Project: Endangered Species Protected by the HNC

Introduction

ENDANGERED SPECIES PROTECTED BY HNC

Ontario is home to over 190 endangered species, a number that rises yearly as species fall victim to a variety of pressures. Over 60% of these species can be found in the Carolinian life zone (stretching from Grand Bend to Toronto) which is home to more plants and animals than anywhere else in the country. It is also home to the highest concentration of people and development, putting intense pressure on wildlife and the habitats they depend upon.

Species are at risk for a number of reasons including habitat loss, pollution, development and the spread of invasive species. The most serious danger to endangered wildlife may arise from the “snowballing” impact of several threats, such as the loss of habitat, pollution and invasive species.

The good news is there is still hope to protect these species from the brink of extinction. The Ontario government was the first in Canada to provide legal protection for endangered species with the passage of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1971. The ESA was revised in 2007 and now provides an improved framework for protecting and recovering endangered species.

The HNC is helping to protect species at risk by conserving over 263 acres of important habitat for over 15 species of plants and animals at risk, including the Acadian Flycatcher, Hooded Warbler, Fowler’s Toad, and American Columbo. The HNC has also conducted several projects [link to projects page] designed to help protect endangered species.

For more information about endangered species in Ontario visit:

• Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Species at Risk
• Royal Ontario Museum’s descriptions of Ontario’s Species at Risk

HNC Endangered Species Protection Projects

The HNC helps protect an endangered species living in our own backyard. Peregrine Falcons have been nesting on the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel every year since 1995. With the help of many dedicated volunteers through HNC’s Falconwatch program, the birds have been successfully raising many chicks at this urban location. Hopefully these chicks will go on to raise families of their own.

The outlook for Peregrine Falcons was not always so bright. They stopped breeding in Ontario and most of eastern North America in the early 1960’s. Their reproductive success plummeted because of egg contamination by the pesticide DDT, to which they are particularly at risk in their position as top predators. Concentrations of chemicals increase at higher levels of the food chain in a process called bioaccumulation. Fortunately, Peregrine Falcons have recovered very well since the use of DDT was banned in North America.

Bald Eagles, also impacted by DDT and recognized as an endangered species, are also making a comeback. In 2008 a nesting pair was spotted by HNC birders. In the 1980s the HNC contributed towards the conservation of Bald Eagles in Ontario. As part of the recovery plan for the species, they raised and released four young Bald Eagles from an artificial nest site near Cayuga in 1986 and 1987.

 

American Columbo Survey and Invasive Species Removal

American Columbo is a member of the Gentian family and is an endangered plant species protected under Ontario's Endangered Species Act. One of only approximately six populations across Canada is found at the Cartwright Nature Sanctuary located in Dundas, owned by Conservation Halton and managed in partnership with the HNC.

The species only flowers every few years. It produces tall, distinctive spikes of flowers and then dies. Little is known about American Columbo but it is thought that one of the key threats is displacement by invasive species.

A detailed survey of the American Columbo at the Cartwright Nature Sanctuary was conducted this summer. The survey involved marking the American Columbo plot in 3x3 metre grids, counting the number of American Columbo plants in each grid, measuring each plant and noting the other species present. The survey will serve as a benchmark for yearly monitoring and will help with decision-making about stewardship activities to help protect this endangered species.

 

A number of invasive plant species have been located at the Cartwright Nature Sanctuary, including garlic mustard, buckthorn, and dog strangling vine. Volunteers and MNR’s stewardship rangers have been able to remove some patches to reduce the populations and to try to control the spread. The focus has been to remove invasive plant species, particularly garlic mustard, from around the American Columbo plot. A large patch of dog strangling vine situated close to the American Columbo was also pulled.

What Can You Do To Help Project Endangered Species?

Whether you live next to or visit a nature sanctuary, what you do on your property or during your visit has an impact on the sanctuary. There are several ways that you can help protect the sanctuary and the endangered species that depend on it.

Stay on trails

• Water does not drain as well in areas where soil is compacted, and trails occasionally get muddy. Every time you leave the trail to avoid the mud, you contribute to further erosion and degradation of the trail.
• The many endangered plants and animals are easily disturbed, damaged or destroyed if you leave the trails.
• In some areas, trails that are dangerous or are causing damage to sensitive habitats may be closed. Respect the posted signs and the efforts to protect sensitive environments.

Enjoy by observing

• Dogs and other pets are naturally curious about the wildlife they encounter. Free running dogs and cats cause a great deal of damage by disturbing nesting birds and other small animals. Dogs must be kept on a leash at all times and cats should be kept indoors.
• Young birds or mammals that appear injured should be left where they area, as the parents are usually watching from nearby and will continue to care for the young once you leave.
• All natural objects, dead or alive, are part of our ecosystem. Taking one plant or rock may not seem like much impact, but consider one thousand people each taking a plant or rock home!
  
