Hourly Water Temperature Measurements for PEI National Park Streams and Ponds

Parks Canada measures hourly water temperature in Prince Edward Island National Park freshwater streams and ponds using in-situ data loggers. The data is used annually to assess optimum growth hours and stressful temperature thresholds for Eastern Brook trout and growing degree days for American eel.

Use Cases

• Calculate the annual number of optimum growth hours for Eastern Brook trout using the >11°C to <18°C temperature thresholds.
• Assess thermal stress on Eastern Brook trout by counting the number of hours water temperature exceeds 20°C.
• Compute growing degree days (GDD) for American eel in ponds by summing hourly temperatures ≥10°C.

Strengths

• Hourly temporal resolution provides detailed thermal profiles for ecological analysis.
• Data is collected annually, supporting longitudinal studies of temperature trends.
• Measurements target specific, ecologically relevant species (Eastern Brook trout and American eel).

Limitations

• The specific number of monitoring locations, rows of data, and temporal coverage are unknown.
• Data is limited to freshwater streams and ponds within a single national park (PEI), not representative of broader regions.

Provenance

Source

Parks Canada

Collection Method

Hourly measurements from in-situ data loggers deployed in freshwater streams and ponds.

Time Range

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Freshness

Data is assessed annually, with a platform record last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Freshwater streams and ponds within Prince Edward Island National Park, Canada.