Timing Windows Calculator

Kevin Cazelles, David Beauchesne & Kevin McCann

2025-02-27

Timing Windows

Kevin Cazelles, David Beauchesne & Kevin McCann

2025-02-27

inSileco

Context

Timing windows are

  • mitigation measures
  • highly variable in Canada
  • designed for one or more species
  • based on:
    • timing of life processes
    • vulnerability to WUA
    • environmental conditions

Context

Timing windows must

  • consider past and recent data
  • use a robust risk assessment framework
  • be highly adaptable
  • be transparent

Context

Objectives of this initiative

  • Propose a Risk Assessment Framework to assess the risk posed by works, undertaking and activities (WUAs) on fish and fish habitat

  • Initiate a National Timing Windows Database for Timing Windows assessments.

  • Design a Timing Windows Calculator to identify optimized timing windows for in situ interventions that minimize ecological risks

Today’s meeting

Today’s meeting

Goal: Presentation of the project and discussion of next steps.


Plan

  1. Risk Assessment Framework
  2. National Timing Windows Database
  3. Timing Windows Calculator
  4. Next steps

Risk Assessment Framework

Risk Assessment Framework

  • Establish Context: Define the environmental context for each lake or river.
  • Identify Risks: Identify risks to fish life processes and habitats based on WUA pressures.
  • Analyze Risks: Analyze the risks based on available data and local species life processes.
  • Evaluate Risks: Evaluate the impact of risks on fish populations and habitats.
  • Treat Risks: Propose timing windows as mitigation measures to reduce exposure and vulnerability.

National Timing Windows Database

National Timing Windows Database

Data-driven assessments


National Timing Windows Database

Harvesting and integration

  1. Harvest open data at national/global scale
  2. Harvest in situ data
  3. Gap-fil missing knowledge

National Timing Windows Database

Harvesting and integration

  1. Harvest open data at national/global scale
  2. Harvest in situ data
  3. Gap-fil / model missing knowledge

✅ Complete

⚠️ Partial

⚠️ Partial

National Timing Windows Database

Data sources overview

  • Canadian watersheds
  • Canadian lakes and rivers
  • Species list (226 species)
  • Species occurrences (GBIF; ~850 000)
  • Species traits and phenology
    • FishBase
    • Fishpass
    • The North American Freshwater Migratory Fish Database
    • Ontario Freshwater Fishes Life History Database
    • Dahlke et al. (2020) Science
    • Roberge et al. (2002)
  • Legislation for status quo

National Timing Windows Database

Relational database (.sqlite)

26 tables

Timing Windows Calculator

Live demo

Next steps

Next steps

Timing windows should be

  • based on best available knowledge
  • conceptually extended to include spatio-temporal data
  • conceptually extended to support stage-structured data
  • conceptually extended to community / food webs

Next steps

Strategy

  • Formalize the creation and updates of the National Timing Windows Database
  • Extend risk assessment to fully spatio-temporal cumulative risk assessment framework
  • Assess risk on stage-structured spatial food webs

Next steps

Strategy

  • Formalize the creation and updates of the National Timing Windows Database
  • Extend risk assessment to fully spatio-temporal cumulative risk assessment framework
  • Assess risk on stage-structured spatial food webs

National Timing Windows Database

National Timing Windows Database

  • Expand data harvesting to include data that is not openly available
  • Include other life processes
  • Launch initiative to build a centralized and open database for the application of timing windows assessments across Canada
  • Ability for researchers / managers / assessers to submit new data

Cumulative risk assessment framework

Cumulative risk assessment framework

  • Waterbody (\(W_x\))
  • Species (\(Sp_i\))
  • Stressors (\(St_j\))
  • Sensitivity (\(\mu_{i,j}\))


\[TWR_{x,i,j} = \sum_i \sum_j Sp_{x,i} * St_{x,j} * \mu_{i,j}\]

To consider:

  • Time
  • Life processes
  • Habitat sensitivity

Cumulative risk assessment framework

Cumulative risk assessment framework

Cumulative risk assessment framework

Cumulative risk assessment framework

Cumulative risk assessment framework

Cumulative risk assessment framework

Anticipated benefits

  • Flexible
  • Modular
  • Data quality (low / high)
  • Data type (binary / continuous / spatial)
  • Integration with cumulative effects framework
  • Spatially explicit assessment

Stage-structured spatial foodwebs

Stage-structured spatial foodwebs

Stage-structured spatial foodwebs

Stage-structured spatial foodwebs

Stage-structured spatial foodwebs

Stage-structured spatial foodwebs

Anticipated benefits

  • Integrating food webs to timing windows assessment
  • Understanding how disturbance spread to other:
    • life stages
    • species
  • Improved assessment of timing windows at the scale of ecosystems

Thank you!