KEJIMKUJIK LAKE

An aerial view of the lake

Photo.
Photo: J.J.Kerekes


A. LOCATION

  • Nova Scotia, Canada.

  • 44:23N, 65:15W; 90 m above sea level.


B. DESCRIPTION

    The oligotrophic Kejimkujik Lake in Kejimkujik National Park is lying on Devonian granite in central Nova Scotia approximately 60 km inland from the Atlantic Ocean and 40 km from the Bay of Fundy. Its drainage basin is covered by forest, bogs, lakes and a very limited amount of poor agricultural land (<1% of the watershed). About two-thirds of the drainage basin is outside of the National Park boundary which contains a permanent population of <100 people, has some roads and supports some forestry and a very limited amount of agriculture. Kejimkujik Lake is a local centre of summer recreation. Up to ca. 1,500-2,500 people may be present daily during peak periods of the summer season. Water flowing into the lake is influenced by bog soils and is high in organic acids. The lake has shown a high degree of acidification and reproductive failure of Atlantic salmon due to high acidity downstream from the lake has become apparent.
    In response to the need for scientific knowledge of the potential impacts of the long-range transportation of air pollutants on freshwater ecosystems in Atlantic Canada, the Government of Canada initiated the Kejimkujik Calibrated Catchment Study Program, an interdisciplinary multi-agency study in 1980.
    The lake is shallow and has a relatively high flushing rate (4.5 times yr-1), precipitation is 1,460 mm yr-1 and the runoff is 910 mm yr-1. The water is extremely dilute (sum of constituents = 13 mg l-1), and due to its relative closeness to the ocean, it is dominated by Na and Cl ions. Calcium and magnesium concentrations are extremely low (0.7 and 0.5 mg l-1, respectively); thus under the existing ca. 20 kg ha-1 yr-1 wet sulphate deposition, combined with the existing natural acidity, the lake responds with chronically depressed pH (4.8 annual mean). Studies in the lake and its tributaries showed that the additional sulphate deposition of anthropogenic origin gives additional acidity to the water, particularly during the winter and early spring, which explains the disappearance of Atlantic salmon downstream from the lake (Q).

C. PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS (6)

    Surface area [km2] 26
    Volume [km3] 0.106
    Maximum depth [m] 19.2
    Mean depth [m] 4.4
    Water level Unregulated
    Normal range of annual water level fluctuation [m] 1.0
    Length of shoreline [km] 45
    Residence time [yr] 0.2
    Catchment area [km2] 289

D. PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES

D1 GEOGRAPHICAL
  • Sketch map: Fig. NAM-56-0l.

  • Bathymetric map: Fig. NAM-56-02.

  • Names of main islands
    Peale, Hemlock, Norway, Dukeshire, Big Muise, Ell, Little Muise and Richie McLean (1.97 km2 in total area).
  • Number of outflowing rivers and channels (name): 1 (Mersey R.).

D2 CLIMATIC
  • Climatic data at Maitland Bridge, 1965-1980 (2a)

    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Ann.
    Mean temp. [deg C] -6.4 -5.7 -1.3 3.1 9.6 15.4 18.7 17.9 13.9 9.2 3.7 -2.6 6.3
    Precipitation [mm] 155 114 127 99 104 89 103 87 107 132 141 189 1,447
  • Number of hours of bright sunshine: 1,785 hr yr-1.

  • Solar radiation (Kentville CDA)[MJ m-2 day-1]

    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Ann.
    4.95 8.48 12.45 15.26 18.90 21.18 20.48 18.32 14.11 9.04 5.14 3.71 12.7

    Fig. NAM-56-01
    Sketch map of Nova Scotia drainage basins (Q).

    Fig. NAM-56-02
    Bathymetric map [m](7).

  • Water temperature [deg C](7)

    Deep Station off Peale Island, 1980
    Depth [m] Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    0 0.0 0.5 - 7.0 12.5 16.5 18.5 23.5 20.5 12.0 3.4 2.0
    2 2.0 1.5 - 7.0 12.5 16.0 18.5 23.5 19.9 12.0 3.0 2.0
    4 2.0 2.0 - 7.0 12.0 15.6 18.5 23.5 19.5 12.0 3.0 2.0
    6 2.2 2.5 - 7.0 12.0 15.5 18.5 22.0 19.3 12.0 3.4 2.0
    8 2.5 3.0 - 6.7 11.5 15.0 18.5 21.0 19.1 12.0 3.4 2.0
    10 3.0 4.0 - 6.7 11.0 15.0 18.5 20.0 19.0 12.0 3.4 2.0
    14 3.8 4.0 - 6.7 10.5 14.9 18.2 17.0 19.0 12.0 3.4 2.0
    18 4.0 4.0 - 6.7 10.6 - - - - - 3.8 2.0
  • Freezing period: End of December-middle April.

  • Mixing type: Dimictic.

