March 18, 2010

" Short-Eared Owls Study "

Speaker: Kristen Keyes

Kristen graduated from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay in May 2007 with an Honours Bachelor of Environmental Science. She then spent some time volunteering and traveling in southern Africa before starting her Masters at the Macdonald campus of McGill University in September 2008. While Kristen is actively involved with both passerine and Northern Saw-whet Owl migration monitoring efforts at the McGill Bird Observatory, her research is focused on the movement patterns and habitat use of the Short-eared Owl during both the breeding and wintering seasons. Most of her fieldwork is focused on Amherst and Wolfe Islands, and Kristen is very appreciative of the generous assistance of several members of the KFN who have been conducting weekly Short-eared Owl surveys on the islands since November. At the continental scale, she is collecting feathers from across Canada and the United States to investigate movement patterns through the use of stable isotope analysis. Within the context of current concerns regarding observed declines in the North American Short-eared Owl population, Kristen will present the progress to date of all aspects of her research project.

February 18, 2010

" "Recent research on the role of grizzlies and Pacific salmon in coastal BC ecosystems". "

Speaker: Dr. Barrie Gilbert

Dr. Barrie K. Gilbert is Senior Scientist (retired), Utah State University. After receiving his B.A. in Biology from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, he earned a PhD in ecology at Duke University. His specialty is behavioral and conservation ecology, especially the application of behavioral science to management of human-wildlife interactions. His recent research has focused on the impacts of roads, access and recreation on bears and other carnivores, their habitat, and plans to minimize or eliminate these impacts at a protected area scale. He began studying bears in 1974 and started working with coastal B.C. bears in 1996, directing graduate studies there from 1997-2004. He has traveled by foot, boat and air into dozens of drainages on the central and north coast. His research experience has extended more than 35 years and included studies of deer, moose, pronghorn, coyotes, African hunting dogs, dolphins, bears (black, brown, polar), Jungle Fowl and survey and population monitoring of birds in Puerto Rico and Cayman Islands. For the last 15 years he directed studies of human-bear interactions along salmon streams in Katmai National Park, AK, and in Southeast Alaska, and more recently in the coastal rainforests of British Columbia. Dr. Gilbert consulted for Canadian and U.S. federal, provincial and state agencies on forest wildlife conservation issues, grizzly bear responses to people, and habitat needs of bears.

Coastal brown/grizzly bears that feed mainly on salmon can attain population densities that are extraordinary. Our behaviour studies of bears protected from hunting identified up to 70 individuals coming to one stream segment. Dr. Gilbert's presentation will illustrate the role of bears in transporting nutrients from salmon into the forests and learned behaviour of grizzlies that underlies their high populations. Some implications for bears of declining salmon, bear hunting and guided tourism will be explored, especially for coastal BC and Alaska where the speaker has led field research since 1983.

January 21, 2010

" Colonial Water Birds of the Great Lakes. "

Speaker: Dr. Chip Weseloh

Dr. Weseloh has worked for the Canadian Wildlife Service since 1978. He has spent all of that time investigating colonial water-birds on the Great Lakes. He will treat us to results of Great Lakes-wide surveys as well as species-specific surveys for the likes of cormorants, Great Egrets, Black Terns, Little Gulls, Herring Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls and others. He and his fellow workers are the ones who have been responsible for the bird blinds that many of our members may have seen on Snake, Salmon and Pigeon Islands over the years. He has spent many nights in those blinds watching for colour-banded birds. He will tell us his stories. Chip is also co-author of a chapter on the colonial water-birds in the Kingston area in the 2008 edition of the Birds of the Kingston Region (see page 545).

December 17, 2009

" Members' Night: Various members will be showing their slides "

Speaker:

All members are invited to show their best 10 slides or short videos. To participate call Erwin Batalla at 613 542 2048.

