SpecieS฀AccountS฀for฀HigH-riSk฀florA฀ And฀fAunA฀in฀nortHweSt฀AlbertA A Guide to Recognition, Species Issues, and Mitigation Opportunities FIERA Biological Consulting 1 2 table฀of฀contents฀ Acknowledgements฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ 7 introduction฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ 9 fAunA Rallidae Yellow Rail 64 VERTEBRATES Gruidae AMPHIBIANS // Sandhill Crane 66 Ranidae Whooping Crane 68 Northern Leopard Frog 15 Laridae Boreal Toad 17 Black Tern 70 Canadian Toad 19 Caspian Tern 72 Ambystomatidae Forster’s Tern 74 Long-toed Salamander 21 Accipitridae REPTILES // Bald Eagle 76 Colubridae Broad-winged Hawk 78 Red-sided Garter Snake 25 Golden Eagle 80 Wandering Garter Snake 27 Northern Goshawk 82 Osprey 84 FISH // Falconidae Cottidae Peregrine Falcon 86 Spoonhead Sculpin 30 Phasianidae Cyprinidae Sharp-tailed Grouse 88 Northern Redbelly Dace 32 Scolopacidae Northern Pikeminnow 34 Upland Sandpiper 90 Catostorridae Strigidae Largescale Sucker 36 Barred Owl 92 Salmonidae Great Grey Owl 94 Arctic Grayling 38 Northern Pygmy Owl 96 Bull Trout 40 Short-eared Owl 98 Lake Trout 42 Caprimulgidae BIRDS // Common Nighthawk 100 Podicipedidae Picidae Horned Grebe 46 Black-backed Woodpecker 102 Pied-billed Grebe 48 Pileated Woodpecker 104 Western Grebe 50 Hirudinidae Pelicanidae Purple Martin 106 American White-Pelican 52 Troglodytidae Ardeidae Sedge Wren 108 American Bittern 54 Great Blue Heron 56 Anatidae Harlequin Duck 58 Trumpeter Swan 60 White-winged Scoter 62 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Parulidae florA Bay-breasted Warbler 110 introduction฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ 164 Blackburnian Warbler 112 Black-throated Green Warbler 114 NON-VASCULAR PLANTS Canada Warbler 116 Cape May Warbler 118 LIVERWORTS // Thraupidae Conocephalaceae Western Tanager 120 Conocephalum conicum 170 Pelliaceae MAMMALS // Shiny Liverwort 172 Bovidae Wood Bison 124 Calypogejaceae Calypogeia neesiana 174 Cervidae Woodland Caribou 126 Jungermanniaceae Heller’s Anastrophyllum 176 Mustelidae Lophozia ascendens 178 Fisher 128 Lophozia excisa 180 Wolverine 130 Lophozia guttulata 182 Felidae Lophozia incisa 184 Canada Lynx 132 Lophozia longidens 186 Cougar 134 Scapaniaceae Ursidae Scapania cuspiduligera 188 Grizzly Bear 136 Scapania glaucocephala 190 Vespertilionidae MOSSES // Northern Long-eared Bat 138 Sphagnaceae INVERTEBRATES Peat Moss 192 Fringed Bog Moss 194 Calopterygidae Lindberg’s Peat (Bog) Moss 196 River Jewelwing 142 Polytrichaceae Hesperiidae Pogonatum urnigerum 198 Grizzled Skipper 144 Polytrichum longisetum 200 Papilionidae Dicranaceae Hudsonian Old World Swallowtail 146 Broken-leaf Moss 202 Pike’s Old World Swallowtail 148 Splachnaceae Pieridae Yellow Collar Moss, Fairy Parasols 204 Palaeno Sulphur 150 Red Collar Moss 206 Lycaenidae Large-fruited Splachnum 208 Bronze Copper 152 Tongue-leaf Small Kettle Moss 210 Stiped (Fletcher’s) Hairstreak 154 Bartramiaceae Satyridae Bartramia pomiformis 212 Alberta Actic 156 Amblystegiaceae Chryxus (Cary’s) Arctic 158 Conardia compacta 214 Ochreous Ringlet 160 Brachytheciaceae Brachythecium reflexum 216 Cirriphyllum cirrosum 218 Hypnaceae Herzogiella turfacea 220 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS LICHENS // GRASS-LIKE (CONTINUED) // Hymeneliaceae Gramineae (Continued) Tremolecia atrata 224 Little-seed Rice Grass 278 Mycoblastaceae Slender Salt-meadow Grass 280 Mycoblastus sanguinarius 226 Cyperaceae Pertusariaceae Browned Sedge 282 Pertusaria dactylina 228 Narrow Sedge 284 Brownish Sedge 286 Baeomycetaceae Capitate Sedge 288 Baeomyces rufus 230 Beaked Sedge 290 Cladoniaceae Fox Sedge 292 Cladonia bellidiflora 232 Juncaceae Cladonia squamosa 234 Thread Rush 294 Parmeliaceae Reddish Wood-rush 296 Arctoparmelia centrifuga 236 Hypogymnia metaphysodes 238 WILDFLOWERS // Melanelia stygia 240 Orchidaceae Parmelia omphalodes 242 Spotted Coralroot 298 White Adder’s Mouth 300 Collemataceae Leptogium subtile 244 Chenopodiaceae Powell’s Saltbrush 302 Ramalinaceae Ramalina dilacerata 246 Caryophyllaceae Wavy-leaved Chickweed 304 VASCULAR PLANTS Fabaceae FERNS // Bodin’s Milk Vetch 306 Ophioglossaceae Hypericaceae Lance-leaved Grape Fern (Moonwort) 250 Large Canada St.John’s Wort 308 Polypodiaceae Brassicaceae Slender Lip Fern 252 Small Bitter Cress 310 Mountain Bladder Fern 254 Saxifragaceae Spreading Wood Fern (Shield Fern) 256 Iowa Golden Saxifrage 312 Fragrant Cliff Wood Fern 258 Scrophulariaceae Ostrich Fern 260 Purple Rattle 314 AQUATICS // Orobanchaceae Isoetaceae Russian Ground Cone 316 Northern Quillwort 262 Lentibulariaceae Najadaceae Hairy Butterwort 318 Slender Naiad 264 Plantaginaceae Potamogetonaceae Western Ribgrass 320 Floating-Leaf Pondweed 266 Asteraceae White-stemmed Pondweed 268 Herriot’s Sagewort 322 Cyperaceae Spotted Joe-pye Weed 324 Pale Bulrush 270 Tall Blue Lettuce 326 GRASS-LIKE // Low Townsendia 328 Gramineae SHRUBS // Polar