Ontario Odonata Atlas

About the Ontario Odonata Atlas

The Atlas of Ontario Odonata project was initiated in 1995 by Don Sutherland of the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC), Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources in an effort to compile all available information on the distribution and abundance of the Odonata of Ontario. The initial objective of this exercise was to compile information which would enable the development of provincial conservation ranks (Sranks) for all species, the identification of those species of conservation concern and, ultimately, baseline occurrence data for all rare species. This database is comprised of records extracted from published (e.g. journal articles) and unpublished literature (e.g. theses, regional lists), specimen data from institutional collections (e.g. ROM, CNC, University of Guelph), and records submitted by amateur and professional odonate enthusiasts. In 1998, Matt Holder and Andrea Kingsley were contracted by the NHIC to conduct a further survey of Odonata collections at ROM, CNC and University of Guelph, primarily to compile additional specimen data for rare species.

Beginning with the 1999 season, as a result of increased interest in dragonflies and damselflies, and in order to have a means of compiling records on an annual basis, Paul Catling, Colin Jones and Paul Pratt began an annual summary of Odonata recorded in Ontario. These records are published by the Toronto Entomologists’ Association (TEA) in an annual publication entitled Ontario Odonata. Ontario Odonata also provides a means of publishing papers and notes on interesting observations and behaviour, range extensions, regional lists, and other subjects related to the study of Odonata in Ontario. The NHIC is acting as the repository for all records submitted for inclusion in Ontario Odonata. The NHIC staff and the TEA (including the editors of Ontario Odonata) have therefore become partners in the Atlas of Ontario Odonata.

The database for the Atlas of Ontario Odonata currently consists of over 40,000 geo-referenced records. Currently, the atlas database consists mostly of records up to, and including the 1996 season (approximately 16,500 records), as well as those submitted to Ontario Odonata beginning with the 1999 season (over 30,000 records). There is, therefore, a gap from 1997 to 1998. If any individuals have records from these years, or earlier years not previously submitted, the NHIC and the TEA would greatly appreciate receiving the details for inclusion in the Atlas.

All records in the Atlas of Ontario Odonata database have a UTM (Universal Trans Mercator) grid reference (NAD 83) associated with them, except for a very few old records with extremely vague locality information (e.g. “north shore of Lake Ontario” or “Georgian Bay”). UTM grid references are accurate either to a 10 X 10 km atlas square or to a specific location (accurate to 100 m), with a few records accurate to 1 km. Maps appearing on this web page were generated using ArcView from the Atlas of Ontario Odonata database (up to, and including, the 2002 season). Records are mapped using four symbols: red square = records documented by a specimen or photograph within the past 20 years ; dark green square = sight or literature records within the past 20 years; pink square = records documented by a specimen or photograph older than 20 years; light green square = sight or literature records older than 20 years. Efforts have been made to verify the accuracy of as many records as possible (e.g. by requesting additional details from the observer), but it should be kept in mind that some of the records are sight records contributed by casual naturalists, and a few may be in error.

Limited access to records in the Atlas of Ontario Odonata database is available for conservation, education, or research purposes by contacting Colin Jones (tel: 705-755-2166, colin.jones@mnr.gov.on.ca ) or Don Sutherland (tel: 705-755-2161, don.sutherland@mnr.gov.on.ca ) at the Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, 300 Water St., 2nd Floor N., P.O. Box 7000, Peterborough, Ontario, K9J 8M5. Note that precise locality information on some rare species will only be released under special circumstances and that a fee may be charged for complicated or time-consuming database searches.