Call-response surveys were conducted to better delineate and estimate the population of the nationally threatened least bittern and their habitat requirements in southern Manitoba, Canada. Other marsh bird species whose populations are believed to be declining due to wetland loss throughout, or in parts of, their range were also surveyed including the American bittern, pied-billed grebe, sora, Virginia rail and yellow rail. Surveys were conducted during the 2003 and 2004 breeding seasons within 46 different wetlands. Least bitterns were encountered on 26 occasions at 15 sites within 5 wetlands. The sora was the most abundant and widely distributed target species and was encountered on 330 occasions in 39 of the 46 surveyed wetlands. Yellow rails were not detected during either survey year due to survey methodology. Use of the call-response survey protocol led to an increase in the numbers of all target species detected. This increase was more significant for the least bittern, sora and Virginia rail. Habitat was assessed as percent vegetation cover within a 50-m radius around the calling sites, and forest resource inventory data were used in a Geographic Information System to determine the landscape composition within a 500-m radius around the sites and within a 5-km radius around the wetlands surveyed. Logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between the presence of the target species and the site and landscape characteristics. The target species responded differently to different site and landscape characteristics. Least bittern and pied-billed grebe selected areas with higher proportions of Typha spp. and tall shrubs; American bittern also selected areas with higher proportions of tall shrubs. At the 5-km scale, the American bittern responded positively to the amount of wetland and some positive trends were also detected for the pied-billed grebe. Sora and Virginia rail were not associated with any of the measured landscape characteristics. One of the most important steps towards the conservation of marsh bird species in Manitoba and elsewhere is the development, adoption, and implementation of a standardized survey protocol. Based on the results of the present study, I recommend that future surveys include both a passive and call-broadcast period for marsh bird species. Future surveys should be conducted in both the morning and evening and sites should be visited 3 times each during the breeding season. In southern Manitoba, call-response surveys should begin as early as the beginning of May to ensure the survey incorporates the period of peak vocalization. I recommend that future yellow rail surveys be conducted after dark. In this study many of the target species selected sites that had a greater area of wetland habitat surrounding them. Future wetland conservation efforts should focus on the protection and/or restoration of wetland complexes to ensure that remaining wetlands do not become smaller and increasingly isolated from one another. In addition, the Rat River Swamp was found to be the most productive marsh complex for least bittern in southern Manitoba. Measures should be taken to protect this area from future development and alteration. / May 2006

Eastern Sand Darter (Ammocrypta pellucida) is listed as Threatened under the Canadian Species at Risk Act. Canadian populations are declining primarily due to the siltation of sandy depositional areas, the preferred habitat of the species. Little other relevant biological information is available for most Canadian populations and only limited information is available for populations in the United States. To supplement the paucity of information, this study collected biological information on A. pellucida during field surveys in 2006- 2007 from 10 sites located around the Big Bend Conservation Area in the lower Thames River, Ontario, Canada. Collected data were used to estimate critical life history traits including: longevity, fecundity, clutch size and number, growth, survival, age-at-first-maturity and cohort age structure. Longevity was 3+ years, with age-at-first-maturity being 1+ for both sexes. A minimum of 2 clutches, were laid per year with an average clutch size of 71 eggs. Average density within in the study area was 0.36 ± 0.11 A. pellucida/m². Quantitative comparison of lower Thames River biological information with a more southerly A. pellucida population in the Little Muskingum River, Ohio, demonstrated little latitudinal variation between the populations. Data comparison suggests that localized environmental factors are affecting biological characteristics, in particular water temperature that may be controlled by differences in riparian cover and/or groundwater input. Field derived life history information was used to create a Leslie matrix model which was used for population viability analysis. Perturbation analyses of reproductive scenarios involving changes in clutch numbers and size and age-at-first maturity found large variations in the finite rate of population growth. Elasticity analyses further indicated that 0+ survival and 1+ fertility were the limiting life history parameters. Thus allowing fish to survive until first reproduction would have the largest overall impact on improving population viability. Inclusion of environmental stochasticity in the model facilitated estimation of extinction probabilities in the range of 0.13 to 0.21 within 100 years. Based on the above, it is recommended that management activities for protection and restoration of A. pellucida focus on habitat protection of nursery and spawning areas.

