BiologicEcologic ISO Feature Dataset symbolization and publication. September 5, 2017.

The Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) is an aquatic biomonitoring program for assessing the health of fresh water ecosystems in Canada. Benthic macroinvertebrates are collected at a site location and their counts are used as an indicator of the health of that water body. CABIN is based on the network of networks approach that promotes inter-agency collaboration and data-sharing to achieve consistent and comparable reporting on fresh water quality and aquatic ecosystem conditions in Canada. The program is maintained by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to support the collection, assessment, reporting and distribution of biological monitoring information. A set of nationally standardized CABIN protocols are used for field collection, laboratory work, and analysis of biological monitoring data. A training program is available to certify participants in the standard protocols. There are two types of sites in the CABIN database (reference and test). Reference sites represent habitats that are closest to “natural” before any human impact. The data from reference sites are used to create reference models that CABIN partners use to evaluate their test sites in an approach known as the Reference Condition Approach (RCA). Using the RCA models, CABIN partners match their test sites to groups of reference sites on similar habitats and compare the observed macroinvertebrate communities. The extent of the differences between the test site communities and the reference site communities allows CABIN partners to estimate the severity of the impacts at those locations. CABIN samples have been collected since 1987 and are organized in the database by study (partner project). The data is delineated by the 11 major drainage areas (MDA) found in Canada and each one has a corresponding study, habitat and benthic invertebrate data file. Links to auxiliary water quality data are provided when available. Visits may be conducted at the same location over time with repeat site visits being identified by identical study name / site code with different dates. All data collected by the federal government is available on Open Data and more partners are adding their data continually. The csv files are updated monthly. Contact the CABIN study authority to request permission to access non open data.

Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) are areas within Canada's oceans that have been identified through formal scientific assessments as having special biological or ecological significance when compared with the surrounding marine ecosystem.Failure to define an area as an EBSA does not mean that it is unimportant ecologically. All areas serve ecological functions to some extent and require sustainable management. Rather, areas identified as EBSAs should be viewed as the most important areas where, with existing knowledge, regulators and marine users should be particularly risk averse to ensure ecosystems remain healthy and productive.Why are EBSAs identified?EBSA information is used to inform marine planning, including environmental assessment and the siting of marine-based activities, by:- Informing and guiding project-specific or regional environmental assessments;- Informing and guiding industries and regulators in their planning and operations, for example: EBSAs have been acknowledged and referred to (often as "Special Areas" or "Potentially Sensitive Areas") in oil and gas related assessments;- EBSA information has been provided to proponents of submarine cable projects to be used for route planning purposes;- Informing and guiding Integrated Oceans Management (IOM) process within five Large Ocean Management Areas (LOMAs) and twelve marine bioregions;- Serving as a basis for the identification of Areas of Interest (AOIs) and of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) (individually and in the context of planning bioregional networks of MPAs).How are EBSAs identified?The process used to identify EBSAs is generally comprised of two phases. The first phase involves compiling scientific data and knowledge of a marine area's ecosystems - notably fish species, marine mammals, sea birds, marine flora, marine productivity, physical and chemical conditions and geology. "Knowledge" includes experiential knowledge of long-time uses of the areas. In some cases (e.g., in the Arctic), substantial efforts are taken to collect traditional knowledge on ecosystems and environmental conditions from community members, fish harvests, hunters and individuals whose knowledge of the study area complement often helps fill scientific data gaps.In the second phase, the available information for a marine area (e.g. a bioregion) is assessed against five nationally-established science-based criteria including:- Uniqueness: How distinct is the ecosystem of an area compared to surrounding ones?- Aggregation: Whether or not species populate or convene to the study area?- Fitness consequence: How critical the area is to the life history of the species that use it (e.g. is it a spawning or feeding ground)?- Naturalness: How pristine or disturbed by human activities is the study area?- Resilience: What is the ability of the ecosystem to bounce back if it is disturbed?Progress to date and next stepsEBSAs have been identified for large portions of Canada's Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as most of the Arctic oceans. EBSAs will continue to be identified in priority areas as resources become available to carry out the process. The boundaries or locations of existing EBSAs may be modified to reflect both new knowledge and changing environmental conditions.

