Algonquin Park Research Articles

Climate warming and projected loss of thermal habitat volume in lake populations of brook trout

We applied an ensemble of climate warming models to an iconic protected landscape (Algonquin Park, Ontario) and the seasonal temperature profile model for lakes to assess changes in brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis) thermal habitat volume (THV) among lakes of different sizes in 30-year periods under two climate warming scenarios (RCP 4.5 and 8.5). Bayesian beta regression models show that lake size (surface area) and morphometry (dynamic lake ratio) are important factors in THV loss. THV loss increases as a function of the dynamic lake ratio (transition from bowl-shaped to dish-shaped lakes). The magnitude of this effect depends on the lake size category and the RCP scenario. Small (<100 ha) and medium (100–500 ha) dish-shaped lakes are projected to have greater THV loss in 2071–2100 (60%–100% of brook trout THV under RCP 8.5; 40%–70% under RCP 4.5) than large lakes (>500 ha) of similar shape. Climate warming projections for the balance of this century, regardless of the RCP category, will result in the loss of brook trout THV in lakes that range widely in size and morphometry.

The continuing power of Nd isotope mapping in Precambrian orogenic belts: A demonstration from the Ontario Grenville Province

With the increasing availability of U-Pb-Hf isotope analysis of zircon suites, does whole-rock Nd isotope analysis still have a role to play in mapping Precambrian gneiss terranes? I answer this question by examining the Ontario Gneiss Belt of the Grenville Province, and show that Nd isotope mapping still has a vital role to play in studies of Precambrian crustal evolution. Although U-Pb-Hf isotope analysis of detrital zircons can provide large suites of crystallization ages and epsilon Hf values, the poor spatial control of these data means that precise geographical control of crustal structure from Nd isotope mapping is still important. I demonstrate this for several regions of the Ontario Gneiss Belt, including northern Algonquin Park, western Lake Nipissing and Georgian Bay. In all these regions, mapping complex geographical patterns of crustal formation ages allows detailed documentation of large-scale crustal structure. Only with such an accurate understanding of crustal structure can accurate models of tectonic evolution be constructed in a complex, deeply exhumed orogenic belt such as the Grenville Province.

A novel survey design for modeling species distribution of beavers in Algonquin Park, Canada

AbstractUnderstanding spatial and temporal variation in beaver abundance is a central goal for a wide range of management issues, ranging from species reintroductions to mitigation of environmental and economic impacts. Yet due to high costs associated with surveys, many studies are limited to a single regional estimate, or a complete census of a smaller study area extrapolated to the surrounding landscape. We present a survey design that allows for predicting beaver abundance across the broader landscape through interpolation. In October 2019, we conducted an aerial survey in a 15,000 km2 study area around Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. We counted 145 colonies on 73 plots that averaged 4.5 km2 (+/−3.27 SD). Our regional estimate for beaver abundance of 0.55 (95% CI = +/−0.18) colonies/km2 is comparable to historical surveys conducted in the region in the 1970s. We then predicted beaver abundance in unsampled plots using a Poisson generalized additive model (adjusted R2 = 0.81, deviance explained = 55.9%) that included non‐linear responses to elevation (P < 0.001), shoreline complexity (P = 0.003), and availability of shade‐tolerant hardwoods (P = 0.001). Our species distribution model predicted strong east‐west patterns in beaver abundance across the study region associated with spatial patterns in elevation and forest composition.

Nesting in close quarters: causes and benefits of high-density nesting behaviour in Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta)

Many oviparous reptiles nest in aggregations and with temporal synchrony. We hypothesized that these traits reflect attraction by conspecifics rather than limiting suitable habitat. We quantified whether Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta (Schneider, 1783)) in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada, were nesting communally, identified cues females used to select nest sites, and tested whether hatching success was higher in spatially clustered nests. We found that nests were closer to one another than expected by chance (i.e., were clustered), but that individual nest-site selection was only weakly influenced by microhabitat characteristics. Survival of clustered nests (49%) was not significantly higher than that of solitary nests (39%). When turtle models were placed on the nesting embankment, females nested most often with the highest density of models. Given that reproductive lifespan is the major axis of fitness and that there was little benefit to nest survival in clustered nests, we suggest that clustering is related to females cueing to conspecific nests to expedite the nesting process and gain a good-quality nest site (chosen by the first nesting female in the cluster) while investing little energy in nest-site selection. This strategy may reduce time spent on land, thereby minimizing chances of dehydration, temperature stress, and adult depredation.