Grass 272 Ericaceae Poverty Oat Grass 274 Bog Bilberry 330 Canadian Rice Grass 276 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS GLOSSARY MAIN GLOSSARY // Definitions 332 ILLUSTRATED GLOSSARY // Parts of a moss 340 Parts of a fern 341 Parts of a sedge 342 Parts of a grass 343 Parts of a rush 344 Parts of an orchid 345 Parts of a typical flower from the Aster family 346 Parts of a regular flower 347 6 AcknowledgeMentS DMI wishes to acknowledge a variety of individuals, agencies and DMI is also extremely grateful to the many individuals and organizations organizations who significantly assisted in contributing to this that assisted this project through contributions of scientific knowledge reference product. Notably, the following assisted DMI in its funding, from their life’s work, by granting permission for use of individual species design, and delivery: images, or simply by their willingness to commit time to search their libraries for the list of images we were pursuing. We extend thanks to: · Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (Open Funds Initiative –local projects) Alberta Conservation Association: Kris Kendell and Dave Fairless We thank the grant-fund review team for sharing our vision Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre: Joyce Gould, for this project. Lorna Allen and Drajs Vusjnovic · Fiera Biological Consulting Ltd., Edmonton Alberta Research Council: Steve Bradbury, Laurence Roy (Shari Clare, P.Biol.) This project and the final product was made and Jake Fisher possible through the diligent efforts, attention to detail, vision, and many long hours of dedication provided by Shari & her staff Alberta Sustainable Resource Development: Lisa Wilkinson in compiling this product for DMI. and Rick Jobin · Plumbheavy Design Inc, Edmonton BIO-DiTRL: Tony Pletcher (Gillian Harvey, M.A.) E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum: Danny Shpeley We thank Gillian and her visual communication design team for their evident skills in visual aesthetics, layout and invaluable Federation of Alberta Naturalists: Philip Penner suggestions in design elements that would ultimately assist the Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan: Garth Wruck end-users of this product. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service: Derek Johnson Royal Alberta Museum: Mark Steinhilber and David Gummer Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation: Darrel Crabbe University of Alberta: Ellen Macdonald and students, Connie Brown, Shawna Pelech, Richard Caners University of Western Ontario: Brock Fenton US Fish & Wildlife Digital Library System Jason Dombroskie Stephen Hanus Peter Stahl Individual photo credits and species-specific research citations are also included following each species account. 7 8 introduction The฀northwest฀region฀of฀Alberta฀is฀known฀to฀support฀ SPECIES SELECTION CRITERIA a฀great฀diversity฀of฀flora฀and฀fauna,฀including฀a฀large฀ One of the objectives of this project was to foster a broader appreciation collection฀of฀invertebrates฀that฀are฀understudied฀or฀have฀ among forest practitioners and the local public about the extent of not฀been฀inventoried.฀ sensitive species, in all taxa, that occur within this region of the province. Within that diversity, a number of species are considered to be more Northwest Alberta contains a distinct collection of forested natural sensitive to anthropogenic activity and habitat alteration than other regions defined by combinations of terrain, elevation, soil-type, vegetative species. Historically, extensive regulator and scientific attention has cover and moisture regime. The region also contains a blend of forested tended to focus on developing mitigative solutions for a small set of lands, aquatic/riparian habitats, aspen parkland transition, and active charismatic forest species that are of higher profile as a consequence agricultural (prairie) areas. Since historical industrial activities tend to of their “at-risk” status (endangered or threatened) and their public operate within or near all of these areas, DMI deliberately elected to appeal. Relatively limited or sporadic attention has been invested include sensitive species associated with all such areas in this reference in the broader collection of other forest species recognized to guide. This distinctly recognizes the trans-boundary nature of ecological be sensitive, rare, isolated in range, of special concern, and/or functions and species that persist within or across individual habitat types. potentially at-risk; these “high-risk” species are from a variety Additionally a number of species were included that might present debate of taxa that occur in a broad range of habitat types. One of the concerning their presence, absence, or distribution in northwest Alberta. primary objectives of this reference product is therefore to heighten Despite weak understanding of the extent of their