The Oceans Act (1997) commits Canada to maintaining biological diversity and productivity in the marine environment. A key component of this is to identify areas that are considered ecologically or biologically significant. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science has developed guidance on the identification of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) (DFO 2004) and has endorsed the scientific criteria of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) for identifying ecologically or biologically significant marine areas as defined in Annex I of Decision IX/20 of its 9th Conference of Parties. These criteria were applied to the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Shelves Bioregion in two separate data-driven processes. The first process focused on the area north of the Placentia Bay-Grand Banks (PBGB) Large Ocean Management Area (LOMA) (DFO 2013). The second process focused on the PBGB area (DFO 2019), where EBSAs had previously been identified using a more Delphic approach (Templeman 2007). In both cases, an EBSA Steering Committee, comprised of experts in oceanography, ecosystem structure and function, taxa-specific life histories and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) guided the process by advising or aiding in the identification, collection, processing and analysis of data layers, as well as participating in the final selection of candidate EBSAs (Wells et al. 2017, Ollerhead et al. 2017, Wells et al. 2019). All information was compiled in a GIS and a hierarchical approach was used to review individual data layers and groupings of data layers. Peer review meetings were held for both processes, during which candidate EBSAs were reviewed and the final EBSAs were agreed upon and delineated. In the northern study area, a total of fifteen EBSAs were identified and described; three of these areas are primarily coastal areas; seven are in offshore areas; four EBSAs straddle coastal and offshore areas; and one is a transitory EBSA that follows the southern extent of pack ice. In the PBGB study area, fourteen EBSAs were identified in two different categories: seven based on coastal data and seven based on offshore data. In comparing the new PBGB EBSAs to those identified in 2007, nine of them overlap spatially and are based on similar features; however, there were some variations in the boundaries. Two of the EBSAs that were identified in 2007 were no longer considered EBSAs in 2017, but portions of both of these areas were captured in part by other EBSAs. Five new EBSAs were identified in areas not previously considered.References:DFO, 2004. Identification of Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Ecosystem Status Rep. 2004/006.DFO. 2013. Identification of additional Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) within the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves Bioregion. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2013/048.DFO. 2019. Re-evaluation of the Placentia Bay-Grand Banks Area to Identify Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas . DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2019/040.Ollerhead, L.M.N., Gullage, M., Trip, N., and Wells, N. 2017. Development of Spatially Referenced Data Layers for Use in the Identification and Delineation of Candidate Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas in the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves Bioregion. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2017/036. v + 38 pTempleman, N.D. 2007. Placentia Bay-Grand Banks Large Ocean Management Area Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas. Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2007/052: iii + 15 p.Wells, N.J., Stenson, G.B., Pepin, P., and Koen-Alonso, M. 2017. Identification and Descriptions of Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas in the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves Bioregion. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2017/013. v + 87 p.Wells, N., K. Tucker, K. Allard, M. Warren, S. Olson, L. Gullage, C. Pretty, V. Sutton-Pande and K. Clarke. 2019. Re-evaluation of the Placentia Bay-Grand Banks Area of the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves Bioregion to Identify and Describe Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2019/049. viii + 138 p.

