Northern British Columbia Research Articles

Microbial community structure of soils under four productivity classes of aspen forests in northern British Columbia

Trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) is widely distributed in North American forests. Increased stand productivity with resource availability has been reported, but the relationship between soil microbial community structure and stand productivity remains unclear. To examine soil microbial composition of 4 aspen stand productivity classes, we assessed soil properties, microbial biomass and respiration, and bacterial and ectomycorrhizal diversity. Most variables showed no significant differences between productivity classes. However, mean values for basal respiration (0.05 to 27.99 μg CO2-C·g−1 soil·h−1), bacterial biomass, and metabolic quotient (0.08 to 5.22 CO2-C·mg−1 Cmic·h−1) were lowest in low productivity (Class 1) sites. Bacteria to fungi ratios were significantly lower (P = 0.05) in Class 1 compared to other classes. Microbial biomass ranged from 1.39 to 8.11 mg Cmic·g−1 soil. Thirty-seven distinct aspen ectomycorrhizas (ECM) were characterized, 21 were considered rare (from ≤3 trees). ECM richness did not differ significantly between classes, although relative abundance for some types did. Canonical correspondence analysis showed productivity class explained most microbial community variation, e.g., ECM fungi (80% explained) and soil bacteria (46%). Despite some differences, we could not identify statistically significant bacterial or ECM assemblages linked to stand productivity. Results may reflect a strong association between microbial processes and the dominant host, aspen. Aspen associated with widely distributed fungi common to all classes, possibly facilitating its survival and growth, including on sites exhibiting low pH and low soil fertility.

Biogeochemical Processes in the Soil-Groundwater System of a Forest-Peatland Complex, North Coast British Columbia, Canada

Abstract There is a limited understanding of the distribution and transport of solutes in the coastal forest-peatland systems of northern British Columbia, Canada. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the sources, concentration and flux of major ions and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the soil-groundwater system of a forest-peatland complex in the coastal western hemlock (CWH) forest zone. DOC dominated the groundwater flux, with most of it exported during high flow conditions. Inorganic ion concentration increased and DOC decreased with ground surface slope and community type from open peatland to bog woodland, bog forest, swamp forest and upland forest. Base cations, HC03 - and DOC in the peatland forest communities differed significantly (P < 0.05) from concentrations in the upland forest. The greatest concentrations of ions derived from mineral weathering were found in the upland forest where the absence of peat, deep mineral soil (85-465 cm) and steep surface slope (26%) combined to increa...

Synchrony in the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) cycle in northwestern North America, 1970–2012

Snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777) fluctuate in 9–10 year cycles throughout much of their North American range. Regional synchrony has been assumed to be the rule for these cycles, so that hare populations in virtually all of northwestern North America have been assumed to be in phase. We gathered qualitative and quantitative data on hare numbers and fur returns of Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis Kerr, 1792) in the boreal forest regions of Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and northern British Columbia to describe synchrony in the time window of 1970–2012. Broad-scale synchrony in lynx fur returns was strong from 1970 to about 1995 but then seemed to break down in different parts of this region. Hare populations at 20 sites in Alaska, the Yukon, and Northwest Territories showed peak populations that lagged by 1–4 years during the 1990s and 2000s cycles. The simplest hypothesis to explain these patterns of asynchrony in hare cycles is the movement of predators from British Columbia north into the Yukon and then east into the Northwest Territories and west into Alaska. A traveling wave of these cycles is clearly seen in the lynx fur returns from western Canada and Alaska from 1970 to 2009. One consequence of a failure of synchrony is that hare predators like Canada lynx and Great-horned Owls (Bubo virginianus (Gmelin, 1788)) can move from one adjacent area to the next within this region and survive long enough to prolong low densities in hare populations that have declined earlier.

