Group 1 - Oral Presentations

PVAs of the Slate Islands Provincial Park’s Woodland Caribou metapopulation
Brian Hardy-Cooper, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON

Brian McLaren
Lake Superior Woodland Caribou populations have deteriorated. This caribou decline follows industry growth. Caribou refuge islands like The Slate Islands Provincial Park offer escape from their main predators of wolves. The common use of land-fast ice bridges by caribou led several wolves to these islands lowering the caribou survival rates. Present day northern islands and mainland populations exist because of translocations conducted by concerned scientists led by Arthur Bergerud. Recovery of the northern, Lake Superior Woodland Caribou populations should be modified but keep translocations as the most beneficial method. Population viability analyses (PVA) were conducted envisioning an overarching metapopulation. The probability of icing events for dispersion and ideal translocation opportunities were factored in. Wolf appearances are determined to be the biggest threat and crossing to islands are predicted to coincide with land-fast ice. The PVAs enabled us to project the metapopulation a century forward and determine caribou abundance fluctuations. Specific translocation years and populations were identified as crucial to metapopulation survival.
Co-creation of Ethical Space within Collaborative Research and Monitoring of Moose (Alces alces) in Ontario, Canada
Kathryn Yarchuk, University of Guelph, ON, Canada

​Dr. Joseph Northrup, Dr. Allyson Menzies, Nadine Perron, and Dr. Jesse Popp
The strengths of Indigenous Knowledges, coupled with the overarching need for reconciliation, is increasingly recognized within wildlife monitoring. This has led to a rise in collaborative and cross-cultural research projects, particularly when discussing topics that are research priorities for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous environmental professionals, such as moose (Alces alces). Despite fundamental differences in their worldviews, Indigenous and Western knowledge systems offer immense potential to be woven together to address shared concerns, when done so “in a good way”. Ethical Space serves as a knowledge systems interface grounded in core values such as trust, respect, and relationships. The process of creating Ethical Space varies depending on geographic location, partners involved, and context; however, case-studies can offer direction on how to foster core values within collaborative projects. In the context of moose research and monitoring in central Ontario, this research explores the specificity of Ethical Space core values with the objective of developing guiding principles for ethical collaboration within wildlife research. Semi-structured interviews with First Nation communities, Crown government biologists, and academic researchers will be conducted to understand how these values are expressed, fostered, and experienced among worldviews. Furthermore, a social network analysis will determine who needs to be involved and barriers that may prevent equitable engagement. As a case-study, this research will outline best practices and recommendations for ethically engaging in collaborative wildlife research. Although explored in the context of moose monitoring and research in Ontario, the approach for creating Ethical Space can be broadly applied to ethical cross-cultural partnerships.
Harvest and density-dependences drive decline in moose populations in Ontario
Robby Marrotte, Trent University, Peterborough, ON

​Brent R. Patterson, Joe M. Northrup
Harvest and density-dependences drive decline in moose populations in Ontario. For decades, the relative effect of top-down versus bottom-up forces on regulating and limiting ungulate populations has been an important theme in ecology. Untangling these effects and determining their relative contribution to population dynamics is important for a basic understanding of trophic dynamics and is critical for effective conservation and management of wildlife populations. We integrated two independent sources of observations within a hierarchical Bayesian population model to compare the relative influence of factors driving moose abundance across 55 replicated populations within an area of close to 1 million km2 between 1999-2018 in Ontario. Across populations, moose declined by nearly 20%. At high population density, moose were regulated by intraspecific competition, with predation by canids primarily acting to limit population growth at lower densities. Specifically, wolf predation appeared to slow moose population growth but did not ultimately depress the number of moose across most densities of wolves. In low-density moose populations, predation likely played a regulating effect, leading to population decline and potentially suggesting lower density equilibrium in the presence of high wolf density. Our results also suggested that harvest was largely additive and had the potential to contribute to substantial population decline. Our results highlight that the population dynamics of large ungulates are context-dependent and vary strongly across landscapes that span gradients in climate, forest type and predator abundance. Consequently, moose population management would be better optimized by taking different management strategies for low- and high-density populations according to their population trajectories and levels of predators.
Effects of hunting regulations, population density, and weather on moose harvest success in Ontario
Nick Luymes, Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources, and Forestry - Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Peterborough, ON