Eastern Sand Darter (Ammocrypta pellucida) is listed as Threatened under the Canadian Species at Risk Act. Canadian populations are declining primarily due to the siltation of sandy depositional areas, the preferred habitat of the species. Little other relevant biological information is available for most Canadian populations and only limited information is available for populations in the United States. To supplement the paucity of information, this study collected biological information on A. pellucida during field surveys in 2006- 2007 from 10 sites located around the Big Bend Conservation Area in the lower Thames River, Ontario, Canada. Collected data were used to estimate critical life history traits including: longevity, fecundity, clutch size and number, growth, survival, age-at-first-maturity and cohort age structure. Longevity was 3+ years, with age-at-first-maturity being 1+ for both sexes. A minimum of 2 clutches, were laid per year with an average clutch size of 71 eggs. Average density within in the study area was 0.36 ± 0.11 A. pellucida/m². Quantitative comparison of lower Thames River biological information with a more southerly A. pellucida population in the Little Muskingum River, Ohio, demonstrated little latitudinal variation between the populations. Data comparison suggests that localized environmental factors are affecting biological characteristics, in particular water temperature that may be controlled by differences in riparian cover and/or groundwater input. Field derived life history information was used to create a Leslie matrix model which was used for population viability analysis. Perturbation analyses of reproductive scenarios involving changes in clutch numbers and size and age-at-first maturity found large variations in the finite rate of population growth. Elasticity analyses further indicated that 0+ survival and 1+ fertility were the limiting life history parameters. Thus allowing fish to survive until first reproduction would have the largest overall impact on improving population viability. Inclusion of environmental stochasticity in the model facilitated estimation of extinction probabilities in the range of 0.13 to 0.21 within 100 years. Based on the above, it is recommended that management activities for protection and restoration of A. pellucida focus on habitat protection of nursery and spawning areas.

Melanie Jones and Dan Durall aren't looking to the treetops for clues about the "wood wide web." They're looking to the soil at fungi that are crucial to renewing our forests.

Climate change is putting the Earth’s biodiversity in serious jeopardy. UBC’S Biodiversity Research Centre is aiming to understand the impact of this shift.

Call-response surveys were conducted to better delineate and estimate the population of the nationally threatened least bittern and their habitat requirements in southern Manitoba, Canada. Other marsh bird species whose populations are believed to be declining due to wetland loss throughout, or in parts of, their range were also surveyed including the American bittern, pied-billed grebe, sora, Virginia rail and yellow rail. Surveys were conducted during the 2003 and 2004 breeding seasons within 46 different wetlands. Least bitterns were encountered on 26 occasions at 15 sites within 5 wetlands. The sora was the most abundant and widely distributed target species and was encountered on 330 occasions in 39 of the 46 surveyed wetlands. Yellow rails were not detected during either survey year due to survey methodology. Use of the call-response survey protocol led to an increase in the numbers of all target species detected. This increase was more significant for the least bittern, sora and Virginia rail. Habitat was assessed as percent vegetation cover within a 50-m radius around the calling sites, and forest resource inventory data were used in a Geographic Information System to determine the landscape composition within a 500-m radius around the sites and within a 5-km radius around the wetlands surveyed. Logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between the presence of the target species and the site and landscape characteristics. The target species responded differently to different site and landscape characteristics. Least bittern and pied-billed grebe selected areas with higher proportions of Typha spp. and tall shrubs; American bittern also selected areas with higher proportions of tall shrubs. At the 5-km scale, the American bittern responded positively to the amount of wetland and some positive trends were also detected for the pied-billed grebe. Sora and Virginia rail were not associated with any of the measured landscape characteristics. One of the most important steps towards the conservation of marsh bird species in Manitoba and elsewhere is the development, adoption, and implementation of a standardized survey protocol. Based on the results of the present study, I recommend that future surveys include both a passive and call-broadcast period for marsh bird species. Future surveys should be conducted in both the morning and evening and sites should be visited 3 times each during the breeding season. In southern Manitoba, call-response surveys should begin as early as the beginning of May to ensure the survey incorporates the period of peak vocalization. I recommend that future yellow rail surveys be conducted after dark. In this study many of the target species selected sites that had a greater area of wetland habitat surrounding them. Future wetland conservation efforts should focus on the protection and/or restoration of wetland complexes to ensure that remaining wetlands do not become smaller and increasingly isolated from one another. In addition, the Rat River Swamp was found to be the most productive marsh complex for least bittern in southern Manitoba. Measures should be taken to protect this area from future development and alteration.

