WRS Research Report · PDF file- WRS Research Report 2009 - This past summer we had one of our ... ples await DNA analysis to determine whether ... If you are connoisseur of single

- WRS Research Report 2009 -

renewal of university faculty has lead to new research projects, and the continuation of long-term studies that have been the foundation of the WRS since its inception. There are further plans to collaborate with the FOAP to our mutual benefit, and lobbying continues at various levels to fund the WRS and field stations in Canada. The Major Users Committee of the WRS has been instrumen-tal in working with the Canadian Society for Ecology and

Evolution to lobby NSERC for funding. The structural changes to the NSERC funding programs of the past year have left the majority of field stations in Can-ada without adequate operational fund-ing, and so it is clear that the ecological community is going to have to come to-gether and change the policy of NSERC.

Finally, I would like to point out that the WRS is in need of financial support, and you can help the WRS with a tax-deductible donation via the FOAP. The funds received will be used for operations and to continue to improve the infrastructure of the WRS. (see final page for details)

The tremendous success of the activities at the WRS is due in no small part to the energy and dedication of the WRS Manager, Rory Eckenswiller. I extend my sincere thanks to him for making 2009 so suc-cessful and for putting to-gether this annual report.

Dr. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde,

Department of Biology, Laurentian University

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the 2nd annual Re-search Report from the Wildlife Research Station (WRS) in Algonquin Park. It has been a very busy year at the WRS. The WRS said good-bye to long-time manager Paul Gelok, who is now working in planning and re-search for Algonquin Provincial Park. Kudos to Paul for his tremendous work and commitment to the WRS. Paul’s contributions will be long-lasting, in part because of his excellent mentor-ship of our new Manager, Rory Ecken-swiller. Rory has shown the same dedi-cation as Paul ever since he started as the Assistant Manager in 2008, and has been absolutely critical to our new endeavours as the WRS recovers from the loss of its funding from the Fed-eral government.

There were two major highlights of the summer’s activi-ties. The first was the hugely successful Meet the Re-searcher Day that was organized by Rory and the Friends of Algonquin Park (FOAP). Read on for more information! The second highlight, was the very memo-rable 65th anniversary celebration of the WRS. Re-search at the WRS started in 1944, and facilities with such a long history of research are rare and are an in-credibly valuable resource. It was wonderful to see so many faces from the history of the WRS.

The good news is that research activities at the WRS are at their highest levels in the past decade, and the

Morning mist over Lake Sasajewun

From the Manager’s Office Rory Eckenswiller, WRS Manager

In an annual report written in 1982 by Dr. J. Bruce Falls I came across this quote “the WRS is an almost priceless asset to field biology not only in Ontario, but in Canada as a whole. The publication list is impressive for sheer volume, but more than that, it reads like a roster of great names in Canadian biology since its incep-

tion. Scientists who have studied at the WRS have gone on to leading positions in Univer-sity and government agencies… we recom-mend that every effort be made to keep the WRS functioning” I hope you keep these words of wisdom in mind as you read on and enjoy learning about these research projects as much as I have. For more info please con-tact: [email protected], or 705-633-5621.

A Message From the Director

Mammalogy 2

Herpetology 5

Botany 6

Entomology 7

Ornithology 8

WRS Stats 13

Summer Events 14

Group Photo 16

Support the WRS!

16

Bibliography 17

INSIDE:



This past summer we had one of our highest years for total captures of small mammals ever. A total of 2046 small mammals, which was largely the result of very high trap effort (7644 trap-nights). When standard-ized for effort our trapping success was typical of previous years (26.8 captures per 100 trap-nights; Figure 1).

As in most previous years, deer mice (Peromyscus) were the most commonly captured small mammal (41% of captures), followed by woodland jump-ing mice (17%), eastern chipmunks (15%) and red-backed voles (13%). Shrews, red squirrels, flying squir-rels and meadow jumping mice were rarely captured (< 7% each).

In previous years all deer mice (Peromyscus) were as-sumed to be woodland deer mice (Peromyscus manicu-latus). However, the woodland deer mouse’s southern cousin (white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus) has recently been found to be expanding its range north-ward in Michigan and these two closely related species are difficult to distinguish in the field. Of the 848 cap-tures of deer mice this summer, eight were of mice sus-pected to be white-footed mice. A small amount of tis-sue was collected from each deer mouse and these sam-ples await DNA analysis to determine whether this

southern relative has in fact arrived in Algonquin. These long-term small mammal surveys will be continued in 2010 and future studies will exam-ine the ecological and evo-lutionary interactions be-tween deer mice in more detail.

Like a well-aged whiskey, this long-term small mammal survey was the result of scientific foresight, dedication and persistence in the face of short-term changes in politics and funding pat-terns. The result is a wonderfully valuable and unique resource that will provide important insights into the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of small mam-mals in Algonquin Park for many years to come.

Dr. Andrew McAdam

Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph If you are connoisseur of single malt whiskeys you will already be aware of the worldwide shortage of well-aged scotches. Short-term increases in demand simply cannot be met when the product must spend 10 or 20 years aging before it is ready. Similarly, recent aware-ness of the ecological and evolutionary impacts of cli-mate change has revived interest in long-term monitor-ing projects. Unfortunately, you cannot retrospectively create historical monitoring data in response to a cur-rent problem. Instead, monitoring studies must be initi-ated and maintained by dedicated scientists well in ad-vance of full appreciation of their potential utility.