Gross biological volume - softwood (GBVSWD) is an expression of in-the-tree stem softwood volume (m3) on a per-hectare basis. Calculated from the ground to the tip. Available here as a raster (GeoTIF) with a 20 m pixel resolution.Download: Here The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, Forest Service Branch, has developed a forest resource inventory (FRI) which meets a variety of strategic and operational planning information needs for the boreal plains. Such needs include information on the general land cover, terrain, and growing stock (height, diameter, basal area, timber volume and stem density) within the provincial forest and adjacent forest fringe. This inventory provides spatially explicit information as 10 m or 20 m raster grids and as vectors polygons for relatively homogeneous forest stands or naturally non-forested areas with a 0.5 ha minimum area and a 2.0 ha median area.  Gross biological volume per hectare - softwood (GBVSWD) is an expression of in-the-tree stem softwood volume (m3) on a per-hectare basis. Calculations are made from the ground to the tip. GBVSWD is available here as a color-mapped 16-bit unsigned integer raster grid in GeoTIFF format with a 20 m pixel resolution. An ArcGIS Pro layer file (*.lyrx) is supplied for viewing GBVSWD data in the following 50 m3/ha categories. Domain: [NULL, 0…1000]. RANGE LABEL RED GREEN BLUE 0 <= GBVSWD < 25 0 NA NA NA 25 <= GBVSWD < 75 50 63 81 181 75 <= GBVSWD < 125 100 66 101 160 125 <= GBVSWD < 175 150 68 121 138 175 <= GBVSWD < 225 200 71 140 117 225 <= GBVSWD < 275 250 74 160 96 275 <= GBVSWD < 325 300 85 178 79 325 <= GBVSWD < 375 350 123 191 74 375 <= GBVSWD < 425 400 161 203 70 425 <= GBVSWD < 475 450 198 216 66 475 <= GBVSWD < 525 500 236 229 61 525 <= GBVSWD < 575 550 255 226 53 575 <= GBVSWD < 625 600 255 209 40 625 <= GBVSWD < 675 650 255 191 28 675 <= GBVSWD < 725 700 255 174 16 725 <= GBVSWD < 775 750 255 156 3 775 <= GBVSWD < 825 800 253 139 9 825 <= GBVSWD < 875 850 251 121 20 875 <= GBVSWD < 925 900 249 103 31 925 <= GBVSWD < 975 950 246 85 43 975 <= GBVSWD <= 1000 1000 244 67 54For more information, see the Forest Inventory Standard of the Saskatchewan Environmental Code, Forest Inventory Chapter.

A point file showing a collection of specific GPS spatial points recorded during the video taping of the shoreline. The points are represented by a specific latitude and longitude taken at a specific date and time. Each are associated with a specific BIOSLIDE at a specific SHOREUNIT in the Shorezone data

Identification of ecological and biological significant areas (EBSA) in the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence according to six groups of the food chain : primary production (Lavoie et al, 2007), secondary production (Plourde et McQuinn, 2010), meroplankton (Ouellet, 2007), benthic invertebrates (Chabot et al, 2007), demersal fishes (Castonguay et Valois, 2007) and pelagic fishes (McQuinn et al, 2012). The distribution area of each group has been evaluated using five criteria in order to determine the EBSA (DFO, 2004):1. Uniqueness: Ranked from areas whose characteristics are unique, rare, distinct, and for which alternatives do not exist to areas whose characteristics are widespread with many areas which are similar.2. Aggregation: Ranked from areas where most individuals of a species are aggregated to areas where individuals of the species are widespread3. Fitness consequence: Ranked from areas where the life history activity(ies) undertaken make a major contribution to the fitness of the population or species present to areas where the life history activity(ies) undertaken make only marginal contributions to fitness.4. Resilience: Ranked from areas where the habitat structures or species are highly sensitive, easily perturbed, and slow to recover to areas where the habitat structures or species are robust, resistant to perturbation, or readily return to the pre-perturbation state.5. Naturalness: Ranked from areas which are pristine and characterized by native species to areas which are highly perturbed by anthropogenic activities and/or with high abundances of introduced or cultured species.Castonguay, M. and Valois, S. 2007. Zones d’importance écologique et biologique pour les poissons démersaux dans le nord du Golfe du Saint-Laurent. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2007/014. iii + 34 p.Chabot, D., Rondeau A., Sainte-Marie B., Savard L., Surette T. et Archambault P. 2007. Distribution des invertébrés benthiques dans l’estuaire et le golfe du Saint-Laurent. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2007/018. iii + 118 p.DFO, 2004. Identification of Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Ecosystem Status Rep. 2004/006. Lavoie, D., Starr, M., Zakardjian, B. and Larouche, P. 2007. Identification of ecologically and biologically significant areas (EBSA) in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence: Primary production. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2007/079. iii + 29 p. McQuinn, I.H., Bourassa, M-N., Tournois, C., Grégoire, F., and Baril, D. 2012. Ecologically and biologically significant areas in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence: small pelagic fishes. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2012/087. iii + 76 p.Ouellet P. 2007. Contribution à l’identification de zones d’importance écologique et biologique (ZIEB) pour l’estuaire et le golfe du Saint-Laurent : La couche des oeufs et des larves de poissons et de crustacés décapodes. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2007/011. iii + 76 p. (Mise à jour novembre 2010)Plourde, S. et McQuinn, I.A. 2010. Zones d’importance écologique et biologique dans le golfe du Saint-Laurent : zooplancton et production secondaire. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2009/104. iv + 27 p.

