Northern Manitoba Research Articles

Seismic properties and effects of hydrothermal alteration on Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) deposits at the Lalor Lake in Manitoba, Canada

Borehole sonic and density logs are essential for mineral exploration at depth, but its limited availability to link rock properties of different ore forming geologic structure is a hindrance to seismic data interpretations. In situ density and velocity logs provide first order control on the reflectivity of various lithologic units. We analyzed borehole logs from 12 drill holes over and around the Lalor VMS deposits geographically located in the northern Manitoba, Canada, in an attempt to characterize lithologic units based on its seismic properties. The Lalor Lake deposit is part of the Paleoproterozoic Flin Flon Belt, and associated with an extensive hydrothermal alteration system. Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) zones are distributed in several ore lenses with relatively shallower facies comprise solid to solid sulfides, tend to be disseminated or Stringer sulfides, while deeper lenses are gold and silver enriched and occurred in the highly altered footwall region. Our analysis suggests that massive sulfide and diorite have higher acoustic impedance than other rock units, and can produce useful reflection signatures in seismic data. Bivariate distributions of P-wave velocity, density, acoustic impedance and Poisson's ratio in end-member mineral cones were used for qualitative assessment of the extent of alteration of various lithologic units. It can be inferred that hydrothermal alteration has considerably increased P-wave velocity and density of altered argillite and felsic volcanic rocks in comparison to their corresponding unaltered facies. Amphibole, garnet, kyanite, pyrite, sphalerite and staurolite are the dominant end-member alteration minerals affecting seismic rock properties at the VMS site.

A Recipe for Change: Reclamation of Indigenous Food Sovereignty in O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation for Decolonization, Resource Sharing, and Cultural Restoration

O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (OPCN), an Indigenous community in northern Manitoba, Canada, was flooded and forced to relocate from ancestral lands to a nearby settlement under such circumstances. Regaining strength from their inherent cultural values grounded in their relationship with the land, OPCN eventually formed a community-based food program called Ithinto Mechisowin (IMP) (‘food from the land’). This article uses OPCN's concept of resource (wechihituwin) and decolonization (pasekonekewin) to present a nuanced understanding of Indigenous food systems in Canada. We argue that the ways in which IMP inspires reconnection with land, thereby improving access to culturally appropriate healthy food, are steps forward in strengthening Indigenous food sovereignty.

Geochemistry of the metavolcanic rocks in the vicinity of the MacLellan Au–Ag deposit and an evaluation of the tectonic setting of the Lynn Lake greenstone belt, Canada: Evidence for a Paleoproterozoic-aged rifted continental margin

The Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1900Ma) Lynn Lake greenstone belt of northern Manitoba, Canada, has been previously characterized as comprising a series of tectonically juxtaposed intra-oceanic-derived metavolcanic rocks. The results of more recent local and regional studies, however, support a significant contribution of continental crust during formation of the metasedimentary, metavolcanic, and intrusive igneous rocks that comprise the majority of the Lynn Lake greenstone belt. The tectonic model previously proposed for the Lynn Lake greenstone belt, however, did not consider the geodynamics of the Lynn Lake greenstone belt in the context of all available data. In this study, we report the results of outcrop mapping and petrographic analysis, as well as major, minor, and trace element geochemical analyses for 54 samples from the Northern terrane, and integrate and compare the results with data from previously published studies. These data are used to recharacterize the metavolcanic rocks and to develop a new geodynamic model for the formation of the Lynn Lake greenstone belt.Ultramafic to intermediate rocks in the vicinity of the MacLellan Au–Ag deposit are characterized primarily by E-MORB-like trace element characteristics and Th–Nb–La systematics, which are interpreted to be the result of a primary, plume-derived melt interacting with continental lithosphere at a thinned (i.e., rifted) continental margin. Similarly, the majority of the mafic to intermediate rocks that comprise the Lynn Lake greenstone belt are characterized by flat to E-MORB-like trace element patterns and Th–Nb–La systematics, which are consistent with mantle plume-derived, contaminated, oceanic continental rift or rifted margin setting rocks. This study suggests that the metavolcanic rocks of the Lynn Lake greenstone belt were derived via rifting between the Superior and Hearne Cratons, which resulted in the formation and growth of the Manikewan Ocean. Alternatively, the metavolcanic rocks could have been derived from an upwelling plume generated from a back-arc-style subduction zone that formed between the Rae and Hearne Cratons during the closure of the Snowbird Ocean, which resulted in rifting of the passive Hearne margin.

