Le Forum, Vol. 41 No. 4

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/francoamericain_forum/1093/thumbnail.jp

Life Safety vs. Preservation of Community and Heritage Buildings in the Wellington Region

Balancing risk against the preservation of earthquake prone buildings is a continuing struggle in Wellington, New Zealand. This project gathered and compared the perspectives of the general public, church communities, heritage specialists, professional engineers, and local authorities to assist GNS Science in balancing the interests of these stakeholders. Recommendations include standardizing structural assessment processes and training, feasibility of additional public funding to upgrade buildings, new signage to increase public awareness of earthquake prone buildings, and regular communication among stakeholders to understand and resolve differences

Dung analysis of the East Milford mastodons: dietary and environmental reconstructions from central Nova Scotia at ~75 ka yr BP.

To reconstruct a mastodon diet and provide a ‘snapshot’ view of environmental conditions in eastern Canada prior to the onset of the Wisconsinan glaciation, we analysed the faunal and floral components of dung associated with juvenile mastodon remains from East Milford, Nova Scotia, dated to 74.9 5.0 ka cal BP. The diverse assemblage of pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, plant macrofossils and macroinvertebrate remains in the dung suggests that the mastodons lived in a spruce-dominated mixed coniferous-deciduous forest with a strong boreal aspect interspersed with wetlands rich in charophytes, sedges, cattails, bulrushes and bryophytes. The abundance of spruce needles and birch samaras in the dung sample is consistent with an inferred browsing behaviour, having been reported for other mammutid species previously. The limited diversity and near-absence of coprophilous fungi, such as Sporormiella, in the dung could have an impact on understanding the influence of feeding strategies on the presence of coprophilous taxa in sedimentary records, and thus interpretations of megafaunal abundance. The dung also yielded the earliest known Canadian remains of the bark beetle Polygraphus cf. rufipennis, gemmulae of the freshwater sponge Eunapius cf. fragilis and loricae of the rotifer Keratella cochlearis.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Historical, contemporary, and future perspectives on a coupled social-ecological system in a changing world: Canada’s historic Rideau Canal

Anthropogenic waterways and canal systems have been part of the cultural and natural landscape for thousands for years. As of the late 20th century, more than 63,000-km of canals exist worldwide as transport routes for navigation, many with barriers (e.g., locks, dams) that fragment the system and decrease connectivity. Fragmentation alone can have negative implications for freshwater biodiversity; by isolating populations and communities, other human-mediated disturbances associated with canals like poor water quality and invasive species can exacerbate these negative effects. As such, the capacity of these interconnected freshwater systems to support biodiversity is continuously degrading at a global level. One critical, highly complex issue that unites canals worldwide is the challenge of governing these systems in a holistic, unified way to both protect biodiversity and preserve historical elements. Managing historic canals involves multiple objectives across many agencies and stakeholders, often with different or conflicting objectives. Here, we use the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Historic Site of Canada, as a case study to demonstrate the importance of considering canals as social-ecological systems for effective and efficient governance. Historic canals are integrated systems of both humans (social) and the environment (ecological), linked by mutual feedbacks and coevolution, and must be managed as such to achieve conservation goals while maintaining commemorative integrity. We discuss the history of the Rideau Canal and its current governance, biodiversity in the waterway, different threats and issues (user conflicts, aquatic pollution, shoreline development, water management, species at risk, and invasive species), and conclude by outlining ways to address the challenges of managing it as a coupled social-ecological system. We present different research needs and opportunities that would enable better management, though above all, we propose a shift from the current governance structure – which at best can be considered “patchwork” – to a coordinated, multi-scalar and multi-stakeholder governance regime such that the Rideau Canal can be maintained for its historical integrity without compromising biodiversity conservation. Given that canals are now pervasive worldwide, this article is not only topical to the Rideau Canal, but also to other waterways in Canada and beyond.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author