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Species at risk in Canada receive different levels of habitat protection depending on their status under the federal Species at Risk Act (e.g., Endangered or Threatened, vs. Special Concern). Accurate detection of species presence can facilitate appropriate habitat protection. For example, the Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii; Threatened, COSEWIC 2016) receives legislated habitat protection for its nesting sites on federal lands throughout its Canadian range, and on Crown and private lands in Ontario under the provincial Endangered Species Act. Nesting sites of the sympatric northern map turtle (Graptemys geographica; Special Concern, COSEWIC 2012) do not receive the same legislative protection. The eggs of these 2 species look very similar, making nest identification challenging. In this study we tested whether external egg morphology can reliably identify these species' eggs, using measurements from 13 Blanding's turtle clutches (143 eggs) and 72 northern map turtle clutches (873 eggs). Although the mean length, width and volume of eggs differed significantly between the species, strong overlap in the ranges of these measurements prevent reliable identification to species. Alternative methods for egg identification include incubation and identification of the hatchlings, scanning electron microscopy of eggshell fragments, or eDNA analysis of swabs taken from the surface of recently laid eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selection process for a technology to treat the mine drainage is influenced by its performance, technical feasibility and cost. For the last decades, the mine industry has been searching for green methods to treat the acid mine drainage (AMD). This study evaluated thermally activated eggshells as a potential alternative for AMD treatment in cold climate. It was found that metal removal efficiency depended on the eggshells' calcination temperature and on the solid: liquid ratio. Eggshells calcined at 900 °C and employed in a solid: liquid ratio of 0.3% increased the pH of a mine effluent from 2.5 to 6.9 at 20 °C and to 9.2 at 4 °C, respectively. Heavy metal concentrations were reduced as follows: As <0.0005 mg/L, Cd 0.00022 and 0.00009 mg/L, Cu 0.0061 and 0.0091 mg/L, Co 0.0338 and 0.0016 mg/L, Cr 0.0015 and 0.0022 mg/L, Fe <0.01 mg/L, Ni 0.0291 and 0.0024 mg/L, Mo <0.0005 mg/L, Se 0.0033 and 0.0044 mg/L, and Zn 0.007 and 0.022 mg/L, at 20 °C and 4 °C, respectively. Consequently, the treated mine effluent satisfied both the Quebec and Canadian regulations. Based on these results, thermally activated eggshells could be efficiently employed for the active and passive treatment of AMD in a cold climate.