Serving remote communities together: a Canadian joint use library study

Libraries play a key role in the social and economic health of communities. For remote communities, however, library resources (space, library materials, furnishings, technology, and staff expertise) can be difficult to access and costly to provide. Joint use libraries are a possible solution. Through the joint use library structure, partners share the costs of establishing and maintaining the library. Shared space, materials, expertise, and operational costs result in libraries that are more economically viable and, therefore, more likely to be sustainable. In 2013, an exploratory case study research was conducted of two joint use libraries in northern Manitoba, Canada, involving a college and two communities to assess the partnership structure, community perception of the library, the college's rationale for participation, and the benefits to the communities and the college. In addition, the research aimed to determine key factors in the partnerships' success. Using interpretive methodology, qualitative data were gathered through small group and individual semi-structured interviews. Quantitative factual data provided context for the libraries' development. The research highlighted elements critical for joint use library success and presents components of a possible joint use library model between a post-secondary institution and a community.

WARMING CLIMATE DAMAGES NORTHERN ROADS

Canadians are increasingly aware of the needs and opportunities of northern Canada. Communities in the North need additional support in terms of health care, education, employment opportunities, and the high cost of living. Meanwhile, the economic importance of the North is increasing rapidly through development of mineral, petrocarbon, and hydroelectric resources. Reduction of ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is expected to lead to additional shipping in and out of northern ports. New roads are being planned over difficult terrain in Yukon Territory, Northwest Territory, Nunavut, northern Manitoba and northern Quebec. The only rail line in the North - to Churchill on the shores of Hudson’Bay - needs major repairs.

Wave-current induced erosion of cohesive riverbanks in northern Manitoba, Canada

Abstract. The field of cohesive soil erosion is still not fully understood, in large part due to the many soil parameters that affect cohesive soil erodibility. This study is focused on two channels, 2-Mile and 8-Mile channels in northern Manitoba, Canada, that were built to connect Lake Winnipeg with Playgreen Lake and Playgreen Lake with Kiskikittogisu Lake, respectively. The banks of the channels consist of clay rich soils and alluvial deposits of layered clay, silts and sands. The study of erosion at the sites is further complicated because the flow-induced erosion is combined with the effects of significant wave action due to the large fetch length on the adjacent lakes, particularly Lake Winnipeg that is the seventh largest lake in North America. The study included three main components: field measurements, laboratory experiments and numerical modelling. Field measurements consisted of soil sampling from the banks and bed of the channels, current measurements and water sampling. Grab soil samples were used to measure the essential physical and electrochemical properties of the riverbanks, and standard ASTM Shelby tube samples were used to estimate the critical shear stress and erodibility of the soil samples using an erosion measurement device (EMD). Water samples were taken to estimate the sediment concentration profile and also to monitor changes in sediment concentration along the channels over time. An Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) was used to collect bathymetry and current data, and two water level gauges have been installed to record water levels at the entrance and outlet of the channels. The MIKE 21 NSW model was used to simulate waves using historical winds and measured bathymetry of the channels and lakes. Finally, results from the wave numerical model, laboratory tests and current measurement were used to estimate the effect of each component on erodibility of the cohesive banks.

Modeling the spatial distribution of subarctic forest in northern Manitoba using GIS-based terrain and climate data

Northern forested ecosystems are predicted to change dramatically in response to climate change during the next century. The purpose of this paper was to use logistic regression analysis to model the effects of climate and topography on the spatial distribution of the northern forest around Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Climate maps were modeled using kriging interpolation of actual climate data collected from 34 long-term monitoring sites distributed throughout the study area, and topographic information was derived from commercially available digital elevation models. Five of the 18 independent variables contributed appreciably (p < 0.15) to the final logistic regression model: distance from the Hudson Bay coast, summer soil temperature, snow density, slope, and snow water equivalent. Current forest distribution was predicted with 66% accuracy using the final model, and Kappa statistics indicated significant agreement between modeled and actual forest extents. Significant explanatory variables demonstrate important synergistic effects of Hudson Bay, wind, and snow in determining forest distribution. Modeled forest extents were further south than actual forest limits, which suggest that the treeline is not likely in equilibrium with the present climate.