Growth rate variation and potential paleoceanographic proxies in Primnoa pacifica: Insights from high-resolution trace element microanalysis

Red tree coral, Primnoa pacifica, is one of the more common habitat-forming deep-sea gorgonian corals in the northeast Pacific Ocean, growing in colonies up to 2m high and living for decades to hundreds of years. Growth characteristics of P. pacifica were studied in Dixon Entrance, northern British Columbia, and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Washington State, USA, based on samples collected in July 2008. To minimize the impact of scientific sampling on coral populations, only dead coral skeletons and dislodged live corals were collected. Ages and growth rates were measured using band counts, and checked against AMS-14C ages of gorgonin rings. Ba/Ca, Mg/Ca, Na/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios in the calcite cortex were measured using radial Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS) transects with a spot size of <20μm and separation distance of 25μm. Growth banding was consistent in width between the central mixed zone consisting of calcite and gorgonin and the dominantly calcite cortex. Average annual radial growth rate of the nine corals analysed ranged from 0.23 to 0.58mm/yr, with an average growth rate of 0.32mm/yr in Dixon Entrance and 0.36m/yr in OCNMS. These growth rates are slightly higher than P. pacifica growth rates from the Gulf of Alaska, and more than four times the growth rates of sister species Primnoa resedaeformis in the northwest Atlantic. Primary productivity is likely a more important driver of geographic variation in Primnoa growth rates than temperature or current strength. Both Dixon Entrance and OCNMS are areas with high primary productivity and strong tidal currents. Lack of post-Atomic Bomb radiocarbon in all but one of the gorgonin samples, and long radiocarbon reservoir ages in the Northeast Pacific, made radiocarbon-based verification of coral ages and growth rates difficult due to wide errors in calibrated age estimates. Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios were inversely correlated in two of the three corals analyzed, and showed evidence of interannual variation. Mg/Ca ratios ranged from 70 to 136mmolmol−1, and Sr/Ca ratios from 2.041 to 3.14mmolmol−1. Previously published relationships between gorgonian calcite Mg/Ca and seawater temperature yielded average temperatures matching ambient measurements, but the intra- and inter-annual variation in apparent temperature based on the Mg/Ca ratios was more than double the observed variation in modern seawater temperature ranges in the region. Annual variation in Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca could be related to seasonal changes in precipitation efficiency, which is likely a function of short-term fluctuations in coral growth rate, in turn related to variation in primary productivity. Seasonal and interannual variations in food availability, driven by primary productivity, may affect skeletal growth rate, hence Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios. Primnoid coral skeletal microgeochemistry probably records temporal changes in both temperature and primary productivity.

LQTS in Northern BC: homozygosity for KCNQ1V205M presents with a more severe cardiac phenotype but with minimal impact on auditory function

Long QT syndrome (LQTS), a rare congenital cardiac condition associated with life‐threatening ventricular arrhythmias is characterized by a prolonged QT interval on electrocardiograph corrected for heart rate [corrected QT (QTc)]. LQTS has been historically categorized into the autosomal dominant Romano–Ward syndrome (RWS) and the autosomal recessive Jervell and Lange‐Nielsen syndrome (JLNS). JLNS is associated with prelingual sensorineural deafness. Both types of LQTS can be caused by mutations in channel genes (e.g. KCNQ1) responsible for potassium homeostasis in cardiac myocytes and cochlea. Autosomal dominant mutations often cause the RWS phenotype and homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations contribute to JLNS. Two First Nations communities in northern British Columbia are affected disproportionately with LQTS largely due to the V205M mutation in KCNQ1, however, the pathology and phenotypic expression for those V205M homozygous has been unknown. Here, we show that four V205M homozygous individuals have a significantly higher ‘peak’ QTc, and a more severe cardiac phenotype compared with 41 V205M heterozygous carriers and 57 first to third degree relatives without mutations. Given the lack of prelingual deafness the homozygous V205M LQTS patients present with a phenotype more typical of RWS than JLNS.