Joe Northrup, Brent Patterson
Moose (Alces alces) are synonymous with Ontario’s northern environment and bring ecological, cultural, and economic value to the province. The large demand for moose hunting opportunities in Ontario has necessitated strict harvest management approaches to maintain viable populations. One of the major factors that drives harvest management decisions is tag fill rate, the ratio of harvested moose to the number of hunting tags. Managers need to be able to predict tag fill rates to determine the appropriate number of tags to issue to achieve the desired harvest. We sought to identify the major factors influencing moose harvest success to better inform tag fill rate estimates. We hypothesized that harvest success depends on characteristics of the environment and hunting method that affect efficiency and effort, the number of moose available for harvest, and the number of hunters competing for limited resources. Using discrete-time survival models in a Bayesian hierarchical framework, we investigated the effects of hunt characteristics (e.g. sex of moose, firearm type, season timing), weather conditions, landscape characteristics (e.g. road density), moose density, and number of tags issued on per-day harvest success across provincial management over a twenty year period (2000 – 2020). Early results show that harvest success was positively related to moose density across management units and years, while the number of tags issued was negatively related to harvest success. These results lend support to our hypotheses and suggest that low numbers of moose may act as a limited resource to hunters even when hunting opportunities are regulated.
Speciation Genomics of the Odocoileus Genera
Camille Kessler, Trent University, Peterborough, ON

​Eric Wooton, Aaron Shafer
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; WTD) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus; MD) are among the most abundant Cervidae species endemic to North America. Despite clear phenotypic and behavioural differences, both species hybridise in areas of sympatry and produce fertile offspring, therefore they do not conform to the biological species concept. Under the ecological speciation model, divergent selection creates differences between populations ultimately leading to reproductive isolation. Here, we use WGS data from 28 deer from across North America to 1) quantify the extent of hybridisation at the range-wide scale and 2) detect signs of ecological speciation (ES). We hypothesise that ES is an ongoing process in Odocoileus and predict higher rates of historical introgression in sympatric areas. We also expect to detect signatures of ES in the form of peaks of differentiation between the genomes. We found no evidence of hybridisation or admixture which is inconsistent with previous analyses based on a local scale. We detected loci under balancing selection, that were related to sense of smell and to the MHC. We also detected patterns of divergence with gene flow in loci associated with methylation and epigenetics, suggesting the ongoing ecological speciation in Odocoileus might be driven by epigenetic changes.

​GROUP 2 - ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Climate-associated Decline of Body Condition in a Fossorial Salamander
​Patrick Moldowan, Algonquin Wildlife Research Station, Whitney, ON, Canada; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, ON

Glenn Tattersall, Njal Rollinson
Temperate ectotherms have responded to recent environmental change, likely due to the direct and indirect effects of temperature on key life cycle events. Yet, a substantial number of ectotherms are fossorial, spending the vast majority of their lives in subterranean microhabitats that are assumed to be buffered against environmental change. Here, we examine whether seasonal climatic conditions influence body condition (a measure of general health and vigor), reproductive output, and breeding phenology in a northern population of fossorial salamander (Spotted Salamander, Ambystoma maculatum). We found that breeding body condition declined over a 12-year monitoring period (2008–2019) with warmer summer and autumn temperatures at least partly responsible for the observed decline in body condition. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that elevated metabolism drives the negative association between temperature and condition. Population-level reproduction, assessed via egg mass counts, showed high interannual variation and was weakly influenced by autumn temperatures. Salamander breeding phenology was strongly correlated with lake ice melt but showed no long-term temporal trend (1986–2019). Climatic warming in the region, which has been and is forecasted to be strongest in the summer and autumn, is predicted to lead to a 5%–27% decline in salamander body condition under realistic near-future climate scenarios. Although the subterranean environment offers a thermal buffer, the observed decline in condition and relatively strong effect of summer temperature on body condition suggest that fossorial salamanders are sensitive to the effects of a warming climate. Given the diversity of fossorial taxa, heightened attention to the vulnerability of subterranean microhabitat refugia and their inhabitants is warranted amid global climatic change.
Investigating the Ecological Effects of Common Construction Materials as Road Effect Mitigation for Turtle Communities in Eastern Georgian Bay
Jenna Kentel, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON

​Tianna Burke, Steven Kell, Jacqueline D. Litzgus
Roads create an ecological trap for female turtles during nesting forays because exposed road shoulders are attractive nesting habitats despite the risk to female turtles’ fitness. The viability of turtle populations is dependent on the survivorship of reproductive females, yet few cost-effective mitigation strategies directly address their vulnerability to roads. Here, we will evaluate a new mitigation strategy that aims to deter female turtles from nesting in unsafe road-side habitat and instead encourages them to use safer alternative sites. The mitigation design makes use of routine road maintenance to replace exposed gravel on road embankments with rock rip-rap and paved road shoulders. Road mortality and nesting survey data collected over three consecutive years will be used to determine if the mitigation deters females from nesting on the road. We will evaluate the effectiveness of this mitigation strategy in the context of the local turtle population, using a rigorous mark-recapture study and a before-after comparison. We anticipate the rip-rap will inhibit female’s ability to nest on the road shoulder; however, turtles may continue to gain road access in search of a nesting site. Using wildlife cameras and behavioural assays, particular attention will be paid to how turtles interact with the rip-rap. The mitigation strategy will be considered successful if it prevents females from nesting on the road and no secondary consequences are observed. This study will contribute to the limited literature that quantifies the efficacy of road-effect mitigation strategies at the population level. If the new mitigation strategy is successful, it could be applied to other conservation projects that have limited resources.
Island-mainland divergence of North American masked shrews (Sorex cinereus)
Marie-Laurence Cossette, Trent University, Peterborough, ON

