Elbow River Watershed Research Articles

No evidence of sustained recovery of native trout in response to angling suppression of invasive Brook Trout

AbstractObjectiveNonnative fish invasions have had widespread impacts on freshwater ecosystems, including effects on native fish biodiversity and persistence. Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis were first introduced into the Elbow River watershed (Alberta, Canada) in the 1940s. They have since become established in Quirk Creek, and they dominated the fish community by the mid‐1990s, raising concern about the native populations of Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi and Bull Trout S. confluentus.MethodsA targeted angling program was operated from 1998 to 2015, along with limited electrofishing removals, to suppress the Brook Trout population. We used 25 years of fish monitoring data from 1978 to 2020 to evaluate the program's effectiveness for reducing the Brook Trout population and the program's consequences for native trout.ResultDensities of Brook Trout larger than 150 mm declined after the onset of the suppression project, and the decline was attributed to removals through angling. However, Brook Trout recruitment remained comparable to presuppression levels. Westslope Cutthroat Trout recruitment increased during and after Brook Trout suppression. Densities of Westslope Cutthroat Trout larger than 150 mm increased during the suppression period but did not reach density goals targeted for recovery of the species. Bull Trout remained at very low densities throughout the suppression project.ConclusionThe lack of native trout recovery during the suppression project was hypothesized to result from (1) incidental release mortality of native trout, (2) Brook Trout suppression that was insufficient to prompt an effective response in native trout populations, or (3) a combination of these factors. Continued low densities of Brook Trout larger than 150 mm and native trout after the end of the suppression project (when harvest and incidental release mortality were alleviated) may point to some other factor impacting the recovery of trout larger than 150 mm, particularly Westslope Cutthroat Trout, since recruitment was at its highest during this period. Overall, angling was not considered an effective method for promoting native trout recovery, and other techniques should be pursued depending on management goals.

Annual and Seasonal Variations of Hydrological Processes Under Climate Change Scenarios in Two Sub-Catchments of a Complex Watershed

The Elbow River watershed, located in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains in western Canada, is characterized by a complex hydrological regime due to significant differences in climate and geomorphological settings between the west and east sub-catchments. This watershed has experienced several extreme droughts and floods in the recent decades, which might be accentuated with climate change. This study was undertaken to investigate the average annual and seasonal variations of surface and sub-surface hydrological processes in the west and east sub-catchments along with and the entire watershed under five plausible GCM-scenarios up to 2070 using the physically-based, distributed MIKE SHE/MIKE 11 model. Most of the scenarios indicate a reduction in the average annual overland flow, groundwater recharge and baseflow in the east sub-catchment. The pattern of seasonal change generally exhibits a rise in overland flow, baseflow, evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge, and streamflow in winter-spring and a decline in summer-fall. The induced changes in hydrological processes are proportionally more perceptible in the east sub-catchment compared to the west sub-catchment. However, the west sub-catchment governs the watershed behaviour and determines the future changes, over-riding the stronger climate change signal in the east. This investigation indicates that a greater understanding of climate change impacts on the water balance of a watershed with significant differences in sub-regional settings is achieved when capturing the surface and subsurface hydrological process responses of each sub-catchment individually along with the entire watershed. Such information can guide water resources management by providing a more rigorous assessment of the processes involved in the watershed.

Incorporating Bayesian learning in agent-based simulation of stakeholders’ negotiation

This paper describes the incorporation of a Bayesian learning algorithm into an agent-based model designed to simulate stakeholders’ negotiation when evaluating scenarios of land development. The objective is to facilitate reaching an agreement at an earlier stage in the negotiation by providing the opportunity to the proposer agent to learn his opponents’ preferences. The modeling approach is tested in the Elbow River watershed, in southern Alberta, Canada, that is under considerable pressure for land development due to the proximity of the fast growing city of Calgary. Five agents are included in the model respectively referred to as the Developer agent, the Planner agent, the Citizen agent, the AgricultureConcerned agent, and the WaterConcerned agent. Two types of land development scenarios are evaluated; in the first case, only the geographical location is considered while in the second case, the internal land-use composition is also varied. The Developer agent that is equipped with the Bayesian learning capability attempts to approximate its opponents’ fuzzy evaluation functions based on the responses he receives from them at each round of the negotiation. The results indicate that using this approach, an agreement can be reached in fewer number of negotiation rounds than in the case where the Developer agent selects the subsequent offers based merely on its own utility. The model also indicates how the satisfaction of each agent evolves during the negotiation. This information is very useful for decision makers who wish to consider stakeholders’ perspectives when dealing with multiple objectives in a spatial context.

