Research Document - 2007/013

Pathways of Effects Litterature Review: Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen Endpoints

By Mason, K. and S. Metikosh

Abstract

The Department of Fisheries and Ocean’s Habitat Management Program reviews more than 7000 development proposals annually, to ensure that fish and fish habitat are not harmed. In order to assist the biologists responsible for these reviews, Pathways of Effect diagrams (PoEs) were developed as part of the Risk Management Framework, incorporating the current understanding of the potential effects of development activities on fish and fish habitat.

A DFO Science peer review and advisory process was held 7-8 September 2005 in Toronto, Ontario to consider four endpoints of the PoEs, and associated linkages, which together comprise more than 70% of all the linkages in the full set of PoE diagrams, and cover the majority of impact types on aquatic habitats. The meeting was asked to consider each of the selected linkages and to conclude:

• whether or not there was scientific information to support the linkage,
• whether there was scientific information that would be inconsistent with the linkage,
• or whether there was not sufficient information to arrive at a conclusion.

Research documents were prepared summarizing the evidence contained in the scientific literature, and these documents were subjected to peer review at the meeting.

This report contains the results of a study looking at the linkages in the PoEs involving changes in temperature and oxygen levels. This study was conducted by Golder Associates Ltd, under contract to DFO. The approach of the study was to perform a literature review to provide scientific evidence for the linkages between certain physical activities and the endpoints of temperature and dissolved oxygen. For the most part, this approach involved determining from the literature how the activity (e.g., vegetation clearing) affects the endpoint (e.g., water temperature), and not how changes in the endpoint affect fish. However, if a relevant paper also reported effects on the aquatic biota (i.e., fish), these effects were also noted and summarized. Some papers were also reviewed and summarized to provide an indication of the potential effects on fish, but this was not the focus of the work.

This paper was discussed and peer reviewed at the meeting, and the results of those discussions can be found in the Proceedings document (#2005/031) which was produced after that meeting.

Complete document (PDF, 442 KB)

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