Lake–landscape connections at the forest–tundra transition of northern Manitoba

To better understand aquatic–terrestrial linkages in the sub-Arctic, and specifically the relative importance of landscape position versus land cover, we surveyed lakes, soils, land cover, and lake/basin characteristics in a 14 000 km2 region of acidic forest–tundra landscape near northern Manitoba, Canada (59.56°N, 97.72°W) in 2009. We analyzed 39 different biological, chemical, and physical variables for lakes and soils. We used a remote-sensing– based classification to determine that the landscape was 21% water, 46% peat-forming lowland, and 24.9% open tundra, and we assigned lake order to all lakes based on the order of the outlet stream for each lake. Lakes were oligotrophic to mesotrophic (median total phosphorus: TP = 11.8 μg L−1), N-limited (median dissolved inorganic nitrogen: TP = 1.6), acidic (median pH 5.7), and had moderate amounts of dissolved organic carbon (median DOC = 5.2 mg L−1). We identified 2 principle groups of variables represented by DOC and conductivity/ cations, respectively, that captured major axes of lake variation. DOC, 2 measures of DOC quality (a250/a365 [a proxy for molecular weight and aromaticity] and specific ultraviolet absorbance), and Fe and were significantly correlated with percent cover of lowland forest, but conductivity/cations were not correlated with variation in land cover. Soils were generally acidic (pH 2.7–4.4) and nutrient-poor, and wetland soils contained more carbon and higher concentrations of calcium, magnesium, and other cations than upland open tundra. Landscape position of lakes (measured as lake order) did not capture systematic differences in land cover or lake biogeochemistry. Our results highlight the importance of lowland export of DOC to lakes and further suggest the need for additional regional studies of aquatic–terrestrial connections in Arctic and sub-Arctic landscapes.

Secondary Metabolites from a Strain of Alternaria tenuissima Isolated from Northern Manitoba Soil

Deoxyphomalone (1), dimethyl 4-methyl-2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate (2), stemphyperylenol (3), and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (4) were isolated from the fermentation broth of a strain of the fungus, Alternaria tenuissima. This fungus was isolated from the soil underlying the lichen, Peltigera didactyla, which had been collected from Wapusk National Park in Northern Manitoba. The structures of the compounds were determined by comprehensive analysis of their spectroscopic data including FT-IR, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry; and their bioactivities were tested against E.coli cells. The taxonomic identity of the fungus was confirmed by ITS sequencing of its ribosomal DNA.

Colorectal cancer screening in first nations people living in Manitoba.

Because the burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) seems to be increasing in First Nations, it is important to better understand CRC screening utilization. The objective of this study was to describe CRC screening among First Nations living in Manitoba. The Federal Indian Register was linked to two provincial databases. A negative binomial model was used to compare the probability of First Nations having a fecal occult blood test (FOBT), colonoscopy, or flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) with all other Manitobans. First Nations who lived in Winnipeg were significantly less likely to have had a FOBT in the previous 2 years than all other Manitobans who lived in Winnipeg [rate ratio (RR) = 0.40; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 0.37-0.44]. There was no difference in the likelihood of having a colonoscopy or FS for First Nations individuals who resided in northern Manitoba compared with all other Manitobans (RR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.91-1.19). However, First Nations who lived in the rural south or urban areas were less likely than all other Manitobans to have had a colonoscopy or FS (RR, 0.81, 95% CI, 0.75-0.87, rural south; RR, 0.86, 95% CI, 0.81-0.92, urban). First Nations living in Winnipeg were significantly less likely to be screened for CRC using the FOBT. Colonoscopy and FS use depended on area of residence. First Nations experience barriers that impede the use of CRC screening. Further research is needed to understand these barriers to extend the benefit of CRC screening to this population. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 24(1); 241-8. ©2014 AACR.

A nine-month-old girl with respiratory failure and rhomboencephalitis.

