The purpose of this study is to critically review earlier studies of the Sooke Formation, to present a previously unreported microflora and to assign an age to the formation on the basis of paleontological evidence. The methods used to arrive at the general conclusions consisted of field work and laboratory analyses, supplemented by reference to the literature and to authorities in the fields of palynology, Tertiary invertebrate paleontology and vertebrate paleontology. The Sooke Formation crops out along the south and southwest coast of Vancouver Island in a series of isolated areas. Each area appears to represent a sedimentary basin. The lithology consists of interbedded conglomerates, sandstones and shales in varying proportions. Sooke strata contain a well preserved fossil fauna and-flora. The fauna consists of one vertebrate and 132 marine invertebrates. The flora consists of a few cones, leaf and wood fragments and a well preserved microflora. The Sooke Formation is correlated with the upper Blakeley Formation of Washington and shows close faunal resenblance to the Astoria fauna of Washington and Oregon. It is correlated with the European Aquitanian stage, but may range as high as the Helvetian stage. / Science, Faculty of / Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of / Graduate

By 2050, mean annual temperature on Vancouver Island, British Columbia is expected to rise by 1.5°C and summer precipitation is expected to decrease 14% below pre-industrial levels. The purpose of this thesis was to extend the Sooke Watershed precipitation record by developing proxy records from annual Douglas-fir tree rings, with the goal of being able to provide information about the pre-historical range of precipitation variation that could assist future water management decisions. Robust dendrohydrological relationships were established to extend the instrumental record of precipitation back to the year 1591. To provide geographic context for the hydrologic history of the Sooke Watershed, I examined Douglas-fir climate-radial growth relationships across western Canada to three monthly climate variables: precipitation, average air temperature, and Hargreaves Climatic Moisture Deficit (CMD). Ten study sites were chosen to represent a gradient of climate conditions where Douglas-fir grows in Alberta and British Columbia. In order to explore how growth sensitivities varied over time, long- and short-term climate-growth relationships at these study sites were analyzed and compared to those established for the Sooke Watershed. A short-term analysis of the radial growth of Douglas-fir trees in the Sooke Watershed revealed the presence of a negative climate-growth relationship to the June and July temperature of the growing year starting in 1990. Further, the radial growth of Douglas-fir trees at all sample sites was moisture limited, whereby they exhibited strong positive growing season correlations to precipitation and negative correlations to CMD. Lastly, lagged negative effects of August and September precipitation and CMD were present and related to the annual radial growth increments. These results signify that: the rise in air temperature in recent decades is limiting the radial growth of Douglas- fir trees in the Sooke Watershed; annual variation in ring-width increments is regulated by the amount of precipitation that falls near the end of the prior growing season; and, moisture availability in the spring of the current year of growth plays an important role in determining the annual increment of radial growth. Collectively, the results suggest that the radial growth of Douglas-fir trees within the Sooke Watershed are sensitive to interannual climate fluctuations and future growth is likely to be altered by changes in temperature and precipitation regimes. These climate-growth relationships justified the development of a May-June-July precipitation reconstruction for the Sooke Watershed. Using a novel detrending method, an Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition, I created a model that explained 28% of the May-June-July precipitation variability. Results from the dendrohydrological analyses extend the understanding of the water supply area May-June-July precipitation record to 1591. The reconstruction revealed four major summer drought episodes that exceeded severity during the instrumental record severity: 1594-1596, 1662-1665, 1796-1797, and 1898-1899. Four extreme summer pluvial episodes were also observed from 1646-1647, 1689-1690, 1793-1794, and 1920-1921. The findings of the research provide information about historical summer precipitation trends within the Sooke Watershed – the primary water supply area to Greater Victoria. Notably, the research places summer drought and pluvial events recorded within the instrumental record into a much longer context, permitting an understanding of natural frequency and duration of hydrological events in the Sooke Watershed. / Graduate

