ONTARIO NATURAL HERITAGE INFORMATION CENTRE
NEWSLETTER

Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 1996

INSIDE...

Science

Interesting Plant Records from NW. Ontario
NHIC Fieldwork and New Mollusc Species for Ontario
Freshwater Mussel Surveys
Ontario's Lost Plants
Rare Communities of Ontario - Perched Prairie Fens

General

Stewardship
Systems
News and Notes
NHIC Information Products

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Cliff at North Fowl Lake, northwestern Ontario

Interesting plant records from Northwestern Ontario

       During 1995 NHIC biologists made two fieldtrips to northwestern Ontario to gather element occurrence and vegetation community information. In June Mike Oldham visited sites along the north shore of Lake Superior and in the Thunder Bay area, and in August Mike and Wasyl Bakowsky covered the north shore, Thunder Bay area, and west as far as Rainy River District. One objective of the fieldwork was to determine if several rare plant species, known from records several decades old, were still present, and to gather data on population size and habitat. Another objective was to visit known significant natural areas to gather additional biological information documenting their importance.

       One site visited during both trips was North and South Fowl Lakes along the Pigeon River, south of Thunder Bay and immediately north of the Minnesota border. This area was known to harbour several plant species not known elsewhere in the province. The small sedge, Carex supina ssp. spaniocarpa, was confirmed at North Fowl Lake, where it was last seen in the 1970's by John Morton. In addition, a second Ontario site was discovered at South Fowl Lake. Stemless Locoweed, Oxytropis viscida ssp. viscida, was also seen at both North and South Fowl Lakes, its only provincial locations. Among the other rare plants documented here were Purple Reed Grass (Calamagrostis purpurascens), Muhly (Muhlenbergia racemosa), Canby Blue Grass (Poa canbyi), Snowy Arnica (Arnica lonchophylla) and Large-leaved Sandwort (Moehringia macrophylla).

       Most exciting was the discovery of the sedge, Carex xerantica, previously unknown in Ontario (Morton and Venn, 1990). A small population was discovered on the cliff-top at South Fowl Lake. A subsequent examination of Carex Section Ovales specimens at the Lakehead University herbarium (LKHD) revealed three additional Ontario specimens of Carex xerantica, all collected by the late Claude Garton in the Thunder Bay area, but misidentified as other members of this difficult group. These specimens have since been confirmed by Dr. Tony Reznicek, a sedge expert from the University of Michigan. Other interesting sedges found at North and South Fowl Lakes included Carex praticola and Carex rossii, both rare in Ontario.

Cliff Rim Habitat,
South Fowl Lake

       A visit to the Stanley Cemetery, a prairie remnant west of Thunder Bay (see Bakowsky, 1995), confirmed the presence of Smooth Fleabane (Erigeron glabellus) at its only Ontario location, where first found in 1987 by Wasyl Bakowsky. Two other Ontario plants are currently known in the province only from this site: Drummond's Thistle (Cirsium drummondii) and Rough Fescue (Festuca hallii). (A second Ontario site for Rough Fescue was later found on a cliff-top at Whitefish Lake.) The most exciting find at Stanley was a population of Needle Grass (Stipa comata) growing on an open prairie slope (see Bakowsky, 1985). This prairie grass was not previously known as a native plant in Ontario, though it has been found as a weed in a pine plantation in Simcoe County (Webber et al., 1985).

       At a roadside prairie remnant near the Seine River in Rainy River District rarities such as Heart-leaved Alexanders (Zizia aptera), Flodmann's Thistle (Cirsium flodmannii), Richardson's Muhly (Muhlenbergia richardsonis), Loosestrife (Lysimachia hybrida), Parry's Sedge (Carex parryana),and Long-styled Rush (Juncus longistylis) were found. The occurrence of these rarities along a roadside makes their origin uncertain (Bakowsky 1995), though undoubtedly some are native. The record of Parry's Sedge is particularly interesting, since it is only the second Ontario record, the first being an obvious introduction along a southern Ontario roadside.

       Further west, along the Rainy River, populations of several provincial rarities were found, including new sites for Leiberg's Panic Grass (Panicum leibergii var. baldwinii), Muhly (Muhlenbergia racemosa), Pale Great Bulrush (Scirpus heterochaetus), Emory's Sedge (Carex emoryi), and Wild Licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota). At Sable Island Provincial Nature Reserve in Lake of the Woods, the first northern Ontario and second provincial population of Small-flowered Lipocarpha (Lipocarpha micrantha) was discovered.

       The discovery of two native additions to the Ontario flora plus many new sites for provincially rare plants highlights the significance of this part of the province and suggests that further botanical exploration will be rewarding.