November 19, 2009

" Walking with Wolf "

Speaker: Kay Chornook

Kay Chornook was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, but as a teenager went to live amongst the rocks, trees and lakes of northern Quebec and Ontario. She visited Monteverde, Costa Rica, as a volunteer in 1990, fell in love with the people and the rainforest, and has returned each year. Ten years later, Kay moved back to Hamilton, an industrial city undergoing a vibrant artistic renaissance, and found herself enamored with her birthplace, so she stayed. Kay has a Diploma in Horticulture from the University of Guelph - she had every intention of moving to the far north and getting involved with northern agriculture - and then she met a palm tree in Costa Rica and changed her idea. She has been involved in numerous environmental organizations and supports the struggle for peace and justice. Kay has published numerous human interest articles for newspapers as well as contributed a chapter to Circles of Strength: Community Alternatives to Alienation, New Society Publishers, 1992.

Walking with Wolf was created through a collaboration between Kay Chornook and Wolf Guindon, Quaker, father, pioneer & conservationist. Wolf provided the stories, told to a tape recorder while walking through the jungle, and Kay put them to paper, adding her own observations, research, and commentary. Over seventeen years they worked together to record Wolf's oral history and eventually produce this book, a labor of love that reflects their respect and concern for the future of our planet. Her talk will include photographs of Costa Rica, readings from the book and historical and biological information from Monteverde.

October 15, 2009

" KFN: Moving Forward But Some Distance to Go "

Speaker: John Cartwright

JC started as a naturalist at an early age, first keeping a yearly bird list at age 11 (1948), and joined the Kingston Nature Club at its founding in 1949. During the 1950s, he became one of the more active birders in the Kingston area while studying political science at Queen's, and kept his interest as he then moved around Canada and West Africa. While teaching at the University of Western Ontario, he began to develop his concerns about the natural environment into courses on the politics of the environment, including the protection of natural areas, until, by the time of his retirement in 2003, this had become his major academic focus. He also has been involved in a range of nature and conservation organizations, including the McIlwraith Field Naturalists of London, the Federation of Ontario Naturalists, the Canadian Nature Federation, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, as well as the Ontario and Alberta Breeding Bird Atlases, breeding bird surveys and frog counts, the Kananaskis eagle watch, and occasional bird banding in Calgary, Ottawa and Costa Rica.

September 17, 2009

" PCB Concentrations are Increasing in Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie Forage Fish: A Result of the Dreissenid Mussel Invasions? "

Speaker: Todd French

Todd French is an aquatic ecologist with interests in contaminant cycling in freshwater ecosystems, rooted macrophyte ecology, and phytoplankton dynamics. He did his B.Sc. in biology at the University of Victoria and his M.Sc. in macrophyte ecology at the University of Alberta. After completing his M.Sc. in 1994, Todd worked for about 10 years as a consultant to not-for-profit conservation organizations and the BC Ministry of Environment, directly for the BC Ministry of Environment and Upper Fraser-Nechako Fisheries Council and as a part-time laboratory instructor at the College of New Caledonia. He then returned to school to undertake Ph.D. research at Queen's University where he is now in his final year of study.

May 21, 2009

" Thoughts From the Pied Piper on Nature "

Speaker: Terry Sprague

Reminder: This is our annual May Dinner meeting and will be held at the Italo-Canadian Club (west off Montreal Street, north of Highway 401. Cash bar at 6:00pm, dinner at 6:30.

For almost 25 years, Terry Sprague has seldom been on a hike without instinctively glancing over his shoulder to make sure everyone is okay. Learn about some of the cool places he has taken people, and the topics they discuss - everything from natural history to human history. His hikes and paddle trips are about more than just birds - its stories about mammals, herptiles, insects, wildflowers, sawmills, logging camps, agriculture, and the people who shaped these areas. During his interpretation of nature, Terry has experienced a number of amusing incidents and misadventures, like the time a Main Duck Island water snake wrapped itself around his leg as he was discussing snake myths to a group of hikers, or how he once got a group of hikers lost, but managed to lead them back to the parking lot, on time, and without admitting a thing. The presentation will take us to conservation areas, cemeteries, islands, wetlands, creeks and rivers, proving that nature and history is where you find it, often within a short distance of our own backyard.

