The term "gap analysis" is widely used today in conservation circles to denote a process by which priority areas for protection or conservation action are identified, usually using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. The term "gap" is used with the aim to identify conservation "gaps", that is, elements or sites of concern that are currently not "protected". Gap analysis is a step-wise process that can be undertaken at a variety of scales for a variety of ecological themes. An example of gap analysis methodology, used by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) for the Lands for Life exercise, was summarised in NHIC's Winter 1997/1998 Newsletter.

Early in 1998, the NHIC developed a Terms of Reference for a multi-year data maintenance and gap analysis project for southern Ontario, in recognition of the need to have current, high-quality information to conduct informed land use planning and conservation planning in Canada's most heavily-populated and heavily-developed region. The Terms of Reference were intended for use in soliciting support for the project from a variety of agencies and organisations with an interest in conservation in southern Ontario. The concept was met with considerable enthusiasm and support "in principle" from various MNR branches and the non-government sector. However, in these times of fiscal restraint, funding for the project was difficult to acquire.

The project did get underway, but in its inaugural year it was more limited in its thematic and geographic scope than was initially anticipated. However, the funding that was received, and other projects that contributed to the enhancement of the southern Ontario natural heritage databases, meant that considerable progress was made in 1998/99. Furthermore, parallel and complementary projects will continue to enhance the southern Ontario databases in 1999/2000, meaning that a credible gap analysis may be possible in the not-too-distant future.

The following 1998/99 projects contributed to the Southern Ontario Data Maintenance/Gap Analysis Project:

Niagara Peninsula Data Maintenance/Gap Analysis Project

In May 1998, NHIC received $25K from its home branch, the Natural Resources Information Branch. Collaborative work was done with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) to gather and update information in what was identified as a biodiversity-rich but data-poor portion of southern Ontario. Data was gathered at the NPCA offices, and site inspections and element occurrence checks were conducted at NPCA properties by Madeline Austen, Helen Godschalk, and Jennifer Line. This exercise will provide valuable information for NPCA to manage their lands for species and communities of concern, and identifies element occurrences that are currently under potentially "protective" public ownership. This project is described in more detail in the Fall 1998 NHIC Newsletter and results will be summarised in a future newsletter.

Natural Resources & Values Information System (NRVIS)

During the 1998/99 fiscal year, quality-checking and loading data into the Element Occurrences and Natural Areas databases has continued through the support of MNR's Natural Resources Information Branch (NRIB). Because a great deal of natural heritage information has been gathered for southern Ontario, and because the majority of Ontario's elements of concern occur there, most of the data loading has been for this part of the province. A direct result of this Branch support, and a major accomplishment in 1998, was the "completion" of data entry for all Vulnerable, Threatened and Endangered vascular plants, reptiles, amphibians and most bird species (see Fall 1998 NHIC Newsletter). The enhanced data set will directly contribute to gap analysis for southern Ontario.

NRVIS digitisation of ANSIs, wetlands and numerous other Natural Heritage and Natural Resource data sets

Province-wide digitisation of Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI), evaluated wetland and parks boundaries for NRVIS, the first phase of which was completed in 1998/99, will be an essential resource for conducting a gap analysis.

Collaboration with Environment Canada and MNR Natural Heritage Section to complete Data Loading for evaluated wetlands

The completion of data loading for evaluated wetlands in Ontario, thanks in large part to a financial contribution from Environment Canada, makes a large data set electronically available for use in gap analysis. The wetlands database now contains thousands of species records and site data that would otherwise be difficult to access and apply.

Federation of Ontario Naturalists Heritage Woodlands Project

Site inspections, analyses, site summaries and digitisation of site boundaries for the Federation of Ontario Naturalists' (FON) Heritage Woodlands Project for Southern Ontario, were conducted by FON contractors, Brendon Larson and Helen Godschalk, using NHIC facilities and databases. Data from the project are stored at NHIC, and can be used to populate the NHIC Community Element Occurrence and Natural Areas databases with records for the best-quality upland forest sites in southern Ontario. This will be a very useful data set for the gap analysis.

Other Ecological Theme Studies

Data continued to be entered, and site boundaries digitised, for the International Alvar Conservation Initiative and the prairie and savannah theme study. These data sets will be integral to identifying best sites for protection of these rare habitats in the southern Ontario gap analysis project.

The following projects, confirmed for 1999/2000, will continue the enhancement of the NHIC database, and will improve NHIC's capacity to undertake a gap analysis for southern Ontario:

Priority sites for Conservation Action in Ontario

Over the past three decades, many efforts have identified sites of ecological importance in Ontario, employing a variety of criteria, methods and data sets and applying them at different scales. These efforts have been spearheaded by international, federal, provincial, regional and local agencies, and non-government organisations, and have resulted in a panoply of designations, ranging from world biosphere reserves to municipal environmentally significant areas. With the development of a provincial natural areas database at the NHIC, the great majority of these identified areas of ecological significance are now electronically documented and georeferenced. Locations of rare species and vegetation communities are also documented in the NHIC element occurrences (EO) database, using standard methodology and database structure. "Priority Sites for Conservation Action in Ontario: Applying the Provincial Natural Heritage Database" is the first project to integrate and apply, province-wide, the NHIC natural areas and EO databases. Sites will be prioritised for each ecological site region in the province, based on the presence of high-quality (i.e., "viable") occurrences of imperiled, rare, representative and endemic elements. An algorithm will be developed that will weight site ranking towards high-concentrations of high-quality occurrences of globally-imperiled elements, with lower ranking for sites containing fewer occurrences, lower predicted viability of occurrences, and/or only elements which are common globally but rare in Ontario. Priority sites lists will be developed for the whole province and for each of its ecological regions, to help focus conservation efforts at multiple scales. This exercise will form the basis for more fine-tuned gap analysis for southern Ontario.

Representation and conservation of rare plants in Ontario's Carolinian Zone Provincial and National Parks

Using the Natural Heritage Information Centre's (NHIC) Element Occurrence (EO) and Natural Areas (NADb) databases, the occurrences of provincially rare vascular plants in provincial and national parks in Ontario's Carolinian Zone will be assessed. Based on global and provincial species conservation priority ranks (G1, G2, S1, S2, etc.), formal risk categories [Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Vulnerable, Threatened, and Endangered designations], the proportion of the occurrences of provincially rare plants in this zone that are in parks will be determined. In addition, occurrences based on park class (Nature Reserve, Recreation, etc.) and based on park size will also be evaluated. Our knowledge about the occurrence of rare plants in parks is often based on inventories done two or three decades ago, and for many species information is unknown on the plant's persistence in the park, locations, population sizes and degree of protection. This project will help to identify such knowledge gaps, as well as protection gaps. This information will be invaluable for a gap analysis for southern Ontario.

