Acknowledgements Conservation Halton would like to extend our thanks to all the individuals who provided technical assistance, sampling equipment, data and advice in support of the monitoring efforts undertaken for the 2007 field season. Special thanks to the following volunteers, co-op students, summer students, interns and staff who provided valuable assistance in the field collecting information for use in this project. Andrea Dunn Angela Ducharme David Gale Rachel Martens Brenda Van Ryswyk Kim Barett Sarah Hogg Brian Jamieson Lesley Matich Kent Rundle Jennifer Roberts Jennifer Wilson Michael McGill Contributors/Writing Team Andrea Dunn ……………………………. Monitoring Ecologist Rachel Martens …....…………………..… Aquatic Monitoring Technician Sarah Hogg ………………………..…….. Aquatic Monitoring Technician David Gale …………………………..….. Watershed Planner Brenda Van Ryswyk ………..……..……. Natural Heritage Ecologist Lesley McDonell ……………………...... Natural Heritage Ecologist Brad Rennick ………………………….... GIS Specialist Meghan Tydd-Hrynyk ………………….. GIS Technician Bill Gaines ……..……………….………. Coordinator, Forestry and Landscape Kim Barrett ……………………..…….. Senior Terrestrial Ecologist Samantha Mason………………………. Senior Aquatic Ecologist Brenda Axon…………………………… Manager, Watershed Planning Services Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Conservation Halton Long Term Environmental Monitoring Program ......................... 1 1.2 Supplementary Monitoring............................................................................................. 3 2.0 Long Term Environmental Monitoring Program (LEMP) ................................................. 5 2.1 Aquatic Monitoring......................................................................................................... 5 2.1.1 Fish Community Monitoring .................................................................................. 5 2.1.2 Benthic Community Monitoring............................................................................. 9 2.1.3 Channel Morphology............................................................................................ 16 2.1.4 Surface Water Quality Monitoring ....................................................................... 16 2.1.5 Groundwater Monitoring...................................................................................... 24 2.1.6 Water Temperature Monitoring ............................................................................ 26 2.2 Terrestrial Monitoring................................................................................................... 28 2.2.1 Ecological Land Classification ............................................................................. 28 2.2.2 Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) ................................. 31 2.2.3 Marsh Monitoring (Amphibians and Marsh Birds) .............................................. 34 2.2.4 Forest Bird Monitoring......................................................................................... 37 2.2.5 Forest Pest Monitoring.......................................................................................... 39 2.3 Landscape Analysis for the Bronte Creek Watershed .................................................. 40 3.0 Supplemental Monitoring................................................................................................. 43 3.1 Bronte Creek Atlantic Salmon Program ....................................................................... 43 3.2 Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus) Monitoring..................................................... 44 3.3 Check Your Watershed Day – Bronte Creek................................................................ 47 3.4 Fisheries Data Gap Sampling........................................................................................ 52 3.5 Waterdown Woods Jefferson Salamander Radio Telemetry........................................ 52 4.0 Conclusion and Recommendations................................................................................... 53 5.0 Glossary of Terms............................................................................................................. 55 6.0 References......................................................................................................................... 56 List of Tables Table 1: IBI ratings and associated scores using the Modified Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI). ... 6 Table 2: Distribution of IBI scores in the Bronte Creek watershed............................................... 8 Table 3: Inter-year comparison of IBI scores for Sixteen Mile Creek Annual Monitoring Sites.. 2 Table 4: Inter-year comparison of IBI scores for Bronte Creek Annual Monitoring Sites. .......... 3 Table 5: Inter-year comparison of IBI scores for Fourteen Creek Annual Monitoring Sites........ 4 Table 6: Inter-year comparison of IBI scores for Grindstone Creek Annual Monitoring Sites. ... 5 Table 7: Inter-year comparison of IBI scores for Sheldon Creek Annual Monitoring Sites. ........ 6 Table 8: Distribution of IBI Scores at Annually Sampled Watersheds. ........................................ 7 Table 9: Benthic Invertebrate Indices and Associated Classifications. ....................................... 10 Table 10: Distribution of Water Quality Classifications at Stations Sampled in 2008. .............. 14 Table 11: Provincial Water Quality Objectives (PWQO) and/or desired objectives................... 17 Table 12: Bronte Creek, Percent Forest Cover. ........................................................................... 41 Table 13: Bronte Creek, Patch Size and Distribution.................................................................. 41 Table 14: Bronte Creek, Interior Forest Patch Habitat. ............................................................... 42 Table 15: Bronte Creek, Percent Wetland. .................................................................................. 42 List of Figures Figure 1: Conservation Halton Watersheds ................................................................................... 4 Figure 2: Frequency Distribution of Fish Species Captured in the Bronte Creek Watershed. ...... 1 Figure 3: Fisheries Sampling Stations and Associated Biotic Integrity Classifications................ 1 Figure 4: Annual Fisheries Sampling Stations and Associated Biotic Integrity Classifications. .. 8 Figure 5: Benthic Sampling Stations and Associated Water Quality Associations..................... 12 Figure 6: Annual Benthic Sampling Stations and Associated Water Quality Classifications..... 15 Figure 7: Sample “Box Plot” Chart. ............................................................................................ 17 Figure 8: Surface Water Quality Monitoring Stations................................................................. 18 Figure 9: Chloride concentrations (mg/L) at Conservation Halton’s annual (PWQMN) Monitoring Stations. ............................................................................................................. 19 Figure 10: Nitrate + Nitrite concentrations (mg/L) at Conservation Halton’s annual (PWQMN) Monitoring Stations. ............................................................................................................. 20 Figure 11: Total Phosphorous concentrations (mg/L) at Conservation Halton’s annual (PWQMN) Monitoring Stations. .......................................................................................... 21 Figure 12: Lead concentrations (µg/L) at Conservation Halton’s annual (PWQMN) Monitoring Stations.................................................................................................................................. 22 Figure 13: Copper concentrations (µg/L) at Conservation Halton’s annual (PWQMN) Monitoring Stations. ............................................................................................................. 23 Figure 14: Zinc concentrations (µg/L) at Conservation Halton’s annual (PWQMN) Monitoring Stations.................................................................................................................................. 24 Figure 15: Groundwater Quality Monitoring Stations.................................................................. 25 Figure 16: Water Temperature Sampling Stations and Associated Classifications..................... 27 Figure 17: Ecological Land Classification Sites.......................................................................... 30 Figure 18: Rattlesnake Point EMAN plot setup .......................................................................... 33 Figure 19: Terrestrial Monitoring Locations. .............................................................................. 36 Figure 20: Flux – Bronte Catchments.......................................................................................... 49 Figure 21: Proportion of Flow – Bronte Catchments................................................................... 50 Figure 22: Proportion of Flow Category – Bronte Catchments................................................... 51 List of Appendices Appendix 1: Fish Species observed in the Bronte Creek Watershed........................................... 61 Appendix 2: Fish species observed at Annual Monitoring Sites. ................................................ 63 Appendix 3: Benthic Invertebrates Observed in Bronte Creek. .................................................