April 16, 2009

" Bird Colouration "

Speaker: Dr. Troy Murphy

Troy Murphy from Phoenix Arizona, completed his Ph.D. at Cornell in 2005, and has spent the last many years at Queen’s on an international postdoc. He will be starting an assistant professor position at Trinity University in San Antonio Texas this summer. Troy’s research program focuses on animal communication and the adaptive significance of elaborate female traits.

Females can be flashy too: Ornamental females signal to predators and competitors When elaborate plumage is found in males, it is typically thought to function as a mate-choice signal. However, when both males and females are ornately decorated, this presents a paradox because females generally do not evolve ornaments to solicit mates. I will discuss how the Turquoise-browed Motmot wags its tail in an elaborate display to communicate with predators that it is aware of a threat and is prepared to escape. And I will discuss aviary experiments with American goldfinches and simulated territorial intrusions with tropical orioles that show that females can evolve signals that convey information about their fighting ability.

March 19, 2009

" From English Roses to Canadian Wildflowers: Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill in Two Worlds "

Speaker: Michael Peterman

Michael Peterman is Professor Emeritus and recently retired from Trent University where he taught for 35 years. He has written extensively on Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill, having worked on their letters, editions of their famous books, and the stories of their lives. "Sisters in Two Worlds: A Pictorial Biography of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill" (Doubleday Canada, 2007) is his most recent book. He has also written on Isabella Valancy Crawford, Robertson Davies, Timothy Findley, Margaret Laurence, Willa Cather and Edith Wharton, and for 15 years edited "The Journal of Canadian Studies." He is a member of the Royal Society and, with his wife Cara, splits his time between homes in Peterborough and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Professor Peterman will present a slide show drawn in part from "Sisters in Two Worlds" (2007). While he will speak about the contrasting lives led by the sisters in England and colonial Canada, he will also address their contributions to the representation (through paintings by Moodie) and the description of Canadian flora in their various works (notably Traill's "Canadian Wild Flowers" [1868] and "Plant Life in Canada" [1884]).

February 19, 2009

" Coral Reefs and Condoms "

Speaker: Dr. Lena K. McPhee

Dr. McPhee's education and background: B.Sc., '68 - McGill, D.D.S., '72 -McGill Private general dentistry practice in Amherstview '72-'93 M.Sc., '97 - Queen's (algal physiology -Dave Turpin, supervisor) Ph.D., '02 - Queen's (fluorescence in tropical corals - Peter Boag, supervisor) "volunteer post-doc" Paul Young's lab '07-present She is also an avid diver in tropical waters and an "interested bystander regarding coral reefs

A defining theme of the 11th International Coral reef Symposium is that the news for coral reef ecosystems is far from encouraging. Climate change is now much faster than in an ice-age transition, and coral reefs continue to suffer fever-high temperatures as well as sour ocean conditions. Corals may be falling behind, and there appears to be no special silver bullet remedy. Nevertheless, there are hopeful signs that we should not despair. Reef ecosystems respond vigorously to protective measures and alleviation of stress. For concerned scientists, managers, conservationists, stakeholders, students, and citizens, there is a great role to play in continuing to report on the extreme threat that climate change represents to earth's natural systems. Urgent action is needed to reduce CO2 emissions. In the interim, we can and must buy time for coral reefs through increased protection from sewage, sediment, pollutants, overfishing, development, and other stressors, all of which we know can damage coral health. The time to act is now. The canary in the coral-coal mine is dead, but we still have time to save the miners. We need effective management rooted in solid interdisciplinary science and coupled with stakeholder buy-in, working at local, regional, and international scales alongside global efforts to give reefs a chance.