References

Bakowsky, W. 1995. Rare communities of Ontario: western grassland and oak 
     woodland relicts of northwestern Ontario. NHIC Newsletter 2(3):2-4.

Morton, J.K. and J.M. Venn. 1990. A checklist of flora of Ontario: 
     vascular plants. Biology Series No. 34, University of Waterloo, 
     Waterloo, Ontario. 218 pp.

Webber, J.M., D. McLeod and R.S.W. Bobbette. 1985. More new and 
     interesting grass records from southern Ontario. Canadian 
     Field-Naturalist 99:141-146.

Mike J. Oldham
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NHIC fieldwork in Essex County documents new mollusc species for Ontario

As well as collecting snails in alvar areas (see "Snails and Alvars", 1994, NHIC Newsletter 1(2):3) Mike Oldham, NHIC Botanist/Herpetologist, has been making incidental collections of terrestrial Gastropods during ongoing fieldwork. These specimens have been submitted to Wayne Grimm of Pakenham, Ontario, a snail expert (malacologist). Wayne is assisting the NHIC with specimen identifications, snail surveys of Ontario alvars, and generating provincial and global ranks for rare Ontario snails. As well as several undescribed species (F.W. Grimm, pers. comm.), 4 snails and 1 slug new to the province have been recently collected in Essex County. Despite having lost more of its natural vegetation than any other county in the province, Essex County continues to be one of the most productive areas in the province for new discoveries.

Glyphyalinia luticola, a Carolinian riparian species whose previously known northern limits were from New Jersey and southern Ohio (Hubricht, 1985), was found on Pelee Island and along the Canard River in Essex County.

Mesodon clausus was collected from Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve and Stone Road Alvar on Pelee Island in western Lake Erie. Although widespread in the central United States (Hubricht, 1985), these are the first records from Ontario (Oughton, 1948).

Phylomycus carolinianus has been reported previously from the province (Oughton, 1948), but these reports are based on misidentifications of other Phylomycus species (Grimm, 1996). This large, native slug has now been found at several sites on Pelee Island plus one mainland Essex County location, and Wheatley Provincial Park in Kent County. It is a widespread species in the eastern United States (Hubricht, 1985), reaching its northern range limits in Ontario's Carolinian Zone.

Patera pennsylvanica or Mesodon pennyslvanicus is a species of the upper Mississippi Basin and lower Great Lakes area (Hubricht 1995). Although known from southern Michigan, it has not previously been reported from Ontario (Oughton, 1948). A few fresh shells have been found in Ojibway Black Oak Woods, a sandy oak woods near Ojibway Prairie in Windsor.

Stenotrema hirsutum is a southern species of mesic Carolinian forests which was collected in a forest remnant near Leamington, Essex County. Previous reports of this snail in the province (Oughton, 1948) are based on the similar S. barbatum (Grimm, 1996).

References

Grimm, F.W. 1996. Terrestrial molluscs of the Mixed Wood Plain 
  Ecozone.  In "Assessment of Species Diversity in the Mixed Wood Plain 
  Ecozone", Edited by I. Smith. Ecological Monitoring Assessment Project, 
  Halifax and Ottawa. In press.

Hubricht, L. 1985. The distribution of the native land mollusks of 
  the Eastern United States. Fieldiana New Series No. 24, Publication 
  1359, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois. 191 pp.

Oughton, J. 1948. A zoogeographical study of the land snails of 
  Ontario. Biological Series No. 57, University of Toronto Studies, 
  Toronto, Ontario. 128 pp.

Mike J. Oldham and F. Wayne Grimm
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Freshwater Mussel Surveys

As a group, unionid mussels are among the most imperilled organisms. North America, with 298 species, is known to have had the richest unionid diversity of any continent; however, recent assessments have determined that about 73% of these are now extinct, endangered or threatenened (Williams et al. 1992). The reasons for these declines are many, but include primarily habitat alteration, degradation and loss, pollution, and the introduction of exotic species. The recent introduction of the Zebra, and Quagga Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis) has had a devastating impact on the native mussels of the Great Lakes basin. Unionid mussel populations have been particularly devastated in lakes St. Clair, Erie, and the St. Lawrence River.

Few systematic surveys of unionid mollusc populations have been conducted in southern Ontario since 1973, and consequently much of the occurrence information for rare species is now more than 20 years old. This general lack of recent information, together with the largely unassessed potential impact of the Dreissenid mussels on native populations, necessitated

Under the supervision of Alan Dextrase, MNR's Aquatic Ecosystem Branch Introductions biologist, and with the assistance of the NHIC, three contractors conducted surveys for unionid mussels in three regions of southern Ontario. Todd Morris, a graduate student in the Dept of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Dr. Gerry Mackie, University of Guelph and, Dr. Fred Schueler of Ottawa conducted surveys in the Thames River, Grand River, and Ottawa-Rideau river drainages, respectively. The primary objectives of these surveys was to gather historic information on the species' occurrence; determine the current distribution and relative health of mussel populations in these drainages and; attempt to confirm the presence, particularly of the rarer species.