One of the longest-running small mammal studies in the world continued for its 58th year near the Wildlife Research Station in the summer of 2009. In 1952, Bruce Falls started a series of small mammal trapping lines that he monitored consistently for many years before turning the project over to Ron Brooks in 1989. The 2009 trapping season represented the first year under the direction of Andrew McAdam from the Uni-versity of Guelph. The goal of this project is to use regu-lar live-trapping on 17 traplines to measure changes in abundance of various small mammal species in Algon-quin Park.

A Sherman trap used to trap small

mammals

Figure 1. Abundance of small mammals on 17 traplines in Algonquin Provincial Park monitored since 1952. Data for 2009 are indicated in red.

Deer mouse captured on one of the long-term small mammal

lines

Long-term small mammal surveys: you can’t get too much of a good thing!

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Dr. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde

Department of Biology, Laurentian University

The Wildlife Research Station has been the site of an ongoing long-term study of red squirrels and northern flying squirrels. These populations are in the Wilder-ness Zone associated with WRS, and have been inten-sively studied for the past 5 years. Individuals are marked, and morphological data are collected, as well as a tissue sample for subsequent ge-netic analysis. In conjunction with the climate-monitoring station recently in-stalled at the WRS, the data collected will provide insight into how natural populations will adapt to climate change. A major focus has been the host-parasite interactions within these populations. To that end, we have collected both ecto-parasites and endoparasites from red

squirrels and flying squirrels, as well as blood smears to quantify white blood cell counts. We have also exam-ined the mating systems of these animals by determin-ing paternity of the offspring to determine the rate of multiple paternity. We have also conducted experi-ments on populations of red squirrels, including a study on the effects of parasite removal on stress hormones and health of red squirrels. Further studies will exam-ine sperm competition and mating systems of both red

squirrels and flying squirrels, as well as determining the role of parasitism in determining reproductive success. Thus far, the study has been very successful in training young biologists. Since 2004, 3 MSc students, and 9 under-graduates have been trained on the pro-ject. Many of these have gone on to graduate and doctoral studies.

through inhalation of contaminated aerosols, urine, feces, milk, or contact with infected livestock. Small mammal species were trapped in Algonquin Park from May to the end of August. Species included in this re-port are North American red squirrels (Tamiascurius hudsonicus), Northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sa-brinus), Woodland jumping mice (Napaeozapus in-signis), Meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius), Southern Red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi), Eastern Chipmunks (Tamias striatus), and American deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). Genital swabs were taken to collect bacteria and were collected from individuals three times per month. Currently DNA is being extracted from the swabs and real-time PCR will be used to determine the presence or absence of C. burnetii. Determining the species acting as reser-voirs for this disease is a critical step toward in-creasing our understand-ing of C. burnetii and its transmission between wild animals, livestock, and humans.

Mary Thompson, 4th Year Thesis Project, Laurentian University Supervisor: Dr. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde The goal of this study was to determine if the small mammal populations near the Wildlife Research Sta-tion, Algonquin Park, were hosts for an obligate, intra-cellular bacteria, Coxiella burnetii. C. burnetii is one of the rickettsia bacteria, which include organisms that cause rocky mountain spotted fever and typhus. The microorganism is found worldwide in a variety of verte-brate and arthropod hosts, particularly tick species. In humans C. burnetii causes Query fever with acute symptoms including fever, myalgia, headaches, and hydrophobia. In animals the disease is generally as-ymptomatic, although infection of breeding livestock animals may cause placental infection, abortion, still-born young or weak offspring. Query fever is considered to exist in two cycles, one between wild animals and their arthropod parasites and one among domestic ani-mals. Rodents can potentially act as reservoirs for sev-eral diseases, including those caused by rickettsial or-ganisms; and C. burnetii has been found in several spe-cies of small mammals all over the world. Thus small mammals may play a role in the transmission of Query fever to livestock and humans. Humans can be infected

A Question about Query Fever

Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals - 2009 Update

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A red squirrel captured at the WRS.

A flying squirrel captured at the WRS.


Krista Gooderham, MSc Candidate, Laurentian University Supervisor: Dr. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde The aim of this project was to determine the influence of macroparasites on the general condition (body condi-tion, stress levels and immune status) and reproductive success of the North American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). By definition parasitic in-festation should cause severe fitness consequences for the host. However, these costs have been observed, for the majority, within laboratory settings or within overly simplistic one-parasite-one host systems. In natural populations, most hosts are exploited by many parasites, both externally and internally.

Macropara-sites are typically di-vided into ectoparasitic arthropods such as fleas, ticks and mites, that remain on the host ex-terior feeding on detritus, hair and

blood, and endoparasites that live within their hosts mostly in various organs and the blood stream. Costs are incurred from secondary infection caused by the injection of salivary toxins and damage caused directly by haematophagy and necrophagy. Thus, the ability to resist parasite infection is valuable and has the poten-tial to increase fitness dramatically. T. hudsonicus is a small semi-arboreal rodent inhabit-ing coniferous dominant forests of North America. This species acts as both an effective and useful host-parasite model in a number of ways. We have a firm understanding of red squirrel ecology and biology, they are known hosts of both ecto- and endo- macropara-sites, they are typically found in large populations, of-fering an ample sample size, and are relatively easy to trap and measure. As a result of limited research, the relationships among reproductive success, parasite infection, immune and endocrine function are not completely understood, especially in the wild. The current study was con-ducted between mid- April to mid- October with in the wildlife research area at the Wildlife Research Station (WRS). Each individual was given a unique identifica-