A Comprehensive Land-Use/Hydrological Modeling System for Scenario Simulations in the Elbow River Watershed, Alberta, Canada

The Elbow River watershed in Alberta covers an area of 1,238 km(2) and represents an important source of water for irrigation and municipal use. In addition to being located within the driest area of southern Canada, it is also subjected to considerable pressure for land development due to the rapid population growth in the City of Calgary. In this study, a comprehensive modeling system was developed to investigate the impact of past and future land-use changes on hydrological processes considering the complex surface-groundwater interactions existing in the watershed. Specifically, a spatially explicit land-use change model was coupled with MIKE SHE/MIKE 11, a distributed physically based catchment and channel flow model. Following a rigorous sensitivity analysis along with the calibration and validation of these models, four land-use change scenarios were simulated from 2010 to 2031: business as usual (BAU), new development concentrated within the Rocky View County (RV-LUC) and in Bragg Creek (BC-LUC), respectively, and development based on projected population growth (P-LUC). The simulation results reveal that the rapid urbanization and deforestation create an increase in overland flow, and a decrease in evapotranspiration (ET), baseflow, and infiltration mainly in the east sub-catchment of the watershed. The land-use scenarios affect the hydrology of the watershed differently. This study is the most comprehensive investigation of its nature done so far in the Elbow River watershed. The results obtained are in accordance with similar studies conducted in Canadian contexts. The proposed modeling system represents a unique and flexible framework for investigating a variety of water related sustainability issues.

Spatial Snow Depth Assessment Using LiDAR Transect Samples and Public GIS Data Layers in the Elbow River Watershed, Alberta

This study illustrates the potential to combine LiDAR remote sensing and GIS techniques for the purpose of estimating instantaneous winter snowpack volume within the mountainous Elbow River Watershed (ERW) upstream of Calgary, Alberta. Two LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) datasets, one during snow-free and the other during late winter were used to evaluate a procedure for snow depth sampling. These data were also used to classify terrain and canopy cover attributes to enable snow depth estimation in areas that were not directly sampled but for which equivalent land classifications could be derived via other means. The mean snow depth from 1675 field measurements collected coincident with the winter LiDAR survey (late March, 2008) in snow-covered areas only was 0.28 m ( = 0.27 m). The mean LiDAR-based snow depth in snow-covered areas was comparable with the field values at 0.26 m ( = 1.2 m), or 0.18 m when averaged across both snow-covered and snow-free areas. Using field measurements of snow density, a GIS routine was employed to estimate total watershed snow water equivalent (SWE) from ten snow accumulation units (SAUs) using elevation, aspect and canopy cover. The total watershed SWE estimate was 46.0 106 m3. This volume of water can also be expressed as 0.058 m of water depth across the entire basin, or approximately 18% of the total 2008 runoff yield. Further work is needed to improve LiDAR-based snow depth estimation in areas of shallow snowpack where the influence of noise in the data is highest and to optimize the methods of sampling and extrapolation. At the present level of airborne LiDAR sophistication, positional uncertainties in LiDAR data (though small) are such that high confidence in the watershed snowpack volume estimate, would only be achieved during deep snowpack years; which also tend to be the years where accurate data are least required. However, given the availability of LiDAR base maps is ever growing, and the accuracy and costs associated with the technology are constantly improving, this approach to snow depth sampling has the potential to become a useful tool to support headwater snowpack resource assessment in water-stressed regions of Canada.

Linking a Land-Use Cellular Automata with a Water Allocation Model to Simulate Land Development Constrained by Water Availability in the Elbow River Watershed in Southern Alberta

The availability of water resources in southern Alberta is under pressure, now and most likely even more so in the remainder of the 21st century if forecasts on climate change, economic development and associated population growth come true. Alberta Environment is mandated by the provincial Water Act to regulate most use of water through a system of water licenses. This department is currently using a water resource management model (WRMM) to support its planning, but wishes to expand the reach of its decision support tools by including additional factors such as the land-use dynamics. This paper presents the coupling of the WRMM and a land-use cellular automata (CA) model to constrain land development based on water availability in the Elbow River watershed in southern Alberta. Simulations were run with a calibrated CA model using a land-use map of 2006 as the starting year up to the year 2031, at a five-year interval and at a spatial resolution of 60 m. Two scenarios were tested: the business as usual scenario, which is a simple extrapolation of observed historical land development, expressed as the number of built-up cells, and a second scenario in which land development is constrained based on the WRMM water availability output. Results indicate that land development varies in terms of growth and spatial distribution when comparing the two scenarios. The potential benefits and limitations of the two models are discussed and further improvement needed to increase their usefulness in guiding water resource management is highlighted.

Assessing the impact of future land-use changes on hydrological processes in the Elbow River watershed in southern Alberta, Canada