The ecological implications of altering the hydrologic regime, or hydroperiod, of a wetland system include major changes to both ecosystem structure and function. Wetland systems are generally sinks of nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen and carbon, which are important to water quality. Changes in the hydroperiod such as the inundation or drainage of a wetland system alter wetland function and may switch the system from functioning as a nutrient sink to a source. In this study, I explored the effects from the introduction of a seasonal inundation regime to the Begbie Lake wetland system. Begbie Lake is hydrologically connected to the Sooke Lake reservoir, the main drinking water supply for Greater Victoria, British Columbia. In 2002, the dam on the Sooke Lake reservoir was raised by 6 m, which led to the seasonal inundation of the Begbie Lake wetland system in 2005 and 2006. In 2005, the Begbie Lake wetland system was inundated for 57 days, from April through May. In 2006, the wetland was inundated for 123 days, from January through May. The seasonal inundation resulted in the release of phosphorus, nitrogen and carbon from the wetland system into Begbie Lake and the Sooke Lake reservoir. Nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen are especially important in drinking water reservoirs, where increases in concentrations often lead to increased algal biomass and possibly a shift toward cyanobacteria-dominated phytoplankton communities. Organic carbon in source water is correlated with disinfection by-product production during treatment, increases in bacterial biomass within distribution systems, and decreases in the efficacy of water treatment. The response to inundation of the wetland system, in terms of the release of key water quality nutrients into Begbie Lake was assessed. Water chemistry data collected from 2005 and 2006 were compared to pre-inundation baseline data (2003 and 2004) over the growing season. Phosphorus, nitrogen and organic carbon concentrations above the flooded wetland soils increased significantly during the inundation periods. Following drawdown, the total phosphorus concentration in Begbie Lake increased signi cantly. Total nitrogen and total organic carbon concentrations in Begbie Lake did not increase over this same period; the microbial mineralization and reduction of nitrogen and organic carbon, as well as the export of these nutrients into the Sooke Lake reservoir, are proposed as in uencing the observations. The inundation of the Begbie Lake wetland system also resulted in the export of large amounts of nitrogen and organic carbon to the Sooke Lake reservoir. The increase in the duration and extent of inundation in 2006 resulted in higher contributions from the Begbie Lake wetland system. The export of nitrogen increased from 3.8 kg in 2005 to 4.4 kg in 2006. Carbon export increased from 77.7 kg in 2005 to 171.1 kg in 2006. The export of high amounts of phosphorus were not observed during the study. While phosphorus concentrations increased above wetland soils, the data suggest that much of the phosphorus remained cycling within Begbie Lake.

Beginning in 1980, large forestry corporations in British Columbia began to rapidly downsize and restructure their operations. The combination of volatile international market conditions, increasing demands for environmental conservation, First Nation?s land claims, higher stumpage rates, American protectionism, a declining timber supply, and introduction of labor saving technologies, made it no longer profitable for these companies to employ large numbers of workers under a Fordist organizational structure. The tremendous job losses seriously compromised the sustainability of forestry dependent communities throughout the province. The responses from forestry based communities in B. C. have been diverse. Some have chosen to take a more passive approach and have become bedroom communities to larger urban centers or retirement destinations. Others have actively pursued economic diversification through increased entrepreneurial activities. No matter which alternative individual communities have chosen to pursue, it is evident that they are all undergoing a significant transformation. This exploratory study examines how the identity (or image) of these places has evolved, and investigates the impact this has had on local residents. The three Vancouver Island communities of Chemainus, Sooke, and Port Alberni have been selected as case studies. A variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods are employed including a resident survey, personal interviews, and review of real estate guides and promotional materials. Overall the findings suggest that the identity associated with each case study community has both positively and negatively perceived elements. With a greater appreciation for these elements, it was possible for the researcher to make a variety of justifiable recommendations to improve current planning policies and processes, in each of the case studies, which will help them build a stronger, more positive image, and therefore become healthier, more viable, and sustainable communities. By emphasizing the significance of identity for community planning, and by outlining the participatory methods necessary to conduct an in depth identity investigation, this study also paves the way for future investigations on other British Columbia communities in transition and for the widespread use of the principle of identity as a contributory decision-making strategy in the planning profession.