Impacts of mean annual air temperature change on a regional permafrost probability model for the southern Yukon and northern British Columbia, Canada

Abstract. Air temperature changes were applied to a regional model of permafrost probability under equilibrium conditions for an area of nearly 0.5 × 106 km2 in the southern Yukon and northwestern British Columbia, Canada. Associated environmental changes, including snow cover and vegetation, were not considered in the modelling. Permafrost extent increases from 58% of the area (present day: 1971–2000) to 76% under a −1 K cooling scenario, whereas warming scenarios decrease the percentage of permafrost area exponentially to 38% (+ 1 K), 24% (+ 2 K), 17% (+ 3 K), 12% (+ 4 K) and 9% (+ 5 K) of the area. The morphology of permafrost gain/loss under these scenarios is controlled by the surface lapse rate (SLR, i.e. air temperature elevation gradient), which varies across the region below treeline. Areas that are maritime exhibit SLRs characteristically similar above and below treeline resulting in low probabilities of permafrost in valley bottoms. When warming scenarios are applied, a loss front moves to upper elevations (simple unidirectional spatial loss). Areas where SLRs are gently negative below treeline and normal above treeline exhibit a loss front moving up-mountain at different rates according to two separate SLRs (complex unidirectional spatial loss). Areas that display high continentally exhibit bidirectional spatial loss in which the loss front moves up-mountain above treeline and down-mountain below treeline. The parts of the region most affected by changes in MAAT (mean annual air temperature) have SLRs close to 0 K km−1 and extensive discontinuous permafrost, whereas the least sensitive in terms of areal loss are sites above the treeline where permafrost presence is strongly elevation dependent.

The Queen Charlotte Fault, British Columbia: seafloor anatomy of a transform fault and its influence on sediment processes

The Queen Charlotte Fault Zone (QCFZ) off western Canada is the northern equivalent to the San Andreas Fault Zone, the Pacific–North American plate boundary. Geomorphologic expression and surface processes associated with the QCFZ system have been revealed in unprecedented detail by recent seabed mapping surveys. Convergence of the Pacific and North American plates along northern British Columbia is well known, but how the QCFZ accommodates this convergence is still a subject of controversy. The multibeam sonar bathymetry data reveal, for the first time, evidence of a fault valley with small depressions on the upper slope, offshore central Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). The depressions form where strike-slip right-step offsets have realigned the fault due to oblique convergence. Core stratigraphy and radiocarbon dating of sediments within the fault valley and small depressions suggest that these features are recent in origin. In addition, the development of the fault valley and dislocation of submarine canyons control sediment migration from the continental shelf through to the lower slope. This interpretation of the geomorphic expression of major plate tectonic processes along the QCFZ can now be tested with new surveys subsequent to the October 2012 magnitude 7.7 earthquake.

Intimate Stories: Aboriginal Women’s Lived Experiences of Health Services in Northern British Columbia and the Potential of Creative Arts to Raise Awareness About HPV, Cervical Cancer, and Screening

Guided by feminist and community-based participatory methodologies and by efforts to decolonize health research practices, and undertaken with qualitative research methods (interviews, open-ended questionnaires, and analysis of arts-based expressions like storytelling, journaling, and picture-making), this research identified challenges and barriers that (predominantly Aboriginal) women in northern British Columbia faced when trying to access sexual health care services related to HPV and cervical cancer screening. The research also examined the possible effectiveness of creative or arts-based strategies to promote cervical health and screening awareness among young and/or traditionally underserved or marginalized women. We review findings from data gathered over six months during multiple interactions with 22 women from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Results confirm that ethnicity, finances, and formal education are determinants in women’s awareness about, access to, and use of cervical screening services, and that experiences of gendered victimization, feelings of disempowerment, and life circumstances all influenced women’s comfort levels with, access to, and use of cervical cancer screening services.

Appropriate Engagement and Nutrition Education on Reserve: Lessons Learned from the Takla Lake First Nation in Northern BC

Concerns about living conditions on First Nations1 reserves are attracting a great deal of attention from public health practitioners and researchers looking to design and implement measures to improve and promote health. Issues related to geographic isolation, low socioeconomic status, and threats to traditional practices are known to contribute to poor health outcomes, especially amongst Aboriginal youth. Research and educational programs are needed to address these challenges yet even the most state-of-the art initiatives are destined to fail if they are perceived to be disrespectful of, and insensitive to, local First Nations’ culture and ways of knowing. Inspired by Smith’s call for decolonized methodologies, we develop the concept of appropriate engagement as a framework for working with First Nations. A case study of research and a nutrition program conducted in Takla Landing, British Columbia are presented to offer an outline of appropriate engagement and how it can be used to better inform public health initiatives aimed at improving the dietary practices of First Nations populations.