CASE PRESENTATION A nine-month-old girl from northern Manitoba presented in September 2014, with a three-day history of vesicular rash on the soles of her feet. She was diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease, and discharged from the local nursing station. Over the next 24 h, she developed cough and fever that led to progressive vomiting, diarrhea and increased work of breathing, causing significant oxygen requirements, which led her to be transferred to a tertiary care centre. On admission, she required intubation and fluid resuscitation for respiratory failure and hypotension. On physical examination, she was afebrile. On respiratory examination, there were diffuse crackles and coarse breath sounds bilaterally. Cardiac and abdominal examinations were normal. The only remaining rash consisted of vesicular lesions on an erythematous base on the sole of the right foot. Laboratory tests revealed a white blood cell count of 4.3×109/L, including an absolute neutrophil count of 1.7×109/L. The rest of the complete blood cell count, liver enzyme levels, renal function and electrolytes were normal. Blood and endotracheal tube aspirate cultures, obtained before vancomycin and ceftriaxone were administered, were negative. Urine analysis revealed no leukocytes or nitrites; however, urine culture was positive for pansusceptible Escherichia coli (2×106 CFU/L). Cerebrospinal fluid obtained one day after admission, when her hemodynamic status improved, revealed a total white blood cell count of 28×106 cells/L, including 66% lymphocytes, 8% neutrophils, 26% monocytes, glucose 5 mmol/L, protein 0.21 g/L and a few red blood cells observed on microscopy. Bacterial cultures and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for enterovirus and herpes simplex virus were negative. Stool sent for electron microscopy was negative, but stool for viral culture was pending. Chest x-ray revealed a right middlelobe infiltration. A nasopharyngeal aspirate and bronchoalveolar lavage sent for respiratory virus panel PCR, which included adenovirus, human coronavirus OC43, 229E and NL63, repiratory syncytial virus A and B, influenza A and B, parainfluenza 1, 2, 3 and 4, enterovirus, rhinovirus A, B and C, bocavirus 1 and 2, and human metapneumovirus, were both negative. Acid-fast bacilli smear and culture, bacterial culture and fungal culture from the bronchoalveolar lavage were negative. The patient became unable to move her upper extremities on day 2 of admission. Magnetic resonance imaging of the head and spine was performed on the same day, and revealed restricted diffusion at the dorsal brain stem and patchy areas of prolonged signal intensity involving the cranial-cervical junction, cervical and, to a lesser extent, the thoracic and lumbar spinal cord, suggestive of transverse myelitis with rhomboencephalitis. An autoimmune-mediated process was suspected due to the absence of detection of infectious agents. A three-day course of pulse methylprednisolone led to no improvement. The patient developed increased ventilator requirements, including high frequency jet ventilation on days 6 to 11 of admission. The patient slowly recovered with supportive care over the next five days. She was extubated on day 14 of admission and discharged on day 37, with residual impaired mobility of her right arm. She was seen two months after discharge with improved, but ongoing, difficulty lifting her right arm to her face, and was unable to lift her right arm above her shoulder. She is followed by physiotherapy, occupational therapy and pediatric neurology.

Letter to the Editor

International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, 8(1 ), 117-128.We raise a question for contemplation regarding the article by Amrita Roy that seeks to reframe epidemiological research methodology to overcome incongruence with Aboriginal worldviews (Roy, 2014). We ask if this article is a 'Trojan Horse' - an alluring gift on the outside but lurking with danger within? Many readers will open their minds to the gift of the comprehensive critique of the danger of positivist methodologies in Indigenous research settings. The arguments are perfectly sound from a western perspective. However, the danger lurking within is the cryptopositivist approach of this article as a whole (Friedrich, 1992). The article repeatedly maps western methodological concepts to conceptions of Indigenous worldviews such as relationality.This is an inherently positivist approach. It collapses the experience or the being of relationality, which as an entire ontology is beyond concepts, down to the level of concept. In attempting to reframe western concepts it must frame Indigenous ways of being - it is impossible to map one to another until they are reduced to the same level -the nonconceptual must become conceptual. This act of reduction is a subtle but powerful act of colonisation. We need to consider to what extent the very act of research is an act of reduction or 'fall' to the conceptual, abstracting any ' thing' from the whole disembodies what is ultimately relationally embodied.I can remember what my father (SW) has told me about his earliest memories. He grew up living in a tent on the trap-line, out in ' the bush' of northern Manitoba:I can remember being alone in the forest, but I didn't ever feel that I was actually alone. There were the trees there with me, the smaller plants and animals around in the forest and the river was nearby. The whole forest was there keeping me company.As researchers, we can enumerate all the trees that grow in the area where my father grew up. We can name the different species of trees, their average age depending upon when the last forest fires cleared the area, the mean and range of sizes of the trees, and discover the common diseases and parasites that infect trees in the area. All of these measurements can be done via research demonstrating great rigour and validity. However, others would also be right in pointing out that we may have lost sight of the forest through enumerating the trees.Yes, epidemiological methods can be very useful tools. …