The Big Picture: Cores and Connections in Canada's Carolinian Zone

The primary goal of this project is to produce mapping that identifies the essential core natural areas, existing corridors, and potentially restorable links between the cores in one of Canada's most imperiled ecosystems. The Carolinian Canada Coalition has received a grant to lead this project, which is described in the Fall 1998 NHIC Newsletter. In kind contributions have been committed by MNR (NHIC) and Parks Canada. The project's geographic focus and its application of NHIC and NRVIS data, and GIS technology, will contribute directly to NHIC's capacity to conduct a gap analysis for southern Ontario. ;

Jarmo V. Jalava

"These plains form a beautiful natural park, finely diversified with hill and dale, covered with a lovely green sward, enamelled with a variety of the most exquisite flowers, and planted, as if by Nature's own hand, with groups of feathery pines, oaks, balsams, poplars and silver birches."

Description of Peterborough, Ontario, by Catherine Parr Traill (1836)

Prairies and savannahs are open vegetation types dominated by herbaceous vegetation, especially grasses. Prairies are clearly dominated by grasses and herbs; although some trees may be present, these have at most 25% canopy cover. Savannahs have a higher treed component, usually between 25-35% canopy (Lee et al., 1998). Due to the greater shading in savannahs, forest species are present to a greater extent than in more open prairies.

This vegetation is adapted to fire, and is renewed by it. Fire removes or sets back the growth of woody species and fire-intolerant forest species. In the absence of fire, shrub and sapling density may increase, and these open communities become more closed and shaded, losing many of the sun-loving species which characterize this vegetation. Prairies and savannahs are also adapted to other stresses, including drought, excessive moisture, and low nutrient levels.

It is a widely held belief that the original landscape of southern Ontario was a vast unbroken forest, occasionally interrupted by scattered lakes and open wetlands. However, information contained within early diaries and travellers accounts, as well as in early survey records, indicates that there also existed locally extensive areas of open uplands, typically described as 'plains', 'oak plains' and 'oak and pine plains'. In some cases, the descriptions of the tree species are modified with the term 'scrub'. Work by the NHIC in mapping this vegetation from these sources has revealed 27 different types of plains vegetation in southern Ontario.

It is reasonable to conclude that there existed on the landscape a very diverse mosaic of tallgrass vegetation, ranging from open grasslands on the most extreme sites (in terms of wetness, dryness, fire frequency), to savannahs and even more closed woodlands on those sites which were not as wet, dry, or frequently burned. Areas described in early accounts as 'scrub oak plains' and 'scrub oak and pine plains' were probably originally savannahs that experienced an increase in fire frequency, or intensity, sufficient to knock back tree growth and result in smaller "scrubby" tree form from basal sprouting or "suckering".

The most extensive areas of plains vegetation occurred in an almost continuous band along the Norfolk Sand Plain from Turkey Point norhtward to Brantford and Cambridge, thence eastward to Hamilton. Other large extensive areas occurred along the nearshore areas of Lake St. Clair (Walpole Island and Chatham area) and the Detroit River (Windsor and Amherstburg), as well as the Oak Ridges Moraine in the vicinity of Rice Lake. This vegetation was also prominent near London, St. Thomas, Sarnia, Grand Bend, and along the Lake Ontario shoreline from Hamilton to Scarborough. It is estimated that approximately 82000 ha of this vegetation was present in southern Ontario at the time of European settlement.

Today, this vegetation has virtually disappeared from our landscape. The largest remaining example, over 1,500 ha, is found in the Grand Bend - Port Franks area. A further 450 and 220 ha remain at Windsor and Walpole Island First Nation respectively. These three large sites represent 2.6% of the estimated original extent in Ontario. If the remaining remnants are taken into account, less than 3% is still remaining. Most examples of this vegetation are less than an 0.5 ha in size, and can be more properly referred to as remnants (Bakowsky, 1993).

Globally, approximately 99.8% of the tallgrass prairie in the American midwest (Robertson et al., 1997) and 99.8% of tallgrass savannah (Nuzzo, 1986) has been lost. No other vegetation type in North America (including Ontario!) has been so reduced in extent. Clearly, tallgrass prairie, savannah and woodland vegetation is one of the most threatened ecosystems in the province.

In Ontario, these vegetation types are distinguished by a combination of factors, including soils and site moisture, physiognomy, and dominant species (Bakowsky, 1996).

Dry prairies and savannahs occur on sites which are well to excessively drained, such as outwash sands, sands over gravels, aeolian sands, stony moraines and kame moraines. Typical soils are sands and sandy loams such as Burford, Bondhead, Dundonald, Fox, Plainfield and Pontypool, as well as Dumfries stony loam.

In general, Dry Tallgrass Prairies are dominated by grasses such as Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) and Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Rare grasses such as Needle Grass (Stipa spartea) and Side-oats Gramina (Bouteloua curtipendula) may also be dominant. Characteristic forb species include Thimbleweed (Anemone cylindrica), Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia), Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum), Bluets (Houstonia longifolia), Rock Sandwort (Minuartia michauxii), Prairie Cinquefoil (Potentilla arguta) and Scribner's Panic Grass (Panicum oligosanthes). There are also shrubs such as New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus spp.), Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica), Sand Cherry (Prunus pumila) and Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus).

Dry savannahs may have a combination of dry prairie species and more shade-tolerant forest species present. Two types are recognized in southern Ontario. The Dry Black Oak Tallgrass Savannah is a deciduous type, while the Dry Black Oak - White Pine Tallgrass Savannah represents a mixed type. Other tree species which are associated with these types include White Oak (Quercus alba), Red Oak (Q. rubra), Hill's Oak (Q. ellipsoidalis), Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) and Red Pine (Pinus resinosa).

More shade-tolerant understory species which are present in savannahs include Hairy Bedstraw (Galium pilosum), Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus), Pale-leaved Wood Sunflower (H. strumosus), Yellow Pimpernel (Taenidia integerrima) and Wood Vetch (Vicia caroliniana).