Late Holocene glacial activity at Bromley Glacier, Cambria Icefield, northern British Columbia Coast Mountains, Canada

Retreating and downwasting glaciers in the British Columbia Coast Mountains are exposing the remains of forests buried during Holocene-age glacial advances. Despite recent progress in discerning the extent of these advances in the Pacific and Kitimat ranges of the southern and central Coast Mountains, comparatively little is known about the character of these advances in the Boundary Ranges of northwestern British Columbia. This research uses dendroglaciologic and radiocarbon analyses to describe late Holocene glacial advances at Bromley Glacier in the Cambria Icefield area. Four intervals of glacial expansion were identified at ca. 2470–2410, 1850, 1450, and 830 14C years BP. Absent were wood remains associated with mid-Holocene episodes of glacier expansion recorded at nearby sites. The late Holocene deposits described at Bromley Glacier are contemporaneous with those found at other glaciers in the southern Boundary Ranges and contribute to a growing understanding of the synchronous response of glaciers in this region to mass balance fluctuations during the Holocene.

Mapping coral and sponge habitats on a shelf-depth environment using multibeam sonar and ROV video observations: Learmonth Bank, northern British Columbia, Canada

Efforts to locate and map deep-water coral and sponge habitats are essential for the effective management and conservation of these vulnerable marine ecosystems. Here we test the applicability of a simple multibeam sonar classification method developed for fjord environments to map the distribution of shelf-depth substrates and gorgonian coral- and sponge-dominated biotopes. The studied area is a shelf-depth feature Learmonth Bank, northern British Columbia, Canada and the method was applied aiming to map primarily non-reef forming coral and sponge biotopes. Aside from producing high-resolution maps (5m2 raster grid), biotope-substrate associations were also investigated. A multibeam sonar survey yielded bathymetry, acoustic backscatter strength and slope. From benthic video transects recorded by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) six primary substrate types and twelve biotope categories were identified, defined by the primary sediment and dominant biological structure, respectively. Substrate and biotope maps were produced using a supervised classification mostly based on the inter-quartile range of the acoustic variables for each substrate type and biotope. Twenty-five percent of the video observations were randomly reserved for testing the classification accuracy. The dominant biotope-defining corals were red tree coral Primnoa pacifica and small styasterids, of which Stylaster parageus was common. Demosponges and hexactinellid sponges were frequently observed but no sponge reefs were observed. The substrate classification readily distinguished fine sediment, Sand and Bedrock from the other substrate types, but had greater difficulty distinguishing Bedrock from Boulders and Cobble. The biotope classification accurately identified Gardens (dense aggregations of sponges and corals) and Primnoa-dominated biotopes (67% accuracy), but most other biotopes had lower accuracies. There was a significant correspondence between Learmonth's biotopes and substrate types, with many biotopes strongly associated with only a single substrate type. This strong correspondence allowed substrate types to function as a surrogate for helping to map biotope distributions. Our results add new information on the distribution of corals and sponges at Learmonth Bank, which can be used to guide management at this location.

Seasonality and Intensity of Shellfish Harvesting on the North Coast of British Columbia

ABSTRACT Biogeochemical and growth increment analyses show contrasting seasonal patterns of butter clam collection and rates of harvest intensity between archaeological shell midden sites from the Dundas Islands archipelago and the mainland coast in Prince Rupert Harbour, northern British Columbia. Growth increment analysis shows more intensive clam harvest in the Dundas Islands in comparison to the residential sites in Prince Rupert Harbour. Stable oxygen isotope analysis shows multi-seasonal collection of clams in the Dundas Islands and a more seasonally specific emphasis in Prince Rupert Harbour. Comparison of these results to those of similar studies in the Namu region on the central coast of British Columbia provides a basis for broader regional understanding of variation in shellfish harvesting intensity and seasonality on the Pacific Northwest Coast.