Don T. Stewart, Amin Haghani, Aaron B.A. Shafer, Steve Horvath
Shrews (Soricidae) are an understudied family of mammals that are thought to have appeared about 30 to 40 million years ago. Hundreds of extant shrew species have diverged from these ancestors and are now found on most continents. Various shrew species have evolved unique traits such as echolocation, venomous saliva, and the ability to dive underwater. On a population level, shrews also exhibit different traits and characteristics. Isolated populations, such as island-dwelling shrews, have been known to exhibit different morphologies and to have developed specialized feeding habits in response to their varied environments and diets. Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation (DNAm) can impact phenotypes via altering gene expression without changing the DNA sequence. Here, we have assembled the de novo masked shrew (Sorex cinereus) genome to conducted epigenomics-wide association studies (EWAS) to identify differential methylation patterns between island and mainland masked shrews. The genome assembly was 2.66 Gb with 84,558 scaffolds, an N50 of 1.99 Mb in 291 scaffolds, and approximately 95% of BUSCOs were identified. EWAS and pathway enrichment analysis results indicated that differentially methylated sites in island versus mainland populations seem to mostly affect digestive/intestinal and developmental processes. This research provides novel genomic and epigenomic tools to the community for a hitherto inaccessible species and will hopefully provide insight on one of the most understudied mammals in North America.
The Urban Squirrel: Assessing the Impact of Urbanization on Behaviour
Nathan Lewis, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON

​Elizabeth Porter, Nicole Byrne, Andrew McCarthy, Kaitlyn Raine, C. Earley, and Shoshanah Jacobs
Urbanisation affects local populations at many scales, causing extirpations, range shifts, or subtler effects like character displacement. While the more immediate effects, such as extirpation may be more readily observed if in charismatic or larger species, the subtler effects that can occur over evolutionary timescales will have long lasting implications for both the urban habitats and for our understanding of evolutionary mechanisms. To study the effects of urbanisation on the character displacement of animal behaviours, we will use squirrels as a biological model and we will observe their behaviour over a ‘wildness’ gradient. Squirrels are an ideal species for this study because they are commonly seen along walking trails in urban and suburban environments, which makes them easy to find and observe. To determine the effects human presence has on squirrel behaviour, six parks in Guelph, Ontario were selected, each with a different degree of ‘wildness,’ as determined by human presence and influence on the landscape. Behaviours observed will be recorded and compared between sites in order to determine whether squirrels are more likely to perform a variety of non-evasive behaviours in front of humans while living in a less ‘wild’ environment. These observations will be compared to weather patterns through the 12-month observation period to determine if squirrels change their behaviour beyond their known annual cycles when faced with different weather patterns. This study will create a baseline for comparing the effects of human presence and climate change on animal behaviour overall.
City Living: The Influence of The Urban Environment on Stress and Early Rates of Neurogenesis in Eastern Grey Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis)
Alannah Grant, University of Guelph, ON
As the fastest growing habitat type on the planet, urban environments encroach upon existing ecosystems and habitats at a pace never seen before, yet the severity and implications of these alterations are greatly unexplored. One means through which we may gain insight on the impact of urbanization on wildlife is through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a mechanism that connects organisms with their environment via the stress response and glucocorticoid (GC) production. Furthermore, the multi-generational impact of living in an urban setting may be revealed through the examination of maternal effects, and how a mother’s stress, in response to urban stimuli, shapes offspring neurological development, specifically neurogenesis. Eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) are abundant throughout both urban and non-urban habitats, making them a fitting representative population, not only for their success in these environments, but for their reliance on neurogenesis, as a means of survival. Using the University of Guelph campus as our urban site and rare research reserve in Cambridge as our natural site, this study applies a comparative approach to investigate potential trade-offs of an urban lifestyle in grey squirrels. Through physiological methods including hormone challenges, and immunohistology tissue staining, this study examines the stress of mothers and offspring, and its impact on the rates of neurogenesis in juveniles from both habitats. Knowledge regarding the impact of urbanization gained by this research may aid in the design of more accurate and meaningful conservation strategies as well as reinforce the necessity of urban forests for wildlife within this ever-growing landscape.
Weaving Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science to Investigate the Impacts of Railways on Wildlife
Kyle Vincent, Laurentian University, ON

