine environment, such as anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). Despite its socioeconomic importance across its range, anadromous Arctic char foraging ecology and its influence on muscle pigmentation, particularly in relation to sea ice dynamics, remains understudied. Here, over two years (2021, 2022) with contrasting sea ice dynamics, we investigated the foraging ecology of anadromous Arctic char and its influence on their muscle pigmentation at a southern (Rankin Inlet) and northern (Naujaat) location along western Hudson Bay using a combination of stomach contents, stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N), highly branched isoprenoids, carotenoid spectrophotometry, and a standard muscle colour scale (DSM SalmoFan). Spatiotemporal variation in Arctic char diet occurred, where Rankin Inlet Arctic char generally consumed more fish and phytoplankton-based carbon sources, occupied a higher trophic position, and displayed a similar isotopic niche breadth compared to Arctic char in Naujaat. Invertebrates were higher in carotenoid concentration than fishes, and in association with a more invertebrate-based diet, Arctic char in Naujaat contained higher muscle carotenoid concentrations (e.g., astaxanthin) compared to Rankin Inlet Arctic char in 2021. In 2022, however, muscle carotenoid concentrations in Naujaat and Rankin Inlet Arctic char were more similar, as the diet of Arctic char in both locations was largely fish-based despite muscle colour remaining redder in Naujaat Arctic char. Overall, the observed plastic foraging ecology of Arctic char highlights this species' ability to adjust to inter-annual variability in environmental changes, which then impacts their muscle carotenoid concentration. Such inter-annual variation in Arctic char foraging ecology is anticipated to increase with unpredictable climate-driven environmental changes in the region, which could therefore negatively affect local resource users over the long term, resulting in socioeconomic impacts across the Arctic.Collection/sampling methodology:Arctic char were collected by angling and gillnetting (5.5” mesh, regularly checked) between June and August in the estuarine and marine environments near the communities of Rankin Inlet and Naujaat, Nunavut. In 2021, Naujaat Arctic char were collected by community fishers as part of a community-based sampling program. Concurrently, invertebrate prey types were opportunistically collected in the vicinity of Arctic char sampling sites using a conical zooplankton net (200-μm mesh; 10-minute tows) or obtained fresh from Arctic char stomachs. Additionally, marine fishes were opportunistically collected by angling or obtained fresh from Arctic char stomachs over both years in Rankin Inlet, while samples from the Naujaat area were collected in 2018 and 2019.The Kivalliq Wildlife Board (Rankin Inlet, NU) and Arviq Hunters and Trappers Association (Naujaat, NU) each supported this community-formulated research project and assisted with sample collections throughout the duration of the project. We would like to recognize and thank Sonny Ittinuar (Kivalliq Wildlife Board/Rankin Inlet Local Resource User), Clayton Tartak (Kivalliq Wildlife Board), Vincent L’Herault (ArctiConnexion), and Gail Davoren (University of Manitoba MSc co-supervisor) for their participation in the project. We would also like to thank Sonny Ittinuar, Poisey (Adam) Alogut, John-El, Peter, Quassa, and Goretti Tinashlu, who assisted in field work. USE LIMITATION:To ensure scientific integrity and appropriate use of the data, we would encourage you to contact the data custodian.