Assessment of background particulate matter concentrations in small cities and rural locations—Prince George, Canada

This study investigates the development and application of a simple method to calculate annual and seasonal PM2.5 and PM10 background concentrations in small cities and rural areas. The Low Pollution Sectors and Conditions (LPSC) method is based on existing measured long-term data sets and is designed for locations where particulate matter (PM) monitors are only influenced by local anthropogenic emission sources from particular wind sectors. The LPSC method combines the analysis of measured hourly meteorological data, PM concentrations, and geographical emission source distributions. PM background levels emerge from measured data for specific wind conditions, where air parcel trajectories measured at a monitoring station are assumed to have passed over geographic sectors with negligible local emissions. Seasonal and annual background levels were estimated for two monitoring stations in Prince George, Canada, and the method was also applied to four other small cities (Burns Lake, Houston, Quesnel, Smithers) in northern British Columbia. The analysis showed reasonable background concentrations for both monitoring stations in Prince George, whereas annual PM10 background concentrations at two of the other locations and PM2.5 background concentrations at one other location were implausibly high. For those locations where the LPSC method was successful, annual background levels ranged between 1.8 ± 0.1 µg/m3 and 2.5 ± 0.1 µg/m3 for PM2.5 and between 6.3 ± 0.3 µg/m3 and 8.5 ± 0.3 µg/m3 for PM10. Precipitation effects and patterns of seasonal variability in the estimated background concentrations were detectable for all locations where the method was successful. Overall the method was dependent on the configuration of local geography and sources with respect to the monitoring location, and may fail at some locations and under some conditions. Where applicable, the LPSC method can provide a fast and cost-efficient way to estimate background PM concentrations for small cities in sparsely populated regions like northern British Columbia. Implications: In rural areas like northern British Columbia, particulate matter (PM) monitoring stations are usually located close to emission sources and residential areas in order to assess the PM impact on human health. Thus there is a lack of accurate PM background concentration data that represent PM ambient concentrations in the absence of local emissions. The background calculation method developed in this study uses observed meteorological data as well as local source emission locations and provides annual, seasonal and precipitation-related PM background concentrations that are comparable to literature values for four out of six monitoring stations.

‘Globalizing’ Northern British Columbia: What's in a Word?

Resource-dependent regions have long been integrated into global markets. But while integration with global markets has been a long process, it is one which has undergone continual change and been subject to numerous phases. This is evident in the case of northern British Columbia, a resource-dependent region known for its exports of lumber, fish, metals, coal, oil, and gas. Currently, the region is experiencing a new phase of globalization as the importance of Asia, and China in particular, grows. This new push for global integration in a geographical area which has long been shaped by global economic forces invites analysis. I argue that it is useful to distinguish between two distinct meanings of ‘globalizing’. The first is ‘globalizing’ as an adjective, as a descriptor of increasing global economic integration and measured by trade and numerous phases. The second is as a verb, with agents actively ‘globalizing’ the region through a distinct set of actions and policies. The paper demonstrates how the t...

Scales of Benefit: Political Leverage in the Negotiation of Corporate Social Responsibility in Mineral Exploration and Mining in Rural British Columbia, Canada

The purpose of this article is to explore the increasingly dynamic relationships between government policy, private corporate social responsibility (CSR), and local efforts to secure benefit from mineral exploration and mining activity in northern British Columbia. We propose that senior levels of government are integrating private-sector CSR into rural development policy as part of the ongoing process of neoliberalizing resource development. Our research reveals the uneven application of CSR practices by mineral exploration and mining companies to communities in northwestern British Columbia. Companies are selectively applying CSR principles to communities that have political leverage to impact project development. In the absence of jurisdictional control over mineral development, local governments must find methods to compete with neighboring communities to attract secondary benefits from resource development occurring within the region.

The Health of Men in Northern British Columbia: Results of a Cardiovascular Risk Factor Screening Survey

The Health of Men in Northern British Columbia: Results of a Cardiovascular Risk Factor Screening Survey

Moving From the Margins: Culturally safe teacher education in remote northwestern British Columbia

In 2007 the University of Northern British Columbia initiated a two-year elementary teacher education program at the Northwest Campus in Terrace, British Columbia. The program was designed to meet specific community needs in the North that arise from inequities in the cultural safety of Indigenous teachers and students. The authors share three collegial inquiries into the program’s contribution toward improving cultural safety in K-12 schools and meeting social justice challenges in the region’s communities. Culturally safe allocation of space became better understood, affective learning outcomes were recognized as important determinants of cultural safety, and teacher action in classrooms towards cultural safety was scaffolded for various settings.

