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Muskoka Watershed Report Card BACKGROUND 2018 Muskoka Watershed Report Card Background Report

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Muskoka Watershed Report Card BACKGROUND 2018 Muskoka Watershed Report Card Background Report July 2018 Muskoka REPORT Watershed www.muskokawatershed.org Muskoka Watershed Report Card Council BACKGROUND 2018 Muskoka Watershed Report Card Background Report Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... 3 List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................ 4 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Muskoka Watershed Council ................................................................................................................... 5 The District Municipality of Muskoka ....................................................................................................... 5 Key Scientific Advisors ............................................................................................................................... 5 Contributors ................................................................................................................................................ 6 Data Sources .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Letter from the Chair ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Glossary of Key Terms .................................................................................................................................... 8 State of the Muskoka Watershed ................................................................................................................ 9 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 10 Goal ........................................................................................................................................................... 10 Objective .................................................................................................................................................. 11 Rationale ................................................................................................................................................... 11 The ‘Muskoka Watershed’ ...................................................................................................................... 12 The Muskoka River Watershed (2EB) ..................................................................................................... 14 The Black-Severn River Watershed (2EC) ............................................................................................. 15 Watershed use.......................................................................................................................................... 16 Past indicators of watershed health ..................................................................................................... 16 2018 Muskoka Watershed Report Card indicators ............................................................................. 17 Watershed grades ................................................................................................................................... 18 Calcium Concentrations in Muskoka’s Lakes ......................................................................................... 21 What is calcium and why is it important in Muskoka? ....................................................................... 21 Acid rain and calcium ............................................................................................................................ 21 Ecological impacts of low calcium ...................................................................................................... 22 How is calcium measured in Muskoka? ............................................................................................... 22 Results ........................................................................................................................................................ 23 What do the results mean? .................................................................................................................... 29 It’s your turn!.............................................................................................................................................. 31 Phosphorus Concentrations in Lakes ........................................................................................................ 32 What is phosphorus and why is it important in Muskoka? ................................................................. 32 Trophic status in Muskoka’s lakes .......................................................................................................... 32 How is Phosphorus measured in Muskoka? ......................................................................................... 34 About R2 values, trend lines (linear regression), and p-values .......................................................... 35 1 2018 Muskoka Watershed Report Card Background Report Results ........................................................................................................................................................ 35 What do these results mean? ................................................................................................................ 42 It’s your turn!.............................................................................................................................................. 43 Benthic Macroinvertebrates ...................................................................................................................... 44 What are benthos and why are they important in Muskoka? .......................................................... 44 Why do we sample for benthic macroinvertebrates? ...................................................................... 44 How are benthos measured in Muskoka? ........................................................................................... 45 Data analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 46 Results ........................................................................................................................................................ 47 What do these results mean? ................................................................................................................ 51 It’s your turn!.............................................................................................................................................. 52 Interior Forest ................................................................................................................................................ 53 What is interior forest and why is it important in Muskoka? ............................................................... 53 Forest types in Muskoka .......................................................................................................................... 54 Threats to Muskoka’s forests ................................................................................................................... 55 How is interior forest measured in Muskoka? ....................................................................................... 55 Results ........................................................................................................................................................ 56 What do these results mean? ................................................................................................................ 57 It’s your turn!.............................................................................................................................................. 57 Invasive Species Reports in Muskoka ....................................................................................................... 59 What are invasive species and why are they important in Muskoka? ........................................... 59 How are invasive species measured Muskoka? ................................................................................. 61 Results ........................................................................................................................................................ 62 What do these results mean? ................................................................................................................ 65 It’s your turn!.............................................................................................................................................. 65 Species at Risk in Muskoka ......................................................................................................................... 66 What are species at risk and why are they important in Muskoka? ................................................ 67 Species at Risk in Muskoka ..................................................................................................................... 67 It’s your turn!.............................................................................................................................................
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