Published studies of the unionid fauna of the Thames River drainage include those of Salmon and Green (1983), Stewart (1986, 1992), Bowles (1994), and Diamond (1940). Historically, 28 species are known to have occurred in the Thames and its tributaries. Of the 22 species found during the course of surveys in 1995, 18 species were found alive; six species are now thought to be extirpated, while another four (Purple Pimple-Back Cyclonaias tuberculata, Round Hickory-nut Obovaria subrotunda, False Pig-toe Pleurobema coccineum, and Kidney Shell Ptychobranchus fasciolaris) are represented only by dead shells, constituting a 22-36% decline in species diversity (Morris 1995). The extent of local declines may be illustrated by a comparison of sampling at one site along the Middle Thames River, where five species (Brook Wedge Mussel Alasmidonta viridis, Pig-toe Fusconaia flava, Lampsilis radiata, Pleurobema coccineum, and Squaw-Foot Strophitus undulatus) encountered by Salmon and Green (1983) in 1982 were not encountered during surveys in 1995.

Of 32 species known historically from the Grand River drainage (Kidd 1973, LaRocque and Oughton 1937, Robertson and Blakeslee 1948), 18 were found alive during the course of surveys conducted by Mackie (1996) in 1995; indicating an apparent decline in species diversity of 44%. Of the total unionid fauna, 12 species appear to be either extirpated or in imminent danger of extirpation. Paper Pond-Shell Utterbackia imbecilis, Snuffbox Epioblasma triquetra, Olive Hickory-nut Obovaria olivaria, and Obovaria subrotunda have not been collected alive in 110 years, while Pleurobema coccineum, Pocket-Book Lampsilis ovata, Pointed Sand-Shell Ligumia nasuta, Three-horned Warty-Back Obliquaria reflexa, Ptychobranchus fasciolaris, Lilliput Mussel Toxolasma parva, Fawn's-Foot Truncilla donasciformis, and Deer-Toe Truncilla truncata have not been collected alive in 60 years. A further 12 species were found to be extremely rare to uncommon. Rainbow Shell Villosa iris, Black Sand-Shell Ligumia recta, Fragile Paper-Shell Leptodea fragilis, and Pink Heel-Splitter Potamilus alatus were each found at only one of 70 survey sites, Wavy-rayed Lamp-mussel Lampsilis fasciola last found alive in 1971, and White Heel-splitter Lasmigona complanata, last seen in 1985. Only 8 species were found to be relatively common in the drainage. The Lamp-Mussels (Subfamily Lampsilinae) appear to be at greatest risk, with 15 of 18 species (88%) considered rare to extirpated.

In eastern Ontario, 72 sites were surveyed in the Rideau and Ottawa River drainages. Surveys were conducted in the Kemptville Creek, and the Jock and Tay Rivers, all sites which had received little or not attention by earlier surveyors. Of 15 species known historically from eastern Ontario, 12 species were found during the course of surveys conducted by Schueler (1996). Only the rarer Obovaria olivaria, Heavy-toothed Wedge Mussel Alasmidonta undulata, and Ridged Wedge Mussel Alasmidonta marginata, were not found. It is felt that further surveys of the lower Ottawa River, particularly of sites known to have supported the species historically, may yet detect the presence of these species.

Literature Cited

Bowles, J.M. 1994. A Life Science Inventory of Dingman Creek between 
  Lambeth and Delaware. McIlwraith Field Naturalists of London, Inc.

Diamond, R. 1940.  The Mollusca  of Middlesex County,  Ontario. M.A.  
  thesis, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.

Kidd, B.T.  1973. Unionidae  of the  Grand River  Drainage, Ontario,  
  Canada. M.Sc. thesis, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario. 173pp.

LaRocque, A.  and J.  Oughton. 1937.  A  preliminary account  of the  
  Unionidae of Ontario. Can. J. Res., 15: 147-155.

Mackie, G.L. 1996. Diversity  and Status of  Unionidae (Bivalvia) in 
  the Grand River,  A Tributary  of Lake  Erie, and  its Drainage Basin.  

Unpubl. Report, prepared for Aquatic Ecosystems Branch, Ontario Ministry 
  of Natural Resources, Peterborough, Ontario. 30pp + appendices.