Moist - fresh prairie and savannah in southern Ontario is restricted to postglacial lakeplains, particularly areas where 1-3 m of sand overlies impermeable clay. Soils at the moister end of the spectrum include Granby, Colwood and Tuscola sandy loams, while fresh or mesic soil types are Plainfield, Fox, Tuscola sands and sandy loams. These sites exhibit a characteristic moisture regime, with spring flooding followed by drier periods in the summer. At some sites such as Walpole Island, the spring flooding is closely tied to Great Lakes water levels. This combination of flooding and drying hampers the establishment of woody vegetation (Comer et. al., 1995), particularly when combined with fire.

The Moist - Fresh Tallgrass Prairie Type is dominated by the same grasses as those on dry sites, but they usually grow taller due to higher moisture availability. In wetter portions, additional species which may be present include Prairie Cord Grass (Spartina pectinata) and Canada Bluejoint (Calamagrostis canadensis). Some of the common and characteristic forbs include Hog Peanut (Apios americana), Tall Tickseed (Coreopsis tripteris), Dense Blazing-star (Liatris spicata), Virginia Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum), Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum) and Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea). Ferns are also prominent in the understory, especially Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis), Marsh Fern (Thelypteris palustris), Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) and Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum). Common shrubs include Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) and American Hazel (Corylus americana).

Two moist - fresh savannah types are recognized. The Moist - Fresh Black Oak Tallgrass Savannah is the less dry type, and occurs on gently undulating or patterned landscapes where small changes in elevation exhibit marked differences in soil moisture. Consequently, the drier portions are dominated by Black Oak and White Oak, while Pin Oak (Q. palustris) and Swamp White Oak (Q. bicolor) may be found in low wet spots. The Moist - Fresh Pin Oak - Bur Oak Tallgrass Savannah Type develops on more moist sites, and may also include some Black Oak and White Oak on the slightly drier rises. Other tree species which are found on moist - fresh sites include Pignut Hickory (Carya glabra) and Big Shellbark Hickory (C. laciniosa).

Some characteristic herbaceous understory species of moist - fresh savannahs which are more shade tolerant include Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa), False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum racemosum), Black Snakeroot (Sanicula marilandica), Upright Carrion Flower (Smilax ecirrhata), and Virginia Knotweed (Polygonum virginianum).

This vegetation hosts many species of plants and animals that are considered to be rare in Ontario. There are 731 rare vascular plant taxa in the province (Oldham, 1999), of these, 160 (21.9%) occur in southern Ontario prairies and savannahs, which is a relatively high proportion. There are 50 species of plants which are ranked either S1, SX and SH, these are listed in Table 1. Additionally, there are 58 and 49 plant species ranked as S2 and S3 respectively.

A number of these plants are considered to be endangered according to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), including Gattinger's Agalinis, Skinners's Agalinis, Small White Lady's-slipper, White Prairie Gentian, Slender Bush Clover, and Pink Milkwort.

Many rare species of fauna are also present. The rarest of these (S1, SX, SH) are listed in Table 1, 1 reptile (Oldham, 1998), 5 birds, and 19 insect species (D.A. Sutherland, pers comm.). A number of the bird species, including Lark Sparrow, Greater Prairie Chicken and Bewick's Wren, no longer breed in Ontario, let alone on any prairie or savannah sites here (D.A. Sutherland, pers. comm.).

A number of the insect species listed are only known (or were known) from single sites in Ontario, including Barrens Daggermoth, Aweme Borer, Glorius Flower Moth, Frosted Elfin, the leafhoppers Chlorotettix fallax, Graminella oquaka, Hecalus flavidus, Paraphlepsius turpiculus, Xerophloea peltata, and the planthopper Fitchiella robertsoni (D.A. Sutherland, pers. comm.).

It is important to note that many of these insects are essentially immobile, and extremely susceptible to burning, which is why it is recommended that portions of any site being managed by a controlled burn remain unburnt, to serve as a refuge for such species.

In 1997, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and World Wildlife Fund Canada began a program to prepare Ontario's first vegetation community-based recovery plan, forming a Tallgrass Communities Advisory Team, and hiring a consultant, Lindsay Rodger, to prepare the actual plan. Because so many rare plant and animal species occur in these communities, it was impractical to develop recovery plans on a species-by-species approach. By developing a plan to recover, reconstruct and conserve a representative network of tallgrass communities, the full complement of flora and fauna present within them could be protected in a cost-effective and timely manner.

The plan (Rodger, 1998) identified eight goals and provided objectives to achieve each goal. Additionally, an implementation schedule was devised, listing tasks tied to timelines, to ensure that goals and objectives are being met.

One of the most important goals has been achieved, which is the formation of the Ontario Tallgrass Prairie Association (also known as Tallgrass Ontario) to guide and evaluate the progress of this recovery plan. Don Gordon has been hired on a part-time basis as the Program Coordinator for Tallgrass Ontario, and the first newlsetter, the Bluestem Banner, was recently mailed out. Anyone interested in joining Tallgrass Ontario, or participating in any restoration projects, getting the newsletter, submitting project information etc. is welcome to contact Don at tallgrass@carolinian.org or (519)873-4631.

References:

Bakowsky, W.D. 1993. A Review and Assessment of Prairie, Oak Savannah and Woodland in Site Regions 7 and 6 (Southern Region). 89 pp. + appendices. [Report by Gore and Storrie Ltd. for Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Southern Region, Aurora.]

Bakowsky, W.D. 1996. Natural Heritage Resources of Ontario: Vegetation Communities of Southern Ontario. Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, Ontario.

Comer, P.J., W.A. MacKinnon, M.L. Rabe, D.L. Cuthrell, M.R. Penskar and D.A. Albert. 1995. A Survey of Lakeplain Prairie in Michigan. Report prepared by Michigan Natural Features Inventory for Coastal Management Program, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Lansing, Michigan. 234 pp.

Lee, H.T., W.D. Bakowsky, J. Riley, J. Bowles, M. Puddister, P. Uhlig and S. McMurray. 1998. Ecological Land Classification for Southern Ontario: First Approximation and its Application. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Southcentral Science Section, Science Development and Transfer Branch. SCSS Field Guide FG-02.

Nuzzo, V.A. 1986. Extent and Status of Midwest Oak Savanna: Presettlement and 1985. Natural Areas Journal 6(2):6-36.

Oldham, M.J. 1997. Natural Heritage Resources of Ontario: Reptiles and Amphibians. November 1977. Canadian Association of Herpetologists (CAH) Bulletin 11(2):3-9.