tion ear tag for long term moni-toring. Body size meas-urements (skull length, skull width, hind foot length and body mass) were taken to achieve an indication of body condition and general health. Tissue and hair samples were collected for paternity analysis. As a measure of immune status, blood samples were taken to assess white blood cell (WBC) count as well as levels of immune antibody. Fecal samples were collected as an indication of endoparasite load through egg prevalence. Ectoparasite samples were also taken, by combing hair, to evaluate external parasite load. Few studies have provided an ecologically relevant ex-ample of how macroparasite infection may be associ-ated with reproductive success and stress indices in wild small mammals. Fewer still, attempt to tease apart the causal relationship among indices of health, condition and parasite load experimentally. Using a naive population of red squirrel (T. hudsonicus), 15 in-dividuals were given an antiparasitic drug, to remove a large portion of parasite load. Individuals were then processed identical to the sampling study conducted at the WRS with the same samples collected before and after treatment. Experimentally manipulating parasite load controls for possible confounding variables such as environmental and individual variation. This allows for a controlled investigation of causal relationships with respect to the impact of parasite infestation on host condition and health, thus provid-ing an ecol-ogically rele-vant exam-ple of host-parasite in-teractions that is lack-ing in the current lit-erature.

Parasites Gone Wild!

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Measuring the skull length of a red squirrel

Female flea found on red squirrel

Taking measurements of a red squirrel


Matt Keevil, MSc Candidate, Laurentian University Supervisors: Dr. Jacqueline Litzgus and Dr. Ron J. Brooks This 2009 field season was the 38th for the long term Snapping and Painted Turtle project based at the Wild-life Research Station. Research on this project began in 1972 with Snapping Turtles and expanded to include Painted Turtles in 1978. More then 1800 individual turtles have been captured, marked, and released at several study sites. Data is gathered on survivorship, growth, reproduction, and movements and this allows us to answer questions about how long they live, their reproductive rate, the requirements for stable popula-tions, and other aspects of their life history. Because turtles grow so slowly, take so long to reach maturity, and have such long reproductive life spans,

long term studies are necessary to under-stand their life his-tory and ecology. Data gathered over long time frames al-lows us unique op-portunities to ob-serve phenomena that occur only rarely or over long time intervals. For

example, in the late 1980’s instances of large scale pre-dation on Snapping Turtles by otters over a few con-secutive winters caused the population in one lake to drop from about 50 to 16, a decline of 65%. This ap-pears to be a unique event and has not been observed again despite otters being encountered regularly at the study sites. While unfortunate for this population this event provides a natural experiment that we can ana-lyze to help understand the ways in which populations do or do not recover and how long it takes. So far there is little evidence for significant recovery, even after 20 years. This has important conservation and manage-ment implications. The measurements being collected in this study allow for the construction of population models that can inform conservation decisions. This information was used by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in their recent as-sessment of the conservation status of Snapping Tur-

tles which were listed as Special Concern in 2009.

Even after 38 years new and interesting observations are still regularly made. Sev-eral adult Snapping Turtles have been cap-tured that were re-leased as hatchlings. This provides valuable data on growth rates in our populations. Additionally most have been found in dif-ferent water bodies than those in which they were re-leased which contrasts with the relatively high site fi-delity that has been observed in our study population of Painted Turtles. Expanded searches in coming field seasons will hopefully reveal more of these individuals and allow us to quantify migration and dispersal of ju-veniles. This information has been very elusive up until now and will shed light on population and metapopula-tion processes in Snapping Turtles.

Other planned investigations include an experiment to verify our anecdotal observations of mutualism in which Painted Turtles remove leeches from Snapping Turtles who float patiently while they are cleaned. This phenomenon has not been reported from outside the Park and may be the only known instance of mutualism between two reptile species.

The largest marked turtle in the study, a 17.3kg male Snapping Turtle affectionately named Humongous Harry, was recaptured this summer after his lair in the park interior was resampled for the first time since 1984 (he was the same size back then and also in 1978 when first captured). Combining his growth curve with two other male Snappers allows us to fill in the steps between hatchling and fully adult bruiser. Adding these observations together gives a Harry a minimum age of 75 and he may be much older. The abil-ity to follow individ-ual turtles’ history for decades is one of the most fascinating aspects of this pro-ject and continues to generate new in-sights every year.

Painted & Snapping Turtle Life History Research - 2009 Update

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Juvenile painted turtle (left) and snapping turtle (right)

A female snapping turtle depositing her eggs on the WRS dam

Matt Keevil with an angry snapping turtle


Dr. Glenn Tattersall

Biology Department, Brock University

The Yellow-spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) has a well estab-lished breeding population at Bat Lake, and for 2-4 weeks every spring male and female salamanders can be readily ob-served entering and leaving the lake, de-positing over one thousand egg masses. Observations of salamander abundance at Bat Lake have been primarily anecdotal, with no long-term re-cords. Given that salamanders typically breed in tem-porary water bodies, long-term assessments of the health and fluctuations in populations is made difficult due to the potential for habitats to disappear from year to year. Bat Lake, however, is a permanent water body, devoid of fish predators, and thus serves as a sta-ble reference source for monitoring the effects of envi-ronmental change on salamander populations. We have amassed information since 1992, demonstrating that the first egg laying date of the season has shifted earlier in the season at an average rate of about 0.57 days/year. This first egg lay date is also well correlated

with yearly variation in spring tempera-tures (expressed as the number of days in April above 0°C); thus changes in local climate are the likely driver for alteration in reproductive timing in these early spring breeding amphibians. Since the spring of 2008, Dr. Glenn Tattersall, with support from Brad Steinberg (Park Man-agement Biologist) and the Friends of Al-gonquin Park, and field work by David