“With All The Ghosts that Haunt the Park...”: Haunted Recreation in Brent (Ontario)

Abstract When I first visited Brent, the defunct logging village, now campgrounds in the northern reaches of Algonquin Provincial Park I went searching for ghost stories. Often described as a “ghost town,” Brent has been occupied since the earliest days of logging in the Ottawa River/Kiji Sibi Valley and holds an important place in the oral history of the Park. The village was a place where many died after violent accidents during the timber rush of the eighteen-hundreds, where Algonquin Anishinaabe Peoples had camped and likely held a village of their own prior to colonization. Brent was once a bustling community, the former site of the Kish-Kaduk Lodge and an important railway stopover during the First World War. Further, Brent was home to the last year round resident of the Park. Mr. Adam Pitts, known to many local cottagers as the “Mayor” passed away in his home in 1998 one year after the railroad tracks were removed by the Canadian National Railway Company and the electricity was shut off. Now his cottage is a ruin some claim to be haunted by the Mayor’s restless ghost. And there are other ghost stories I heard in Brent that haunt the edges of the colonial imagination, stalking unwary travellers as they meander through what they sometimes assume to be “pristine wilderness.” Common patterns of self-apprehension and identity formation associated with tourism and heritage management in Algonquin Park are imbued with nationalist value through a prismatic complex of cultural appropriation, the denial of complicity in colonial violence, and the contingent obfuscation of Indigenous presence and persistence in the area, a process I call haunted recreation. Countering this complex is critical for working past the historical and intergenerational trauma associated with Canadian settler-colonialism and the contemporary inequities of Canadian society.

Spotty at Best: Brook Trout Exploit Large, Adult Spotted Salamanders in the Early Spring

At temperate and boreal latitudes, seasonal transitions drive large fluxes in resource availability. For both terrestrial and aquatic predators, seasonal resource pulses have the capacity to shape physiological and ecological strategies. However, our ability to detect seasonally dynamic trophic interactions is limited by the logistical difficulty of year-round monitoring. Here, we document a novel, terrestrial resource pulse to a freshwater predator across multiple lakes and years: breeding spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) consumption by brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Better understanding the prevalence and impacts of fish preying on adult amphibians will better inform both amphibian conservation and fisheries management moving forward. Photo 1: The brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is a sensitive cold-water fish species that exhibits massive morphological and ecological diversity across their native and introduced ranges. As a result, this species is able to inhabit a vast array of aquatic habitats, from trickling headwater streams to large coastal rivers. Photo credit: Timothy Fernandes. Photo 2: Though spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) breed predominantly in ephemeral pools and small ponds, many populations in Algonquin Park (Ontario, Canada) appear to utilize headwater lakes. Photo credit: Timothy Fernandes.

Body size of ectotherms constrains thermal requirements for reproductive activity in seasonal environments

Body size may influence ectotherm behaviour by influencing heating and cooling rates, thereby constraining the time of day that some individuals can be active. The time of day at which turtles nest, for instance, is hypothesized to vary with body size at both inter- and intra-specific levels because large individuals have greater thermal inertia, retaining preferred body temperatures for a longer period of time. We use decades of data on thousands of individual nests from Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada, to explore how body size is associated with nesting behaviour in Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta (Schneider, 1783); small bodied) and Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus, 1758); large bodied). We found that (i) between species, Painted Turtles nest earlier in the evening and at higher mean temperatures than Snapping Turtles, and (ii) within species, relatively large individuals of both species nest at cooler temperatures and that relatively larger Painted Turtles nest later in the evening compared with smaller Painted Turtles. Our data support the thermal inertia hypothesis and may help explain why turtles in general exhibit geographic clines in body size: northern environments experience more daily variation in temperature, and larger size may evolve, in part, for retention of preferred body temperature during terrestrial forays.