Oldham, M.J. 1999. Natural Heritage Resources of Ontario: Rare Vascular Plants. Third Edition. Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, Ontario.

Robertson, K.R., R.C. Anderson, M.W. Schwartz. 1997. The Tallgrass Prairie Mosaic. p 55-87. in Schwartz. M.W. ed. Conservation in Highly Fragmented Landscapes. Chapman and Hall.

Rodger, L. 1998. Tallgrass Communities of Southern Ontario: A Recovery Plan. Report prepared for World Wildlife Fund Canada and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. 66 pp.

Traill, C.P. 1836. The backwoods of Canada. Charles Knight, London. Reprinted in 1989 by Mclelland and Stewart Inc., Toronto. 301 pp. ;

Wasyl D. Bakowsky

The Evolution of a Prairie Landscape Over Time In Raleigh Township, Kent County

Over the summer of 1998, the NHIC developed mapping which identified the extent of prairie and savannah vegetation in the pre-European settlement landscape of southern Ontario. Information for this reconstruction was obtained primarily from the original Crown survey records produced between the 1790's and the 1870's. These field notes, plans and letters also revealed other interesting findings, particularly with regard to the evolution of a prairie landscape over time in Kent County.

There are numerous indications that the cultivated northwest portion of Raleigh Township between Chatham and Tilbury East, commonly referred to as the "Raleigh Plains", was once occupied by a rather extensive prairie. For instance, maps of the area list the community of Prairie Siding along the Thames River, and the main drainage channel through the middle of the township is called the Raleigh Plains Drain. Of particular interest, however, is contrary evidence provided by the earliest surveyor to visit the area, A. Iredell, in 1796, who described the site in a letter to the Surveyor General as "Marsh, in general very wet with reed and other grasses from six to nine feet high..." As shown in Figure 1, his field notes of the same year describe a massive impassable marsh which extends through almost all of the Northwest part of the township of Raleigh with only four small, but distinct, patches of what he describes as periodically burned "open plains" around the periphery.

Subsequent surveys chronicle a rather sudden shift from marshland to plains in Raleigh Twp. in response to human intervention. Beginning in the early 19th century, a series of "drains" were installed throughout the area, including the "Raleigh Plains Drain" which appears on a plan drawn by William Billy in 1848 extending through what is then shown as dry, non-wooded and non-cultivated land.

Following draining of the marsh, the extent of the plains expanded rapidly. In 1816, William Burwell describes the former "marsh very wet, half leg deep in water, reed grass and flags higher than a persons head" on the 2nd and 3rd concessions of Raleigh Township as "open meadow". Additionally, in his survey of Tilbury East conducted in 1824, Burwell notes new "open plains" along the boundary with Raleigh Twp. from concession 3 through 7. Finally, a municipal survey conducted in 1874 by Wm. MacGeorge "describing a survey of the Raleigh Plains" reveals fairly extensive areas of cultivated land along with large areas of "open plains" near the "Raleigh Plains Drain". While the field notes generally are not complete, the approximate extent of these plains has been inferred (see Figure 2).

Based on this information, it would appear that the "Raleigh Plains" resulted from the draining of the marsh in the early 1800's. It is conceivable that the spread of a fire adapted "dry plains" or prairie ecosystem originated from the adjacent seed sources described in 1796 and was aided by the periodic fall burning of the marsh grass and plains noted by Iredell in his 1796 letter. The plains then likely persisted until farm development overtook the area in the mid 1800's.

References:

MacGeorge, W. G. 1874. Municipal survey #352. OMNR, Lands and Surveys Branch.

Billy, W. 1848. Plan of the Raleigh Plains. OMNR, Lands and Surveys Branch.

Burwell, W. 1816. Field notes of a survey of Raleigh Township. Vol. 13 (453). OMNR, Lands and Surveys Branch.

Burwell, W. 1824. Field notes of a survey of the Township of Tilbury East. Field note book#664. OMNR, Lands and Surveys Branch.

Iredell, A. 1796. Field notes of a survey of Raleigh Township. Vol. 2 (141-143). OMNR, Lands and Surveys Branch.

Iredell, A. 1796. Letter A. Iredell to Surveyor General's office accompanying plan of part of Raleigh and Dover. OMNR, Lands and Surveys Branch. ;

Patrick McLean

(Ed.: Patrick was an NHIC summer student employed in the summer of 1998 to map the original extent of prairie and savannah vegetation in Southern Ontario based on land survey records)

One of the benefits the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC) derives from being part of the network of conservation data centres is being able to use the standardized protocols and ranks used throughout the hemisphere. Each individual data centre, such as the NHIC, assigns subnational ranks (Sranks) to plants, animals, and vegetation communities within its jurisdiction. Subnational ranks from throughout the range of a species, combined with input from experts, is used to develop global ranks (Granks). Both global and subnational ranks are frequently updated when information from the data centre network suggests a rank needs revising upward or downward. Global ranks are extremely important in assigning conservation priorities, in fact, global rank is one criterion used by the province's Committee on the Status of Species at Risk (COSSARO) to decide which species should be recommended for addition to Ontario's official Vulnerable, Threatened, and Endangered species list.

Because the province has been entirely glaciated several times there are very few species endemic to (only found in) Ontario. In addition, because of its mid-continent position, most species which are rare within the boundaries of the province are common to the south, north, east or west. Of the 732 vascular plants currently considered provincially rare and tracked by the NHIC, only 31 (4%) are globally rare (see table). These species are ranked G1, G2, or G3 by The Nature Conservancy and generally have fewer than 100 populations world-wide. In compiling the table below, taxonomically questionable species, whose Granks are followed by a 'Q' (e.g., several Ontario species of hawthorn, genus Crataegus), were omitted. Of these 31 globally rare plants, only one is officially listed as Vulnerable, Threatened, or Endangered in Ontario and only five are nationally listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).

Of the 31 globally rare plants listed in the accompanying table, False Northwestern Moonwort (Botrychium pseudopinnatum) is the only species endemic to Ontario. The only other G1 (typically known from fewer than five sites globally) vascular plant species in Ontario is also a moonwort, Pointed Moonwort (Botrychium acuminatum). These tiny fern relatives are easily overlooked in the field and are difficult to identify. Both False Northwestern Moonwort and Pointed Moonwort occur in the Lake Superior region of Ontario and hopefully, with further botanical exploration, will be found in a few more locations. Five other Botrychium species are listed in the table, making it by far the Ontario genus with the most global rarities.