​Jaqueline Litzgus, Cory Kozmik, Steven Kell, Jesse Popp
Railways have been documented to cause mortalities for many different species, but overall, the ecological impacts of railways are understudied. Most research on wildlife-train collisions has focused on large mammals, but understanding railway-specific risks for underrepresented taxa, especially vulnerable species, is important for developing effective mitigation strategies. We aim to fill knowledge gaps using a two-eyed seeing approach that weaves Indigenous Knowledge and Western science to investigate wildlife interactions with railways. We initiated this project based on concerns from First Nations communities about wildlife mortalities on railways, particularly species at risk. To inform study design, we invited community members to share knowledge concerning wildlife-railway impacts in individual interviews. We then conducted weekly visual surveys over three field seasons along two 3.5 km sections of railway in Eastern Georgian Bay, Ontario, recording the locations of all wildlife observed alive or dead. In total we recorded 461 observations of individuals from 40 different species, of which 77% were found dead, and 23% were encountered alive, findings corroborated by shared Indigenous Knowledge. Reptiles and amphibians were the most severely impacted taxa, accounting for 87% of observed mortalities. We observed seven different at-risk species interacting with the railway, of which individuals from three at-risk turtle species and one at-risk snake species were found dead on the tracks. These results highlight the value of using multiple knowledge systems in ecological research and indicate some taxa such as reptiles and amphibians may be more susceptible to railway mortality.

​GROUP 3 - ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Distribution and migration chronology of Eastern Population Sandhill Cranes in Ontario and Quebec
Kelly McLean, University of Waterloo

​Christopher Sharp, Christine Lepage, Bradley Fedy
The Eastern Population (EP) of Sandhill Cranes (Antigone tabida canadensis; ‘cranes’) was near extinction in the late 1800’s and has since rebounded to >90 000 individuals in 2021. This population growth has been accompanied by a geographic range expansion into Ontario and Quebec. We deployed GPS-GSM transmitters on 84 cranes captured on fall stopover sites in Ontario and Quebec in 2019-2021 to determine migration chronology and distribution. Cranes initiated fall migration late August to mid-September; the mean migration initiation date was 31 days earlier in 2021 than in 2020 (August 13th and September 15th respectively). Cranes used between one to four stopovers before arriving on wintering grounds in early-mid December in 2020 and 2021. Majority of cranes that travelled beyond southern Ontario during fall migration made at least one stop in Indiana at the south end of Lake Michigan. Cranes either traveled north of Lake Huron and East or West of Lake Michigan, or through southern Ontario. Cranes wintered within the Mississippi flyway and were widely distributed between Long Point, Ontario to Peninsular Florida. Spring migration pathways were similar to those used in the fall. Mean spring migration was initiated in late February in 2020 and 2021. Completion of spring migration was eight days earlier in 2020 than 2021 (April 18th and May 1st respectively). We documented the annual movement and distribution for cranes using Ontario and Quebec on the rapidly expanding eastern edge of their range.
Regional Differences in Natal and Moult Origin of Harvested American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)
Jackson Kusack, Western University, London, ON

Doug C Tozer, Keith A Hobson
For harvested waterfowl, such as the American Black Duck (Anas rubripes), effective management requires detailed information on connectivity between breeding, wintering, and stopover sites. Within Canada, leg-band returns and stable isotopes show that hunters in the Atlantic region are more likely to harvest black ducks produced locally compared to those harvested in Ontario and Quebec which likely originate in the boreal. For boreal breeding black ducks, it is hypothesized that they are more likely to be harvested by Americans as they migrate south later in the season (i.e., the “flyover hypothesis”), but there is no published data for US harvested birds. To examine these regional differences, we used a likelihood-based assignment method relying on feather stable hydrogen isotopes (δ2H) to determine the natal/moult origin for black ducks harvested across their range in eastern Canada and the US. We collected feathers from wings submitted by hunters to the species composition and parts collection surveys. Supporting the flyover hypothesis, black ducks harvested in Atlantic Canada showed predominantly southern origin while those harvested in the US and other Canadian provinces were primarily boreal produced, but we found no evidence of a date effect. As natal/moult origin differed between Atlantic Canada and all other harvest areas, harvest regulations in this area should be managed separately to avoid overharvest of these breeding regions. Overall, this information directly informs management decisions, promoting more effective conservation of American Black Ducks.
Using isotopic niche characteristics to investigate how ecological traits drive resource partitioning in global seabird colonies: A test of niche theory.
Kyle Parkinson, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON

Alex L. Bond, Leandro Bugoni, Yves Cherel, Keith A. Hobson, Patricia L. Mancini, Gregory T.W. McClelland, Brian Hayden.
Ecological niche theory predicts that closely related, or morphologically similar, organisms cannot coexist in the same space at the same time. Thus, the competitive exclusion principal predicts that coexistence of multiple organisms occupying similar niche space will avoid dietary niche overlap by partitioning resources through species-specific habitat or dietary characteristics. However, how habitat and foraging characteristics shape resource segregation among communities is not widely known. Seabirds are a group of organisms which show colonial breeding strategies and central place foraging in most species and occupy many remote oceanic islands in numerous marine regions. Since resource limitation is a prominent reproductive constraint for seabirds, and many species within colonies overlap in space and time, it is important to understand how habitat and foraging characteristics shape resource partitioning amongst seabird colonies. Here, we use stable isotope values (δ13C & δ15N) to estimate resource overlap among members of 12 seabird communities across the globe. We then characterized both habitat and foraging characteristics for each species and tested for relationships with our intra-community inter-species isotopic niche overlap matrix. This provides the first estimate of resource partitioning using isotopic niche characteristics across a global scale of seabird communities.
Movement and habitat use of shorebirds during migration stopover in the Pacific Flyway
Anne Blondin, Trent University, Peterborough, ON
Shorebirds depend on stopover sites to rest and refuel during their long-distance migrations. Stopover sites are made up of coastal habitats that host an abundance of invertebrates and biofilm rich in fatty acids, essential food sources for migrating shorebirds. We tracked individual shorebirds during migration in the Pacific Flyway to determine if they use multiple habitats during stopover. Shorebirds were captured and fitted with radio transmitters at two important stopover site locations during northward and southward migration between 2018-2021. Tagged shorebirds were automatically detected by receiving towers stationed at different habitats within both stopover sites. To investigate what influences stopover movements, we collected sediment cores to determine shorebird prey abundance and density and conducted human disturbance surveys to assess level of disturbance. Results show that shorebirds move among habitats within stopover sites during migration, however level of movement varies between stopover site location and migration season. Individual shorebirds move less frequently between habitats during northward migration than during southward migration. Automated telemetry is an effective way to track fine scale movements during stopover, which can help identify critical habitats which are essential for shorebirds to complete their life cycle.
Primary Orientation Cue Varies Depending on Season for White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) Crossing the eastern Sahara
Aranya Iyer, University of Western Ontario, London, ON

​Beate Zein, Urška Demšar, Jed A. Long
During long-distance avian migration, ecological barriers (sea- and desert-crossings) are major energetic obstacles to migration but may also be orientation obstacles given the lack of visual cues compared to other landscapes. We tested three possible orientation cues for White storks (Ciconia ciconia) crossing the eastern Sahara Desert, specifically geomagnetic, wind, and linear features. We use step selection functions to analyse route selection from 247 migrations collected via GPS devices from 2014-2020. Our preliminary results show that, in fall, birds chose steps with high wind support predominantly aligning with the direction of northwesterly prevailing winds. These steps reliably minimize energy expenditure for facultative soaring landbirds, such as White storks, crossing from the Sahara’s northern to southern edge. The birds spent a longer time in the desert during spring migration however, they followed a less tortuous route by remaining close to the Nile (high linear feature support). Daily night-time stopovers near the Nile also provided more opportunities for feeding and subsequent stocking of reserves for the upcoming energetically demanding breeding period. For both seasons, birds generally selected steps with high geomagnetic support though the extent of the effect should be contrasted with the other two cues we tested. Our results add to the growing evidence that birds may use various cues with complementary information for orientation during migration. Our preliminary results support that orientation cues may change depending on cue availability and opportunity to maximize energy efficiency especially when crossing ecological barriers.
Occupancy Modelling of the Invasive Eurasian Collared-Dove in Canada
Yiran Shao, Western University, London, ON
Invasive species are among the leading threats to native wildlife. To anticipate the consequences of biological invasions, it is essential to understand the distribution dynamics of such species and to estimate their future expansion directions. We applied the occupancy modelling framework to understand the historic spread and predict future invasion dynamics of the Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) across Canada, as well as to examine interactions with native dove species, the mourning dove (Zenaida macroura). Our models were built upon the data collected by Project FeederWatch (PFW), a citizen science project that provides presence/absence observations of many species in North America. The dataset used in this study contains records of the Eurasian collared- and mourning dove collected since 2000 across Canada. The occupancy probability of the collared-doves was modelled using parameters including latitude, longitude, surveyed time and estimated occupancy rate of native doves. Our analysis demonstrated a clear positive trend between occupancy rate and time throughout the surveyed sites and predicted that the collared-doves will continue to spread towards Northeastern Canada. The collared-doves are also increasingly likely to occupy habitats of the native dove, but we found no evidence of an interaction that might lead to extirpation. Our results provided evidence that the range of the collared-dove is currently expanding, and will continue to expand in Canada. We also provided estimation of the spread direction and the associated possibilities for each site.
Landscape genetic applications to the management of greater sage-grouse across scales: What have we learned so far?
Brad Fedy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON

​Todd Cross, Jeff Row, Sara Oyler-McCance
The identification and demographic assessment of biologically meaningful populations is fundamental to species’ ecology and management. Additionally, given the significance of animal dispersal to population dynamics and geographic variability, understanding how dispersal is impacted by landscape patterns has major ecological and conservation importance. We used genetic data to define subpopulations, identify the landscape components that most influence connectivity, and assess the role of population connectivity in maintaining genetic diversity for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) at the state-level. Across the range of the species, we have quantified functional connectivity with network analyses and the development of landscape resistance surfaces using microsatellite genotypes from 6,844 individuals across the 10.7 million km2 range. We have used a combination of these empirical data and extensive simulations to address multiple unique – but related – questions. In this presentation we will summarize the results of this large-scale project and discuss how our contributions have been received and applied by resource management agencies.