Morris, T.J. 1995. The  Unionid Fauna of the  Thames River Drainage,  
  Southwestern Ontario. Unpubl. Report,  prepared for Aquatic Ecosystems  
  Branch, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, Ontario. vi 
  + 58pp.

Robertson, I.C.S.  and C.L.  Blakeslee.  1948. The  Mollusca  of the  
  Niagara Frontier Region. Bull. Buffalo Soc. Nat. Sci., 19: 1-191.

Salmon, A.  and  R.H.  Green.  1983.  Environmental determinants  of  
  unionid clam distribution in the Middle Thames River, Ontario. Can. J.  
  Zoo., 61: 832-838.

Schueler, F.W. 1996. A Survey  of the Unionid Mussels  of the Rideau 
  and Lower  Ottawa  Drainages.  Unpubl.  Report,  prepared  for Aquatic  
  Ecosystems Branch, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, 
  Ontario. 30pp + appendices.

Stewart, W.G.  1986. Pearly  freshwater mussels  (Unionidae)  of the  
  Lower Thames River, Ontario. The Cardinal, 123: 8-10.

Stewart, W.G. 1992.  Freshwater Molluscs of  Elgin County. Privately  
  Published. London, Ontario. 8pp.

Williams, J.D., M.L. Warren, Jr., K.S. Cummings, J.L. Harris and R.J. 
  Neves. 1992. Conservation status of the freshwater mussels of the United 
  States and Canada. Amer. Fish. Soc., Fisheries 18 (9): 1-22.

D.A. Sutherland
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Orange Fringed-orchid (Platanthera ciliaris) was last seen in Ontario
in 1901 near Leamington.

Ontario's Lost Plants

The NHIC list of rare Ontario native vascular plants currently has 28 species with an S-rank of SX, and 31 species assigned an S-rank of SH. These 59 plant species, which represent about 3% of Ontario's total native flora, have not been seen in the province for at least 20 years and many may be extirpated (extinct in Ontario). SX species are apparently extirpated from Ontario, with little likelihood of rediscovery. These species have typically not been seen the province for many decades, despite specific searches for them at known historic sites. SH species are historically known from Ontario, but have not been verified in the last 20 or more years. However, for SH species suitable habitat is thought to be still present in the province and there is reasonable expectation that the species may be rediscovered.

Many of the SX plants were found a century or more ago in parts of the province which are now largely agricultural or industrial. Species such as Orange-fringed Orchid (see picture) and Fuirena (see picture) are in this category. More than half of the species in the accompanying table (32 of 59) have only been found in Ontario's Carolinian Zone, apart of the province heavily impacted by man. Essex County, with 16 species, has the highest number of "lost plants" of any Ontario county.

If any reader knows of recent Ontario records for any of the species listed in the table, the NHIC would love to hear from you.

Rose-Pink (sabatia
angularis) is known
from a single Ontario
record in 1865 from
Hamilton.

A collection from Port
Colborne is the only
Canadian record of
fuirena (Fuirena
pumila).

Mike J. Oldham
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Perched Prairie in foreground, with Ohio Goldenrod,
Brantford Ontario

Rare Communities of Ontario: Perched 'Prairie' Fens

Prairie fens are unusual seepage communities which are quite rare in Ontario (S1, 1-5 occurrences in provinces, very few hectares in area). They are open herbaceous wetlands dominated by a unique assemblage of species, including those with prairie, fen, and Great Lakes shoreline floristic affinities.

They are referred to as 'perched' due to their topographic position, occurring on slopes instead of the typical wetland position in lowlands, basins and shorelines. In North America, prairie fens are considered to be globally rare (G3G4). Most are found in the glaciated portions of the midwestern United States, mainly Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio, with a few southern-most outliers in unglaciated Missouri.

In Ontario, prairie fens are currently only known from the Brantford area in Brant County, and in the vicinity of Turkey Point in the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk.

These communities develop on porous calcareous sand and gravel slopes where cold groundwater discharges. This water is mineralized, and precipitates of calcium and magnesium form a grayish-white marl layer at the soil surface. In places, the precipitates accumulate sufficiently to form a concrete-like substance known as tufa. Unlike typical fens, there is no well-developed layer of brown moss and sedge peat. Instead, the substrate consists of mineral soil or organic muck.

These communities are floristically diverse, and species-rich. The Brantford prairie fen is dominated by calciphiles such as Sterile Sedge (Carex sterilis), Tufted Hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa), Shrubby Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) and Ohio Goldenrod (Solidago ohioensis) in the wetter zones, and prairie grasses including Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans), Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) on the slightly drier rises.

Considering the high number of disjunct species present here, which today are more-or-less restricted to Great Lakes shorelines, it is likely that this community is relictual from the period 12,500 years ago, when the slope was a shoreline of Glacial Lake Warren.