Although not entirely restricted to Ontario, a few plants are more common in the province than anywhere else in their range. Lakeside Daisy (Hymenoxys herbacea), American Hart's-tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum) and Stiff Yellow Flax (Linum medium var. medium) all have the vast majority of their world populations in Ontario and should be high priorities for conservation attention. A group of plants for which Ontario has a high conservation responsibility is the Great Lakes endemics. These plants have evolved in the Great Lakes basin and are generally restricted to shoreline sites in Ontario, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Globally rare Great Lakes endemics include Dune Thistle (Cirsium pitcheri), Houghton's Goldenrod (Solidago houghtonii), and Dwarf Lake Iris (Iris lacustris).

The status and distribution of vascular plants is, in general, far better known than for non-vascular plants, and as a result many non-vascular plants do not yet have global ranks assigned. However we do know that several globally rare non-vascular plants occur in the province. For example, there are two moss species, Tortula cainii and Neomacounia nitida, which are apparently endemic to Ontario. Tortula cainii is a moss of alvar woodlands which is ranked G1 and known in the world only from a few sites in Bruce, Simcoe, and Victoria Counties, Ontario. Neomacounia nitida is known only from two collections by John Macoun from near Belleville in southeastern Ontario made in 1862 and 1864. Plants were growing on elm trees in a swamp which has since been destroyed. Despite not having been seen alive in more than a century it is possible that Neomacounia nitida will again be found by some fortunate botanist. ;

Michael J. Oldham

1998 Botanical Highlights

Several exciting botanical discoveries were made last year in Ontario, including at least five native and three non-native additions to the province's flora, and the rediscovery of two species not documented in the province for more than two decades. Most of the exciting finds in 1998 came from northwestern Ontario during fieldwork by the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC). Mountain Sedge (Carex saximontana) and Torrey's Sedge (Carex torreyi), two prairie species, were found on rocky islands and peninsulas of Lake of the Woods. Torrey's Sedge was also found at a prairie remnant along Rainy River, where Heavy Sedge (Carex gravida) and Pumpell's Brome Grass (Bromus inermis ssp. pumpellianus) were rediscovered in Ontario after not being seen for several decades. Heavy Sedge is only known from one previous Ontario record in Windsor in 1901. Also along Rainy River, Paul Catling and Vivian Brownell discovered Long-toothed Lake Sedge (Carex laeviconica), very close to the site where Wasyl Bakowsky and Mike Oldham had independently found it several weeks earlier. A collection of Shaggy False Gromwell (Onosmodium molle) from Rainy River appears to belong to the western subspecies (occidentale) rather than the subspecies (hispidissimum) which occurs in southern Ontario. Subspecies occidentale has not previously been found in the province. Finally, False Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) was found during NHIC fieldwork by Wasyl Bakowsky and Mike Oldham at Ingolf, where it is probably native, given the large number of other western species which grow nearby. The only previous Ontario record of this species is an old record from near Toronto, where it was undoubtedly non-native. These additions and rediscoveries are all of primarily western species which are near or at the eastern limits of their distribution in northwestern Ontario. Another western species discovered in 1998 in Rainy River District during NHIC fieldwork was Jones Primrose (Primula incana). Although previously reported from the province, earlier reports may be based on misidentifications of a similar primrose species, Primula laurentiana.

Sue Bryan, Erika North, and Al Harris continue to discover interesting plants in the Thunder Bay area. Sue found an unusual native dandelion on a cliff near Lake Nipigon which appears to be the arctic Taraxacum lapponicum, although the specimen is too young to possess mature achenes making an absolute identification impossible. Sue will be revisiting the site this year to try and obtain more mature material. She also found the globally rare Pale Moonwort (Botrychium pallidum) nearby. Erika North loaned us a specimen of Long-stemmed Waterwort (Elatine triandra) collected in Thunder Bay by Jennifer Mooney in 1996; this is the first record of this rare aquatic in the District. Al Harris reported new sites for a variety of rare plants (Allium cernuum, Carex atratiformis, Cypripedium arietinum, Hudsonia tomentosa, Koeleria macrantha, Leucophysalis grandiflora, Lithospermum canescens, Muhlenbergia racemosa, Panicum leibergii, and Polystichum braunii) in northwestern Ontario, including several new county records.

This summer Brendon Larson surveyed high quality mature forest tracts in southern Ontario as part of a woodlands study by the Federation of Ontario Naturalists and NHIC. Most noteworthy among the plant finds was Slender Green Sedge (Carex virescens) in Northumberland County, the first Ontario record for this species outside the Carolinian Zone. Field botanist Tyler Smith of the Royal Botanical Gardens made several exciting finds in 1998, including the first record of Few-fruited Sedge (Carex oligocarpa) in Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Municipality. A second recnt record in Niagara Regional Municipality for Carex oligocarpa was also found during the 1998 Niagara Gap Analysis by Madeline Austen, Helen Godschalk, and Jennifer Line. While conducting a botanical inventory of Sandbanks Provincial Park near the eastern end of Lake Ontario, Vivian Brownell discovered Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos), the first eastern Ontario record of this nationally Vulnerable species. Vivian also found a population of Long-leaved Reed Grass (Calamovilfa longifolia var. magna) at Sandbanks, the first Lake Ontario record of this provincially rare grass. Ministry of Natural Resources' ecologist Brenda Chambers found Braun's Holly Fern (Polystichum braunii) for the first time in Algonquin Park, and Robert Knudsen found new populations in the Lake Superior area north of Sault Ste. Marie.

Virgil Martin's discovery of several rare bryophytes (Riccia frostii, Physcomitrella patens) growing on exposed mud of a Waterloo Regional Municipality reservoir prompted he and Mike Oldham to survey similar habitats at several other reservoirs in southwestern Ontario. Because the summer of 1998 was drier than normal in this part of the province, typically inundated shorelines were exposed allowing plants to colonize normally unavailable shoreline habitat. An interesting assemblage of native and non-native plants was found colonizing the exposed reservoir sediments, including Blunt-fruited Yellow Cress (Rorippa truncata) which was found at a reservoir in Wellington County. This western North American species which is new to the Great Lakes basin and northeastern North America might have been dispersed by migrating waterfowl.