Gross biological volume - total (GBVTOT) is an expression of in-the-tree stem total volume (m3) on a per-hectare basis. Calculated from the ground to the tip. Available here as a raster (GeoTIF) with a 20 m pixel resolution.Download: Here The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, Forest Service Branch, has developed a forest resource inventory (FRI) which meets a variety of strategic and operational planning information needs for the boreal plains. Such needs include information on the general land cover, terrain, and growing stock (height, diameter, basal area, timber volume and stem density) within the provincial forest and adjacent forest fringe. This inventory provides spatially explicit information as 10 m or 20 m raster grids and as vectors polygons for relatively homogeneous forest stands or naturally non-forested areas with a 0.5 ha minimum area and a 2.0 ha median area.  Gross biological volume per hectare - total (GBVTOT) is an expression of in-the-tree stem total volume (m3) on a per-hectare basis. Calculations are made from the ground to the tip. GBVTOT is available here as a color-mapped 16-bit unsigned integer raster grid in GeoTIFF format with a 20 m pixel resolution. An ArcGIS Pro layer file (*.lyrx) is supplied for viewing GBVTOT data in the following 50 m3/ha categories. Domain: [NULL, 0…1000]. RANGE LABEL RED GREEN BLUE 0 <= GBVTOT < 25 0 NA NA NA 25 <= GBVTOT < 75 50 63 81 181 75 <= GBVTOT < 125 100 66 101 160 125 <= GBVTOT < 175 150 68 121 138 175 <= GBVTOT < 225 200 71 140 117 225 <= GBVTOT < 275 250 74 160 96 275 <= GBVTOT < 325 300 85 178 79 325 <= GBVTOT < 375 350 123 191 74 375 <= GBVTOT < 425 400 161 203 70 425 <= GBVTOT < 475 450 198 216 66 475 <= GBVTOT < 525 500 236 229 61 525 <= GBVTOT < 575 550 255 226 53 575 <= GBVTOT < 625 600 255 209 40 625 <= GBVTOT < 675 650 255 191 28 675 <= GBVTOT < 725 700 255 174 16 725 <= GBVTOT < 775 750 255 156 3 775 <= GBVTOT < 825 800 253 139 9 825 <= GBVTOT < 875 850 251 121 20 875 <= GBVTOT < 925 900 249 103 31 925 <= GBVTOT < 975 950 246 85 43 975 <= GBVTOT <= 1000 1000 244 67 54 For more information, see the Forest Inventory Standard of the Saskatchewan Environmental Code, Forest Inventory Chapter.