January 15, 2009

" Great Lakes of the World "

Speaker: Dr. Linda Campbell, Queen's University

Combined, the Great Lakes of the world, contains the vast bulk of the world's surface fresh water. They include the five great lakes in North America, the three great lakes of eastern Africa and Lake Baikal in Russia. Those lakes also are among the world's most important sites for biodiversity and endemic terrestrial and aquatic species, yet are understudied and rarely considered as part of everyday life by ordinary citizens. Recently, a symposium was held at last year's annual Society of Conservation Biology meeting, where experts from around the world was brought together to discuss the natural history, biodiversity, human health and economics of the Great Lakes, where we realized how much yet how little even foremost Great Lakes researchers and managers know about the world's Great Lakes! In this seminar, I will present some of my experiences with the Great Lakes in Africa and North America, the only two sets of Great Lakes in the world, with photographs and insights into their unique natural history. Then we will cover the concerns and policy issues that were raised by international experts at the SCB symposium, and what we can do to resolve those issues as citizens. Finally, given that we live in Kingston right next to Lake Ontario, our very own Great Lake, I hope to discuss with the audience how Lake Ontario is important to our everyday lives.

November 20, 2008

" Birds of Australia "

Speaker: Martin Edwards

Raised on a dairy farm in Chilliwack, BC, attended UBC and U of T, started at RMC in Physics in 1954 retiring in 1995. Began birdwatching in 1952 and quickly got in to conservation organizations. Served as president of KFN, FON, and CNF and on the council of the World Conservation Union. One of the founding members of the CRCA, and currently still in the Species Survival Commission and Commission on Environmental Law of the World Conservation Union.

In the fall of 2007 Dr. Edwards spend a month chasing birds in Australia. His talk will feature this adventure and will include many of his beautiful photographs.

October 16, 2008

" Migratory songbirds: canaries in the mine? "

Speaker: Bridget Stutchbury

Bridget Stutchbury is a professor of biology at York University in Toronto and author of Silence of the Songbirds. Since the 1980s, she has studied migratory songbirds like the Hooded Warbler, Purple Martin, Scarlet Tanager and Wood Thrush. Her research includes studies on the breeding behavior of songbirds and the effects of habitat loss on their nesting success and winter survival. In Silence of the Songbirds, Stutchbury follows migrants from the tropical forests of Panama to the boreal forest of Canada to understand why populations are declining and how each of us can make the world safer for songbirds.

September 18, 2008

" Conservation by Design: Planning and Action in Eastern Ontario "

Speaker: Gary Bell

Gary P Bell is the Eastern Ontario Program Manager for Nature Conservancy of Canada. Gary joined NCC in 2006 after nearly 20 years working with U.S.-based "The Nature Conservancy" (TNC) as Area Ecologist in Southern California and most recently as Director of Conservation Science for New Mexico. His work for TNC included the bi-national "Ecoregional Assessment of the Chihuahuan Desert" and leading TNC's "Global Habitat Assessments" for Aridlands and Tundra. Gary received his B.Sc. from Queen's University and holds a M.Sc. and Ph.D. from Carleton University.

In 2007 the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) completed a conservation plan for the Frontenac Arch, detailing priority conservation actions and identifying key acquisitions for the next five years. This science-based approach to land conservation enables NCC to be more selective and strategic in the properties and projects it takes on with the goal of directing limited resources toward a bigger picture of conservation at the landscape level. This year NCC completed a similar plan for the Napanee Plain and this fall will embark on a plan for Prince Edward County and the Kingston Plain. Gary Bell will detail the Frontenac Arch plan and discuss recent land acquisitions that have come out of this planning effort.

May 22, 2008

" Nature into Art - creating colour illustrations for a new Peterson Field guide to mammals of North America "

Speaker: Fiona Reid

Fiona A. Reid spent many years capturing small mammals and drawing them from life for her new book: A Peterson Field Guide to Mammals of North America. An accomplished writer and artist, she has written and/or illustrated numerous guides, including A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico, The Golden Guide to Bats of the World, Bats of Papua New Guinea, and Mammals of the Neotropics (volumes 1–3). Fiona is a Departmental Associate in Mammalogy at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology at the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto, Canada. She has led nature tours for the past two decades, showing ecotourists the mammals and other wildlife of diverse lands from Brazil to Indonesia, and Alaska to Venezuela. She lives on the Niagara Escarpment in southern Ontario with her husband and two children.