Historical finds of Adelges abietis

Historical finds of Profenusa thomsoni

Historical finds of Coleophora laricella

Historical finds of Pristiphora geniculata

Historical finds of Pristiphora erichsonii

Historical finds of Operophtera brumata

An exploratory project on the taxonomic and genetic diversity of decapods in three ocean subregions (Northeast Pacific, Canadian Arctic, and Northwest Atlantic), which were sampled in 2022, was undertaken by the Arctic Working Group under the Canada-U.S. Fisheries and Climate Collaboration between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This collaboration framework aims to pool Canadian and U.S. data to explore the impacts of broad-scale climate change on marine biodiversity. In early summer 2022, a sampling protocol with the selection of targeted decapods was provided to DFO and NOAA collaborators. Targeted genera were collected from a total of 10 research programs across three ocean subregions and four marine regions. The Northeast Pacific samples were collected in the Bering Sea during the Northern Bering Sea Ecosystem and Surface Trawl Survey, and the Eastern and Northern Bering Sea Continental Shelf Bottom Trawl Survey of Groundfish and Invertebrate Fauna onboard the F/V Northwest Explorer, F/V Alaska Knight and F/V Vesteraalen. In the Western Canadian Arctic (mainly from Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf), specimens were collected during DFO’s Canadian Beaufort Sea – Marine Ecosystem Assessment (CBS-MEA) survey onboard the F/V Frosti. In Eastern Canadian Arctic (mainly from Baffin Bay and Davis Strait), specimens were collected during DFO’s Knowledge and Ecosystem-Based Approach in Baffin Bay (KEBABB) survey onboard the CCGS Amundsen and DFO’s North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Subarea 0B survey onboard the R/V Tarajoq. In the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (EGSL), specimens were collected from coastal surveys (scallops, sea cucumber, snow crab, and whelk surveys) onboard the CCGS Leim and offshore during the Ecosystemic Survey onboard the CCGS Teleost. Decapods were collected from various sampling gears (benthic beam trawl, modified Atlantic Western IIA otter trawl, Bacalao trawl, shrimp trawl, Digby scallop dredge, or modified sea cucumber dredge) and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level and photographed, when possible. All specimens were frozen at sea (n = 995). In the lab, the identifications were validated or refined with the photos and the frozen specimens. DNA was extracted for 87 specimens and a section of COI gene was amplified in order to be sequenced using Sanger method. Sequences were compared with existing data using The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) in the National Center for Bio-technology Information Nucleotide database (NCBI-nt, including the GenBank database) to compare scientific names, where available.The present dataset includes 391 decapod species occurrences. DNA was extracted for a subset of 87 specimens (COI gene); sequences are publicly available on BOLD data portal under project code DDAO (see supporting document "citations_references.csv" for more information).The data are presented in Darwin Core format and are separated in three files:The "Activité_décapodes_DDAO_decapods_event_en" file contains information about missions, stations and deployments, which are presented under a hierarchical activity structure.The "Occurrence_décapodes_DDAO_decapods_en" file contains the taxonomic occurrences.The "ADN_décapodes_DDAO_decapods_DNA_en" file contains the DNA derived data.For further details, please refer to the technical report available in the supporting document named "citations_references.csv". USE LIMITATION:To ensure scientific integrity and appropriate use of the data, we would encourage you to contact the data custodian.

Across the Canadian North, Arctic Char, Salvelinus alpinus, are culturally important and critical for maintaining subsistence lifestyles and ensuring food security for Inuit. Arctic Char also support economic development initiatives in many Arctic communities through the establishment of coastal and inland commercial char fisheries. The Halokvik River, located near the community of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, has supported a commercial fishery for anadromous Arctic Char since the late 1960s. The sustainable management of this fishery, however, remains challenging given the lack of biological data on Arctic Char from this system and the limited information on abundance and biomass needed for resolving sustainable rates of exploitation. In 2013 and 2014, we enumerated the upstream run of Arctic Char in this system using a weir normally used for commercial harvesting. Additionally, we measured fish length and used T-bar anchor tags to mark a subset of the run. Subsequently, we estimated population size using capture-mark-recapture (CMR) methods. The estimated number of Arctic Char differed substantially between years. In 2013, 1967 Arctic Char were enumerated whereas in 2014, 14,502 Arctic Char were enumerated. We attribute this marked difference primarily to differences in weir design between years. There was also no significant relationship between daily mean water temperature and number of Arctic Char counted per day in either year of the enumeration. The CMR population estimates of Arctic Char (those ≥450mm in length) for 2013 and 2014 were 35,546 (95% C.I 30,513-49,254) and 48,377 (95% C.I. 37,398-74,601) respectively. The 95% CI overlapped between years, suggesting that inter-annual differences may not be as extreme as what is suggested by the enumeration. The population estimates reported here are also the first estimates of population size for an Arctic Char stock in the Cambridge Bay region using CMR methodology. Overall, the results of this study will be valuable for understanding how population size may fluctuate over time in the region and for potentially providing advice on the sustainable rates of harvest for Halokvik River Arctic Char. Additionally, the results generated here may prove valuable for validating current stock assessment models that are being explored for estimating biomass and abundance for commercial stocks of Arctic Char in the region.