FAQ
What if I make a mistake?
First of all, don't worry! Everybody makes mistakes (even computers) and it wouldn't be called research if we got it right every time. If you have already submitted your input on a photo, unfortunately, you cannot go back and change it. However, we hope to collect enough data that single mistakes will not effect our final data too much. Keep going!
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The best place to ask your question is in ‘Talk’. Here you can ask questions about specific images, or more general questions about the project. You will be able to chat to moderators, researchers, and Zooniverse team members there too.
What is Parks Canada?
Parks Canada protects a vast network of natural and cultural heritage places that include 48 national parks, 171 national historic sites, 5 national marine conservation areas and 1 national urban park. These places represent the very best that Canada has to offer and tell stories of who we are, including the histories, cultures, and contributions of Indigenous peoples. They are also a gateway to discovering, learning about, and connecting with nature.
What is Sable Island National Park Reserve?
Sable Island National Park Reserve is certainly a unique place. This crescent shaped island is one of Canada’s furthest offshore islands and is located in the Atlantic Ocean. At just 38 km long and 1.3 km wide, the Island is home to a wild horse population, the world’s largest breeding colony of grey seals, and species that are found here and nowhere else on earth.
It is situated in the Atlantic Ocean near the edge of the Continental Shelf, 290 km offshore from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The closest landfall is Canso, Nova Scotia, at 161 km.
What kind of seals are found at Sable Island National Park Reserve?
Sable Island is home to the world’s largest breeding colony of grey seals, which pup between late December and early February. The population has experienced significant growth in recent decades, but the rate of growth has slowed more recently.
During the yearly breeding season in January, approximately 320,000 seals come ashore, with an estimated 80,000 seal pups born. During the rest of the year, thousands of seals can be seen resting on the beaches at any given time, with larger numbers during the annual moult. Moult is the annual renewal of the fur (called pelage) that all seals undergo, which happens in June (late spring). There is also a small resident population of harbour seals which pup from mid-May to mid-June. This population has decreased in recent years, with shark predation and competition from grey seals suggested as reasons for the decline.
Other visitors include ringed, harp and hooded seals; however, they do not breed on the island.
Sable Island National Park Reserve makes an ideal base for seals because it’s free from land-based predators, it’s close to feeding grounds, and the wide beaches of the 38 km long island provide plenty of space.
Grey seal
Where do grey seals live and breed?
Grey seals are found along the shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Canada they are found in:
• Nova Scotia
• New Brunswick
• Prince Edward Island
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• the Gulf of St. Lawrence off the shores of Quebec
Grey seals in the Northwest Atlantic form a single population, but are separated into 3 herds based on their breeding sites:
• Sable Island
• coastal Nova Scotia
• the Gulf of St. Lawrence
There are now fewer pups born on the ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, due to a decline in winter ice cover. Seals have responded by pupping on nearby islands, with increased pupping on Sable Island and in southwest Nova Scotia. Sable Island is the largest grey seal breeding site in Canada.
What do grey seal feed on?
They mostly feed on redfish, cod, sand lance, pollock, hake, capelin and herring. Males and females have different diets. While males' diet is more diverse than female's throughout the year, seasons cause change in the overall diet of the species.
What are their predators?
Sharks and killer whales can prey on marine mammals. In recent years there has been an increase in sightings of white sharks in Canadian waters and this may contribute to increased predation.
How long do they live and how much do they weigh?
Grey seals have a lifespan of 30 to 40 years. Males may reach 2.3 metres in length and weigh up to 770 pounds (350 kg). Females can reach up to 2 metres in length and weigh up to 500 pounds (230 kg).
Are there other animals besides seals in Sable Island National Park Reserve?
Since the 16th century, many domestic animals, including horses, cattle, goats, and rabbits, have been released on the island. The ecology of the island prior to such introductions is largely unknown. Currently, the only introduced mammal on the island is the feral horse. The horses are believed to have been introduced sometime shortly after 1738. They are dependent upon the island's vegetation for their nutrition, but supplement their diet with seaweed that washes up on the beach.
Sable Island Horses
Sable Island is part of a key migratory flyway, with numerous bird species (over 350) recorded. These include species similar to those found on the mainland, but also a high number of vagrants that are far from their normal habitats. Sixteen bird species have been confirmed to breed on the island during the spring and summer months.
The best-known bird associated with the island is the Ipswich Sparrow, a subspecies of the Savannah Sparrow, which breeds only on Sable Island. The island also has a significant common tern population, and various gull species can be found there year-round. Both the Ipswich Sparrow and Roseate Tern are classified as Special Concern and Endangered, respectively, under the Species at Risk Act.
Roseate Tern
Sable is home to at least six invertebrate species found only on the island; in particular, there are several species of moths that are sufficiently different from mainland populations that they are classified as different species or subspecies.
The Sable Island sweat bee is endemic to the Island, which means it is the only place in the world where this species of bee is found. Along with the four other species of bees in the Sable Island National Park Reserve, sweat bees are important pollinators in the island’s ecosystem.
Sweat Bee
The freshwater ponds on the island support a number of fish species, including mummichogs and sticklebacks.
Fish found in freshwater ponds of Sable Island
Do people live on Sable Island?
Sable Island has an extremely rich history stretching back to the 1500s, including shipwrecks, life-saving stations, and over a hundred years of weather monitoring. In 1801 the Nova Scotia government established the first life-saving station on Sable Island in an effort to reduce the suffering and loss of life and cargo resulting from frequent shipwrecks. Since then, there has been continuous human presence on Sable Island.
Parks Canada carries on this legacy by maintaining a small human presence on Sable Island who keep the life-sustaining systems of the main station running smoothly, and welcome researchers and visitors to this special place.
Where can I find more information about Sable Island National Park Reserve?
More information can be found by visiting www.pc.gc.ca/sable.
There are also two virtual exhibits on the Google Arts and Culture platform, where viewers can learn about the Fences in the Sand ecosystem study, and take part into a virtual day visit on Sable Island:
-Fences in the Sand exhibit
-A Day Trip to Sable Island exhibit