080121-08MN006-Sabina Hackett River Project Proposal ... - NIRB

Description of the Existing Environment6.2.6.5 Arctic CharArctic char occur in northern coastal regions in rivers, lakes, estuaries and marine environments.They exhibit both anadromous and resident lacustrine life history types. Arctic char have yet tobe documented in the Hackett Project area; however, they may be present in the Mara and/orHackett rivers. Further investigations of Arctic char presence/absence and spatial distributionwill be conducted in the 2008 field program.6.2.7 Marine Aquatic LifeFor the purposes of this document, marine aquatic life refers to plant and animal life that livewithin the water column (pelagic), and non-fish animals that live associated with the marinesediments (benthic).These organisms include phytoplankton (photosynthetic microscopic algae that live free-floatingin the water), zooplankton (tiny animals that live in the water column), and benthos (aquaticinsects and other animals that live on top of or within lake sediments).In 2007, all of the above-mentioned organisms were measured near the proposed port site inBathurst Inlet. All results from the 2007 marine baseline work will be compiled into a marinebaseline report (Rescan 2008b). In addition to the information collected in 2007, historicalinformation is available from 2001 and 2002 (Rescan 2002). These baseline data were collectednear the proposed port site as part of the BIPR baseline studies.6.2.7.1 Marine PhytoplanktonPrimary productivity in the Arctic Ocean is limited by the long ice-covered season which reducesor eliminates light availability for photosynthesis. During ice melt in the spring, the surfacelayer becomes warmer and less saline. This stratification prevents mixing of surface water withdeeper, more nutrient rich water. Although there is sufficient light for photosynthesis to occur inthe top layer at this time, nutrients may become limited, further contributing to the low primaryproductivity characteristic of the marine Arctic environment.Phytoplankton samples were collected from various depths in August 2001 and 2007, and wereanalyzed for chlorophyll a (all depths), and taxonomy and abundance (1 m depth).Biomass and AbundancePhytoplankton biomass ranged from 0.37 to 0.98 µg/L chlorophyll a, was similar among years,and generally declined with depth. Despite similarities in biomass between years, phytoplanktonabundance was more than 100x higher in 2001 than 2007 (593-980 cells/mL, and 1-3 cells/mL,respectively). The reasons for this difference in abundances between years are unclear.Richness was also higher in 2001, with 10 to 13 genera per station, compared to only 6 to 8genera per station in 2007.Taxonomic CompositionIn 2001, a large portion of the algae were represented by an unidentified flagellate (39 to 53%),with chlorophytes (23 to 31%) and cryptophytes (15 to 23%) also being present in largenumbers. There were rare members of Bacillariophyceae, Chrysophyta, Pyrrhophyta alsoJanuary 2008 Hackett River Project – Project Proposal Sabina Silver CorporationReport Version B.1 6–11 Rescan Environmental Services Ltd. (Proj. #833-2)