Characteristic species of Great Lakes Coastal Meadow Marshes (shoreline fens, interdunal pannes) include Low Calamint (Calamintha arkansana), Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium mucronatum), Northern Reed Grass (Calamagrostis inexpansa), Tufted Hair Grass (Deschampsia cespitosa), Beaked Spike-rush (Eleocharis rostellata, S3), Sweet Grass (Hierochloe odorata), Baltic Rush (Juncus balticus), Prairie Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadriflora), and Whorled Nut-rush (Scleria verticillata, S3).

There are also a number of relictual northern and western species present, which were probably components of the early post-glacial shoreline flora. In Ontario, Richardson's Muhly (Muhlenbergia richardsonis) is found mainly along rivershores draining to James Bay, while Panicled Aster (Aster lateriflorus var. tenuipes) is mainly confined to the Boreal Forest region. Prairie species present are Yellow Star-flower (Hypoxis hirsuta, S3), Sky-blue Aster (Aster oolentangiensis), Hoary Puccoon (Lithospermum canescens, S3), Virginia Mountain-mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum), and Rough Dropseed (Sporobolus asper, S3 [clearly native here]).

Species which characterize fens include Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia), Variegated Scouring-rush (Equisetum variegatum), Fringed Gentian (Gentiana procera), Kalm's Lobelia (Lobelia kalmii), Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia glomerata), Grass-of-Parnassus (Parnassia glauca), Capillary Beaked-rush (Rhynchospora capillacea) and White Camas (Zygadenus elegans ssp. glaucus). Some of these species may occur in more than one community type, due to a certain similarity of ecological conditions, such as calcareousness, which are shared among communities. e.g.. White Camas can is also a prairie and shoreline species. These comments are based upon relative frequency and abundance in southern Ontario.

Similar communities occur near Vittoria and Turkey Point. The perched fen near Vittoria occurs on a gentle slope, and is dominated by Shrubby Cinquefoil, Muhly Grass, and Bog Goldenrod (Solidago uliginosa). Other common species include Ohio Goldenrod and marsh Fern (Thelypteris palustris). The prairie grass Little Bluestem occurs along the drier margins of the fen.

Ohio Goldenrod, a
characteristic species of
prairie fens.

At Turkey Point, similar vegetation is developed along a steep south-facing slope, with drier rises supporting some White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis), and prairie grasses such as Broom-sedge (Andropogon virginicus) and Little Bluestem. A number of prairie species are found here which are not present at the Brantford site, including Moss Pink (Phlox subulata, S1S2), Great Plains Ladies'- tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum, S3), Three-awn (Aristida longespica var. geniculata, S2) and Panic Grass (Panicum sphaerocarpon, S3).

A study of prairie fens by The Nature Conservancy in the United States recognized four types, which were distinct based upon floristic and geographical characters. These types are:

Lower Great Lakes Type
Prairie - Forest Border Type
Northern Great Plains Type
Ozark Type

The Ontario prairie fens belong to the Lower Great Lakes Type, which are also found in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The Ontario fens contain 64% of the species which characterize or are constant within this community type. Based on some available species lists, the Ontario prairie fens support 54% of the typical and characteristic species of northeastern Illinois fens, and 59% of those species reported from Ohio prairie fens.

There are also other unusual perched seepage fen types in southern Ontario, but which lack the presence of prairie grasses. For example, seepage fens from near London (Komoka), and also along the Grand River, can be dominated by species such as Sterile Sedge, Prairie Loosestrife, Ohio Goldenrod and Tufted Hairgrass This vegetation has only recently been discovered and recognized in southern Ontario, and has not received any formal study. Considering the interesting assemblage of plant species and ecological factors which maintain them here, and the possibility that rare and disjunct fauna may also be present, these communities are definitely worthy of scientific study and conservation protection.

References

Bakowsky, W.D.  Field Notes for Brantford Prairie Fen, June 9, 19, 
  September 13, 1992; August 8, 1993.

Comer, P. pers. comm. Community Ecologist, Michigan Natural Features 
  Inventory, Lansing, Michigan.

Faber-Langendoen, D. pers. comm. Regional Ecologist, Conservation 
  Science Department, Midwest Region, The Nature Conservancy, Minneapolis, 
  Minnesota.

Moran, R.C. 1981. Prairie fens in northeastern Illinois: Floristic 
  composition and disturbance. in The Prairie Peninsula - In the "Shadow" 
  of Transeau: Proceedings of the Sixth North American Prairie Conference 
  Stuckey, R.L. and K.J. Reese. 1981.