Although the NHIC only tracks occurrences of rare native species, we are interested in hearing about new discoveries of non-native species also. With an increasingly global economy, species are being moved from continent to continent far more frequently than ever before. Despite stringent regulations, new foreign plant and animal species become established in Ontario each year. Many of these are innocuous and pose little threat to our native species, but a few become very serious problems (e.g., Zebra Mussel, Purple Loosestrife, Common Dandelion, Eurasian Watermilfoil, Frog's Bit) costing millions of dollars to control (often unsuccessfully). By closely monitoring newly arrived species we can attempt to determine which ones might become problems. In Guelph, Marc Johnson and Carl Rothfels discovered the province's second population of Hyssop-leaved Loosestrife (Lythrum hyssopifolium). In Perth County, Mike Oldham found Cut-leaved Blackberry (Rubus laciniatus) well-established in an overgrown Scot's Pine plantation, and Allison Cusick discovered Sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) growing outside cultivation on the beach of Lake Huron at Kincardine, Bruce County; both are new provincial records.

The NHIC would like to thank the individuals mentioned in this article for informing us of their botanical discoveries, as well as any others not mentioned specifically. Many Ontario botanists have been sending in "Rare Species Field Reporting Forms" (available on the NHIC web page www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/nhic/nhic.html) when they find a new rare species site. Completion of these forms greatly assists us in keeping our records up-to-date and ultimately helps us protect rare plant populations in the province. Several botanists continue to provide generous assistance to the NHIC with the identification and verification of rare plant specimens, provision of technical advice, and informing us about new rare plant finds. In particular we would like to thank Peter Ball, Vivian Brownell, Dan Brunton, Sue Bryan, Paul Catling, Brenda Chambers, Bill Crins, Howard Crum, Allison Cusick, Stephen Darbyshire, Bruce Ford, Anthony Goodban, Al Harris, Marc Johnson, Robert Knudsen, Brendon Larson, Linda Ley, Virgil Martin, Jennifer Mooney, Ed Morris, Erika North, Dave Punter, Cathy Quinlan, Tony Reznicek, Carl Rothfels, and Tyler Smith. ;

Michael J. Oldham

NHIC Enters its Sixth Year

December 9th, 1998, passed quietly at the NHIC; in fact, its significance as the 5-year anniversary date for the NHIC went largely unnoticed. On December 9th, 1993, the Natural Heritage Information Centre was officially opened by Howard Hampton, then Minister of Natural Resources, and representatives of its three non-government organization partners.

However, the history of Ontario's conservation data centre (CDC) began long before 1993. As early as 1986, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) began discussions with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) about the possibility of setting up data centres in Canada. For more than 30 years TNC has been instrumental in establishing and maintaining conservation data centres in all 50 U.S. states. In 1988, Sue Crispin (formerly coordinator of Michigan's conservation data centre) was assigned by TNC to act as National Coordinator for the development of Canadian conservation data centres. In part to act as a demonstration of the utility of the CDC methodology, a Carolinian Canada CDC was established in 1989. To evaluate the pros and cons of establishing a conservation data centre in Ontario, MNR established a task force to review the concept in January 1990. This task force gave a favourable review to the CDC methodology and recommended that Ontario establish its own data centre.

In 1993, the NHIC's first coordinator, Ian Kirkham, was hired and began the task of setting up the Natural Heritage Information Centre, as a partnership between TNC, NCC, the Natural Heritage League, and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. For the first two years of its existence, NHIC operated as a partnership between its three non-government partners and MNR, with 50% of the funding coming from the private-sector partners. Starting in January 1996 the NHIC became a fully-funded permanent program within Natural Resources Information Branch (NRIB), Science and Information Resources Division, MNR. ;

Michael J. Oldham

ABI-Canada

The Association for Biodiversity Information (ABI) advances the goals of the Conservation Data Centres (CDC), Natural Heritage Information Centres (NHIC), Natural Heritage Programs and associated organizations whose mission is to provide information on the distribution, abundance, and conservation needs of rare species and natural communities to governments, industries, researchers, NGOs, and individuals. ABI assists its members to operate as a network by sharing technologies, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experiences, and assisting the development of multi-jurisdictional information products and services. The association is organized into geographic sections, such as the Canadian Section, each of which elects its own representation to the ABI Board of Directors.

The members of ABI-Canada include six provincial CDC/NHIC programs and one regional CDC program. ABI-Canada consists of British Columbia CDC, Alberta NHIC, Saskatchewan CDC, Manitoba CDC, Ontario NHIC, Quebec Natural Heritage Data Centre, and Atlantic Canada CDC. ABI-Canada's head office is located in Peterborough, Ontario, c/o Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre.

ABI-Canada has put forward a proposal to the Canadian government's Millennium Fund to put together Canada's national "Species @ Risk 2000" dataset. The data centres will coordinate efforts to put together this dataset regardless of a positive response to the proposal; however, funding will dictate the timeframe and degree of completion of this task. Also included in the proposal is a request for funding to help build the species at risk dataset for Atlantic Canada and to support development of endangered species/spaces data management processes in Canada's three territories; establishing the datasets for these regions is important to give continuous coverage of the national dataset.

In the near future, Ontario's NHIC will participate in the national species at risk datasets through the efforts of Ian Kirkham, Karen Ness, Mike Oldham, and Pete Sorrill. Ian will coordinate the project as part of his role with ABI-Canada and MNR's Land Information Ontario (LIO) spatial data infrastructure. Karen will act as external client liason between the partners in the initiative. Mike will be working with other provincial botanists to produce national ranks for rare vascular plants from existing provincial element records and ranks. Pete will be acting part-time as data manager for ABI-Canada, to bring together the Element Occurrence records from the provinces to create a national dataset that can be queried on the internet. ;

Peter J. Sorrill

New NHIC Plant Lists Now Available

The last NHIC list of the province's rare vascular plants was produced in December 1996. The discovery of several new plants for the province (see article on 1998 botanical highlights), as well as better information on the distribution and status of others, means a number of revisions to this list need to be made. The new, February 1999, version of the NHIC rare vascular plant list contains 732 plant species considered provincially rare and tracked by the NHIC. For each species the following information is provided: scientific name, common name, family name, global rank, subnational rank, COSEWIC status, MNR status, Ontario counties of occurrence, and notes. The new list can be found on the NHIC web page. The table below lists the thirteen species recently added to the NHIC rare vascular plant list. For some of these species (e.g., Artemisia dracunculus, Carex parryana, Najas marina) we are not certain whether the species is native to Ontario or introduced, but based on habitat and phytogeography we feel there is a good chance they are native and until we have evidence to the contrary are treating them as rare native elements of the provincial flora.