Gross biological volume - hardwood (GBVHWD) is an expression of in-the-tree stem hardwood volume (m3) on a per-hectare basis. Calculated from the ground to the tip. Available here as a raster (GeoTIF) with a 20 m pixel resolution.Download: Here The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, Forest Service Branch, has developed a forest resource inventory (FRI) which meets a variety of strategic and operational planning information needs for the boreal plains. Such needs include information on the general land cover, terrain, and growing stock (height, diameter, basal area, timber volume and stem density) within the provincial forest and adjacent forest fringe. This inventory provides spatially explicit information as 10 m or 20 m raster grids and as vectors polygons for relatively homogeneous forest stands or naturally non-forested areas with a 0.5 ha minimum area and a 2.0 ha median area.  Gross biological volume per hectare - hardwood (GBVHWD) is an expression of in-the-tree stem hardwood volume (m3) on a per-hectare basis. Calculations are made from the ground to the tip. GBVHWD is available here as a color-mapped 16-bit unsigned integer raster grid in GeoTIFF format with a 20 m pixel resolution. An ArcGIS Pro layer file (*.lyrx) is supplied for viewing GBVHWD data in the following 50 m3/ha categories. Domain: [NULL, 0…1000]. RANGE LABEL RED GREEN BLUE 0 <= GBVHWD < 25 0 NA NA NA 25 <= GBVHWD < 75 50 63 81 181 75 <= GBVHWD < 125 100 66 101 160 125 <= GBVHWD < 175 150 68 121 138 175 <= GBVHWD < 225 200 71 140 117 225 <= GBVHWD < 275 250 74 160 96 275 <= GBVHWD < 325 300 85 178 79 325 <= GBVHWD < 375 350 123 191 74 375 <= GBVHWD < 425 400 161 203 70 425 <= GBVHWD < 475 450 198 216 66 475 <= GBVHWD < 525 500 236 229 61 525 <= GBVHWD < 575 550 255 226 53 575 <= GBVHWD < 625 600 255 209 40 625 <= GBVHWD < 675 650 255 191 28 675 <= GBVHWD < 725 700 255 174 16 725 <= GBVHWD < 775 750 255 156 3 775 <= GBVHWD < 825 800 253 139 9 825 <= GBVHWD < 875 850 251 121 20 875 <= GBVHWD < 925 900 249 103 31 925 <= GBVHWD < 975 950 246 85 43 975 <= GBVHWD <= 1000 1000 244 67 54 For more information, see the Forest Inventory Standard of the Saskatchewan Environmental Code, Forest Inventory Chapter.

This layer details Important Areas (IAs) relevant to key fish species in the Strait of Georgia (SOG) ecoregion. This data was mapped to inform the selection of marine Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSA). Experts have indicated that these areas are relevant based upon their high ranking in one or more of three criteria (Uniqueness, Aggregation, and Fitness Consequences). The distribution of IAs within ecoregions is used in the designation of EBSAs.Canada’s Oceans Act provides the legislative framework for an integrated ecosystem approach to management in Canadian oceans, particularly in areas considered ecologically or biologically significant. DFO has developed general guidance for the identification of ecologically or biologically significant areas. The criteria for defining such areas include uniqueness, aggregation, fitness consequences, resilience, and naturalness. This science advisory process identifies proposed EBSAs in Canadian Pacific marine waters, specifically in the Strait of Georgia (SOG), along the west coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI, southern shelf ecoregion), and in the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA, northern shelf ecoregion).Initial assessment of IAs in PNCIMA was carried out in September 2004 to March 2005 with spatial data collection coordinated by Cathryn Clarke. Subsequent efforts in WCVI and SOG were conducted in 2009, and may have used different scientific advisors, temporal extents, data, and assessment methods. WCVI and SOG IA assessment in some cases revisits data collected for PNCIMA, but should be treated as a separate effort.Other datasets in this series detail IAs for birds, cetaceans, coral and sponges, geographic features, invertebrates, and other vertebrates.Though data collection is considered complete, the emergence of significant new data may merit revisiting of IAs on a case by case basis.