Oldham, M.J. 1994. Natural heritage resources of Ontario: Rare 
  vascular plants. Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, 
  Peterborough, Ontario.

Oldham, M.J. Field Notes for Komoka Seepage Fen, July 16, 1993

Sutherland, D.A. Field Notes for Turkey Point Prairie Fen, September 
  19, 1992.

Sutherland, D.A. Field Notes for Vittoria Prairie Fen, September 7, 
  1992.

Stuckey, R.L., and G.L. Denny. 1981. Prairie fens and bog fens in 
  Ohio: Floristic similarities, differences, and geographical affinities. 
  in Geobotany II. 1981. Romans, R.C. ed. Plenum Publishing Corporation.

White, M.A. and K.A. Chapman. 19??. Vegetation Analysis as Part of an 
  Integrated System of Information Management for Protection and 
  Stewardship of Midwestern Plant Communities. The Nature Conservancy, 
  Midwest Heritage Task Force, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

W.D. Bakowsky
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STEWARDSHIP

Natural Areas Manual Files

Since the publication of the last newsletter, the volume of hard-copy information on Ontario's natural areas housed at the NHIC has increased exponentially. Thanks to John Riley's donation of the MNR "former" Central Region ANSI files, the NHIC now possesses the most up-to-date information on provincial and regional life science ANSIs, provincial earth science ANSIs, parks, and other areas of biological importance in that region. Also recently arrived are boxes upon boxes of literature on natural areas and biology in northern Ontario, compiled (and photocopied) by Timber E.A. staff, Sue Tschirky and Bert Ffrench, in 1995.

The NHIC's natural areas information is filed geographically, by map number and the UTM centroid of a site. The natural areas information is maintained electronically in the Natural Areas Database (NADb). A longer-term goal (or summer student project) is to cite all literature contained in the manual files in the NADb's "References" database. When this is accomplished, it will be possible for NHIC clients and partners with access to the NADb to find out what materials are available at the NHIC on a site-specific basis, without the inconvenience of trying to reach individuals by telephone.

Natural Areas Database (NADb)

Various data imports to the NADb have greatly increased the information contained in the database (see "Systems" report in this newsletter). The NHIC Stewardship Ecologist has been updating, correcting and adding information on area types, locations, names, alternate names, relationships to other areas, and status designations of most of the more than 2,000 sites now stored in the NADb.

International Alvar Conservation Initiative

The NADb has been used to store summaries of data gathered during the 1995 field surveys of alvars on Manitoulin Island and the Bruce Peninsula. Information stored on individual alvar sites includes location data, vegetation and physiography summaries, EO lists, disturbance history, threats, ownership, management, contacts and sources. Alvar site information is electronically linked to data on parks, ANSIs and other managed areas that overlap with the alvars.

Great Lakes Biomonitoring Project

The NADb was used to create sample site checksheets for two benchmark biomonitoring sites, Rondeau and Presqu'ile, for the proposed Great Lakes Biomonitoring Project. The project is a collaborative effort between Environment Canada, The Nature Conservancy of Canada and the NHIC, and will likely involve a number of additional agencies and individuals. One of the first steps in this project has been to compile background source data, and to identify a number of benchmark sites for biomonitoring. The preliminary list consists of many of the highest quality wetlands on the Ontario side of the lower Great Lakes.

To date, the NHIC's role in the Great Lakes Wetlands Biomonitoring Project has been to compile data on and to produce maps of the vegetation communities, rare species, park zone boundaries, wetlands and other significant features of the two sample benchmark sites. Considerable planning remains to be done regarding biomonitoring methodology, selection of indicator species, selection of study sites, scope and duration of the project, and the roles and responsibilities of the collaborating agencies, institutions and individuals.

Stewardship and Information Requests

The NHIC is now receiving a steady flow of requests for information on natural areas. The requests range from queries on species lists of specific sites to information on entire ecosystems and watersheds. For example, inquiries have included: Point Abino ANSI report (Nature Conservancy of Canada); Christian Channel ANSI data/contacts (Nature Conservancy of Canada); Redhill Valley Inventory rare species (consultant report); regional ANSI boundaries in Greater Toronto Area (MNR); ANSIs in Site District 6-8 (consultant report); Paris, Galt and Moffat Moraines Earth Science ANSI (MNR); and Ecological Space Management Strategy of the Trent-Severn watershed (Trent-Severn Waterway Commission).

