This book provides an overview of the history of this site and the complex effects of the hydrological and ecological changes through the landscape changes, vegetation adaptation, biovector contamination, and ultimately habitat restoration. Big Meadow Bog (Brier Island, Nova Scotia, Canada) is a wetland ecosystem with a history of human disturbance. It was ditched for small-scale blueberry production in the 1950s, which significantly altered the hydrology of the system and resulted in vegetation changes and colonization by 3000+ pairs of herring gulls by the 1980s. It is also host to the endangered plant species Eastern Mountain Avens which was the impetus for restoration of the site. This book provides the background to the restoration decisions, the monitoring and science post-restoration and the lessons learned from the science and through collaboration with government and community.

Autorentext

Nick Hill has studied the autecology of many rare, wetland plants over the past four decades from academia at Mount Saint Vincent University and later from consultancy to help avoid and mitigate impacts of development. He began work on the Eastern Mountain Avens in 2012 and coordinated the four-year benchmark research and restoration project described in this book. He now is a coordinator of a lakeshore restoration project at the Southwest Nova Biosphere Association in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

Sarah Hines, M.Sc., is the research manager and Irving Scholar coordinator at the K.C. Irving Centre, Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Sarah has been connected to the restoration work on Brier Island since her honours undergraduate project in Acadia's Environmental Science Program. Sarah worked in the biotechnology industry before returning to Acadia.

Nelson O'Driscoll is a tenured full professor and currently head of the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He is the principal investigator for the Mercury Lab (mercurylab.acadiau.ca). He has previously held a Canada research chair (2007-2017) in Environmental Biogeochemistry at Acadia University. Dr. O'Driscoll has more than 120 peer-reviewed publications. He was the lead editor and co-editor for two previously edited books "Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology of Mercury" published by John Wiley and Sons in 2012 and "Mercury Cycling in a Wetland-Dominated Ecosystem" for SETAC Press in 2005.