  Don’t spread invasive species
  
• Controlling the spread of non-native plants is a high priority for the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club, particularly as these species can crowd out the habitat of the endangered species. Invasive (non-native) plants species reach the nature sanctuaries in many ways and you can help prevent their spread.
• Clean boot treads before entering natural areas in case you are carrying seed from an invasive species.
• Stay on the trail to avoid spreading weeds off trail.
• Pack out your trash and unused foodstuffs. Organic trash (e.g. apple and pear cores) should be treated as other garbage and packed out. Garbage that is discarded in the nature sanctuary may spread unseen insects, fungi, and other plant pathogens.
• Use native, non-invasive plants for landscaping, to ensure the seeds don’t spread to a nature sanctuary.

Retain dead/cavity trees

• Snags, cavity trees, and downed logs provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species and are important components of the forest. Snags are standing dead or dying trees, and downed logs are
  simply logs that are on or near the forest floor. Cavity trees are live trees with holes or other structures big enough to shelter animals. You can provide these important habitat features on your land by maintaining snags, cavity trees and downed logs. For more info visit www.lrconline.com/Extension_Notes_English/pdf/cvtytrs.pdf

Endangered Species on HNC's Nature Sanctuaries

The HNC is fortunate to have support from the Ministry of Natural Resources and the HIVA Environmental Fund to study the endangered species found at the Spooky Hollow and Cartwright Nature Sanctuaries. Following are brief descriptions about some of the endangered species found on the HNC’s nature sanctuaries that are protected under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act.

If you have any questions about the articles, or about the project, please contact Jen Baker at 905-524-3339 or land@hamiltonnature.org

BIRDS

Acadian Flycatcher
The Acadian Flycatcher is a small olive-green songbird with a pale eye ring, light-coloured wing bars and a short brown bill with a slightly hooked tip. It is best identified by its song, an emphatic ("ka-zeep"). It depends on interior forest and requires large tracts of mature, shady, maple-beech forest. It builds a hanging nest in a forked branch in a tree or shrub, often close to a stream. It is an insectivorous, or insect-eating bird, which hunts by darting out from a perch to capture prey on the wing.

 

 

Hooded Warbler
The Hooded Warbler is named for the black hood of the adult male which sets off its striking yellow face. The back, wings and tail are olive green, and the under parts are bright yellow. It breeds in large upland tracts of mature deciduous and mixed forest, and in ravines. It selects habitats in which small openings in the forest canopy have permitted a dense growth of low understory shrubs, and it abandons areas once the vegetation becomes too thin or too tall. It is critical that a range of habitats be protected for this species.

 

TREES

American Chestnut
American Chestnuts grew to 30 metres and its edible nuts provided an important source of food for many mammals and birds. The Chestnut Blight then wiped out most of the American Chestnuts across North America. Many of the remaining trees are small or are suckers from old trees, although some are resistant to the disease. Experts are locating the blight-resistant trees, collecting fruit, and carrying out artificial pollination of flowering trees. It is hoped that by planting disease-resistant stock, the species will rebound.

 

 

 

Butternut
The Butternut is from the walnut family and produces edible nuts in the fall, as does the Black Walnut. Its roots secrete juglone, an allelopathic chemical that can kill other plants growing nearby. The species originally declined in numbers due to forest clearing but now the mean threat is from a disease called Butternut Canker which can kill a tree within a few years of infection. The disease enters the tree through cracks in the bark and then spreads, making sunken cankers which girdle the trunk or branch, killing everything above that spot. There is no cure for the disease and scientists believe many of Ontario’s Butternuts are infected. The Butternut Conservation Group is trying to locate disease-resistant individuals and use these to propogate tree seedlings for planting.

 

Cucumber Magnolia
Development decisions have already resulted in the loss of over 80% of our Carolinian forests, with the consequent decline of many species, including the Cucumber Magnolia. Named for the shape of its fruit, the Cucumber Magnolia is one of the Carolinian zone's signature species and can reach heights up to 30 metres. The large, solitary greenish-yellow flowers are pollinated by beetles. It persists in the Niagara region but is threatened by urban, suburban and rural development involving forest clearing or fragmentation.

 

 

 

LEPIDOPTERA (moths and butterflies)

Monarch Butterfly
A testament to the interconnected approach that is needed for good conservation planning, the Monarch Butterfly depends on the conservation of its habitat not only in Canada, but also in the United States and Mexico. Though still relatively common, this species is threatened by a range of factors including pesticide use, the destruction of milkweed (upon which the Monarch caterpillar depends) and loss of its wintering grounds in the forests of Mexico. Each year, after wintering in Mexico, the Monarch sets out on an incredible northward journey, actually going through several generations of caterpillars and butterflies before arriving at its summer destination. For the return fall migration, resilient individuals often gather in huge numbers to fly all the way back south to Mexico, this time with one generation completing the entire journey.

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