Call-response surveys were conducted to better delineate and estimate the population of the nationally threatened least bittern and their habitat requirements in southern Manitoba, Canada. Other marsh bird species whose populations are believed to be declining due to wetland loss throughout, or in parts of, their range were also surveyed including the American bittern, pied-billed grebe, sora, Virginia rail and yellow rail. Surveys were conducted during the 2003 and 2004 breeding seasons within 46 different wetlands. Least bitterns were encountered on 26 occasions at 15 sites within 5 wetlands. The sora was the most abundant and widely distributed target species and was encountered on 330 occasions in 39 of the 46 surveyed wetlands. Yellow rails were not detected during either survey year due to survey methodology. Use of the call-response survey protocol led to an increase in the numbers of all target species detected. This increase was more significant for the least bittern, sora and Virginia rail. Habitat was assessed as percent vegetation cover within a 50-m radius around the calling sites, and forest resource inventory data were used in a Geographic Information System to determine the landscape composition within a 500-m radius around the sites and within a 5-km radius around the wetlands surveyed. Logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between the presence of the target species and the site and landscape characteristics. The target species responded differently to different site and landscape characteristics. Least bittern and pied-billed grebe selected areas with higher proportions of Typha spp. and tall shrubs; American bittern also selected areas with higher proportions of tall shrubs. At the 5-km scale, the American bittern responded positively to the amount of wetland and some positive trends were also detected for the pied-billed grebe. Sora and Virginia rail were not associated with any of the measured landscape characteristics. One of the most important steps towards the conservation of marsh bird species in Manitoba and elsewhere is the development, adoption, and implementation of a standardized survey protocol. Based on the results of the present study, I recommend that future surveys include both a passive and call-broadcast period for marsh bird species. Future surveys should be conducted in both the morning and evening and sites should be visited 3 times each during the breeding season. In southern Manitoba, call-response surveys should begin as early as the beginning of May to ensure the survey incorporates the period of peak vocalization. I recommend that future yellow rail surveys be conducted after dark. In this study many of the target species selected sites that had a greater area of wetland habitat surrounding them. Future wetland conservation efforts should focus on the protection and/or restoration of wetland complexes to ensure that remaining wetlands do not become smaller and increasingly isolated from one another. In addition, the Rat River Swamp was found to be the most productive marsh complex for least bittern in southern Manitoba. Measures should be taken to protect this area from future development and alteration.

The research project upon which this dissertation is based focused on enhancing understandings of the nature of current First Nations/non-Aboriginal relations in environmental management. The project was undertaken as a collaborative initiative by the author, a non-Aboriginal doctoral researcher, in partnership with Walpole Island First Nation. The research served as an opportunity for co-producing knowledge on this subject across cultures and worldviews, and as an effort to build towards our shared aspiration of learning how distinct, yet inextricably linked, First Nations/non-Aboriginal understandings, approaches and worldviews can come together within a context of mutual respect and mutual benefit. The purpose of the research was to investigate the existence and types of issues leading to First Nations/non-Aboriginal tensions in environmental management, to analyze and unpack underlying causes of challenges identified via the research, and to construct avenues for relationship improvement. The research project was grounded in a specific investigation into relations in species at risk conservation and recovery in southern Ontario, Canada. The resulting dissertation is structured around three primary focal areas: 1) investigating and exposing colonial influences at play in Canada’s Species at Risk Act, and offering a new model for co-governance in this arena and beyond; 2) investigating relations surrounding efforts towards traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) transfer in species at risk work, with a focus on exploring issues identified in relation to intellectual imperialism; and 3) introducing and characterizing an original, reconceptualized approach to First Nations/non-Aboriginal relationships in academic research; this approach focused on ways in which investigatory practice can become a means of working towards broader reconciliation goals. Research findings from this dissertation indicate that colonial factors, often unevenly visible to actors involved in environmental management and research, continue to strongly affect the potential for positive, productive First Nations/non-Aboriginal relations in these spheres - including within the species at risk conservation and recovery arena examined here. Project results provide insight into the nature of the factors influencing relationships, as well as potential avenues for addressing the vitality of colonialism in contemporary relations and overcoming the influences on First Nations and on First Nations/non-Aboriginal relationships.

The research project upon which this dissertation is based focused on enhancing understandings of the nature of current First Nations/non-Aboriginal relations in environmental management. The project was undertaken as a collaborative initiative by the author, a non-Aboriginal doctoral researcher, in partnership with Walpole Island First Nation. The research served as an opportunity for co-producing knowledge on this subject across cultures and worldviews, and as an effort to build towards our shared aspiration of learning how distinct, yet inextricably linked, First Nations/non-Aboriginal understandings, approaches and worldviews can come together within a context of mutual respect and mutual benefit. The purpose of the research was to investigate the existence and types of issues leading to First Nations/non-Aboriginal tensions in environmental management, to analyze and unpack underlying causes of challenges identified via the research, and to construct avenues for relationship improvement. The research project was grounded in a specific investigation into relations in species at risk conservation and recovery in southern Ontario, Canada. The resulting dissertation is structured around three primary focal areas: 1) investigating and exposing colonial influences at play in Canada’s Species at Risk Act, and offering a new model for co-governance in this arena and beyond; 2) investigating relations surrounding efforts towards traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) transfer in species at risk work, with a focus on exploring issues identified in relation to intellectual imperialism; and 3) introducing and characterizing an original, reconceptualized approach to First Nations/non-Aboriginal relationships in academic research; this approach focused on ways in which investigatory practice can become a means of working towards broader reconciliation goals. Research findings from this dissertation indicate that colonial factors, often unevenly visible to actors involved in environmental management and research, continue to strongly affect the potential for positive, productive First Nations/non-Aboriginal relations in these spheres - including within the species at risk conservation and recovery arena examined here. Project results provide insight into the nature of the factors influencing relationships, as well as potential avenues for addressing the vitality of colonialism in contemporary relations and overcoming the influences on First Nations and on First Nations/non-Aboriginal relationships.