The 2008 KFN May Dinner Meeting will be held on Thursday May 22 (Note that this is the FOURTH Thursday in May) at the Italo-Canadian Club (west off Montreal Street, north of Highway 401). Cash bar 6:00 p.m.; dinner 6:30 p.m. Tickets at $27 each are available at the March and April General Meetings, or from John Critchley ( 613- 634-5475), Jackie Bartnik ( 613 - 531-3736), Janis Grant ( 613-548-3668 ) or Alexandra Simmons ( 613 - 542-2048 or alerwin@kos.net). Please purchase your tickets by Saturday May 19. Please indicate choice of main dish (Roast Pork , Chicken Supreme, Filet of Sole or Stuffed Pepper with Rice and Vegetables) when purchasing tickets.

April 17, 2008

" All About Bluebirds - and More "

Speaker: John Rogers

John Rogers has maintained a trail of hundreds of bluebird nest boxes in central NY for over 35 years, and has fledged over 11,000 Eastern Bluebirds. He is a recognized authority on bluebird conservation, and has done slide programs, field trips, and workshops for hundreds of groups. John was a cofounder of the New York State Bluebird Society in 1982. He is a recipient of the John and Nora Bluebird Conservation Award from the North American Bluebird Society, and a past board member of that organization. John holds a BA in Biology from SUNY Oswego.

This presentation encompasses the life history of the Eastern Bluebird, nest box management, other birds that nest in bluebird boxes and more. The theme throughout is nature appreciation. The focus is on bluebirds, but John also shares his passion for the natural world in hopes the audience will absorb some broader and deeper messages. With visually beautiful photographs, creative graphics, and a sincere, enthusiastic presentation style, this program is of interest to anyone who appreciates nature.

The presentation includes the following:

Factors for why bluebirds declined, with a focus on starlings/house sparrows/habitat loss.

Natural nesting sites of bluebirds in abandoned woodpecker holes and natural cavities, photos of the woodpeckers present in this area, and a brief discussion of cavity nesters.

Optimal habitat for bluebirds, and proper placement and management of nest boxes etc.

The nesting cycle – establishing territories, courtship, courtship song, nest building, egg laying and incubation, raising young, fledging.

Feeding – the four primary feeding methods and primary food sources

A few common wildflowers, butterflies, and dragonflies of this area.

A “quick quiz” on Ontario’s official plants and animals. Thought provoking “nature quotes” by a few great naturalists of the past.

Other birds that nest in bluebird nest boxes (swallows, wrens, house sparrows, black-capped chickadees, tufted titmice).

Predators and parasites –raccoons, cats, squirrels, blowflies, jewel wasps.

March 20, 2008

" The Essential Truth – An Exploration of three Eastern Ontario Provincial Parks "

Speaker: David Bree

David grew up in Almonte, Ontario in the Ottawa Valley and developed an interest in the natural world at an early age, remembering the birds at the winter feeder and the spring wildflowers in the bushlot behind his home. After high school he pursued a formal education in the field of Geology, receiving a B.Sc. from Waterloo in 1983, and a M.Sc. from Queen's in 1990. David joined the KFN in 1985 and served one term on the executive when he lived in Kingston.

Since 1988 he has worked as a seasonal naturalist in the Provincial Park system, including 4 years at Charleston Lake, 8 years at Bon Echo, 1 year at Sandbanks, 4 years at Petroglyphs Provincial Park and one year at Algonquin. Since 2006 he has been the full-time Naturalist at Presqu’ile Provincial Park. For the last 21 years he has lived in Prince Edward County, though seasonal work has allowed time for international travel. Along with his wife Yvette he has managed to enjoy the natural world in six continents over the last 20 years, with most recently a trip to Peru.

While all aspects of nature are of interest to David his early interests focused on the study of birds, vascular plants, and geology. In the last nine years insects have become his passion and has pursued these throughout east-central Ontario. Dragonflies in particular have been a favourite study area, along with butterflies and moths.

An exploration of Charleston Lake Provincial Park, Bon Echo Provincial Park and Sandbanks Provincial Park to find the essential element (at least in the eyes of the speaker) of each park. The underlying geology and geomorphology and how it controls what we see on the surface features prominently.