Traditional and cultural approaches to childrearing: preventing early childhood caries in Norway House Cree Nation, Manitoba

Infant health and development is linked to a wide range of interventions including maternal nutrition and infant feeding. Early childhood caries (ECC) is a chronic condition that affects large proportions of Aboriginal children worldwide. The health of a child's mouth is linked to their overall health and wellbeing and can have a significant impact in their day-to-day experiences of eating, playing, and sleeping. The rates of ECC have increased dramatically and communities, parents, and governments are increasingly burdened with the social, economic, and personal costs associated with treatment. There is a close association between ECC and unhealthy infant feeding practices and poor oral health care for infants. This research looked at traditional and culturally based approaches to healthy infant feeding and oral health care for infants in one remote First Nations community in northern Manitoba, Canada. Research was already under way in the community in a longer term intervention-based project called the Baby Teeth Talk Study (BTT). In discussions on the interim findings of the study, participants discussed traditional cultural approaches practised in the community for healthy infant feeding and oral health. Using a participatory research approach, the authors engaged in a partnership with the community partner who assisted with the development of research questions as well as identifying research participants. Grandmothers in the community were recruited to participate in a total of 20 interviews and four focus groups. This article explores three key findings pertaining specifically to culturally based childrearing practices and infant oral health. Respondents discussed the importance of feeding infants country food (such as fish, moose and rabbit) at a young age for the overall health of the infant. Related to this was the use of traditional medicine to address oral health issues such as teething and thrush with salves made from tree bark rubbed on the gums of the infant. The role of swaddling and other thermal regulation techniques was identified as directly linked to oral health, particularly the development of healthy deciduous teeth. Local health knowledge keepers should be a part of the discussion around health programs and public health promotion. Opportunities to share the traditions of infant feeding is an essential component in restoring skills and pride and is a mechanism for building family and community relationships as well as intergenerational support.

Chemical quality of aboveground litter inputs for jack pine and black spruce stands along the Canadian Boreal Forest Transect Case Study

In the Canadian boreal forest, jack pine stands generally have a thin forest floor and occupy sites with coarsetextured soils and good drainage. Black spruce occurs more often on poorly drained sites and develops a thick mossdominated forest floor, but the common attribution of this development to poor quality of black spruce foliar litter has not been tested. We determined needle, twig, cone, and bark litter inputs during 10 y for black spruce and jack pine along the Boreal Forest Transect Case Study in northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Analysis of C, N, total phenolics, condensed tannins, and solid-state 13C NMR spectra from years 1–3 showed only small differences between species, notably higher tannins in black spruce cones. There was similarly little difference between area-based inputs, including classes of C structures determined by NMR. Condensed tannin input for black spruce was approximately twice that for jack pine, but both were in the very low range of reported values. Similar analyses showed that black spruce forest floor was less decomposed than that of jack pine, and for both species, aromatic litter C inputs appear to be poorly conserved, with a large influence of mosses and lichen. It is unlikely, however, that these large differences are mainly due to the small differences in aboveground litter inputs.

The response of root and microbial respiration to the experimental warming of a boreal black spruce forest

We investigated the effects of a 5 °C soil + air experimental heating on root and microbial respiration in a boreal black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) forest in northern Manitoba, Canada, that was warmed between 2004 and 2007. In 2007, the 14C/12C signatures of soil CO2 efflux and root and soil microbial respiration were used in a two-pool mixing model to estimate their proportional contributions to soil CO2 efflux and to examine how each changed in response to the warming treatments. In laboratory incubations, we examined whether warming had altered microbial respiration rates or microbial temperature sensitivity. The 14C/12C signature of soil CO2 efflux and microbial respiration in the heating treatments were both significantly (p &lt; 0.05) enriched relative to the control treatment, suggesting that C deposited nearer the atmospheric bomb peak in 1963 contributed more to microbial respiration in heated than control treatments. Soil CO2 efflux was significantly greater in the heated than control treatments, suggesting the acclimation to temperature of either root or microbial respiration was not occurring in 2007. Microbial respiration in laboratory incubations was similar in heated and control soils. This study shows that microbial respiration rates still responded to temperature even after 4 years of warming, highlighting that ecosystem warming can cause a prolonged release of soil organic matter from these soils.