Isotopic niche size of Coregonus artedi (sensu lato) Increases in the presence of Mysis diluviana, expanded habitat use and phenotypic diversity.

Post‐glacial colonization of lakes in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada resulted in food webs with cisco (Coregonus artedi sensu lato) and either Mysis diluviana or Chaoborus spp. as the dominant diel migrator. Mysis as prey, its diel movements and benthic occupancy, are hypothesized to be key elements of ecological opportunity for cisco diversity in the Laurentian Great Lakes. If correct, the hypothesis strongly implies that lakes with Mysis would have greater trophic niche size and drive greater adaptive radiation of cisco forms relative to lakes without Mysis. The dichotomy in diel migrator in Algonquin Park lakes was an opportunity to assess the isotopic niche size of cisco (δ15N and δ13C) and determine if niche size expands with Mysis presence. We found the presence of Mysis is necessary to expand isotopic niche size in our study lakes. The use of habitats not typically associated with the ancestral form of cisco (e.g., benthic habitats) and phenotypic diversity (blackfin and cisco) also continue to expand niche size in Mysis‐based food webs. Partial ecological speciation based on a large niche space appears to be present in one lake (Cauchon Lake) where use of alternative habitats is the only real difference in cisco. The presence of blackfin expands niche space in Cedar and Radiant Lakes. This was not matched in Hogan Lake where niche space was relatively smaller with similar forms. Possible reasons for this discrepancy may be related to the asymmetric basin of Hogan Lake and whether the two forms overlap during cool and cold‐water periods of the annual temperature cycle. By comparing trophic niche size among lakes with and without Mysis, we conclude that Mysis provides a key ecological opportunity for cisco diversity in our study lakes and likely more widely.

Predicting effects of selection cutting on avian diversity and abundance in shade-tolerant hardwood forests of central Ontario

Emulating natural disturbance (END) patterns to conserve biodiversity is often a goal of forest management but the impact of forest cutting is still controversial. We examined effects on avian assemblages of partially-cut forest stands of 1–10, 11–20 and > 45 years (cut classes) post-harvest differing in the % basal area retained as wildlife species’ habitat in 85 shade-tolerant hardwood stands in Algonquin Park, Ontario. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant compositional differences among cut classes, after controlling for year and township (spatial variation in surficial geology and topography), both of which were also significant. Pairwise comparisons indicated significant compositional differences only between young and old stands. The difference in beta diversity (homogenization/differentiation) among cut classes was marginally significant (P = 0.066). Pairwise differences were significant between old versus mid-aged cut classes, marginally significant for young versus old cuts, and non-significant for young versus mid-aged cut classes. Six species and cavity users as a group were more abundant in > 45 years post-harvest stands than in the other two cut classes. Six species had higher abundances in younger cuts than > 45 years post-harvest cuts. Red-eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceus) showed a nonlinear response and was least abundant in 11–20 year cuts. Blackburnian warblers Setophaga fusca, black-throated green warblers S. virens and pileated woodpeckers Dryocopus pileatus increased with the density of supercanopy trees (≥ 60 cm diameter at breast height - dbh) and in the case of pileated woodpeckers more large snags (≥ 40 cm dbh). Brown creeper Certhia americana abundance increased with greater basal area of trees ≥ 25 cm dbh and ovenbird numbers were significantly related to overall basal area. Chestnut-sided warbler S. castanea abundance decreased with an increase in overall basal area and was higher in the 1–10 year cuts and American redstarts S. ruticilla decreased with an increase in basal area. Our modelling suggests that effects of selection cutting systems on the avian community may be reduced as tolerant hardwood stands become regulated and have higher residual basal areas. Current guidelines in Ontario for the retention of large, scattered conifer trees appear to meet the requirements for most, but not all, species; however, guidelines for supercanopy trees are too low. These results indicate that the END paradigm for single-tree selection cutting in tolerant hardwoods may be partially effective but requires modifications, such as retaining higher densities of supercanopy trees that would be beneficial for birds.