February 21, 2008

" Hope for the Wood God: On the Trail of the Ivory billed Woodpecker in the Florida Panhandle "

Speaker: Dr. Wallace Rendell

Wallace Rendell received his PhD from Queen's University studying the breeding and behavioural ecology of Tree Swallows with his long-time mentor and friend, Raleigh Robertson. During his biology research career he's been involved with projects studying a wide variety of topics, including acid rain effects on north temperate lakes, and the effects of physical and chemical factors influencing recruitment of marine fish fry. Mostly, however, his interests lay in bird breeding ecology. He spent over a year of his life in Galapagos working on Darwin's Finches and Masked Boobies, and most recently he conducted investigations into egg-laying sequence and the influence of food quality on breeding success in Eastern and Western Bluebirds in Ontario and California. Currently, he is a Professor of Biosciences at Loyalist College in Belleville, and the Recording Secretary and an Officer of the Board for the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory.

Dr. Rendell reviews the natural history of the ivory-billed woodpecker, it's many extinctions and rediscoveries, the evidence for its continued presence in the Florida panhandle, and the part he played in helping a joint Auburn-Windsor university team gather this evidence.

January 17, 2008

" The Importance of Montane Environments in the Origins of Neotropical Biodiversity. "

Speaker: Dr. Steven Lougheed

Stephen Lougheed is an Associate Professor in Biology, cross-appointed to Environmental Studies, at Queen’s University. His research primarily centres on understanding the origins of vertebrate species diversity in the Americas, with projects spanning phylogenetics and biogeography to population and conservation genetics of mostly amphibians, squamate reptiles and birds. He has taught field and wildlife courses in South, Middle and North America, Africa, Europe and Asia.

The Neotropics, and especially lowland Amazonia, are widely celebrated as housing the greatest array of terrestrial diversity on the planet. Yet for some groups it is not the lowlands but montane environments where we find the highest concentration of species. Indeed some biologists have posited that montane regions act as “species pumps” that might provide at least some of the complement of diversity at lower altitudes. For this talk, I will speak broadly to the theme of montane diversity with reference to western Mexico where I recently taught a field course, and western South America where my students and I have been conducting some phylogeographic work on birds and frogs.

December 13, 2007

" Members Night: Various members will be showing their slides. "

Speaker:

November 15, 2007

" Turtle Conservation "

Speaker: Matt Ellerbeck

Matt Ellerbeck is someone who has always loved turtles. In his childhood he spent every summer in marshes and ponds just so he could spend sometime with these creatures. In 2007 he decided to start a turtle conservation project due to his growing concern over declining turtle populations. In January 2007 Matt gave his debut turtle presentation for the Friends of Big Sandy Bay group on Wolfe Island. Throughout the year Matt traveled in and around the Kingston area to give numerous presentations on turtles and turtle conservation. In April he went to the Cat Creek Conservation Area where he gave two consecutive turtle presentations for a very packed house! The shows drew the largest audience in attendance at Cat Creek for Winter/Spring 2007. Other highlights included two days at the Kingston Baby and Kid Show, the Second Annual GreenUP! Environmental Festival, and presentations at all the Kingston Libraries as part of the 'Friends of The Library' series. In fact, tickets for his presentation at the Isabel Turner Library were gone within 10 minutes of becoming available! The presentation at the Central branch also saw every ticket being swapped up for the presentation. Aside from presentations Matt has appeared in local media to help further get his message out to the public. He appeared on CFRC Radio, Fly FM Radio, CKWS Newswatch, and has been featured three times in the Kingston This Week Newspaper. To further get the message out, articles on turtles were written. His article 'Turtles in Torment' was published in the Kingston Field Naturalist's publication, The Blue Bill. His article 'Helping To Reduce Turtle Road Mortality, One Sign At A Time' was released in the Amphibian Voice. The Amphibian Voice is the official newsletter of the Adopt-A-Pond programme of the Toronto Zoo. To further help turtles a great deal of the summer months is spent out in the field trying to gather observations of turtles. In May Matt records over 80 sightings of Northern Map Turtles along the Cataraqui River. This is very important as this turtle is federally listed as a Species At Risk by the Committee On The Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. The information is sent into various local authorities as well as Turtle Watch and the Ontario Turtle Tally. In June, Matt records numerous sightings of the threatened Blanding's Turtle at an undisclosed location. Matt is later informed by Turtle Watch that this is the first record of these turtles in this place. Matt is more than elated to find out that he has recorded a previously undocumented population of a threatened species! In July, he returned there to release three baby Blanding's turtles back into the wild. The turtles had been under the care of Turtle SHELL Tortue. To help combat turtle road mortality, Matt has been instrumental in getting five turtle crossing signs erected in and around the Kingston area. Matt has numerous more plans to help turtles for 2008, including more turtle presentations and stewardship projects.

