Climate change doubles size of northern lakes, pushes bison off habitat
Bob Weber
The Canadian Press
Last updated Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017 7:29AM EST
New research suggests that climate change has mysteriously caused lakes in a northern protected area to nearly double in size, forcing a herd of at-risk bison off some of their best habitat.
Lakes in the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary off the northwest shore of Great Slave Lake are now bigger than any time in at least the last 200 years, said Josh Thienpont, a University of Ottawa scientist and a lead author on the paper, published Thursday in the journal Nature.
The whole landscape does appear to be getting wetter, he said.
Thienpont and his colleagues grew intrigued with the 10,000-square-kilometre sanctuary after people from Fort Providence, N.W.T., pointed out things were changing.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/climate-change-doubles-size-of-northern-lakes-pushes-bison-off-habitat/article34116804/