Legros and Patrick Moldowan, began a monitoring pro-ject of salamanders in Bat Lake. This project will be-come another long-term monitoring project hosted by the WRS, and will enhance our understanding of sala-mander breeding phenology. Using a photographic spot-based identification software, we have so far iden-tified 308 unique male and 119 unique female yellow-spotted salamanders breeding at Bat Lake. Our antici-pation is that our yearly egg mass counts, sex ratio data, trap capture numbers, and morphological data on salamander size will provide us with a complete picture of the health and status of these lesser known amphibi-ans of Algonquin Park.

Statistics such as sex, age, stem height, and length and number of leaves were recorded; environ-mental factors such as canopy cover and site orientation were noted. Plant age is determined by counting the leaf scars on the stems; the old-est plant found was a female, 41 years of age!

Pollinators of the study were Syr-phid flies and bees (Bombus). To determine pollinator abundance, I used pan traps in transects through flow-ering patches of the sarsaparilla as well as on an 87m long one to collect a general sample of the pollinators. The pan traps are coloured bowls, yellow, white and blue, filled with soapy water. A survey of all plants in bloom was done for each sampling day as well. How plants shift resources and change their life history traits, like flower display, to maximize their appeal for reproductive success has left gaps in the literature and offers interesting questions for further study.

Emony Nicholls, MSc Candidate, Trent University Supervisor: Dr. Marcel Dorken I am studying how the sex ratios of plants and their rela-tionship to pollinators are affecting the life history traits and their subsequent evolution in Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis). Wild sarsaparilla is a dioecious (separate male and female plants) and clonal woodland plant, preferring a well-drained substrate with a moist loamy topsoil. It has generally been found from past research that the sex ratios in heavily shaded areas are male biased, with the ratio evening out as the canopy thinned and more light penetrated to the forest floor. Males, it is thought, have more energy to put towards other life history traits, like growth, since the production of pollen is so cheap as compared to females who have to produce the more ex-pensive seeds and berries. Preliminary data from last summer found a heavy female bias instead for the light-rich areas. Further research to explore why continues next summer….

Pollinators and their love affair with Wild Sarsaparilla, how their relationship is effecting evolution.

Bat Lake Inventory of Spotted Salamanders (BLISS)

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A Yellow spotted salamander.

A transect of col-oured bowls to trap pollinating insects


Eleanor Proctor, MSc Candidate, Trent University Supervisor: Dr. Erica Nol This past field season (late April to early August 2009), I collected hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) and bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) from hardwood stands sub-jected to one of two types of harvesting prescription and from unharvested control stands. Since different in-sects are susceptible to different trapping methods, I used Malaise traps, pan traps, and manual netting to catch as many types of insect pollinators as possible. Over three field seasons I have collected over 8000 flies and 1700 bees, all of which are being identified to spe-cies in order to compare the pollinator communities

among the harvest prescriptions. Since obligate insect pollinators are tied to the flowers that feed them, I also sampled the floral understories in all of the stands in early spring and again later in the summer. Flowering plants were identified to species, assessed for percent cover and for the number of flowering stems so that the floral communities can also be compared among the stands. The light levels in the stands were also docu-mented, by photographing the canopies with a fish-eye lens throughout the growing season. By collecting the insects, sampling the understories, and documenting the amount of light in each stand, I hope to show how the pattern and amount of timber harvest affects the flower-pollinator community.

Effects of experimental group-selection on the insect pollinators and floral understory of Algonquin Parks hardwood forests

Pictures taken with the Fish Eye Lens camera. Left shows the canopy cover in May and right show the canopy cover in June

Left: Beeflies (Diptera: Bombyliidae), like this one on Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana), are common early-spring pollina-tors in the hardwood forests of Algonquin Middle: Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) in the genus Sphegina are often found in closed-canopy forests, as is the Hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides) on which it feeds Right: The pollen baskets of this Digger Bee (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) are full of raspberry pollen (Rubus idaeus), a very com-mon plant in recently-harvested hardwood stands.

Malaise traps set up in a group-selection canopy gap (left) and in the adjacent forested matrix.

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Dr. Ryan Norris

Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph

Dan Strickland

Former Head Naturalist of Algonquin Provincial Park

This year, Dan Strickland and Ryan Norris began a re-search project to examine how cached food influences sur-vival and reproduc-tion in Gray Jays. Detailed research on Gray Jays in Algon-quin Park began in 1964 by Russ Rutter and has been contin-

ued by Dan Strickland since Rutter’s death in 1976. Every year, Dan has closely monitored reproduction and survival of Jays along the highway 60 corridor by finding nests and colour-banding young and adults. This year, between February and April, Dan found 20 nests and banded 26 nes-tlings (in 11 nests). He was helped by Ryan, Amy Newman, a postdoc and col-laborator from UG, Hugo Kitching, and Graham Nancekevill, a long-time WRS’er and recent retiree from UG.

Dan’s research has also shown that Gray Jays in the Park have been declin-

ing steadily over the past 20 years and a recent paper co-authored by Dan pro-vided evidence that this decline could be due to increasing temperatures in the fall, which could act to spoil cached food that Jays rely on during the winter months.

