Wildlife Ecology and Habitat Assessment
Project Examples
Moose Aquatic Feeding Area Air Photo Interpretation
Description: Interpreted aerial photographs to identify moose aquatic feeding areas in lakes and wetlands.
Year: 2003
Client: Ministry of Natural Resources, Nipigon District
Woodland Caribou Recovery Strategy Rewrite
Description: Assisted in editing the draft recovery strategy for Woodland Caribou in Ontario.
Year: 2004
Client: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Kapuskasing River Odonates
Description: Completed a monitoring project for globally and provincially rare dragonflies on the Kapaskasing River (identified over 7000 exuviae)
Report: Foster, R.F. and A.G. Harris. 2007. Kapuskasing River Odonate Monitoring. Unpublished report prepared for Hatch Ltd.
Year: 2007
Client: Hatch Ltd.
Small Mammal Response Study
Description: Undertook mark/recapture study of small mammals at two sites in northwestern Ontario as part of a multidisciplinary study examining the effect of vegetation management strategies (mechanical release and herbicide applications) on small mammal populations. Conducted analysis of covariance and multivariate statistics and wrote manuscript for publication.
Report: Honsberger, T., R. F. Foster, B.E. McLaren, and F.W. Bell. 2007. Effects of vegetation control on small mammals in northwestern Ontario. Unpublished manuscript.
Year: 2004
Client: Upper Lakes Environmental Research Network (ULERN)
Lake Superior Amphibian and Reptile Gap Analysis
Description: Compiled list of amphibian and reptile species known to occur in the Lake Superior watershed in Ontario and identified gaps in inventory coverage.
Report: Foster R.F., B. Ratcliff, and A.G. Harris. 2004. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Ontario portion of the Lake Superior Basin. Prepared for Wildlife Assessment Program, Northwest Region. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
Year: 2003
Client: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Science and Information
Reptile and Amphibian Survey - Lake Nipigon Basin
Description: Conducted survey for reptiles and amphibians on the west side of LakeNipigon.
Report: Foster R.F., B. Ratcliff, and A.G. Harris. 2005. 2004-2005 Herpetofaunal Survey for the Lake Nipigon West and Adjacent Areas. Prepared for Wildlife Assessment Program, Northwest Region. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
Year: 2004
Client: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Wildlife Assessment Program
Fallingsnow Small Mammal Trapping
Description: Undertook mark/recapture study of small mammals at two sites in northwestern Ontario as part of a multidisciplinary study examining the effect of vegetation management strategies (mechanical release and herbicide applications) on small mammal populations. Included identification of species, sex and reproductive status, handling and ear-tagging during 19200 trap-sets. Produced and quality-checked resulting digital database.
Year: 2003
Client: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Forest Research
Peregrine Falcon Habitat Analysis
Description: Analyzed current and historic data for peregrine falcons nesting habitat in Ontario and developed GIS-based, spatially explicit predictive model to determine potential and future nest sites.
Report: Foster, R.F., B. Ratcliff, and A.G. Harris. 2002. Peregrine Falcon Habitat Analysis. Draft report. 13 p. + appendices.
Date: January - March 2002
Client: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Northwest Region
Lake of the Woods Bird Monitoring and Research
Description: Conducted migration monitoring at the proposed Lake of the Woods Sand Spit Archipelago Important Bird Area (IBA) and assessed potential for establishment of a permanent station. Surveyed avian species at risk in surrounding area and assessed bird diversity based on field observations and historical records.
Report: Harris, A.G, D. Elder, B. Ratcliff, and R. Foster. 2002. Bird Monitoring and Research Lake of the Woods Sand Spit Archipelago. Unpublished report. 20 p. + appendices
Date: April 2001 - September 2001
Client: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Fort Frances District
Important Bird Areas Conservation Plans Review
Description: Conducted scientific and editorial review of community conservation plans for approximately 40 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) located across Canada.
Date: December 2000 - November 2001
Client: Canadian Nature Federation
Ottawa
Aulneau Peninsula Enhanced Management Area Wildlife Management Plan
Description: Revise and update wildlife management plan for the Aulneau Peninsula. Incorporate spatial wildlife habitat analysis, moose and bear population data and ecosite classification.
Date: December 1999 - April 2000
Client:
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Kenora District
Bruce Ranta
Marten in Lakehead Forest
Description: Analyse significance of marten to trappers and status of marten habitat in the Lakehead Forest based on trapper interviews, fur harvest data and Landsat data.
Date:December 1999 - April 2000
Client:
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Thunder Bay District
Bill Dalton
Forest Bird Monitoring
Description: Completed 135 point counts of songbirds in 27 forest stands in northwestern Ontario. Described habitat, wrote summary report.
Report: Harris, A.G. 1998. Forest Bird Monitoring Northwest Region 1998 Summary Report. Unpublished report. 32 pp.
Date: May 1998 - July 1998
Client:
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Northwest Wildlife Assessment Unit
Neil Dawson
Status of Habitat in the Lake Superior Basin
Description: Literature review of the status of plant and wildlife habitat in the Lake
Superior basin including Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Date: July 1999 - April 2001
Client: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Two Harbors
Pat Collins
Bald Eagle Nest Information
Description: Document bald eagle nest locations on private land in northern Ontario for Conservation Land Tax Incentive program. Search OMNR files for nest locations, determine landowners from Regional Assessment Offices records, contact landowners.
Date: June - August 1998
Client:
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Northwest Region Site Region Planning
Ted Armstrong
Caribou Guidelines Technical Writing
Description: Technical writer for revision of habitat guidelines for woodland caribou in Ontario. Guidelines for timber management, road planning and other human impacts were updated to reflect current knowledge of woodland caribou biology and recent changes in forest management philosophies.
Date: December 1996 - April 1997
Report: Racey, G.D., A.G. Harris, L. Gerrish, E.R. Armstrong, R. Schott, J. McNicol, and R. Gollat. In prep. Forest management guidelines for the conservation of woodland caribou: a landscape approach. 57 pp.
Client:
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Northwest Science and Technology
Gerry Racey
Woodland Caribou Status Report
Description: Researched and wrote status report for woodland caribou in Ontario following standards for the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO).
Date: September - November 1997
Report: Harris, A.G. 1999. Report on the status of woodland caribou in Ontario. Unpublished report for Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario. 27 pp.
Client:
Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources
Northwest Region Site Region Planning
Ted Armstrong
Small Mammal Trapping
Description: Undertook mark/recapture study of small mammals at two sites in northwestern Ontario as part of a multidisciplinary study examining the effect of vegetation management strategies (mechanical release and herbicide applications) on small mammal populations. Included identification of species, sex and reproductive status, handling and ear-tagging during 19200 trap-sets. Produced and quality-checked resulting digital database.
Date: Summers of 1996 and 1997
Client:
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Ontario Forest Research Institute
R.A. Lautenschlager