During his presentation to the KFN Matt will share his passion for turtles and describe how all of us can participate in preserving this ancient creature.

October 18, 2007

" Conservation Status of North American White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) "

Speaker: Todd French

Todd French is an aquatic ecologist with interests in contaminant cycling in freshwater ecosystems, rooted macrophyte ecology, and phytoplankton dynamics. He did his B.Sc. in biology at the University of Victoria and his M.Sc. in macrophyte ecology at the University of Alberta. After completing his M.Sc. in 1994, Todd worked for about 10 years as a consultant to not-for-profit conservation organisations and the BC Ministry of Environment, directly for the BC Ministry of Environment and Upper Fraser-Nechako Fisheries Council and as a part-time laboratory instructor at the College of New Caledonia. He then returned to school to undertake Ph.D. research at Queen's University where he is now in his third year of study. The presentation Todd is giving today is not related to his Ph.D. research, but to conservation work he was involved with back in BC before returning to school.

With some individuals growing to 6 m in length and 600 kg, the white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus Richardson, or "sturgeon across the mountains") is the largest freshwater fish in North America. The species first appeared in the fossil record 175 million years ago — during the days of the dinosaur — and has remained almost unchanged to the present. Like sharks, white sturgeon have a heterocercal tail (upper lobe larger than lower lobe) that increases manoeuvrability in flowing water. Other characteristics of the species include long external barbels, rows of external bony scutes, and a mostly cartilaginous skeleton. In North America, white sturgeon are found in three Pacific drainages: the Sacramento (California), the Columbia-Kootenai (British Columbia, Idaho, Washington, and Montana), and the Fraser (British Columbia). Small populations also inhabit some Gulf of Alaska drainages and lower reaches of the Cowichan and Somass rivers on Vancouver Island. White sturgeon inhabiting the lower reaches of large rivers that enter the ocean directly are often anadromous; that is, they live part of their life cycle in fresh water and part in salt water. However, populations living far inland, such as those in the Nechako River (major tributary of the upper Fraser River), typically become landlocked living their entire life in fresh water. Females reach sexual maturity when they are 20+ years old, with males reaching maturity earlier at 14+ years. They can spawn several times throughout their lifespan, which can exceed 100 years. Surveys have shown that Fraser River white sturgeon populations are largely composed of individuals younger than 20 years old, with relatively few individuals representing older classes — a distribution expected from a sustainable population — but, that the Nechako River population has a large proportion of individuals between 30 and 50 years old with few individuals representing younger age classes. The scarcity of young white sturgeon in the Nechako River will result in fewer and fewer fish reaching reproductive maturity, with this ultimately setting the stage for future population extinction. In 1990, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) classified the white sturgeon as a Species of Special Concern (species particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events). In November 2003, COSEWIC downgraded the species to Endangered (species facing imminent extirpation or extinction) and in August 2006 the Nechako, upper Fraser, Kootenai and Columbia populations were officially designated as Endangered under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA, Bill C-5). This designation is more in-line with those of the United States Fish & Wildlife Service who list the Kootenai population as Endangered and the British Columbia Conservation Centre who designate the upper Columbia and Nechako populations as Critically Imperilled. In my presentation I will discuss the conservation status of Nechako white sturgeon, causes for the population decline, and the direction of ongoing recovery initiatives. Specifically, I will speak on the physical and chemical effects of two types of water regulations schemes and their limnological and ecological consequences.

