Making Maps Together
Collaborative seafloor mapping for sustainable marine conservation in Inuit Nunangat
Myrah Graham, Rodd Laing, Michelle Saunders,
David Cote, Heather Reader, Rachel Sipler, Chantal Vis
Alex Normandeau & Katleen Robert
Maps are for people
"The quest for sustainability involves connecting what is known through scientific study to applications in pursuit of what people want for the future."
Benthos and Community
Where we worked
Inuit Nunangat
Inuit Homelands within Canada, which represent 70% of Canada's coastline.
Each region has distinct interests and governing bodies.
Nunastiavut, NL
Inuit-owned and governed portion of Northern Labrador, Canada
Nunatsiavut Government (NG) represents and upholds the rights of Labrador Inuit
Pangnirtung, Nunavut
Fjord housing the Inuit Hamlet of Pangnirtung in Nunavut, Canada.
Who we worked for
Ramah Bay, Nunatsiavut
Project guided by the Nunatsiavut Government, as part of Imappivut "Our Oceans" Marine Plan.
Culturally important site in Nunatsiavut, within the Torgngats National Park. Tongait: "Place of Spirits"
Ramah was a mission run by the Moravians from 1871-1908. Ramah Bay is still used by families today for cultural and subsistence activities.
Closest settlement is Nain, NL. Nain is the administrative center for Nunatsiavut.
Project part of The Ocean Frontier Insitute's Sustainable Nunatsiavut (SNF) project
Inuit knowledge and western science in support of sustainable resource and livelihood planning in the LISA.
Government and academic partnership
Pangnirtung Fjord, Nunavut
Pangnirtung in an Inuit Hamlet on Baffin Island with an active fishing community
Project guided by the Hamlet Office and Hunters and Trappers Association(HTA)
Community visits
Attending community events
ROV workshop
Outreach events
School visits
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Ramah Bay: A) VMEs B) food sources Pangnirtung: Scallop distribution
How we worked
Ramah Bay
September 2021 & August 2023
30 ground-truthing sites
Sampling Vessel 1: RV David Thompson (Parks Canada)
MBES: R2Sonic 2024 (5m resolution)
Sampling Vessel 2: MV What's Happening
Camera: Deep Trekker DTPod
Pangnirtung Fjord, Nunavut
August-September 2021 September 2023
27 ground-truthing sites
Sampling Vessel 1: R/V Nuliajuk
MBES: Kongsberg EM2040 (10m resolution)
Sampling Vessel 2: CCGS Amundsen
Camera 1: Sony 4K
Sampling Vessel 3: Ricky Kilabuk's Boat
Camera 2: SubC Imaging Deep Water 4K
Methods
- Species clustering
Data Hellinger transformed
UPGMA Clustering in R
2. Multiscale environmental feature selection
3x3 to 55x55 window in fibonacci sequence
(Misiuk et al 2018)
70 environmental features total
Corplotting to identify collinearity between environmental features
Removal of features over several iterations
3-4 final environmental features
3. Benthic habitat map prediction
Caret package for Random Forest modelling
Habitat Maps
Ramah Bay: 74 morphospecies, 7 indicator species across 3 biotopes
Pangnirtung Fjord: 137 morphospecies, 14 indicator species across 4 biotopes
Sharing Results
Benthic Habitat Mapping Comic (English, Inutittut, Inuktitut)
Benthos Playing Cards
What's at the bottom of Ramah Bay?
Outreach in Nain (Nunatsiavut) and Pangnirtung (Nunavut)
Lessons learned:
- Showing up in person goes a long way to connecting with community
- Marine conservation is more likely to be successful if community input has been used throughout the project
- Locals know their environment- integrating this into maps makes them more sustainable
Nakummek/ᓇᑯᕐᒦᒃ to our amazing collaborators!
Nain ROV Workshop 2023