CHECKLIST OF THE LICHENS AND ALLIED FUNGI OF FRONTENAC PROVINCIAL PARK, ONTARIO

Frontenac Provincial Park is located on the Frontenac Axis, a southern extension of the Canadian Shield, linking Algonquin Park to the Adirondack Mountains. To better understand the lichen biota of this interesting ecosystem, an inventory was conducted during several field visits from 2016–2019. During these surveys, 280 species of lichens and allied fungi in 115 genera were discovered. Presented is the first published record of Lempholemma cladodes (Tuck.) Zahlbr. in Canada, as well as the first published discoveries of Cladonia petrophila R. C. Harris, Coccocarpia palmicola (Spreng.) Arv. & D. J. Galloway, and Leprocaulon adhaerens (K. Knudsen, Elix & Lendemer) Lendemer & B. P. Hodk. in Ontario. Sixteen species are provincially ranked as critically imperilled (S1, S1S2 or S1S3), sixteen species as imperilled (S2 or S2S3), and nineteen species as vulnerable (S3 or S3S4). Unranked species reported for the second time in Canada are Dermatocarpon muhlenbergii (Ach.) Mull. Arg. and Cladonia atlantica A. Evans. An undescribed species of Lempholemma growing on flooded deciduous tree bases in vernal pools was also discovered. A discussion of Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm., a pollution and habitat disturbance sensitive species, is presented. The records of L. pulmonaria discovered in Frontenac quite possibly represent the most southern observations in the province and are of conservation concern. It is recommended that a lichen awareness and education program be created for the park staff and visitors to highlight these rare and sensitive lichens and habitats within the park in the hope that lichens are protected through appropriate management and planning.

Historical decline of genetic diversity in a range-periphery population of Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) inhabiting the Adirondack Mountains

Isolation can affect genetic structure of populations near the edge of a species’ geographic range by reducing gene flow and allelic diversity, resulting in greater among-population differentiation. Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis), which are restricted to the boreal forest biome of North America, persist in small, disjunct lowland conifer patches at the southeastern extent of their range in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. This isolated peripheral population has declined since the early twentieth century and is considered highly vulnerable to extirpation. We examined haplotype diversity of mitochondrial control region sequences, comparing modern Spruce Grouse populations sampled from 2004 to 2013 in the Adirondacks and Algonquin Provincial Park, ca. 250 km to the northwest. Genetic diversity in the modern Adirondack population sample was very low compared to our smaller sample from Algonquin Park (three haplotypes vs seven). The modern Adirondack population shared no haplotypes with birds sampled from Algonquin, and these two populations are highly differentiated today (Fst = 0.632). We obtained shorter control region sequences from 18 museum specimens collected in the Adirondack from 1881 to 1986, in which we found six haplotypes, including five no longer found in the Adirondack Region. Some haplotypes that were once found in both regions have been lost from the Adirondacks as that population has declined demographically and shrunk geographically, indicating that the current differentiation is partly the result of these losses; when all 18 historical samples of Adirondack Spruce Grouse are included in the analysis, Fst between Adirondacks and Algonquin drops to 0.359. Haplotype diversity in Adirondack specimens collected prior to demographic decline (1881–1905, n = 10) was h = 0.778 compared to h = 0.245 in the modern Adirondack population, an over a three-fold decrease over period of ca. 130 years. These findings suggest that conservation measures that include supplementation of individuals from more diverse populations may restore genetic diversity in the Adirondack population to levels that existed a century ago.

Algonquin Park—A Place Like No Other: A History of Algonquin Provincial Park by Roderick MacKay

Algonquin Park—A Place Like No Other:A History of Algonquin Provincial Park by Roderick MacKay. Un article de la revue Ontario History (Volume 112, numéro 1, spring 2020, p. 1-131) diffusée par la plateforme Érudit.