To examine whether first-year juveniles and nestlings rely on food cached by adults, Dan and Ryan, (with help from Amy and Hugo) conducted an experiment this fall in which they fed adult pairs dog food that was labeled with an amino acid spiked with heavy nitrogen (15N). The element is non-toxic but acts as an excellent tracer of the dog food because it produces a signature that is very different from background signa-tures found in the Park. If juveniles that remain with adults over the win-ter rely on cached food for survival then the spiked sig-nature should be present in the feathers juveniles grow between No-vember and Febru-

ary. If adults feed cached food to nes-tlings that are born in April, then this same signature should be present in their feathers shortly before they leave the nest. The results of this study will provide important information to un-derstand how cached food influences the vital rates of this declining popula-tion. Dan and Ryan are also planning on conducting an experiment to exam-ine the effect of variable temperature on the nutritional quality of cached food by using small plastic storage chambers that attach to trees and are

designed to mimic natural Gray Jay cache sites. These chambers will be placed in the Park and at various lati-tudes in North America where Gray Jay populations per-sist. Stayed tuned for all the results!

Featured Research: Gray Jay Research in Algonquin Park

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Juvenile Gray Jays preparing for fledging...look out below!

A Gray Jay incubating its eggs as a late winter storm blows through

Algonquin Park

Russ Rutter holding a juvenile Gray Jay

Gray Jays line the inside of their nest with soft feathers

A pair of Gray Jays take in some warm spring sunshine


holes. Indeed, these services sometimes earn sapsuck-ers the label of “keystone” species. For these reasons, I have focused my research on the Yellow-bellied Sap-sucker.

The key result of my Ph.D. is that large numbers of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers prefer recently selection-logged tolerant hardwood forests, perhaps because of increased arthropod resources in sunny canopy gaps and possibly enhanced sap resources caused by soil compaction and wounding of tree trunks by machinery, but only about half of them successfully raise young due to high rates of nest predation by American black bears (Ursus americanus). Nests are apparently more vulnerable to predation by bears in recent cuts because they are excavated in softer wood (see Tozer et al. 2009), presumably because optimal nest trees (particularly heart-rot-infected American beech [Fagus grandifolia]) are reduced to such a degree that sapsuck-ers are forced to nest at the soft end of their preferred “zone of nest tree decay.” In fact, sapsuckers produce so few young in recent cuts that the population is a demo-graphic sink. This scenario fits the description of an ecological trap, given that Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers appear to prefer a low-quality habitat where their population growth is negative.

To date, my measure of preference is based on a single metric (date of first egg as a proxy for order of settle-ment, assuming that the first birds to return settle in preferred habitat and get nesting underway the earli-est) and my measure of habitat quality is based on re-productive success. Preference can be determined in a number of ways, however, and results are most convinc-ing when multiple measures are obtained. Similarly, habitat quality involves not only reproductive success but also survival. Therefore, my objective over the 2009 breeding season was to obtain additional measures of preference and complete my assessment of habitat quality by measuring survivorship.

Older individuals of a variety of migratory birds return to the breeding grounds first, when they have top-pick of the best territories. Thus, the distribution of older birds provides another measure of preference, with the oldest birds being located in preferred habitat. The challenge is that a sapsucker needs to be caught in or-der to determine its age by looking at the extent of feather wear in its wings.

Douglas C. Tozer, PhD Candidate, Trent University Supervisor: Dr. Erica Nol and Dawn Burke (OMNR) Maintaining woodpecker populations within selection-logged, tolerant hardwood forests (i.e., forests with shade-loving, deciduous trees) is a major challenge be-cause the trees of declining health that are cut are the same trees that woodpeckers use for foraging and nest-ing. Overall, selection harvesting is favourable to wood-peckers because the landscape remains forested at all times, but to ensure that woodpecker habitat is main-tained, some trees of declining health are retained at harvest. The characteristics of retained “cavity trees” are based on the habitat requirements of the large-bodied Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), which are thought to incorporate the requirements of all other woodpeckers. To ensure that the guidelines achieve this objective, however, one must test whether populations of other woodpeckers are maintained fol-lowing harvest. Among the other species of woodpeck-ers, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)

is by far the most numerous in Algonquin Park and throughout many parts of north-eastern North Amer-ica. Its presence benefits many species, which access energy-rich sap at its sap wells (i.e., small, shallow holes drilled into bark) and seek shelter in its nest

Ecology and Management of Breeding Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in Algonquin Provincial Park.

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Spread wing of an adult Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, for the purpose of

determining its age based on extent of feather wear.


In the spring of 2010, Hugo and Cory will tally the number of banded birds that return to their territories, and in addition, they will catch and band another 60–100 individuals to be tracked in 2011. These data will allow me to determine survivorship in recent cuts, pro-viding a more-complete assessment of habitat quality, and will provide a better understanding of whether se-lection harvesting and nest predation by black bears indeed cause an ecological trap for this important wood-pecker.

Luckily for me, my field assistants, Hugo Kitching and Cory Reeves, painstakingly devised a reliable method to catch adults at the nest, using a net mounted on the end of a long, extendible pole. They caught 62 birds, which they aged, and to which they attached unique combinations of colour bands. The age data corroborate that from date of first egg: a high proportion of older birds occurred in recent cuts, indicating that recent cuts were preferred habitat.