Characterizing Quartz Artefacts: A Case Study from Manitoba's Northern Boreal Forest

Visual and geochemical analyses of 30 pre‐contact quartz tools from the Churchill River basin of northern Manitoba were used to provisionally assess source provenance based on comparison to local quartz quarry data. The results indicate that tools made from quartz acquired from these quarries were transported and eventually deposited into archaeological sites up to 200 km away. Transport of this quartz, which is of relatively moderate quality, over such distances suggests that stone tool–using hunter–gatherer populations that lived in the Churchill River basin of northern Manitoba were highly mobile. It also indicates that higher‐quality raw materials were unavailable in the immediate area.

Ribbed moraines in northern Manitoba, Canada: characteristics and preservation as part of a subglacial bed mosaic near the core regions of ice sheets

Ribbed moraines are enigmatic glacial landforms for which different models, with contrasting paleoglaciologic implications, have been proposed to explain their formation. Despite the great deal of attention this type of landform has received over the last several decades, ribbed moraine fields in northern Manitoba, Canada are among the largest in the world but have been seldom studied. Ribbed moraines in this part of the world overlie the low-relief Canadian Shield, are not constrained by topography, and are part of a spatial subglacial-landform assemblage associated with drumlinoid ridges within palimpsest and relict-type Glacial Terrain Zones. Field observations herein provide new insights into the characteristics of these transverse-to ice-flow ridges at landscape (mapping and spatial analysis) and landform (internal structure using high-resolution shear wave (S-wave) seismic reflection surveys, sedimentological characteristics, clast-fabric analyses) scales. Two main types of ribbed moraine are recognized: ‘pristine’, high amplitude straight-crested ridges and secondarily-modified subdued ‘drumlinized’ ridges. Ribbed moraine in northeast Manitoba consist of massive, matrix-supported till at surface, which is similar in matrix texture and composition to the regional till sheet, though pristine moraines show a higher concentration of boulders. A seismic profile reveals subparallel-to surface layered stratigraphy with only minor folding and no major unconformities (stacking or faulting).The demonstrated fragmentary nature of ribbed moraine fields, the inherited signature of the till within these fields, the secondary patchy drumlinization of the ridges, and the more abundant granitoid outcrops in areas of intense modification all suggest that subglacial ribbed moraine formed from pre-existing sediments and were later preserved and/or partially reworked through a regional mosaic of shifting subglacial bed conditions. We therefore make the case that pristine (unmodified) moraines were preserved beneath stable sticky spots. We support a link between ribbed moraine and widespread cold-based and/or dewatered subglacial conditions in inner-core regions of ice sheets, but for reasons of preservation, and not necessarily formation.

Avian-Driven Modification of Seasonal Carbon Cycling at a Tundra Pond in the Hudson Bay Lowlands (Northern Manitoba, Canada)

The past ∼40 years have seen a geometric increase (5–7% per year) in the size of the lesser snow goose (LSG; Chen caerulescens caerulescens) population and marked spatial expansion of the area they inhabit within the coastal fen ecotype of Wapusk National Park (Hudson Bay Lowlands, northern Canada), raising concerns and uncertainty about the environmental effects of their activities (grubbing of vegetation, soil disturbance, deposition of feces) on the abundant shallow tundra ponds. In this study, we use conventional limnological measurements as well as water and carbon (C) isotope tracers to explore similarities and differences in seasonal patterns of hydrological, limnological, and biogeochemical conditions of 15 shallow coastal fen ponds that currently have minimal (if any) disturbance from the LSG population with one pond (WAP 20) that is subject to substantial LSG activity. Carbon isotope measurements reveal that C cycling at WAP 20 (LSG-disturbed site) is markedly different compared to the other ponds, whereas only small differences were observed in hydrological conditions and concentrations of major nutrients and chlorophyll a of pond water. A mid-summer decrease in C isotope composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) occurred at WAP 20, likely as a consequence of high pond-water pH and intense C demand by aquatic productivity. These conditions appear to have promoted “chemically enhanced CO2 invasion,” which causes strong kinetic C isotope fractionation. High C demand at WAP 20 is also suggested by mid-summer 13C enrichment in particulate organic matter. In contrast, the ponds with little to no LSG activity exhibited expected seasonal C isotope behavior (i.e., 13C enrichment of DIC) under conditions of increasing productivity when C is in relatively low demand. Small differences in nutrient concentrations may be due to rapid uptake by the benthic mat at WAP 20. Data from the low disturbance ponds also provide baseline information for future studies assessing potential effects of LSG.

