NATURAL SCIENCES RESEARCH GAP ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR LONG POINT BAY AND THE GREATER LONG POINT AREA Prepared for Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Lake Erie Management Unit P.O. Box 429, 1 Passmore St. Port Dover ON NOA 1NO Kristen E. Harrison and Ryan W. Archer Bird Studies Canada P.O. Box 160 Port Rowan, Ontario N0E 1M0 February, 2008 Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................1 Methods .......................................................................................................................1 Research................................................................................................................. 1 Research Information Matrix ................................................................................... 2 Results and Discussion................................................................................................3 Literature Summary................................................................................................. 3 Gap Analysis ........................................................................................................... 5 Recent Well-Represented Research Fields ........................................................ 5 Recent Under- and Poorly-Represented Research Fields.................................. 7 Research Recommendations.................................................................................. 8 Conclusions .................................................................................................................9 References.................................................................................................................11 Appendix 2 – Annotated Bibliography........................................................................15 ii Introduction Beginning in 2007, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) – Lake Erie Management Unit initiated a three-year multi-component study of the ecosystem- based state of Long Point Bay. This study incorporates assessments of fish communities, nutrient loading, sediment quality, marsh birds, waterfowl, invasive species and amphibians, among other aspects of Long Point Bay biotic and abiotic features. In order to focus research priorities for this study, an examination of existing literature derived from Long Point-area research activities was performed to identify areas of research that are well-represented, under-represented, or completely lacking in scientific study in recent decades. As part of this examination, a “research information matrix” was developed (herein referred to as “the matrix”). The matrix uses unique identifiers to represent individual research reports, categorized according to research discipline and publication date range. Development of this matrix clearly indicated which information attributes of Long Point and area were both abundant and lacking in scientific research across seven research publication date ranges and one category for non-dated reports. Following this process, a research gap analysis was performed, in which those information attributes that appear to require further research were identified and reported. This report includes an updated and complete research information matrix, research gap analysis results, and an annotated bibliography of documents reviewed through this analysis. The annotated bibliography, organized alphabetically by lead author (individual or organization), contains information pertaining to source location and availability, and detailed annotations of references that could be obtained for review (Appendix 2). This gap analysis report is intended to provide a comprehensive assessment of existing research and research needs for Long Point Bay and the greater Long Point region. Methods Research Information was compiled using library resources available at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario; the Ministry of Natural Resources Resource Library in Peterborough, Ontario; the Environment Canada Resource Library in Gatineau, Quebec; Bird Studies Canada’s National Headquarters Library in Port Rowan, Ontario, and through extensive internet literature searches. Resources were sought through a series of keyword and author searches, bibliographic cross-referencing, personal communications and searching through relevant collections where no database existed. Initial keyword searches of Long Point, Lake Erie, Big Creek and Nanticoke, were used as a basis for searching, with derivatives of these broad areas and relevant topics obtained from this location- based keyword search. A key resource for bibliographic cross-referencing was “A Bibliography for Long Point, Lake Erie, Ontario”, a document developed by the Canadian Wildlife Service and released in 1989, as well as reference lists from other prominent Long Point documentation. Due to the extensive list of Long Point literature, research efforts were prioritised by subdividing references into primary, secondary and peripheral categories based on the relevance of those references’ topics of study to OMNR’s information needs. For example, studies of Long Point Bay water quality were ranked as primary resources, 1 while Long Point land bird studies were ranked as secondary resources, and studies of forest cover in the greater Long Point region were ranked as tertiary resources. Most of our effort for this project focused on obtaining detailed annotations for those documents identified as primary and secondary resources. Not all study documents could be obtained for annotation; however where possible, source information is provided. In cases where study documents are available from multiple sources, all known sources are listed. Broadly, identified Long Point literature includes published and non-published reports from public and private sectors, academic theses, peer-reviewed publications, newsletters, progress reports, and conference proceedings relating to various biota, as well as some aspects of Long Point ecology and geography. A significant number of documents within this completed bibliography were authored by or written for the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS). In many cases, references for these documents were obtained from the 1989 CWS-authored bibliography and were identified as being available from the London CWS office. However, the London CWS literature collection has been significantly reduced since the publication of the 1989 bibliography, and although we made several attempts to obtain these CWS- specific documents, very few of these desired documents were obtained for review. Efforts are ongoing to locate these documents through several Environment Canada regional offices; however to-date these efforts have met with limited success. Research Information Matrix The matrix facilitated categorizing each report into one of seven research publication date range categories or a “non-dated” category for non-dated reports, and any of 23 research discipline categories (Table 1). Reports are categorized based on publication date. Each report was assigned a unique numeric identifier. Numeric identifiers listed within each matrix category correspond to numbered report references in the accompanying bibliography. Note that some reports might be associated with multiple research disciplines and thus appear multiple times within the matrix. Both biotic and abiotic research discipline categories were incorporated into the matrix, reflecting the large variety of scientific studies conducted at Long Point during the past century. Most documented reports were identified within one of more of the 23 broad research categories. Certain reports for which a complete copy was not obtained for review, and in which the report title was ambiguous with respect to research discipline, were identified with the category called “General”. The following research discipline categories were also included as part of the matrix: Birds (Non- waterfowl); Waterfowl; Amphibians; Reptiles; Mammals; Fish; Terrestrial Vegetation; Aquatic Vegetation; General Wetlands; Land Use and Management; Human Impacts; Invasive Species; Water Quality/Limnology; Climate Change; Aquatic Macro- invertebrates; Zooplankton and Phytoplankton; Insects; Terrestrial Geography; Water Levels; Hydrology and Sediments; Weather and Air Quality; and Forests. Categorizing reports into publication date ranges indicated time periods in which various research study types occurred in abundance or were lacking. This form of categorization also facilitated identification of certain reports from a given time period. In total, eight publication date ranges were specified: one period of 50 years, inclusive, from 1900 to 1949, five time periods of ten years each, inclusive, from 1950 to 1999, and one period of seven years, inclusive, from 2000 to 2007. One report was obtained from 1898 and was included within the 1900-1949 category. Each “cell” within the matrix was shaded based on the level of research activity within the given time-period/discipline category combination. White cells correspond to 2 relatively well-represented disciplines with greater than ten (10) references for a given time period; light-grey cells indicate under-represented disciplines having between six and ten (6-10) references for a given time period; mid-grey cells indicate poorly-represented disciplines with one to five (1-5) known study documents; and dark grey cells indicate those categories for which no known (0) study documents