Beginning in 1980, large forestry corporations in British Columbia began to rapidly downsize and restructure their operations. The combination of volatile international market conditions, increasing demands for environmental conservation, First Nation?s land claims, higher stumpage rates, American protectionism, a declining timber supply, and introduction of labor saving technologies, made it no longer profitable for these companies to employ large numbers of workers under a Fordist organizational structure. The tremendous job losses seriously compromised the sustainability of forestry dependent communities throughout the province. The responses from forestry based communities in B. C. have been diverse. Some have chosen to take a more passive approach and have become bedroom communities to larger urban centers or retirement destinations. Others have actively pursued economic diversification through increased entrepreneurial activities. No matter which alternative individual communities have chosen to pursue, it is evident that they are all undergoing a significant transformation. This exploratory study examines how the identity (or image) of these places has evolved, and investigates the impact this has had on local residents. The three Vancouver Island communities of Chemainus, Sooke, and Port Alberni have been selected as case studies. A variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods are employed including a resident survey, personal interviews, and review of real estate guides and promotional materials. Overall the findings suggest that the identity associated with each case study community has both positively and negatively perceived elements. With a greater appreciation for these elements, it was possible for the researcher to make a variety of justifiable recommendations to improve current planning policies and processes, in each of the case studies, which will help them build a stronger, more positive image, and therefore become healthier, more viable, and sustainable communities. By emphasizing the significance of identity for community planning, and by outlining the participatory methods necessary to conduct an in depth identity investigation, this study also paves the way for future investigations on other British Columbia communities in transition and for the widespread use of the principle of identity as a contributory decision-making strategy in the planning profession.

Watershed land use has a pervasive influence on a variety of properties within aquatic ecosystems including productivity and community composition. Long-term data, which are rare or absent for many lakes are crucial for taking or making management decisions. Paleolimnological approaches can provide long-term data. In this study, emphasis was placed on exploring how the traditional proxies can be applied in alternative ways as well as to evaluate novel tools to reconstruct water quality with contrasting watershed land uses. I examined Sooke Lake Reservoir (SOL) and Shawnigan Lake (SHL), located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Canada. SOL is an impounded lake that is used as a drinking water reservoir, and has a watershed with restricted public access and development. SHL has a similar limnological regime, but the surrounding watershed has been developed extensively for residential uses. In recent years elevated primary production was observed in SHL as compared to SOL. Results also suggest increased variability for most phytoplankton groups in SHL during post-disturbance periods compared to SOL. I also investigated how the history of local disturbance in a watershed can influence the regional coherence of ecosystem properties in lakes, by measuring sedimentary d13C, d15N, C:N and %BSiO2 (SOL and SHL). Data suggest that local disturbances can influence the %BSiO2 (proxy for lake productivity) and C:N ratio of lake sediments, but is less Iikely to alter the regional coherence of %C, %N and d13C between lakes. Fossil pigment records along with other geochemical indicators (d13c, d15N, C:N and %BSiO2) in lake sediments can provide information on changes in aquatic productivity, temporal coherence and variability due to either natural or anthropogenic disturbances and thus can be used to guide and manage lake water quality. The relationship between phytoplankton community composition (as inferred from diatoms and fossil pigments) and trophic status was different with contrasting watershed land uses. My results suggest that the hump-shaped (or unimodal) relationship between diatom species richness and production may be limited to high productive systems with maximum richness and diversity in intermediate states. In addition, fossil pigment records as proxies for algal functional groups reveal that in a mid to high productive system with intense watershed scale disturbances, community composition of algal functional groups declined favoring certain diatoms. These findings have broader implications for aquatic ecosystem management. Given that continuing pressure on land and subsequent land-use changes is a threat to freshwater resources, it is critical to trace watershed disturbances and subsequent alterations in accumulation of organic matter and impacts on aquatic ecosystems. An alternative approach to reconstruct organic matter accumulation using stable isotopes from lake sediments was explored. Stable isotope signatures from defined organic matter sources from the catchment and surface water of Shawnigan Lake (SHL) and Elk Lake (ELL), were compared with sedimentary proxy records. Results from this study reveal that terrestrial inputs and catchment soil coinciding with the watershed disturbance history probably contributed to the recent trophic enrichment in SELL. In contrast, cultural eutrophication in ELL was partially the result of input from catchment soil (agricultural activities) with significant input from lake primary production as well. The organic matter source detection technique that I have developed in this study can be applied to limit the effects of land use change in the vicinity. Bacterial production in the water column is positively correlated with algal primary production and therefore, may be responsive to watershed land-use changes. Bacteria release extracellular enzymes to hydrolyze high molecular weight organic compounds and are sensitive to the amount and type of organic matter in the aquatic environment. Aminopeptidase activity (a protease enzyme) in sediment core was strongly related to the watershed land-use history and subsequent changes in organic matter in the aquatic environment. The enzymatic activity changed with the degree of watershed disturbances, and therefore, suggests that enzymatic activity in lake sediments could be a proxy to infer historical productivity.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Waterloo, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jan. 26, 2006). Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-201).