The Canadian Field-Naturalist (E-Journal)
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The lichen genus Rinodina (Physciaceae) in New Brunswick, Canada
Full text linkFifteen species of the crustose lichen genus Rinodina are confirmed in New Brunswick, Canada. We report four corticolous species, Rinodina pachysperma, Rinodina populicola, Rinodina septentrionalis, and Rinodina tenuis, and the saxicolous Rinodina tephraspis in the province for the first time. A previous report of Rinodina granuligera is based on a specimen that we have re-identified as Rinodina cinereovirens. We note distinguishing characteristics, habitats, substrata, relative abundance, and biogeographic relationships of each species and provide an identification key and distribution maps. The most frequently occupied phorophytes (tree substrata) are Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis), and Eastern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis). Some species are closely associated with particular habitats, phorophytes, or both. For example, we found R. pachysperma only in floodplain forests dominated by Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum), and R. tenuis only on Eastern White Cedar in wet cedar-dominated stands. In contrast, we recorded Rinodina freyi on numerous phorophyte species in a relatively wide range of habitats. Other than Eastern White Cedar and Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea), conifers are rarely colonized by Rinodina species in New Brunswick. Most Rinodina species are probably not currently of conservation concern in the province. However, R. cinereovirens is known from only two collections, one dating from 1902. The other, from 2007, was on Black Ash (Fraxinus nigra) in a swamp forest next to an active peat-mining operation. The expected devastation of ash species by the invasive Emerald Ash-borer (Agrilus planipennis) is a further threat to this occurrence and to any lichens for which ash may be an important phorophyte
"The Guests of Ants: How Myrmecophiles Interact with Their Hosts" by Bert Hölldobler and Christina L. Kwapich, 2022 [book review]
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Branching Burreed (Sparganium androcladum (Engelmann) Morong; Typhaceae) rediscovered in Ontario, but conservation status unclear
No full textWe report three new records of Branching Burreed (Sparganium androcladum), which has not been seen in Ontario in several decades. This species is understudied and has been confused with other taxa, primarily American Burreed (Sparganium americanum). It is not known when it was last collected in the province, and its conservation status is unclear. Specimens identified as Branching Burreed are few and do not fully clarify the situation; of the 14 putative S. androcladum specimens we examined, five are too immature to verify confidently, and at least seven are misidentified. Previous specimen-based maps are probably not accurate representations of Branching Burreed’s provincial distribution, but it is likely more widespread than records indicate. We provide a description of our new records and notes on identification to provide a basis for additional study of this plant
"The Secret Perfume of Birds: Uncovering the Science of Avian Scent" by Danielle J. Whittaker, 2022 [book review]
No full text"André Michaux in North America: Journals & Letters, 1785–1797" edited by Charlie Williams, Eliane M. Norman, and Walter Kingsley Taylor, translated by Eliane M. Norman, foreword by James E. McClellan, 2020 [book review]
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Population genetic structure of the provincially endangered mainland Eastern Moose (Alces americanus americanus) in Nova Scotia, Canada
Full text linkEastern Moose (Alces americanus americanus (Clinton, 1822)) on mainland Nova Scotia (MNS) are declining and experience limited immigration across the Isthmus of Chignecto from the larger population in neighbouring New Brunswick. Provincially Endangered, the recovery strategy for MNS Moose involves mitigating various threats that may lead to local extirpation. We examine genetic diversity of MNS Moose using microsatellite markers and mitochondrial (mtDNA) control region sequences. Genetic similarities with the Alces a. americana population in New Brunswick and the introduced Northwestern Moose (Alces americanus andersoni (= Alces alces andersoni) Peterson, 1952) population on Cape Breton Island are also analysed. Observed heterozygosity for microsatellites for MNS Moose was low and there was also evidence of limited gene flow between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick across the narrow Isthmus of Chignecto that connects these provinces. Consistent with relatively recent colonization of North America by Moose dispersing across the Bering Land Bridge <15 000 years ago, mtDNA haplotypes of MNS Moose were identical or extremely similar to haplotypes found across North America. However, mtDNA diversity was lower in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick than in more central regions of the species’ range. Active measures to maintain habitat that promote connectivity across the Isthmus of Chignecto would likely be valuable for Moose in terms of maintaining genetic variation in the region and reducing inbreeding