Looking Ahead:

Delhi to Simcoe Prairies
At least 35 prairie species flourish in the floristically-rich prairie remnants known as the "Delhi to Simcoe Prairies" along a railway right-of-way in Regional Municipality of Haldimand - Norfolk. The site is dominated by Little Bluestem, Butterfly-weed, Bush-clover, Wild Bergamot and numerous other prairie species. A number of species, some provincially rare, are present at the site, and are not found in any other intact prairie on the Norfolk sandplain. The NHIC has just learned that CN has abandoned this railway route and consequently will be relinquishing its title to these lands. The NHIC will work closely with CN, local conservationists, federal, provincial and municipal agencies and non-government organizations to ensure that these highly significant prairie remnants are preserved.

Gap Analysis for the Conservation of Ontario's Rarest Elements
As the mapping of element occurrences progresses, it will become possible to pinpoint many of Ontario's areas of highest conservation priority, some of which may have been overlooked by past methods. Through a kind of "gap analysis", NHIC staff can examine maps for concentrations of significant element occurrences, beginning with globally endangered species (G1's) and working hierarchically down the list to provincially rare species (S3's); the EO maps can then be overlaid with maps showing park, nature reserve, ANSI and land ownership boundaries, to determine which species are already well protected within parks or other managed areas, and which sites are in the greatest need of immediate conservation attention

With its focus on rare elements, the NHIC method will complement the methodology used by the MNR to identify Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) and candidate nature reserves. ANSI identification is weighted more heavily on representation of characteristic physiographic and vegetation patterns in a given site district. The combination of gap analyses for rare species sites and ANSI selection methods should ensure that the vast majority of Ontario's key natural areas are identified. Once such sites have been identified, the NHIC will work with conservation-oriented government agencies and non-government organizations towards strategic land acquisition, conservation easements, and other stewardship and management activities that will ensure the preservation of the province's most imperilled biota.

J.V. Jalava
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Systems News

Database Imports

The Natural Areas database which was mentioned in the our last newsletter continues to grow at a fast pace, thanks in large part to data imports performed over the last few months. The database now contains information on over 2000 natural areas in Ontario. Data recently imported includes information from the Ecological Survey of the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve, and Life Science Areas in Site District 4E-3. Both of these MNR reports were originally in WordPerfect format.

Rare plant and animal occurrences also continue to be imported. Routines have been written in Microsoft ACCESS which display existing BCD Element Occurrence (EO) records as well as incoming data records from other sources. For example, the plant import routine has three sections: the main section showing BCD information, and two sub-sections containing potentially new information from the Atlas of Rare Vascular Plants of Ontario (ARVPO), and records from the personal plant databases of Mike Oldham and others. Our botanist is able to review all the information for a species at one time, assigning each valid incoming record to an existing EO, or marking them as new occurrences. The marked records are then imported using various techniques and magic tricks.

A similar routine has been created to import the ORBBP database. In both cases valuable historic observations (e.g.. multiple sightings/collections over time) are saved in a separate Observations file which can be linked to the main EO file in the future.

Software Development

Software has been developed to enter Community Element Occurrences. It consists of two parts: basic BCD-like EO information (location, dates, basic biological and habitat information), and community-specific information which BCD does not yet support. The community-specific fields follow standards produced by TNC, and include items such as vegetation structure and composition, soils information, and topographic position.

The software is working well and incorporates many Windows screen and report features which make it efficient to use.

G. VanDrunen

NHIC logo

Careful readers of the NHIC newsletter may have noticed a small change to our logo. The name beneath the logo has been changed from Hymenoxys acaulis to Hymenoxys herbacea. Lakeside Daisy was chosen as the NHIC logo because it is an attractive plant of a rare habitat type (alvar), with all but one of its native occurrences in Ontario (see NHIC Newsletter 1(1):3, 1994). Most literature covering the flora of Ontario calls this plant Hymenoxys acaulis (e.g. Morton and Venn, 1990). Hymenoxys acaulis is a widespread western species, with variety glabra being an endemic Great Lakes variety. Recent studies however have suggested that variety glabra is in fact a full species, whose correct name is Hymenoxys herbacea (Cusick, 1991). We are now following other recent authors (e.g. Gleason and Cronquist, 1991; Kartesz, 1994) in considering this plant a full species.

References

Cusick, A.W. 1991. Hymenoxys herbacea (Asteraceae): an endemic 
  species of the Great Lakes region. Rhodora 93:238-241.

Gleason, H.A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of 
  Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Edition. New York 
  Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. 910 pp.
 
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of 
  the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Second Edition. Timber Press, 
  Portland, Oregon. Two Volumes.

Morton, J.K. and J.M. Venn. 1990. A Checklist of the Flora of 
  Ontario: Vascular Plants. Biology Series No. 34, University of Waterloo, 
  Waterloo, Ontario. 218 pp.

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News and Notes

NHIC - Sir Sandford Fleming College GIS Project

In November 1995, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources signed an agreement with Sir Sandford Fleming College and Trent University, to form a mutual partnership...

