Annual Report of Research and Monitoring in the Greater Kejimkujik Ecosystem 2014 Citation: Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute and Parks Canada
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Annual Report of Research and Monitoring in the Greater Kejimkujik Ecosystem 2014 Citation: Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute and Parks Canada. 2015. Annual Report of Research and Monitoring in the Greater Kejimkujik Ecosystem 2014. Kempt, Nova Scotia, 124pp. Cover Photos, clockwise from top left: • Mersey River in the fall, by J. Reid • Meadow at Roger’s Brook, Kejimkujik, by W. Pitts • Paddling in the Tobeatic, by C. Gray • Kejimkujik Seaside, by W. Pitts • Forest along Portage E in Kejimkujik, by J. Reid Printed on 100% post-consumer paper Annual Report of Research and Monitoring in the Greater Kejimkujik Ecosystem 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 6 COASTAL Piping Plover Monitoring Program ..........................................................................10 Piping Plover Habitat Management ........................................................................12 Nova Scotia Piping Plover Conservation Program .................................................14 Invasive Green Crab Restoration Project .................................................................16 Eelgrass Coastal Monitoring and Recovery .............................................................18 Estuarine Water Quality Monitoring ........................................................................20 Soft-Shell Clam Monitoring ......................................................................................22 FOREST Landbirds at Risk in Forested Landscapes ..............................................................26 Caledonia Christmas Bird Count ..............................................................................28 Nocturnal Owl Survey ...............................................................................................30 McGowan Lake Chimney Swift Monitoring .............................................................32 Jack Pine Budworm Population and Damage Assessments ...................................34 Boreal Felt Lichen Monitoring in Nova Scotia .........................................................36 Relative Abundance of White-Tailed Deer ...............................................................38 Invasive Plant Monitoring and Restoration ............................................................40 Plethodontid Salamander Monitoring ....................................................................42 Forest Health - Trees ..................................................................................................44 Red Oak Regeneration in Mixedwood Stands .........................................................46 Arthropod Diversity and DNA Barcoding ................................................................48 FRESHWATER ACPF Volunteer Plant Monitoring ............................................................................52 ACPF Stewards in Cottage Country ..........................................................................54 Water Quality in ACPF Habitat ..................................................................................56 Water Quality in the Tusket Catchment ...................................................................58 CURA H2O - Community Based Monitoring ............................................................60 Lake Water Quality Monitoring in Kejimkujik .........................................................62 Relationships Between Carbon and Mercury ..........................................................64 Freshwater Inventory and Surveillance of Mercury................................................66 4 ANNUAL REPORT OF RESEARCH & MONITORING IN THE GREATER KEJIMKUJIK ECOSYSTEM 2014 Mercury in Freshwater Food Webs ...........................................................................68 The Kejimkujik-Mersey LoonWatch Program ..........................................................70 Adult Survivorship of Common Loons .....................................................................72 Protecting Kejimkujik’s Trout Fishing Legacy .........................................................74 Stream Flow Monitoring ...........................................................................................76 Sub-Watershed Restoration Planning .....................................................................78 Wood Turtle Monitoring and Stewardship ..............................................................80 WETLAND Water-Pennywort Monitoring ..................................................................................84 Blanding’s Turtle Nest Protection .............................................................................86 Blanding’s Turtle Distribution and Monitoring .......................................................88 Blanding’s Turtle Hatchling Headstarting ...............................................................90 Eastern Ribbonsnake Overwintering Habitats .......................................................92 Atlantic Coastal Plain Pollinator Surveys ................................................................94 Wetland Water Quality Monitoring in Kejimkujik ...................................................96 Reproductive Biology of Eastern Mountain Avens .................................................98 Restoring Big Meadow Bog, Brier Island ...............................................................100 HUMAN DIMENSIONS Monarch Butterfly Stewardship in SNBR ...............................................................104 Species at Risk Stewardship in SNBR .....................................................................106 Woodland Stewardship Program ...........................................................................108 Cofan Cabin Rehabilitation Project ........................................................................110 Dark Sky Preserve: Monitoring and Support ........................................................112 Public Reporting of Bats in Nova Scotia ................................................................114 Seniors Interviewing Seniors..................................................................................116 Archaeological Testing At Slapfoot Loop ..............................................................118 APPENDIX I 2014 Projects in Kejimkujik and the Greater Kejimkujik Ecosystem ..................120 APPENDIX II Index of Projects by Researcher Name ..................................................................122 ANNUAL REPORT OF RESEARCH & MONITORING IN THE GREATER KEJIMKUJIK ECOSYSTEM 2014 5 J. Reid J. INTRODUCTION This is the tenth Annual Report of Research and Monitoring in the Greater Kejimkujik Ecosystem. This report serves as a compilation of the research and monitoring projects that were conducted in the Kejimkujik area. The summaries are all written by the researchers who are listed as contacts for each project but the report as a whole is a collaborative effort between Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site of Canada (Kejimkujik) and the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI). Many thanks to all the researchers who took the time to submit the research and monitoring project summaries this year. This report was produced in winter 2015 and is a compilation of the research and monitoring projects that were conducted in the Kejimkujik area in 2014 by Parks Canada, MTRI and their partners. The purpose of the report is to make information about these projects available to the public, government agencies, researchers and other stakeholders. Research and monitoring projects provide the information necessary to make wise management and conservation decisions. The projects in this report are organized in four chapters corresponding to ecosystems: Coastal, Forest, Wetland and Freshwater, with an additional chapter highlighting research about the Human Dimensions of sustainable resource use. Projects are categorized as either monitoring or research projects. ANNUAL REPORT OF RESEARCH & MONITORING IN THE GREATER KEJIMKUJIK ECOSYSTEM 2014 The research and monitoring projects detailed in this report are important tools for attaining sustainable management of our natural resources and maintaining ecological integrity of our protected areas. The monitoring projects are conducted to keep track of how the ecological systems around us are changing over time and examine the effectiveness of management actions. The research projects provide a better understanding of the ecology of the area, how it is affected by natural and human-related influences and how to affect restoration. Overall, they indicate an impressive amount of work that is being undertaken in Kejimkujik and the surrounding area. Kejimkujik represents the Atlantic Upland Natural Region in Parks Canada’s network of protected areas. Kejimkujik consists of 381 km2 inland and 22 km2 on the coast and, in combination with the Tobeatic Wilderness Area, is the core area of the Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve. Since its establishment, Kejimkujik has been an important centre of science for southwest Nova Scotia. In collaboration with partners, research and monitoring in the park and surrounding landscape has informed decision-makers on a number of management issues at local, regional and national scales. Kejimkujik was declared the first Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network site in Canada (1993) and was the first in Canada to install Smithsonian Institution Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity plots (1994).