Female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker being outfitted with a unique combination of colour bands.

Net, mounted on the end of an extendible pole, placed over the entrance to a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker nest cavity

Continued: Ecology of Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers

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Nesting success of Black-throated Blue Warblers in single-tree harvested forest of Algonquin Provincial Park.

predation or abandonment) or successfully fledged. This information will be used to determine the breeding success rates in the different harvest ages. Habitat and

vegetation variables where also col-lected and will be used to determine dif-ferences between the harvest times, and may aid in answering why there would be any changes. In addition to this, ba-sic ecological information will be exam-ined and compared to existing knowl-edge of black-throated blue warblers. There have been many studies focused on black-throated blue warbler ecology but most have been based in the Hub-bard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. There is little information

on the black-throated blue warbler outside of New Hampshire or how human disturbance affect them, therefore this current project will expand existing knowledge of this bird in several ways.

Melissa Creasey, MSc Candidate, Trent University Supervisor: Dr. Erica Nol

Black-throated blue warblers are a neotropical migrant, that breed in rela-tively undisturbed forests in north-eastern North America. They require a closed canopy for foraging, and a selec-tion of thick shrubs or saplings for their nests. I am studying the nesting suc-cess of black-throated blue warblers in a single-tree harvest situation. I will be examining any changes in nesting success as a harvested forest regener-ates by gathering information from stands that have been harvested in four different time ranges (1-5 years, 10-15 years, 20-25, and >55 years). During the spring and summer of 2009, 43 nests were found and monitored until the nest either failed (by

3-4 day old Black-throated Blue Warbler nestlings begging for food


Rhiannon Leshyk, MSc Candidate, Trent University Supervisors: Dr. Erica Nol and Dr. Gary Burness Forest harvesting has long been thought to be detri-mental to organisms living within a forest habitat. Many studies which have attempted to evaluate the effects of logging on forest flora and fauna have failed

to detect physiological effects of such a distur-bance. The purpose of our study was to determine whether Ovenbirds, a for-est-interior species, be-came stressed as a result of logging. Given that Ov-enbirds build ground nests within the leaf litter and require surrounding vegetation for cover, it is not improbable that the removal of trees and com-paction of leaf litter as a

result of logging practices would create a stressful envi-ronment. These habitat modifications also change the invertebrate community on which Ovenbirds and other organisms feed. Changes in food abundance and avail-ability are also likely to contribute to a stressful envi-ronment. So how does one quantify stress? One of the major com-ponents in the stress response is the hormone corticos-terone. Corticosterone circulates in the blood naturally, but increases during stressful events. By taking a blood

sample one can extract plasma corticosterone in the lab and quantify the amount circulat-ing in an indi-vidual. To evalu-ate the effect of forest harvesting on stress in Ov-enbirds we cap-tured adult males and nes-tling ovenbirds and extracted a small blood sam-ple. The study was conducted in south-eastern

Algonquin Park. We investigated two treatments of group-selection harvesting (typical and intensive) and one un-harvested treatment (control). Each treatment had three sites situated in maple dominated upland hardwood forest. The typical group-selection harvesting method strategically removed 10 large gaps (0.05ha) and 10 small gaps (0.03ha). All trees were removed from gaps and single trees were removed from the re-mainder of the stand fol-lowing provincial tree-marking guidelines. The intensive group-selection harvesting method re-moved large gaps at 50m intervals set in a grid like fashion over the selected site. Corticosterone levels of Ovenbirds nesting in both treatments were compared to those nesting in the control stands that had not been harvested for at least 50 years. Sampling involved the extraction of a small (50-100ul) blood sample from the brachial vein. Since capture and handling trigger the stress response, all samples were taken within three minutes of capture. By extracting blood within 3 min-utes one can be confident that the sample is the best estimate of baseline stress. All samples were taken during the breeding season (May-August) in 2008 and 2009. Adult male Ovenbirds were captured using mist-nets and nests of Ovenbirds were located and nestling development was monitored. Once nestlings reached 7 days of age blood samples were taken at the nest. Preliminary results suggest that adult male corticoster-one levels are not affected by forest harvesting. How-ever, nestlings had significantly higher levels of corti-costerone in the intensive cut sites than either the typi-cal or control. This suggests that nestlings in sites cut with intensive group-selection are subjected to a more stressful environment than those in the typical group-selection sites and the un-harvested controls. These results are consistent with predictions for nes-tlings but not adults. Why would nestling ovenbirds have higher levels but not adult males? Perhaps it has to do with the mobility of adult males. They possess the ability to travel outside the cut boundary and poten-tially obtain additional resources. Nestling birds, by contrast, are restrained to the nest and are limited by the resources that are delivered by parents. This differ-ence in resource acquisition is a potential source for the observed variation in corticosterone levels but requires further research.

Does forest harvesting create a stressful environment for breeding birds?

Page 11

Arial view of two logged sites cut with either intensive or group-selection.