Neutral Displacement Intravenous Connectors: Evaluating New Technology

BackgroundThe University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (UHNBC) utilized an opaque positive displacement intravenous (IV) line connector in 2011 and for several years previously. With concerns generated in the United States surrounding positive displacement and the potential increased risk for infection, as well as the training requirements related to ensuring that a proper clamping sequence was followed, a neutral displacement IV connector was implemented in October 2011. MethodsCatheter-related blood stream infections and catheter occlusions were monitored at UHNBC for 4 months before (June through September 2011) and 4 months after (November 2011 through February 2012) the implementation of the neutral displacement IV connector by the Parenteral Services nursing team. A staff survey was conducted that reviewed the satisfaction with the newly implemented IV connector. ResultsThe results of tracking catheter occlusions with a neutral displacement IV connector showed an average of 4.04 occlusions that required tissue plasminogen activator per 1,000 catheter days, compared with 5.47 occlusions that required tissue plasminogen activator per 1,000 catheter days with the positive displacement IV connector. During the evaluation period there was a 26% decrease in catheter occlusions with the implementation of the neutral displacement IV connector. Blood stream infection rates remained at zero for the entire evaluation with both displacement types of IV connectors. Nursing staff members were satisfied with the newly implemented IV connector. ConclusionsUHNBC will continue to utilize the neutral displacement IV connector hospital-wide, and continues to monitor both catheter occlusions and catheter-related blood stream infections. Following UHNBC, facilities in the rest of Northern Health have implemented the neutral displacement IV connector.

Lateglacial ice dynamics of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet in northern British Columbia and southern Yukon Territory: retreat pattern of the Liard Lobe reconstructed from the glacial landform record

AbstractThe Liard Lobe formed a part of the north‐eastern sector of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet and drained ice from accumulation areas in the Selwyn, Pelly, Cassiar and Skeena mountains. This study reconstructs the ice retreat pattern of the Liard Lobe during the last deglaciation from the glacial landform record that comprises glacial lineations and landforms of the meltwater system such as eskers, meltwater channels, perched deltas and outwash fans. The spatial distribution of these landforms defines the successive configurations of the ice sheet during the deglaciation. The Liard Lobe retreated to the west and south‐west across the Hyland Highland from its local Last Glacial Maximum position in the south‐eastern Mackenzie Mountains where it coalesced with the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Retreat across the Liard Lowland is evidenced by large esker complexes that stretch across the Liard Lowland cutting across the contemporary drainage network. Ice margin positions from the late stage of deglaciation are reconstructed locally at the foot of the Cassiar Mountains and further up‐valley in an eastern‐facing valley of the Cassiar Mountains. The presented landform record indicates that the deglaciation of the Liard Lobe was accomplished mainly by active ice retreat and that ice stagnation played a minor role in the deglaciation of this region. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

So you're thinking about a retirement industry? Economic and community development lessons from resource towns in northern British Columbia

Many resource-dependent towns in developed economies were designed to attract and retain young workers and their families. Industrial restructuring and public policy changes have weakened the ties between small places and resource sectors. As local governments search for ways to diversify their tax base and economy, some resource towns are looking towards the retirement industry as a way to stabilize revenue and enhance the resilience of their economy. However, this industry comes with a range of needs that resource towns typically are not equipped to address. With an aging workforce and a movement of baby boomers into retirement, communities will need to assess how they are going to meet the needs of current and future older residents. Drawing upon qualitative studies conducted in seven remote small towns in northern British Columbia (BC), we share key issues that small communities need to consider when developing a “retirement industry”. Our findings indicate that these places generally have a lack of seniors' housing, a lack of supports to help seniors age in their home, limited social and recreational programs for older residents, limited transportation options to connect seniors with supports, limited infrastructure adapted to reflect seniors' needs and mobility constraints, and underdeveloped information and policy structures to address seniors' needs. More attention must be paid to infrastructure investments, information access, program investments, human capital, and policy development.