​​GROUP 4 - ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Patterns and consequences of natal dispersal in a declining population of Canada Jays at the southern edge of their range.
Matthew Fuirst, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON

​Alex Sutton, Nikole Freeman, Dan Strickland, and Ryan Norris
Although estimating juvenile dispersal is essential for understanding variation in fitness and long-term population dynamics, it has been challenging to determine when individuals disperse and where they go after they leave their natal territories, particularly for species in which a portion of their offspring delay dispersal until after their first year. The Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis) is a territorial, food-caching resident songbird of North America’s boreal forest. Juveniles either disperse soon after they fledge the nest (ejectees) or after their first year (dominant juveniles). From 2017-2021, we radio tracked 99 nestlings and monitored dispersing juveniles from a declining population of Canada jays at the southern edge of their range in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. Dispersal distances ranged from 1.0 – 15.0 km (mean ± SD: 3.9 ± 4.5), with dominant juveniles tending to travel shorter distances (3.0 ± 4.7 km, 1.0 – 15.0, 3.0 ± 4.7, n = 22) than ejectees (6.3 ± 3.6, 4.5 – 11.7, n = 16), the latter of which often travelled through kilometers of vacant habitat before settling. Dominant juveniles were also more likely to survive once they left their natal territories (0.92) compared to ejectees (0.24) and more likely to acquire a higher quality breeding habitat. Our results suggest that juvenile Canada jays experience significant fitness benefits from delaying dispersal, despite the fact that they forgo breeding opportunities in their first year.
Habitat Preferences of Canada jays During the Post-breeding Period in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
Joschka McLeod, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON

Matthew Fuirst and Ryan Norris
Habitat preferences in animals are often examined during the breeding period when individuals are easier to observe. However, habitat use may change once young become independent and if resource availability shifts with seasonality. While Canada jays (Perisoreus canadensis (Linneaeus, 1766)) in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario have been studied for several decades, there is no information on habitat use outside of the fall and late-winter nesting period, where they primarily used conifer forests. Using radio telemetry and resource selection functions comparing used versus available habitat, we estimated home-range size and habitat preferences of 12 adult Canada jays (n = 334) in the spring and summer. Mean (± s.d.) home-range size from minimum convex polygons was 84 (± 48 ha) and ranged from 35 - 201 ha. Canada jays strongly preferred forest-wetland edges, showed a weak preference for coniferous forests, a corresponding weak avoidance of shade-tolerant hardwood forests, and used mixed forest and wetlands in proportion to their availability. Our results suggest that, while adult Canada jays used multiple types of habitat during the post-breeding period, they also key into forest-wetland edges, likely to take advantage of emergent prey while remaining near forested areas to maximize protection from predators.
Investigating the Preservative Potential of Canada Jay Saliva
Karen Ong, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON

Matthew Fuirst, Dan Strickland, Ryan Norris
Across taxa, species-specific adaptations have been identified that facilitate a food caching lifestyle. Anatomical adaptations of the hippocampal formation allow the establishment of memories for cache locations and behavioural adaptations select or create microhabitats that preserve cache quality. Canada jays have the largest salivary gland to body size ratio of all birds, producing copious amounts of saliva that helps boli stick to arboreal cache sites. Laboratory analyses indicate physiological adaptations in Canada jay saliva through lysosomal activity against Gram-positive bacteria and Carnobacterium in the oral microbiome that has antibacterial potential. Simulated cache experiments testing the effect of Canada jay saliva on cache degradation (measured through mass loss) were conducted in Algonquin Provincial Park, ON from Oct 2020 to Jan 2021 and again in Oct 2021 with a first retrieval date in Jan 2022 and a second in March 2022, which marks a transition period from cached to fresh foods. Suet coated in Canada jay (food-caching) saliva retained significantly more weight than suet coated in human (non-caching) saliva but did not differ significantly from the control. Preliminary data suggest that food-caching and non-caching species have been under different selective pressures to prolong cache degradation and efficiently degrade food respectively, representing contrasting methods to optimize foraging efforts.
Differences in Wing Morphology and Flight Behaviours in Black-Throated Blue Warblers
Patricia Rokitnicki, Western University, London, ON