Peter Sorrill and Wasyl Bakowsky of the NHIC collaborated with Sir Sandford Fleming College students Dennis Fraser and Geordan Harvey on a project which utilized the capabilities of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to predict the occurrence of rare vegetation types.

The project was titled "Using Geographic Information Systems to Predict the Locations of Prairie and Savannah Vegetation Remnants in Brant County, Ontario, Canada".

Although most of southern Ontario was forested prior to European settlement, open prairie and savannah communities were locally extensive in portions of Ontario. For example, it is estimated that this vegetation occupied 45 km2 near Windsor, 200 km2 near Chatham, 200 km2 south of Rice Lake, and 300 km2 between Cambridge and Long Point. Today, virtually all of this vegetation has been obliterated, with less than 1% remaining.

Dennis and Geordan used site and environmental information from known prairie and savannah sites which were provided by the NHIC. These included soils, locations of abandoned postglacial shorelines, topographic location, etc. These were overlain with other geographic information such as forest cover and land use cover. Depending on the combination of these features after they were all overlaid, potential sites were identified as high, medium, or low potential for prairie and savannah.

The students were able to provide the NHIC with a copy of their report which outlined and detailed the methodology and results of their project, and also provided a 1:50,000 map copy which indicated areas which potentially could support this rare vegetation. NHIC biologists plan to visit these sites this summer to ground truth these predicted sites and see what treasures they may hold!

Results of the annual COSEWIC meeting

Each year the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) meets in Ottawa to decide on additions, deletions, and category changes for the national list of Endangered, Threatened and Vulnerable species. This year five Ontario species were added to the COSEWIC list and four were removed from it. Two plants, Goat's Rue (Tephrosia virginiana) and White-topped Aster (Aster divaricatus), were designated as Threatened, and three animals, Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina), Wood Turtle (Clemmys inculpta), and Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), received a Vulnerable designation. In addition, Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) was upgraded from Vulnerable to Endangered, and four Ontario birds were taken off the list (all were formerly Vulnerable): Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii), Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator), Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa), and Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis).

New OBAR Coordinator

Long Point Bird Observatory/Bird Studies Canada has announced that effectively immediately, Vince Deschamps will assume the role of Volunteer Projects Coordinator, with responsibility for the Ontario Birds At Risk program. Vince comes to the program with extensive international experience in conservation biology, having worked most recently with the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre, near Midland, Ontario. Vince assumes the title from Audrey Heagy, who will become Birdlife International's Important Bird Areas Technical Coordinator. The NHIC looks forward to working with Vince and wishes Audrey well in her new position.

Survey of Southern Ontario Sand Barrens for Tachyspex pechumani.

Sandy opening in Red Oak - White Pine Dune Savannah,
a habitat of Tachysphex pechumani
The NHIC has been providing assistance to Dr. Frank Kurczewski of the State University of New York (Syracuse) in a search for suitable habitat and relict populations of the globally rare (G3) Antennal Waving Wasp (Tachysphex pechumani). Zoologist Don Sutherland and Community ecologist Wasyl Bakowsky have been providing information on the location and status of oak-pine sand barren habitats in southern Ontario. This summer Dr. Kurcewski will conduct surveys of sand barren habitats in southern Ontario for this rare wasp. This small, grasshopper-hunting digger wasp faces many of the same threats confronting the more celebrated Karner Blue, Frosted Elfin and Persius Duskywing butterflies, primarily through habitat loss. Although the species probably had a more extensive range historically, it is now known only from sections of the lower peninsula of Michigan, the 'Oak Openings' of northern Ohio, a single site in southwestern Ontario, and the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve. Formerly a stronghold for the species, in New Jersey the range and number of known occurrences have declined by nearly 50% since the 1940's.

Publications

Goodban, A.G. 1995. The Vascular Plant Flora of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth, Ontario. Hamilton Region Conservation Authority, Ancaster, Ontario. 86 pp.

Hamilton-Wentworth now joins the growing list of Ontario municipalities having an up-to-date flora. Anthony Goodban's checklist includes 1269 species, 15 additional subspecies and varieties, and 20 hybrids for a total of 1304 taxa, 906 of which are native (70%). Of use to local planners, conservationists, and naturalists will be the information on locally rare and uncommon species. An indication of the heavy human pressures on the Hamilton-Wentworth landscape is the fact that 38% of the native flora is considered rare (known from 1 to 5 post-1949 sites). Copies of this publication are available for $20.00 from Flora of Hamilton-Wentworth, c/o Hamilton Region Conservation Authority, P.O. Box 7099, 838 Mineral Springs Road, Ancaster, Ontario L9G 3L3.