Summary The Elbow River in southern Alberta, Canada is the source of the Glenmore reservoir, which provides drinking water to the City of Calgary. Due to the rapid population growth in Calgary, the Elbow River watershed (ERW) that covers about 1238 km 2 has been under considerable pressure for land-use development over the last decade. This study was undertaken to assess the impact of potential land-use changes over the next 20 years on the hydrological processes in ERW by combining a land-use cellular automata (CA) model and the distributed physically-based MIKE-SHE/MIKE-11 hydrological model. The CA model was calibrated using four land-use maps covering the period 1985–2001 and validated against the maps of 2006 and 2010. Simulations of land-use changes were then performed from 2006 to 2031 at a five year interval; land-use based parameters were extracted from the simulated maps and transferred to MIKE-SHE/MIKE-11. MIKE-SHE was calibrated for the period 1985–1990 and validated for the period 2000–2005. The Nash and Sutcliffe coefficients of efficiency calculated between observed and simulated flow data for the calibration and validation periods are 0.56, 0.52, 0.79, and 0.75 based on different hydrometric stations respectively, indicating an acceptable level of performance of the model. Land-use changes analyzed for the period 2001–2031 reveal a 65% increase in built-up areas, 20% in rangeland/parkland, and 1% in agriculture along with a reduction of 28% in deciduous, and 6% in evergreen forest. As a result, the hydrological modeling indicates an increase of 7.3% in overland flow, and a decrease of 1%, 13.2%, and 2.3% in total evapotranspiration, baseflow, and infiltration respectively along with a decrease of the total flow by 4%. These results reveal a potential significant negative impact on the sustainability of ground/surface water supplies and groundwater storages in the future in the watershed in addition to an increased risk of flashy floods. The study also revealed that due to the complex hydrological regime existing in the study area, a comprehensive physically-based method is required to better represent the interaction between groundwater and surface water. The combined CA/MIKE-SHE models appear as a useful tool to assess the impact of land-use changes on the hydrologic cycle and to better understand the connection among the hydrologic components in the Elbow River watershed.

Climate Change Impacts in the Elbow River Watershed

The Elbow River Watershed originates in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and is a primary source of water for the City of Calgary. Consequently, the long-term protection and investment of this resource is a primary interest to the City of Calgary. While droughts and water shortages are a serious concern to Albertans, spring freshet flooding may lead to enormous costs virtually overnight. The impacts of climate change on spring flooding in the Elbow River Watershed were determined using both a statistical analysis of historical hydro-climatological data and a modelling analysis using the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM) forcing to the SSARR Watershed model, which is used by Alberta Environment for flood forecasting. Statistical analyses revealed that there were significantly increasing trends in annual mean temperature in the eastern most part of the watershed (+0.007°C/yr) caused by significant trends during February and March only. Significantly increasing trends in annual mean temperature in the western portion of the watershed were also observed (+0.056°C/yr) and were primarily due to increases in January, March, April, July and August. There were no demonstrated trends in total annual precipitation but significant decreases in snowfall were observed in the eastern portion of the watershed. Conversely, increases in snowfall were observed in the western portion near the foothills. No significant trends were observed in discharges within this watershed. Modelling spring freshet flooding using the SSARR and CRCM models showed that spring time flooding due to expected increases in precipitation during the month of May can nearly double flood peaks.

New or Otherwise Interesting Mosses from Alberta

Twenty-eight taxa of mosses are added to the 530 previously known taxa of bryophytes from Alberta. A recent compilation of the bryophyte taxa reported from Alberta (Bird, 1966), following the up-to-date nomenclature of Crum, Steere and Anderson (1965), enumerated 530 taxa. The present account adds 28 taxa and presents new data for five previously reported species. Voucher specimens have been deposited at UAc and CAN. Buxbaumia indusiata Brid. Waterton Lakes National Park: Trail from Cameron Creek to Lower Rowe Lake, Pinus contorta-Picea-Abies lasiocarpa forest, Crum & Schofield 6027. An uncommon boreal species which occurs on humus and well rotted logs. Calliergon richardsonii (Mitt.) Kindb. ex Warnst. Jumping Pound Creek Watershed: 10 mi. SE of Morley, wet depression in swampy Picea glauca forest, 4,500 ft., Hagel 43. Kananaskis River Watershed: Between Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes, partially submerged in pools in sedge fen, 5,700 ft., Bird & Glenn 13945. Banff National Park: Near Lake Louise, 5,000 ft., Crum & Schofield 3764. Jasper National Park: 4 mi. W of Giekie, swamp, 3,500 ft., Crum & Schofield 4769. An arctic-boreal species which occurs in pools and depressions in fens and wet forests. Cynodontium alpestre (Wahlenb.) Milde. Jasper National Park: Medicine Lake, humus on dry shaded cliff, 4,700 ft., Crum 3574. An uncommon boreal species of rock outcrops. Cynodontium tenellum (B.S.G.) Limpr. Elbow River Watershed: 6 mi. SW of the village of Bragg Creek, on dry exposed limestone rock, 4,750 ft., Seaborn 1314. Banff National Park: Windermere Highway, on cliff, 5,400 ft., Crum & Schofield 3728, 3739. A boreal species found on rocks in forested regions. In Alberta it occurs at mid-elevations (4,7505,400 ft.) in the mountains. Dichodontium pellucidum (Hedw.) Schimp. Bow River Valley: 3.5 mi. WSW of Exshaw, mixed woods, submerged on rock in spring-fed stream that does not freeze over in winter, 4,300 ft., Bird & Glenn 11123. Elbow River Watershed: Ford Creek, 2 mi. N of the Elbow River, on rocks submerged in rushing water, 5,740 ft., Bird 8770. Kananaskis River Watershed: Elpoca Creek, 3 mi. E of Lower Kananaskis Lake, wet rocks in rushing water, 6,500 ft., Bird & Glenn 13497. An arctic-boreal species of submerged rocks in