Contemporary and paleolimnological approaches for determining effects of multiple stressors on shallow northern lakes

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Lake-rich freshwater landscapes in northern Canada provide an array of ecosystem services that have long been utilized by wildlife for their unique aquatic habitat and by First Nation communities to sustain traditional ways of life. Their ecological integrity, however, may be affected by multiple stressors. Unfortunately, insufficient knowledge of aquatic ecosystem conditions over space and time severely impairs ability to correctly associate cause and effect, anticipate how these ecosystems will evolve in the future, and inform stewardship practices by resource managers. This is the context for lake-rich freshwater landscapes in Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP), Alberta/NWT. At the southern margin of the Park, shallow lakes of the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) are threatened by climate-driven diminishing supply of floodwater from the Peace and Athabasca rivers, new hydroelectric development on the Peace River, and by the potential for contaminant loading from development of the Athabasca oilsands. In the northern sector of the Park, shallow lakes provide critical breeding ground for Whooping Crane, an iconic endangered species, but recently observed low water levels hamper chick survival and increase predator access.