Yolanda Morbey
Songbirds can vary in physiological, morphological, and behavioral traits depending on their age and sex. This study focuses on how differences in sex and age class can affect wing shape and flight speed in Black-throated Blue Warblers during spring migration. Thirty-six birds were caught at Long Point Bird Observatory in Long Point, Ontario, during their 2021 spring migration. These birds were aged and sexed based on plumage characteristics. The Black-throated Blue Warblers were photographed to assess differences in wing shape between sex and age classes. The birds were then tagged with radio transmitters that emitted a signal detected by Motus towers throughout North America. Radio transmitters use radio telemetry to track a bird's movement; this study tracked the remainder of a bird's migration to its breeding grounds. The photograph analysis found that males had larger wing areas than females, and juvenile birds' feathers showed more wear than adults. The presentation will focus on how the data collected with radio telemetry in 2021 and previous data collected in 2014 and 2015 was used to calculate flight speeds through inter-tower detections. Further investigation into how differences in wing morphology could influence the estimated flight speeds for the Black-throated Blue Warblers will also be examined. Tracking songbirds throughout their migration at an increased spatial and temporal scale will improve our understanding of migration speed and migratory movement.
Urbanization influences Wood Thrush breeding abundance: a 20-year before-and-after study in 73 forest fragments
Karl Heide, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON

Lyle Friesen, Virgil Martin, Edward Cheskey, Michael Cadman, and Ryan Norris
Urbanization is widely believed to be an increasing threat to biodiversity. Still, drawing strong inferences about its effects on wildlife has been challenging because the state of a population prior to development is rarely known. The Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) is a steeply declining migratory songbird that breeds in North American temperate deciduous forest and winters in Central America. From 1987 to 2001, data on Wood Thrush abundance and nest success were collected in 73 forest fragments across Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Some of these fragments have since been surrounded by urbanization while others have remained rural. In 2020 and 2021, we re-assessed Wood Thrush abundance and nest success in these same fragments by replicating point-count and nest monitoring protocols. Our results suggest that Wood Thrush have (1) ceased to breed in nearly half the fragments they once occupied, (2) declined most steeply in fragments with development in the surrounding landscape during the intervening 20-yr period, but (3) experienced no decline in nest success over the same time period, regardless of development. Our findings provide rare before-and-after evidence that urbanization near breeding habitat is contributing to a pronounced localized decline of a migratory songbird, likely by mechanisms unrelated to nest productivity.
Post-breeding Survival of Adult and Juvenile Bank Swallows in the Great Lakes Ecoregion
Christian Buchanan-Fraser, University of Western Ontario, London, ON

Yolanda Morbey, Greg Mitchell
The post-breeding period poses significant threats to young newly fledged birds due to predation, starvation, exposure to inclement weather, and collision risk prior to their first southward migration. To address the gap in knowledge about this period for Bank Swallows (Riparia riparia), we aim to estimate and compare the survival rates of adults and juveniles in the Great Lakes ecoregion. In 2018 (juveniles) and 2021 (juveniles and adults), individuals were captured using mist nets, banded, had morphological measurements taken and had radio tags affixed. Detection data was obtained and downloaded from the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. Detection data will be used to generate movement paths and encounter histories for the estimation of post-breeding survival rate in mark-recapture models. We will also compare survival between lakeshore and aggregate pit colonies. As analyses are ongoing, our presentation will focus on the post-breeding movement paths and encounter histories of the 2018 juveniles.

​GROUP 5 - Poster PRESENTATIONS

Post-breeding Movement of Migratory Songbirds in Eastern Georgian Bay
Andrew Beauchamp, University of Western Ontario, London, ON

​Yolanda Morbey, Chris Guglielmo
The post-breeding period is an important but understudied stage in the annual cycle of many migratory songbird species. Between the completion of nesting and the start of fall migration, adult songbirds must recover from raising young and will undergo an energetically demanding moult of wing, tail, and body feathers. Newly independent juveniles continue to physically and experientially develop, and may explore the region to prospect for future breeding territories. Towards the end of summer, both adults and juveniles need to accumulate the energy required for autumn migration. Understanding the spatial scale over which these processes occur is key to making informed land management and conservation decisions intended to benefit migratory bird species throughout the entire annual cycle. In Ontario, coastal Georgian Bay is used extensively by breeding and migratory songbirds and is a focal point of habitat conservation efforts as part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve. We radio-tagged 77 songbirds of three species on island and mainland habitats in the Go Home Bay area of Georgian Bay to evaluate how different age classes use the coastal archipelago during the post-breeding period. Manual tracking was used to map local movement during the late nesting and early post-breeding periods. Departure date and post departure movements were measured using the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. Preliminary results suggest that birds remained within 500 meters of the capture location on island and mainland habitats during the 2021 observation period. Additional data collection is planned for the summer and fall of 2022.
Factors Determining the Success of Common Loon Nesting Platforms in Nipigon, ON
Madison Gardiner, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON

