ATW 2010 Short Course

Title: Optimizing Environmental Monitoring Programs Using Fish Species

Instructors: Kelly Munkittrick and Tim Barrett, Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick (St. John)

Course Description: This half-day course will introduce participants to the fundamentals of using fish monitoring as a tool for water quality and/or ecosystem health assessments.  Approaches to fish monitoring will be described including the underlying philosophy of the ecological receptor to be investigated (i.e., community versus population versus individual).  Study design considerations will be discussed including: species selection; measurement endpoints; selection of sites (including reference sites); timing of monitoring; frequency of monitoring; number of samples (and number of fish per sample); and, development of data quality objectives to understand a priori when a change is meaningful, and to insure that the design is adequate to detect that meaningful change.  Examples of basic study designs will also be provided along with tips for developing study designs when there is no prior knowledge of the ecosystem.  Data collection methods and considerations will be discussed.  Detailed guidance on data analysis and challenges will be provided and will include: types of data and analyses; outliers and data QA/QC, immature and non-spawning fish; statistical tests and assumptions; non-parametric alternatives; analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), non-parallel slopes; and, common mistakes and misuses of statistical procedures.  Interpretation of fish monitoring data can be challenging and participants will learn how to consider confounding factors, natural variability, ecological relevance and pseudoreplication.  The course will conclude with guidance on designing regional monitoring frameworks.

Instructor biographies :
Kelly Munkittrick is the Associate Director of the Canadian Rivers Institute and holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Ecosystem Health Assessment at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in St. John, New Brunswick.  He is also the Program Leader for the Watersheds and Ecosystems Theme of the Canadian Water Network, is Co-leader of the Lakes Working Group for the GEF IW:Science project executed by United Nations University-INWEH, and is on the Great Lakes Fisheries Commissions Board of Technical Experts where he leads the theme on Ecosystem Dysfunction.  Prior to his appointment at UNB, he worked for 11 years for the Canadian federal government, as a Project Chief with the Ecosystem Health Assessment Project at Environment Canada’s National Water Research Institute, and as a Research Scientist with Fisheries and Oceans’ Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.  His research interests are related to assessing the environmental impacts of industrial and agricultural activities, and on developing methods for environmental effects monitoring and for cumulative effects assessment of multiple stressors on aquatic environments.  He currently has active projects on assessing environmental impacts in Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, the US and Canada, and has worked, taught or given lectures in more than 25 countries.

Tim is a PhD student working with Kelly Munkittrick at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John. He has a BSc in Mathematics and has been involved in the statistical analysis of fish survey data from Canada's environmental effects monitoring program for pulp mills. His current research is aimed at developing standardized sampling times for fish population studies based on the reproductive patterns of sentinel fish species. Tim is studying the reproductive biology and mobility of fish species in Uruguay to develop a monitoring program for a pulp mill for his PhD research.

Time: Sunday October 3, 2010, 8:30 am – 12:00 pm (morning break refreshments provided)

Location: Convention level (lower lobby), Toronto Marriott Eaton Centre, Room TBA

Cost:     $95 ($55 for students) 

Last Updated Saturday, June 5, 2010 19:17 / © ATW 2010