exciting news from niagara

it While  not  within the jurisdiction of the   Ted Knott Chapter,  there is exciting news in Niagara's Twelve Mile Creek and it must be shared!
The Twelve Mile Creek is one of the last creeks in the Niagara Region where brook trout can still be found.  However, years of degradation have caused a significant decline in populations; brook trout are a species that is highly vulnerable to changes in water quality and habitat. While  brook trout  were known to be found in one of two   branches of the creek,  there were major doubts whether the St. John's Branch held brook trout. The St. John's Branch had experienced large amounts of habitat degradation, and increasing water temperatures, more so  than other areas of the creek.
In order to   help dictate  Trout Unlimited  future  management activities within the watershed,  the Niagara chapter partnered with  Niagara College and the University of Guelph to  test for brook trout presence.  
While multiple test methods were possible, it was  decided to  conduct  eDNA tests. eDNA testing  is a new  technology that  involves sampling water within  a test site.   DNA can then be extracted from the water, and decipher which organisms have been in the water within a certain period of time.  eDNA, is favoured as it   is   the least intrusive method  in testing for absence-presence testing.
Testing was  done on  six  pre-determined  test sites in November  2019. University of Guelph and Niagara College students performed  the  eDNA and water quality parameter tests. 
​​After a few months, the results were finally revealed, and they are truly astonishing! Five out of the six test sites tested positive for brook trout. While detection rates varied, this is truly positive news for Twelve Mile Creek.  Thanks go out to Megan Lalli and Ian Smith of  the Niagara Chapter of TUC, Professor Robert Hanner, and the students that volunteered their time. There is hope for brook trout in Ontario!

Niagara College students  recording water quality  parameters (left). University of Guelph students  extracting water samples  that can be used for DNA extraction (above). Water quality parameters  were  compared to  eDNA test results to determine whether there  is a correlation between brook trout presence and the quality of the test site.

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