Dr. Brian McLaren
The common loon (Gavia immer) is monitored along the Aguasabon River system in Terrace Bay, Ontario. Loon nesting success is dependent on stable early summer water levels, and rapid increases in water can lead to the flooding of their nests. Water level fluctuations, including those associated with hydropower generation, were the leading cause of low productivity in loons living in large lakes. In order to aid loons and provide a more stable nesting habitat, agencies and NGOs construct and place nesting platforms, which receive varying success. By examining habitat elements surrounding loon sightings on the Aguasabon River, I aimed to predict the habitat that best supports loon reproduction. Results include water depth, fluctuations in water level, and adjacent terrestrial habitat as useful variables in predicting loon nesting success on the Aguasabon River.
Spatial Prioritization Decisions for Conservation in a Data-Limited Context
Marie Racioppa, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK

Brad Fedy
Systematic conservation planning (SCP) aims to address research-implementation gaps in ecology by providing a framework for better engagement with stakeholders. This is achieved with decision support tools which quantify conservation goals as optimization problems, generating solutions to identify areas suitable for specific management actions. The Rock Springs Field Office, a 3.6-million-acre management area located in southwestern Wyoming, was tasked with addressing the conservation of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) by producing future visions of the landscape considering environmental, social, political, and economic land uses. We used sage-grouse in the RSFO as a case study to investigate how decisions to structure a spatial prioritization regarding objective types, feature weights, integrating costs, other species’ distributions, and connectivity, can impact the solution. We used bootstrapping to randomly select feature weights and simulate a variety of potential conservation problems and a sensitivity analysis to determine the impact of 13 conservation features and compare approaches to integrating connectivity. Solutions were assessed with metrics including feature representation, irreplaceability, a relative score assigned to each planning unit, return on investment (ROI), and contiguity. We found using predicted development potential surfaces to determine threat and inform our costs, led to an increase in irreplaceability values with the tradeoff of reduced feature representation and contiguity. Feature weights successfully increased the representation of target conservation features with the maximum utility objective type. With consultation and strategic application, feature weights are a powerful tool to mitigate potential trade-offs built into the conservation problem or weaknesses in existing protected areas.
Re-designing agricultural landscapes: The effect of habitat on arthropod communities
Aleksandra Dolezal, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON

​Ellen Esch, Andrew MacDougall
Arthropods are critical components in agricultural landscapes, representing most of the biodiversity and providing important ecosystem services. Nevertheless, we have an incomplete understanding of how arthropod communities are assembled in agroecosystems. We conducted a comprehensive survey of arthropod communities within three major habitat types of Southern Ontario farmed landscapes, including prairie grasslands, crop fields and woodlots. In this study, we used a spatially nested design to examine how factors occurring at the regional, farm and local scale filter arthropod communities in agroecosystems. Importantly, we also investigate how this applies to the ecosystem function of pest control and how changes in on-farm habitat cover may impact function through increased arthropod biodiversity. Results at the regional-scale show that arthropods utilized farmed landscapes, as similar numbers of arthropod families were seen in semi-natural areas surrounding farms compared to within our agricultural field sites. The farm-scale results showed a strong relationship between habitat and arthropod abundance, richness, and functional group composition. Each habitat contributed to different community composition, which resulted from tissue quantity and quality factors at the local scale. Overall, prairie grassland habitat had the greatest arthropod abundance and richness, contributing to crop damage reduction in adjacent crop fields. Understanding how habitat influences arthropod community assembly and processes will help manage, design, and plan our agroecosystems to best support biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Using Camera Traps to Determine the Lake Of the Woods Elk Population Status
Amanda Henderson, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON
Elk or Wapiti, once widespread across North America, severely declined due to overhunting and habitat loss in the 1900s. The Lake of the Woods area was one of four locations chosen to reintroduce elk populations in Ontario with the release of 104 elk into the area between 1998-2001.
Using data from 6 camera traps over 9 years (2013-2021), this study determined the status of the Lake of the Woods Elk population. A minimum population size for each year of data was determined by using a capture mark recapture design. The population distribution was determined by mapping the locations of the camera traps where elk were seen.
The Identification of Moose Aquatic Feeding Areas in Ontario
Hayley Mackey, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON
Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry are responsible for wildlife data collection throughout the Managed Forest. Moose aquatic feeding areas (MAFA) are a seasonally important habitat feature for moose and are classified using a standardized ranking system to assess the quality. However, throughout the province, over 64% of MAFAs were surveyed more than 15 years ago and over 84% were surveyed more than 10 years ago, with some sites last surveyed as long ago as 36 years. Forest management polices relating to moose habitat have undergone relatively recent changes, such as the requirement for Moose Emphasis Areas and this MAFA data is still regularly used throughout the planning process. Due to natural macrophyte succession, beavers as ecosystem engineers, and the effects of herbivory, I suggest that this dated data may not accurately reflect the current state of the aquatic area. To test the hypothesis that the quality of previously surveyed MAFAs may change over time, 32 sites in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest Region were resurveyed for comparison of which over a third had seemed to have either degraded or increased in quality. Future management considerations may include updating this information more frequently, such as on a 10-year basis, so resource managers can effectively make more informed decisions.