Cisco diversity in a historical drainage of glacial Lake Algonquin

Cisco (Coregonus artedi (sensu lato) Lesueur, 1818) forms matching in appearance to Blackfin Cisco from the Laurentian Great Lakes occur in four lakes in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada, a historical drainage of glacial Lake Algonquin (precursor of lakes Michigan and Huron). Their occurrence may represent colonization from glacial Lake Algonquin drainage patterns 13 000 calibrated years BP or independent evolution within each lake. Gill-raker numbers, temperature at capture depth during lake stratification, and hurdle models of habitat distribution are summarized. Blackfin (nigripinnis-like) in the four lakes had higher gill-raker numbers than artedi-like cisco captured in nearby lakes or within the same lake. Two lakes have a bimodal gill-raker distribution that indicate co-occurrence of two forms. Blackfin occupied the hypolimnion with a peak depth distribution at 20–25 m. Maximum depth for blackfin was 35–40 m. The presence of the opossum shrimp (Mysis diluviana Audzijonyte and Väinölä, 2005) appears necessary for the occurrence of cisco diversity in lakes but not sufficient in all cases. The presence of two forms of cisco in at least two lakes points to the possibility of the colonization hypothesis or the ecological speciation hypothesis as accounting for this phenomenon. Genetic analysis is needed to determine which of these hypotheses best accounts for the occurrence of blackfin in Algonquin Park.

Algonquin Park – A place like no other

Algonquin Park – A place like no other

Climate variability promotes unprecedented cyanobacterial blooms in a remote, oligotrophic Ontario lake: evidence from paleolimnology

Dickson Lake, located in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, is a remote, oligotrophic lake, where cyanobacterial blooms of the genus Dolichospermum (Ralfs ex Bornet & Flahault) P. Wacklin, L. Hoffmann and J. Komarek were reported for the first time in the fall of 2014, and subsequently in the late spring of 2015. To investigate the potential environmental triggers of these bloom events, we assessed long-term trends in water quality using a multi-proxy paleolimnological approach, examining sedimentary diatoms, chironomids, cladocerans, spectrally inferred chlorophyll a, and cyanobacterial akinetes preserved in a 210Pb-dated sediment core. Assemblage changes were modest in all biological proxies. A subtle increase in the abundance of warm-water chironomid taxa (Topt > 15 °C) commences in the year ~ 2000, with further increases in the most recent years of the sediment record (~ 2013–2015). End-of-summer volume-weighted hypolimnetic oxygen concentrations (CI-VWHO), inferred from chironomid remains, reveal a decline in oxygen concentrations over the last two decades coincident with the highest levels of sedimentary chlorophyll a and cyanobacterial akinetes in the sediment record. These paleolimnological findings corroborate observed reports of the onset of cyanobacterial blooms in Dickson Lake in late 2014 and are consistent with increasingly favourable bloom-forming conditions over the past few decades that are related to warmer air temperatures, sharp declines in wind speed, and a lengthening of the ice-free season by 2 weeks since 1975. It is plausible that late ice-out and a quick onset to stratification in 2014 may have resulted in incomplete spring mixing, early onset of hypolimnetic anoxia, and increased internal nutrient loading, that, occurring during a period when climate conditions were particularly ideal for cyanobacterial proliferation, may have fueled the unprecedented algal blooms in this remote lake. Collectively, the factors causing algal blooms in remote lakes such as Dickson Lake are not yet fully understood, and it is worrisome that with continued warming the triggering conditions may become a more common feature of Algonquin Park and other minimally impacted Boreal Shield lakes in the coming years.

Nd isotope mapping of the Grenvillian Allochthon Boundary Thrust in Algonquin Park, Ontario

Over 50 new Nd isotope analyses are presented for high-grade orthogneisses from Algonquin Park and surrounding region to map major Grenvillian thrust boundaries. Nd model ages display a consistent geographical pattern that allows detailed mapping of the boundary between the Algonquin and Muskoka domains, here interpreted as the local trajectory of the Ottawan-age Allochthon Boundary Thrust (ABT). The ABT is underlain by a domain with Paleoproterozoic Nd model ages, interpreted as a tectonic duplex entrained onto the base of the main allochthon. The boundaries determined using Nd isotope mapping are consistent with field mapping and with remotely sensed aeromagnetic and digital elevation data. The precise location of the ABT can be observed in a road-cut on Highway 60, on the north shore of Lake of Two Rivers in the centre of Algonquin Park.