Caribou Song by T. Highway

Highway, Tomson. Illus. John Rombough. Caribou Song. Markham, ON.: Fifth House, 2013. Print.While Tomson Highway’s English text remains consistent with the 2001 publication of this title illustrated by Brian Deines, this new version has been translated into a colloquial dialect of Cree rather than the original high Cree. It has been revitalized by John Rombough, a Chipewyan Dene artist from the Northwest Territories. His stylistic and intensely coloured illustrations make this a very different viewing experience from that of the softer and more realistic illustrations by Deines. Rombough’s illustrations are infused with great energy, which is especially intriguing since the broad black lines contain only static shapes of colour layered on the variously tinted pages. There is magic here that is highly reminiscent of stain glass artistry and, like the stained glass pieces, engage the viewer into active participation in the storytelling experience.The story, too, contains magic. Set in Northern Manitoba, the tale follows the adventures of two young brothers, Joe and Cody, who call the caribou with their accordion (kitoochigan) and singing. The caribou respond with great vigor, enabling the boys’ parents’ traditional hunt. There is much laughter between the boys but danger as well as the migrating animals enthusiastically stream between them. Thankfully the spirit voice of the caribou leads the boys to safety, much to the relief of their parents and the boys themselves.Many years ago, when speaking with Tomson about the translation of the first edition he expressed sorrow that it was in the more formal Cree language; he felt that it was not the dialect that was easily accessible by the very people he wished to reach with this book. I hope this translation satisfies and ratifies this aspiration for those who read Cree. It certainly satisfies the artistic appreciation of this reviewer. The 2001 version was the first book in a trilogy about Joe, Cody, their family and the traditional culture and life of the Cree in Northern Manitoba. Is this edition also the first in a trilogy? One can always hope.Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Gail de VosGail de Vos, an adjunct instructor, teaches courses on Canadian children's literature, Young Adult Literature and Comic Books and Graphic Novels at the School of Library and Information Studies for the University of Alberta and is the author of nine books on storytelling and folklore. She is a professional storyteller and has taught the storytelling course at SLIS for over two decades.

Reconstructing long-term trends in municipal sewage discharge into a small lake in northern Manitoba, Canada

Ross Lake lies within the City of Flin Flon (Manitoba, Canada), a mining community originally formed by the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company (now Hudbay Minerals Inc.) in 1927. At the time of this investigation, a continuous effluent stream from Hudbay Minerals (approximately 80years) and a discontinuous and unknown amount of raw and minimally treated municipal sewage (>20years, likely ending in 1951) was discharged into the north basin of the lake. Maximum concentrations of fecal sterols, such as coprostanol and terrestrial phytosterols, such as: β-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmastanol were measured in vertical sections of sediment cores, collected from Ross Lake, in the 15–16-cm section, which likely corresponds to the 1930s. Concentrations of coprostanol increased from <1μgg−1 in older sediments, to 252.3μgg−1 organic carbon at the peak. Observed changes in concentrations of sterols, in combination with radiometric dating and changes to sediment physicochemical characteristics, support the conclusion that sediments of a depth of less than 17.5-cm depth were deposited during the post-industrial era from approximately 1930 onwards. Ratios of coprostanol to cholesterol >1, peaking at 3.6 are consistent with anecdotal information that municipal sewage was discharged into Ross Lake during the early years of urbanization, prior to changes in treatment of sewage and discharge practices that began in 1951. Finally, historical concentrations of terrestrial phytosterols followed trends similar to those of coprostanol and cholesterol and may possibly be the result of an increase in the flux of terrestrial organic matter into Ross Lake as the result of regional deforestation due to logging and fire.