September 20, 2007

" Insect Photography: Exploring Nature With A Macro Lens "

Speaker: Kenneth Edwards

How macro photography allows the amateur naturalist to explore the world of invertebrates.

May 24, 2007

" Monteverde Then & Now: The role of land purchase in conserving biodiversity in the Neotropics "

Speaker: Dr. Adrian Forsyth

Dr. Forsyth received his PhD in tropical ecology from Harvard University under E.O. Wilson in 1978. He is the author of nine books, including Tropical Nature, Mammals of the Canadian Wild, The Natural History of Sex, The Nature of Birds, Exploring the World of Insects, and Portraits of the Rainforest.

Our May 24th *****Note the date change, 4th not 3rd Thursday***** dinner meeting speaker will be Dr. Adrian Forsyth, who last spoke to the KFN in September 1987 about the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica. At that time the reserve was still being established and needed funds to purchase land. At the end of the talk, the KFN donated $10, 600 to the cause. At this presentation, Adrian will tell us how tropical conservation has proceeded over the past 20 years.

This is our annual dinner meeting and silent book auction held at the Italo-Canadian Club, 1174 Italia Lane (Highway 401 and Montreal Street). Cash Bar 6:00 p.m., dinner 6:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at the March and April General Meetings or from John Critchley (634-5475), Jackie Bartnik (531-3736), Norma Graham (546-9381) or Alexandra Simmons (542-2048) for $27 each. Please purchase tickets before Saturday, May 19.

Silent Auction

A silent auction will be held at this Dinner Meeting and will include nature books, and other items such as binoculars, telescopes, tripods, etc. To donate items to the auction contact Peter McIntyre at 548-4738.

Rare Book

This year's auction will feature an original 3 volumes of Wilson & Bonaparte, American Ornithology or The Natural History of Birds of the United States with Illustrative Notes and Life of Wilson by Sir William Jardine. This 1832 set is complete with 97 full-page plates of birds engraved by Lizars and coloured by hand. Minimum bid is set at $1000.00 with $50 increments accepted for subsequent bids.

April 19, 2007

" Polar Bear Mating Systems "

Speaker: Peter de Groot

Peter J. van Coeverden De Groot completed his Ph D. at Queen's University in 2001. For his thesis, he examined genetic variation in muskoxen throughout their Canadian and Greenland range. More recently he has been working on Polar Bear mating systems using genetics and is working on methods that can include local Inuit in data collection. He also uses genetics to answer rhino and elephant conservation questions in Africa and Asia. He and his family live on farm near Kingston.

As a backdrop, the recent United States proposal to investigate the listing of the Polar bear as endangered will be discussed, as will be current Canadian management practices of 60% of the world's polar bears. Contrasting studies of the impacts of the reduction of ice cover on the fate of the polar bear will be highlighted. This will be followed with a description of recent research at Queen's University, investigating mating systems and dispersal of polar bears and efforts to design an inexpensive bear survey that includes Inuit participants. Findings from the most recent fieldwork in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut will be presented.

March 15, 2007

" Save the Boreal Forest: Ontario’s Songbird Nursery "

Speaker: Caroline Schultz

Join Caroline Schultz, Ontario Nature’s Executive Director, for an informative and colourful presentation about Ontario's boreal breeding birds, the threats facing their nesting sites, and what you can do to help protect them. Recent evidence estimates that 300 species and 2 billion individual birds breed in the boreal forest before migrating south. Numerous species of birds that we see during the spring migration, such as songbirds, swans and ducks, call the boreal forest home during the nesting season. The boreal forest is recognized as the single most important breeding ground for birds in North America. This is why it is being called Ontario's Songbird Nursery.

The boreal forest is under threat from industrial development but we still have a tremendous opportunity to protect large portions of this forest, particularly in the unallocated forest north of 51 degrees latitude. Ontario Nature is working with other organizations to raise awareness about the threats to boreal forests and actions that must be taken to protect the songbirds’ home.