The Jack Pine: Preserving the Northern Ontario Landscape through Painting, Music, and Short Film

In her program note, Canadian composer Jocelyn Morlock explains that she was inspired by Tom Thomson’s 1916–17 painting, which depicts a Jack pine clinging to a rock on the edge of water, for her solo piano piece The Jack Pine (2010). Julian Beecroft later posted a short film of the Algonquin Park, accompanied by Morlock’s work. This article examines some of the intersections between the transition of colours in the painting and the harmonic colours of the music through voice-leading analysis, and some of the ways in which the music successfully depicts the different scenes of the short film.

A Leaf from Algonquin Park: Preliminary findings of a content analysis of information practice stereotypes in the documentary trail of a world-famous provincial park (1890-2018)

This longitudinal, retrospective study presents preliminary findings from an in-progress content analysis of the documentary paper trail associated with Algonquin Provincial Park. The project seeks to understand how local residents, visitors and Indigenous people of the Algonquin Park area are represented in published accounts of people who have come into contact with them, and how those representations reflect the actual information seeking behaviors of, and stereotypes associated with, these rural populations.Cette étude rétrospective longitudinale présente les résultats préliminaires d'une analyse de contenu en cours de la trace documentaire associée au parc provincial Algonquin. Le projet vise à comprendre comment les résidents locaux, les visiteurs et les Autochtones de la région du parc Algonquin sont représentés dans des comptes rendus publiés de personnes qui ont été en contact avec eux et comment ces représentations reflètent les comportements actuels de recherche d'information de ces populations rurales et les stéréotypes qui leur sont associés.

4. Problematic Overlap of Algonquin Park Eco-Tourism and Most Suitable Habitat for the Protection of Black Bear Biodiversity

The purpose of our study is to identify problems arising or that have arisen within the biodiversity of the Algonquin to Adirondacks (A2A) region caused by ecotourism. Our full study will include examining three different species preferred habitat ranges and the possible anthropocentric impacts imposed on these habitats and biodiversity. Specifically, we look at the black bear (Ursus americanus) within the region of the Highway 60 corridor in Algonquin Park during the busiest months of the park (spring and summer). The main methodology for this study is using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) conduct a suitability analysis for each species, and then identify areas of overlap with Algonquin Park Eco-Tourism. By studying the impacts of Eco-Tourism on the bear populations, and their most suitable habitat regions, we hypothesize that ecotourism will have dangerous impacts on their habitat ranges and biodiversity potentials. To correct this, we will suggest specific times in the season to avoid using the said Eco-Tourism campsites, portage routes, trails and outpost cabins.

Measurement and modelling of primary sex ratios for species with temperature-dependent sex determination.

For many oviparous animals, incubation temperature influences sex through temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). Although climate change may skew sex ratios in species with TSD, few available methods predict sex under natural conditions, fewer still are based on mechanistic hypotheses of development, and field tests of existing methods are rare. We propose a new approach that calculates the probability of masculinization (PM) in natural nests. This approach subsumes the mechanistic hypotheses describing the outcome of TSD, by integrating embryonic development with the temperature-dependent reaction norm for sex determination. Further, we modify a commonly used method of sex ratio estimation, the constant temperature equivalent (CTE), to provide quantitative estimates of sex ratios. We test our new approaches using snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina). We experimentally manipulated nests in the field, and found that the PM method is better supported than the modified CTE, explaining 69% of the variation in sex ratios across 27 semi-natural nests. Next, we used the PM method to predict variation in sex ratios across 14 natural nests over 2years, explaining 67% of the variation. We suggest that the PM approach is effective and broadly applicable to species with TSD, particularly for forecasting how sex ratios may respond to climate change. Interestingly, we also found that the modified CTE explained up to 64% of variation in sex ratios in a Type II TSD species, suggesting that our modifications will be useful for future research. Finally, our data suggest that the Algonquin Park population of snapping turtles possesses resilience to biased sex ratios under climate change.