Assessing Cumulative Ecological Effects of Development in Saugeen Ojibway Traditional Territory

评估累积应激源对生态系统结构和功能的影响是环境管理中最重要但也是最令人烦恼的问题之一。原住民特别强调了这一问题，他们对在其传统领土上进行的多项发展感到关切，这些领土是加拿大的一个重要土地基础。量化累积效应的测量必须反映这种累积应激源的长期和广泛影响。食物网生态学的最新进展已经确定了生态系统结构，这些结构对于我们所依赖的生态系统的维持和稳定运行至关重要。具体地说，顶级捕食者和独特的能量通道在维持生态系统功能方面的作用得到了强调，面对人类的压力，必须维持的正是这些结构。这项研究方案的目的是测试在评估索金·奥吉布韦民族传统领土(特别是布鲁斯半岛和休伦湖)的累积影响时采用这种测量方法的情况。已经为该地区建立了累积应激源的梯度。这项工作将建立在这一知识的基础上，以检验基本食物网络结构随累积压力而变化的假设。因此，这一研究方案承诺与在其传统领土上有既定环境管理记录的第一民族合作，为量化累积影响制定有意义的衡量标准。

Assessing the effects of cumulative stressors on ecosystem structure and function presents one of the most important yet vexing problems for environmental management. This issue has particularly been highlighted by First Nations who are concerned about multiple developments being undertaken in their Traditional Territories which represent a significant land base in Canada. Measurements to quantify cumulative effects must reflect the long lived and widespread effects of such cumulative stressors. Recent advances in food web ecology have identified ecosystem structures that are essential for the maintained and stable functioning of the ecosystems upon which we rely. Specifically, the role of top predators and distinct energy channels in the maintenance of ecosystem function have been highlighted, and it is these very structures that must be maintained in the face of human pressures. The goal of this research program is to test the implementation of such measurements in assessing cumulative effects in the Traditional Territories of the Saugeen Ojibway Nations (specifically the Bruce Peninsula and Lake Huron). Gradients in cumulative stressors have already been established for the region. This work will build on that knowledge to test the hypothesis that fundemental food web structures vary predictably with cumulative stress. Thus, this research program promises to both develop meaningful metrics for quantifying cumulative effects in cooperation with First Nations that have an established record of environmental management in their Traditional Territories.