Also, for the first time on the NHIC web page, complete lists of the province's vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens can be found. These lists include scientific name, common name (though many bryophytes and lichens lack a common name), family name, global and subnational ranks (the status of some non-vascular plants is not yet well enough known to assign ranks). ;

Michael J. Oldham

Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO)

The Natural Heritage Information Centre, with support from the Lands and Natural Heritage Section of the Ministry of Natural Resources, prepared species evaluation forms for the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO). NHIC staff, Jennifer Line, Madeline Austen, Dawn Burke, Don Sutherland and Mike Oldham, prepared evaluation forms for most of the 26 candidate species at risk which were reviewed at COSSARO meetings held on January 26 - 29, 1999. The following numbers of species were reviewed by COSSARO with regard to their provincial status: vascular plants (12), molluscs (3), fish (7), amphibians and reptiles (8), mammals (2), and birds (5).

In order to assemble relevant information for nearby jurisdictions, questionnaires were sent to other conservation data centres in northeastern North America requesting details on status, subnational ranks, and population changes for each species. Information on subnational ranks, ecology, population changes, threats to populations, and monitoring programs was also obtained from The Nature Conservancy's Biodiversity Conservation Data Source website. This information, together with other material contained in the NHIC's databases and manual files, was used in the evaluation of each species' status. Species were reviewed based upon a series of primary criteria (e.g., global rank and decline, Northeastern North America ranks and decline, number of extant provincial populations, Ontario decline, and percentage of total range in Ontario) and secondary criteria (e.g., population sustainability, protection/exploitation status, human threats, specialized life history and habitat-use characteristics, and mortality trends). The review of the status of a given species by COSSARO is one of the first of several steps in the process leading to the official designation of Vulnerable, Threatened, or Endangered species in Ontario. ;

Madeline Austen

NHIC Assists with First Annual Peterborough County Natural History Summary

Several NHIC staff assisted with the preparation of the "1998 Peterborough County Natural History Summary", the first of what we hope will be an annual production. This publication grew out of a class project of Dr. Erica Nol's ornithology course at Trent University. Students were required to summarize the year's bird observations as part of their course requirements. Local naturalist and artist, Peter Burke, took the students' write-ups and updated them based on his extensive knowledge of Peterborough County and Ontario birds. Staff from the NHIC and members of the Peterborough Field Naturalists' Club helped with the project by submitting bird observations. The bird chapter in the annual summary contains accounts for the 220 bird species sighted in the county in 1998. Each species account contains a summary of the status in the county followed by a summary and discussion of 1998 records.

From an annual bird report the project grew in scope to encompass several other groups. Colin Jones, Lakefield resident and naturalist at Algonquin Park, contributed chapters on butterflies and dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) of the county, Jennifer Line contributed a chapter on mammals, Mike Oldham and Pete Sorrill contributed the amphibian and reptile section, and Mike also compiled a checklist of vascular plants of the county. The finished product is over 200 pages in length and is enhanced by the artwork of Peter Burke and Kim Caldwell. The publication is a joint project of the Peterborough Field Naturalists, Natural Heritage Information Centre, and Trent University, and is for sale for $15.00 from the Peterborough Field Naturalists, P.O. Box 1532, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7H7. Proceeds from report sales will go to support future annual summaries. The report will also be available on the NHIC web page.

It is hoped that the annual natural history summary will stimulate local naturalists and biologists to document their observations and submit them for the annual Peterborough summary. We also hope it will encourage the study of diverse natural history groups and be of benefit to local educators. The database of contributed observations will be maintained by the NHIC and will be available to Trent students and faculty, MNR staff, and local naturalists. Over the long term databases of natural history sightings can serve a valuable function in monitoring local biodiversity. ;

Michael J. Oldham

NHIC to assist with national ranking of Canada's rare vascular plants

As part of an ABI-Canada (Association of Biodiversity Information-Canada) project, the Natural Heritage Information Centre, along with botanists from Canada's six other Conservation Data Centres, is involved in assigning national ranks (NRANKS) to vascular plants which are at risk nationally. This project involves combining provincial ranks (SRANKS) from all Canadian provinces and territories into a single database, then deciding on appropriate national ranks. It is hoped that these ranks will assist in setting national priorities for the conservation of Canadian plants.

Michael J. Oldham

Hart's-tongue Fern Status Report

A status report on Hart's-tongue Fern (Asplenium (or Phyllitis) scolopendrium var. americanum) is currently being prepared for the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO) by Madeline Austen at the NHIC. The American variety of Hart's-tongue Fern is considered globally rare (i.e., it is ranked G4T3 with between 20 and 100 extant element occurrences in the world and is susceptible to large-scale disturbances). Northern populations of Hart's-tongue Fern are often found in rich, rocky woodlands adjacent to the Niagara Escarpment, but more southerly populations are restricted to sinkholes or blowholes of limestone caves. In Ontario, which has most of the global population, this fern is still extant in at least 6 counties and is still locally common along many sections of the Niagara Escarpment, particularly in Grey and Bruce counties. However, there are fewer than 20 populations known in the United States and natural populations are restricted to two counties in each of New York, Michigan, and Alabama, and one county in Tennessee.

Ontario element occurrence data is currently being updated, based on new information obtained from Joe Johnson, Nels Maher, Jean Maher, Merle Gunby, Darcy King, David Taylor and Bob Gray for Bruce and Grey counties. The NHIC would welcome any data regarding extant or historic Hart's-tongue Fern sites in Halton, Peel, Simcoe, or other counties outside of its core range, to assist in documenting the distribution and population numbers of this species in Ontario (and Canada). ;

Madeline Austen

Publications

Crins, W.J., C.S. Blaney, and D.F. Brunton. 1998.Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Algonquin Provincial Park (3rd edition). $2.95 from The Friends of Algonquin Park, P.O. Box 248, Whitney, ON K0J 2M0.

This new version of the Algonquin Park vascular plant checklist updates the earlier 1988 and 1992 editions. The park plant list now stands at 1089 taxa (1049 species, 24 hybrids, and 16 additional varieties/subspecies). The checklist provides a status (common, uncommon, or rare) in both the east and west sides of the park, and will be useful to any botanist visiting the park or interested in the flora of this part of Ontario.

