Ask Us Anything - Our answers to common questions about Canada1Water

QUESTION

“Will Canada1Water have applications for ecological research? ”

ANSWER

The short answer is yes — and in fact, early datasets are already being used that way by researchers in Canada and the U.S.

Here’s what the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab (CWHL) recently told us about how they’re using C1W data:

CWHL researchers and mathematicians are using data science and statistical modelling to understand factors related to the spread of chronic wasting disease CWD, a fatal neurological disease of white-tailed deer and other cervid species that has been spreading across North America since the 1960s. The disease models developed by CWHL incorporate ecological and landscape factors related to white-tailed deer movements and resource use, including hydrologic features.

The enhanced Canada1Water NHN Network Linear Flow dataset, which includes Strahler Stream Order numbers, is precisely what was needed for the models, because intermediate and higher-order streams are associated with deer movement corridors and provide drinking water for deer. 

The high degree of compatibility of the Canada1Water dataset with the U.S. National Hydrography Plus dataset has allowed CWHL to develop transnational models. Without the dataset provided by Canada1Water, CWHL researchers would have had to compromise their modeling approach, likely reducing its broad applicability.

CWHL is partnering with more than 25 U.S. and Canadian wildlife agencies at state and provincial levels to increase surveillance efficiency and improve the effectiveness of disease management efforts. For more information about CWHL and the project, please visit the CWHL’s Surveillance Optimization Project for Chronic Wasting Disease project information page.