Lighter areas within each coloured oval are gaps where trees have been removed. Gray area are forest matrix. Single trees

removed from forest cannot be seen

Extracting a blood sample from an adult male

Ovenbird

Ovenbirds build nests on the ground using leaf litter and

surrounding foliage


Simon Hall, MSc Candidate, Wilfred Laurier University Supervisor: Dr. Scott Ramsay An integrative approach to biological research has facili-tated the study not only of specific phenomena, but of the connections between these phenomena. A particu-larly striking example is that of the relationships be-tween testosterone, social behavior, and social context. Increased levels of testosterone increase the frequency of aggressive behaviors and reduce the quality of paren-tal care in many songbird species, and these changes in behavior can affect the surrounding social environment. Different social contexts (varying population densities, for example) affect the cues that control the release of testosterone into the bloodstream. The distinct tan-stripe and white-stripe phenotypic morphs of white-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) allowed these relationships to be closely examined in this species. Ra-dioimmunoassay of blood samples obtained from tan-stripe and white-stripe males living in populations of high and low density did not reveal significant differ-ences in testosterone levels across morphs or population

densities. Population density and pheno-type had an interac-tion effect on dawn chorus length, but no effect of testosterone on dawn chorus per-formance was found. White-stripe males sing more vigorously at dawn than tan-stripe males. Signifi-cant relationships exist between phenotype and dawn chorus performance, and that population density and testosterone levels did not have significant effects. In conclusion, the relationships between testosterone, so-cial behaviour and social context could not be found in white-throated sparrows when dawn chorus and popula-tion density were taken as measures of social behavior and context, respectively. Evaluating non-androgen hor-mones, androgen sensitivity, daytime singing or differ-ent stages of the breeding season might reveal trends not detected in this study.

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A banded White-throated Sparrow.

The WRS has been host to many graduate students since its inception. Here is a list of students who have successfully de-fended their thesis in the past 2 years, with more on the way.

Doug Tozer. 2010. Quality of selection-logged and unlogged forests for breeding Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. Ph.D. thesis, Trent University, Peterborough, ON

John Paul Leblanc. 2010. Nesting among slash: the demo-graphic and behavioural response of the Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) to single-tree selection in a mature continuous hardwood landscape. M.Sc. thesis, Trent University. Peterbor-ough, ON

Kevin Abbott. 2009. Predation in pollination systems. Ph.D. thesis, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON

Lucy Patterson. 2009. Correlates of male reproductive suc-cess in the eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus). M.Sc. thesis, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON Simon Hall. 2009. The effects of population density on circu-lating testosterone and dawn chorus behaviour in White-Throated Sparrows. M.Sc. thesis, Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo, ON Chris Edge. 2009. The Blanding’s turtles of Algonquin Park. M.Sc. thesis, Laurentian University

Recent publications: Bonanno, V. L., and A. I. Schulte-Hostedde. 2009. Sperm

competition and ejaculate investment in Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, In Press.

Falk, K J., K.A. Elliott, D.M. Burke, E. Nol. 2010. Early seed-ling response to group selection harvesting in a northern hardwood forest. The Forestry Chronicle 86(1): 100-109

Levesque, D.L. and Tattersall, G.J. 2010. Seasonal torpor and normothermic energy metabolism in the Easter chipmunk (Tamias striatus). Journal of Comparative physiology B. 180:279-292

Levesque, D.L. and Tattersall,G.L. 2009. Seasonal changes in thermoregulatory responses to hypoxia in the Eastern chipmunk (Tamias stiatus) Journal of Ex-perimental Biology. 212: 1801-1810

Tozer, D. C., D. M. Burke, E. Nol, and K. A. Elliott. 2010. Short-term effects of group-selection harvesting on breeding birds in a northern hardwood forest. Forest Ecology and Management. 259: 1522-1529

Tozer, D. C., E. Nol, D. M. Burke, K. A. Elliott, and K. J. Falk. 2009. Bear predation of woodpecker nests: is nes-tling begging and habitat choice risky business? Auk, 126: 300-309

The Effects of Population Density on Circulating Testosterone and Dawn Chorus Behaviour in White-Throated Sparrows

Recently Defended Theses Bibliography


Robert Bateman presenting research conducted at the WRS - circa 1940s.

Although 2009 didn't surpass the record Total User Nights set in 2008, the WRS did see the third most user nights in the past 13 years. 2009 did however break the record of most Guest and Other User Nights. This can be attributed to new researchers feeling out the grounds before they begin new pro-jects in 2010 and also the 65th Re-union celebration.

As many long and short term re-search projects are continuing and the addition of new research pro-jects for 2010 the increasing trend of User Nights should persists and continue to set new records. The WRS will also be hosting two new field courses this summer.

Will 2010 be the busiest summer on record?!

WRS User Nights 1997 - 2009

The presentations were followed by an informative and informal question period, which often precipi-tated socializing well into the evening.

If you are interested in attending or presenting for the WRS Speaker Series in the future, please contact the WRS manager.

The WRS Speaker Series was continued in 2009 with great success. The events hosted guests from all areas of Algonquin Park as well as folks from the greater park area (Huntsville, Haliburton, Bancroft and Ottawa). Due to the great success the WRS will run its Speaker Series again in 2010. The list of presenters from 2009 include;

• Simon Hall, MSC candidate: Population Density and its Effects on White-Throated Sparrows

• Alex Mills, York University: Part 1: Using Automated Telemetry and a Migration Station. Part 2. Continuous Declines of Arial Insectivores in the Canadian Shield Since the 1980’s

• Dr. Ron Brooks: The Free Lunch and Why Conserva-tion Never Works

• John Benson, PhD candidate: Hybridization Dynamics Between Wolves and Coyotes

• Dan Strickland: What Originally Prevented, and What Later Permitted, the Great Northern Expansion of White-tailed Deer

• Brad Steinberg, Park Biologist: The Seven Sins of Roads: Road Ecology and Algonquin Park

The WRS Speaker Series

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Annual User Nights at the WRS

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Year

Tota

l Use

r Nig

hts

Guests and Other

Field Courses

Researchers


The forests, lakes and streams of Algonquin Provincial Park are home to a vast array of fish and wildlife, but many people may not be aware of the amount of re-search that is conducted on these species.