  • Notes on water mixing and thermocline formation
    Summer thermal stratification is restricted mainly to a relatively small depression near Peale Island. Hypolimnion is absent.

E. LAKE WATER QUALITY

E1 TRANSPARENCY [m](7)
    Deep Station, 1980
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    1.3 1.27 - 1.75 1.75 2.23 1.35 1.8 2.45 2.31 2.07 1.75
E2 pH (7)
    Deep Station, 1980
    Depth [m] Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    0 4.55 4.6 - 4.8 4.8 4.6 4.9 4.9 4.9 5.1 4.5 4.6
    2 4.6 4.7 - 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.9 4.9 5.0 5.1 4.7 4.6
    4 4.7 4.6 - 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.9 5.0 4.9 5.1 - 4.6
    6 4.7 4.6 - 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.9 5.0 5.0 - - 4.6
    8 4.7 4.6 - 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.1 - 4.6
    10 4.7 4.6 - 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 5.0 - 4.9 4.6
    14 4.8 4.7 - 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.8 4.8 5.0 5.1 - 4.6
    18 4.8 4.7 - 4.7 4.6 4.6 - - - - 4.9 4.6
E3 SS (Q)
    Negligible levels.
E4 DO: Fig. NAM-56-03.

    Fig. NAM-56-03
    Time-depth isopleth of DO, 1980 [% saturation](7).

E6 CHLOROPHYLL CONCENTRATION: Fig. NAM-56-04.

    Fig. NAM-56-04
    Time-depth isopleth of chlorophyll a at Deep station, 1979 [micro l-1](7).

E7 NITROGEN CONCENTRATION (5)
  • Total-N [mg l-1]
    Deep station, 1981: 0.76.
E8 PHOSPHORUS CONCENTRATION (5)
  • Total-P [micro l-1]
    Deep station, 1981: 9.1.
E9 CHLORIDE CONCENTRATION [mg l-1](5)
    Outflow, 1978-1979: 4.53.

F. BIOLOGICAL FEATURES

F1 FLORA
  • Emerged macrophytes (5)

  • Equisetum fluviale, Sparganium americanum, S. minimum, Calamagrostis canadensis, Eleocharis acicularis, Scirpus subterminalis, Rhynchospora alba, Eriocaulon septangulare, Pontederia cordata, Juncus brevicaudatus, J. effusus, J. militaris, Lobelia dortmanna, Hydrocotyle umbellata, Sium suave.
  • Floating macrophytes (5)

  • Nuphar variegatum, Nymphaea odorata, Brasenia schreberi, Nymphoides cordata.
  • Submerged macrophytes (5)

  • Isoetes macrospora, Potamogeton confervoides, P. epihydris, P. robbinsii, P. spirillus, Utricularia cornuta.
  • Phytoplankton (2)

  • Diatoms (Asterionella formosa, Tabellaria fenestrata, T. flocculosa. Rhizosolenia eriensis); Greens (Selenastrum minutum, Sphaerocystis schroeteris, Schroederia setigera, Tetradesmus wisconsinensis); Blue-greens (Agmenellum thermale); chrysophyceans (Mallomonas caudata, Dinobryon bavaricum); cryptophyceans (Cryptomonas ovata); xanthophyceans (Chlorochromonas minuta).
F2 FAUNA
  • Zooplankton (2)

  • Cladocerans (Daphnia ambigua, D. catawba, Bosmina longirostris, Eubosmina longispina, E. tubicen, Holopedium gibberum, Leptodora kindtii, Diaphanosoma leuchtenbergianum); Copepods (Epischura nordenskioldi, Diaptomus minutus, D. oregonensis, Mesocyclops edas, Tropocyclops sp.); Rotifers (Keratella cochlearis, Kellicottia bostoniensis, Polyarthra vulgaris, Conochilus unicornis).
  • Benthos (5)

  • Benthic macroinvertebrates in Kejimkujik Lake (Jeremy Bay; 9 samples), Beaverskin Lake (4 samples) and Pebbleloggitch Lake (4 samples). Mean data for the three lakes and 4 sampling dates (May, July, August and September 1980).
    Density [no m-2] [%]
    Insecta Ephemeroptera 30 2.8
    Odonata 7 0.7
    Plecoptera 4 0.4
    Neuroptera 1 0.1
    Megaloptera 1 0.1
    Trichoptera 27 2.5
    Coleoptera 1 0.1
    Lepidoptera 0 0.0
    Diptera 241 22.5
    Crustacea Crustacea 144 13.5
    Ostracoda 6 0.6
    Cladocera 175 16.4
    Amphipoda 91 8.5
    Isopoda 78 7.3
    Oligochaeta Naididae 217 20.3
    Lumbricuridae 7 0.7
    Enchytraeidae 1 0.1
    Tubificidae 7 0.7
    Mollusca Gastropoda 1 0.1
    Sphaeriidae 4 0.4
    Turbellaria 1 0.1
    Arachnida Hydracarina 2 0.2
    Nematoda 20 1.9
    Total 1,066 100
  • Fish (5)