Thunder Bay Field Naturalists. 1998. Checklist of Vascular Plants of Thunder Bay District. 50 pp. $5.00

This checklist, revised in 1998, includes 1106 species of vascular plants known from Thunder Bay District. Updates to the current checklist include 84 species added since the last edition and the addition of "regionally rare" status. Provincially rare, introduced and arctic-alpine disjunct species are listed. Copies are available from: Erika North, Claude Garton Herbarium, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Rd., Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1 (cheques should be payable to Erika North).

Belland, R.J. 1998. Rare Mosses of Canada: A Review and First Listing. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), Ottawa. 91 pp.

This listing of rare Canadian mosses joins earlier lists of vascular plants (Argus and Pryer 1990) and lichens (Goward, Brodo and Clayden 1998), which help set priorities for the conservation of Canadian plants. Belland lists 214 moss species considered rare in Canada (known from 20 or fewer sites nationally), 22% of the approximately 965 species known from the country. Information on taxonomy, province(s) of occurrence, habitats, ecozones, global rank, national rank, provincial ranks, global range, threats, and references are provided (where known) for each species treated. For information on obtaining this publication contact the COSEWIC Secretariat, c/o Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H3.

Renewed Subscriptions

Thanks to all who responded to the questionnaire about renewal, and especially to those who opted for the paperless internet (web) version to save us printing and mailout costs (~$3 per issue per subscriber). Thanks to one subscriber who offered a cheque to cover mailing costs, but the purpose of this renewal was only to reduce the mailout costs where possible. We recognize that there are a number of people without web access who will need to continue to receive the newsletter by mail and we are happy to oblige as funding permits.

If you received a copy of the renewal form again with this newsletter, it means we haven't registered your renewal yet. If you did send your renewal and we missed it, please let us know, and we'll make sure you're signed up for renewal. The next newsletter will only go out to those who have signed upl.

A new web-based version of our last newsletter was posted that is identical to the mailed-out version, except in colour. If you have access to a colour printer you can print the web version off in full colour. The web version will be posted as soon as the paper version goes out to print; if any paper subscribers gain access to the web in the future, and wish to change to a web-based subscription with e-mail notification of publication, please let me know at cy975@freenet.carleton.ca .

A couple of people requested notification of the posting of the web version as well as the paper mailout Although the majority of paper subscribers have access to e-mail, the purpose of the notification was not to warn of an impending mailout, but to let anyone who opted for the paperless web version know it has been published to the web. We'll notify those subscribers by e-mail (this issue, March 17th), and the mailout subscribers should receive their copies by post within two weeks to a month, depending on printing time and the availability of money or labour to conduct the mailout.

Thanks to all subscribers for your continued interest in the NHIC newsletter. It was gratifying to receive strong feedback to our subscription renewal form. ;

Peter J. Sorrill, Editor

Interesting amphibian and reptile websites

The World Wide Web is becoming an increasingly important tool for biologists, with new and interesting web sites appearing daily. In this article we highlight a few of our favourite amphibian and reptile web pages.

• The Center for North American Amphibians and Reptiles (CNAAR) web page http://eagle.cc.ukans.edu/~cnaar/CNAARHomePage.html contains the most recent North American list of common and scientific names as well as information on publications, amphibian and reptile societies, and other useful web pages.

• For an extensive list of amphibian web sites see http://www.mesc.usgs.gov/links/amph-1-9.html.

• For information on the effects of environmental contaminants on amphibians and reptiles see Environment Canada's "Herptox" page (http://www.cciw.ca/green-lane/herptox/).

• Information on where you can purchase recordings of amphibians (and night birds) in North America can be found at: http://www.mp1-pwrc.usgs.gov/amphib/tools/tapes.html.

• To find out more about amphibian monitoring visit the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) web site at http://www.im.nbs.gov/amphibs.html.

• To get involved with amphibian monitoring in Ontario check out the Frogwatch Ontario web site (http://www.cciw.ca/frogwatching/), a joint project between the Toronto Zoo, Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) and NHIC.

• The Great Lakes Declining Amphibians Working Group has an excellent web page http://www.mpm.edu/collect/vertzo/herp/Daptf/daptf.html with information on malformed amphibians and research concerning declines in North American amphibians, also links to other related resources.

• For information on Ontario amphibians and reptiles, a number of excellent web sites are available. The Canadian Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Network web page http://www.cciw.ca/ecowatch/dapcan/ contains lists of amphibian species found in each province, photographs, recordings of frog calls, range maps, and information on distribution, habitat, natural history, etc.

• The Canadian Forest Service, University of Guelph, and NHIC have collaborated on a project on "Spatial Distributions and Ecological Relations of Herpetofauna in Forest Ecosystems in Ontario"; information, including maps of potential climatic domain, can be found at http://www.glfc.forestry.ca/english/res/herp/herp.html.

• Information on the amphibians and reptiles of Canada's Mixed Wood Plains Ecozone (southern Ontario and Quebec) can be found at http://www.cciw.ca/eman-temp/reports/publications/Mixedwood/herps/intro.html.

• Check out http://www.zoo.utoronto.ca/~natalie/frogpage.html for information on frogs in the Toronto area.

• NHIC's own web page, http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/nhic/lists/lists.html, contains a complete list of Ontario amphibians and reptiles with ranks and official national and provincial statuses.

• The web page of the amphibian and reptile subcommittee of COSEWIC (http://www.mcgill.ca/Redpath/cosehome.html) contains information on species at risk nationally, and the joint Royal Ontario Museum/Ministry of Natural Resources web page (http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/risk.html) provides information on species at risk in Ontario.

• A number of nearby states also have excellent amphibian and reptile web pages, here are a few of our favourites:

• Minnesota (information on frogs, for kids - http://www.pca.state.mn.us/kids/frogsforkids.html#mnfrogs )

• New York (identification keys and photos; includes a link to the New York amphibian and reptile atlas web page with distribution maps for all species - http://www.cortland.edu/herp/index.htmlx )

• Ohio (natural history of frogs and toads of Ohio, identification, photographs, and calls - http://www.cmnh.org/research/vertzoo/frogs/frogs.html )

(reptile species accounts and pictures - http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/odnr/wildlife/education/reptiles/reptiles.html )

• Wisconsin (rare reptiles and amphibians with global and subnational ranks, U.S. and federal status, species accounts and photographs - http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/list4.htm )

(maps and species accounts for all species - http://www.mpm.edu/collect/vertzo/herp/atlas/atlas.html ) ;

Madeline Austen & Mike Oldham