In order to educate the public, and exhibit the extensive re-search which is being car-ried out within Algon-quin Park, the Wildlife Re-search Sta-tion, with help from The Friends of Al-gonquin Park, Ontario Parks

and Harkness Fisheries Research Lab hosted a “Meet the Researcher Day” at the East Beach Picnic Pavilion The event included the researchers with their projects on display, as well as free door prizes and a charity BBQ, hosted by The Friends of Algonquin Park, with proceeds going to support research in the park. Many thanks to Algonquin Outfitters, The Friends of Algon-quin Park, Ontario Parks and Rory Mackay for their door prize donations. In all, twenty-four researchers were present to inform the public, and each other, on the research they have been conducting. The research themes on display in-cluded; ornithology (Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Oven-birds, Gray Jays, White-throated Sparrows, Black-throated Blue War-blers, and Changes in Algonquin Park’s Birdlife), in-sect pollina-tion, small mammals, snapping and painted tur-tles, sala-manders, black bears, moose, wolves,

smallmouth bass, brook trout, animal tracking and archeology. Many thanks to all of the re-searchers who participated. At days end, well over 300 visitors had attended the event. With an increase in re-search in the park, the event next year should be even more exciting. The second an-nual Meet the Researcher Day is scheduled for Thurs-day, July 29, 2010 from 10:00am-3:00pm at the East Beach Picnic Pavilion. For more information please contact Rory Eckenswiller, Manager of the Wildlife Research Station, at [email protected].

Over 300 visitors attend the First Annual Meet the Researcher Day!

Page 14

Turtle researcher, and masters student, Matt Keevil talks to the public about his

turtle research (left). Matt brought along a couple painted turtles from his study site

(right)

Master student, and Black bear researcher Andrea Maxie talks to Doug Tozer about the relationship

bears and sapsuckers have.

Sapsucker research, and PhD candidate, Doug Tozer describes how he used the

peeper pole to see inside sapsucker cavities

Archeologist Bill Allen demonstrates to a keen listener how to polish artifacts

Small mammal trappers Lindsay (left) and Frances (middle) chat

with WRS Director Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde (right)

mailto:[email protected]�


Wildlife Research Station 65th Reunion Group Photo Can you spot yourself or maybe an old friend?

The Wildlife Research Station Celebrates 65 Years of Research

The summer of 2009 marked the 65th field season of research at the Wildlife Research Station (WRS). This impressive milestone was celebrated in mid September at the WRS with more than eighty past and present re-searchers attending. The weekend was filled with great food, including a pig roast Satur-day night, and good friends, with researchers present from all six decades attending. Over the weekend many stories were shared from past years at the WRS as well as tours of the grounds which provoked some very in-teresting stories. There were also speeches from the Director, Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde,

past-Manager Paul Gelok, Park Biologist Brad Steinberg, and past Director Bruce Falls. The speech ceremony was concluded with a dedica-tion to 65 years of research presented by cur-rent Manager Rory Eckenswiller. The dedica-tion was wooden carving of the Wildlife Re-search Area which outlined, the lakes, streams, rivers a contour of the land. A very impressive hand-carved piece of art! The dedi-cation will now live in the Cookhouse. For more information regarding the Reunion or if you would like o get in touch with an old friend please contact the station manager. The wooden carving

of the Wildlife Research Area.


Now YOU can support the WRS!!!

Tax-deductible Donations to the WRS can be made through The Friends of Algonquin Park! To support the WRS, send a cheque to The Friends of Algonquin Park, P.O. Box 248, Whitney, ON, K0J 2M0, and clearly indicate that it is to support the Wildlife Research Station. If planned giving inter-ests you, email: [email protected]

Contributions will go directly to supporting re-search, and ultimately continuing the tradition at the WRS! Thank you for your support, every bit counts!

Thank you for your interest in our WRS Research Report! As you can tell 2009 was a fabulous year and I look forward to what 2010 has to bring. I would like to thank all of those who contributed their project summaries and pictures, as well everybody who has shown support for the WRS as we move through these hard times.

- Rory Eckenswiller, Manager

Wildlife Research Station P.O. Box 49 Whitney, ON

K0J 2M0 Ph: 705-633-5621

Wildlife Research Station 2009 Group Photo Back row: Hugo Kitching, Paul (Paul-man) Gelok , Chris Street Matt Keevil, Lindsay Valliant, Adam (Ass-man) Wilson,

Lucas Forester, Tim Hanks, Cory Reeves. ‘Middle’ row: Krista Gooderham, Frances Stewart, Nicole Houston, Mary Thompson, Britta Schielke, Melissa Creasey,

Krista Bucholtz, Rory (Rory-man) Eckenswiller Front row: Mona Natvik, Gillian Humphries, Rhiannon Leshyk, Emony Nicholls

Absent from photo: Doug Tozer, Karla Falk, Scott Ramsay, Simon Hall, Eleanor Proctor, David Legros, Patrick Moldowan

Documents

WRS Research Report · PDF file- WRS Research Report 2009 - This past summer we had one of our ... ples await DNA analysis to determine whether ... If you are connoisseur of single