  • Coregonus clupeaformis (lake whitefish), Salmo trutta (brown trout), Salvelinus fontinalis (brook trout), Notemigonus chrysoleucas (golden shiner), Catostomus commersoni (white sucker), Ictalurus nebulosus (brown bullhead), banded killfish, ninespine stickleback, Morone americana (white perch), Perca flavescens (yellow perch), Anguilla rostrata (American eel).
F3 PRIMARY PRODUCTION RATE (1)
  • Phytoplankton
    Net production rate [g C m-2 yr-1]
    Deep station, May 1979-April 1981
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Ann.
    13.9 31.8 120 112 105 122 147 113 238 136 87.1 32.6 25.3
F5 FISHERY PRODUCTS
    1,100 angling licenses issued in 1988.
F7 NOTES ON THE REMARKABLE CHANGES OF BIOTA IN THE LAKE IN RECENT YEARS
    Atlantic salmon became extinct in the 1920's because of a series of seven power dams downstream from the lake.

G. SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS (Q)

G1 LAND USE IN THE CATCHMENT AREA
    Area [km2] [%]
    Natural landscape Forest, bogs and lakes ca. 286 99
    Agricultural land <3 <1
    Total 289 100
  • Levels of fertilizer application on crop fields: Light.

G2 INDUSTRIES IN THE CATCHMENT AREA AND THE LAKE
    None.
G3 POPULATION IN THE CATCHMENT AREA (10) (1986) <100 in the 2/3 drainage basin outside National Park Boundary.

H. LAKE UTILIZATION (8)

H1 LAKE UTILIZATION
    Sightseeing and tourism (no. of visitors in 1988: 217,000) and recreation (swimming, canoeing, sport-fishing, angling).

I. DETERIORATION OF LAKE ENVIRONMENTS AND HAZARDS

I1 ENHANCED SILTATION
  • Extent of damage: None.

I2 TOXIC CONTAMINATION
  • Present status: None.

I3 EUTROPHICATION
  • Nitrogen and phosphorus loadings to the lake [t yr-1] (1971)

    Sources Total
    T-P 7.3
I4 ACIDIFICATION
  • Extent of damage: Serious.

  • Kinds of damage
    Reduction of the number of fish species previously present (10); depressed pH levels (11, 12).

J. WASTEWATER TREATMENTS

J1 GENERATION OF POLLUTANTS IN THE CATCHMENT AREA
    (b) No sources of significant pollution.
J3 SANITARY FACILITIES AND SEWERAGE
  • Municipal wastewater treatment systems
    No. of primary treatment systems: 2 (setting sewage lagoons hold campground wastewater during the summer).

M. LEGISLATIVE AND INSTITUTIONAL MEASURES FOR UPGRADING LAKE ENVIRONMENTS

M1 NATIONAL AND LOCAL LAWS CONCERNED
  • Names of the laws (the year of legislation)

    1. National Parks Act (1930, last amendment C48 in 1988)
  • Responsible authorities

    1. Canadian Parks Service
M2 INSTITUTIONAL MEASURES
    Since 1978, Kejimkujik Lake and its tributaries have been a major study site in Atlantic Canada to study the impact of long range transport of air pollutants and a selected site for future monitoring. This is a multi-agency study of the Canadian Wildlife Service, Inland Water Directorate, Atmospheric Environment Service, Canadian Forestry Service, Canadian Parks Service, and Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

N. SOURCES OF DATA

  1. Questionnaire filled by Dr. J. J. Kerekes, Canadian Wildlife Service, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  2. Beauchamp, S. T. (1983) Planktonic primary production in three acid- stressed lakes in Nova Scotia. 194 pp. M. Sc. Thesis, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N. S.
  3. Blouin, A. C., Lane, P. A., Collins, T. M. & Kerekes, J. (1984) Comparison of plankton-water chemistry relationships in three acid stressed lakes. Int. Revue. ges. Hydrobiol., 69: 819-841.
  4. ) Canadian Climate Normals (1951-1980). Environment Canada, Atmospheric Environment Service.
  5. Kerekes, J. (1975) Aquatic Resources Inventory, Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia. Part 6. Limnological Conditions in Thirty Lakes. Manuscript report. 89 pp. Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada.
  6. Kerekes, J. (1975c) Phosphorus supply in undisturbed lakes in Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia (Canada). Verh. internat. Limnol., 19: 349- 357.
  7. Kerekes, J. & Freedman, B. (1989) Characteristics of three acidic lakes in Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 18: 183-200.
  8. Kerekes, J. & Schwinghamer, P. (1973a) Aquatic Resources Inventory, Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia. Part 2. Lake Drainage and Morphometry. Manuscript repo