NSIS Volume 45, Part 1
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10222/70992
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Item Open Access Front Matter(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2010)Item Open Access Lichens of Scatarie Island Wilderness Area(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2010) Cameron, Robert P.; Maass, Wolfgang; Anderson, FrancesIn 2001, 2005 and 2007 sixty-one species of lichens were collected from Scatarie Island. Over half the species had a boreal or arctic distribution and slightly less than half had a coastal affinity. New records include five species for Cape Breton of which three species are also new records for Nova Scotia. Cyanolichen diversity is very low for Scatarie Island compared to other coastal collections from Nova Scotia.Item Open Access A Checklist of Vascular Plants from Scatarie Island, Nova Scotia(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2010) Ferrier, Jonathan; MacDonald, A. Andrew M.; Taylor, Barry R.A vascular plant survey of Scatarie Island, Nova Scotia was conducted from 8 to 11 August 2005. Our expedition gathered 77 vascular plant collections that were deposited in the Saint Francis Xavier (STFX) and Cape Breton University (CBUH) herbaria. A Scatarie Island Vascular Plant Checklist was compiled, combining our survey and three previous vascular plant surveys for a total of 309 species extending the checklist by 15 species. There are now 203 species on the checklist represented by voucher specimens and 106 species not represented by voucher specimens which remain on the list. The island supports a number of plant species that are of special interest because of their rarity in the region, especially those with an arctic or alpine affiliation.Item Open Access Freshwater and Intertidal Fishes of Scatarie Island, Nova Scotia(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2010) Mitchell, S.C.Intertidal and shallow subtidal marine fish communities are largely undocumented in Atlantic Canada, as is the freshwater fish distribution on islands in this area. Accordingly Scatarie Island, off of the northeast coast of Cape Breton, was subjected to an intensive, short-term biological survey in the summer of 2005, in which freshwater and shallow water marine fish were sampled. The most commonly captured species were Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus), grubby (Myoxocephalus aenaeus), white hake (Urophycis tenuis) and cunner (Tautogolabrus adspersus). The catch per unit effort (CPUE) was low (<0.11 fish/hr) throughout all trapping sessions.Item Open Access Beetles (Coleoptera) of Scatarie Island, Nova Scotia, Canada(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2010) Majka, Christopher G.; Townsend, Sheena M.; Aikens, Kathleen R.; Ogden, Jeffrey; MacDonald, A. Andrew M.; McCorquodale, David B.Beetles were collected as part of a biodiversity survey of Scatarie Island. Ninety-four species of Coleoptera have now been recorded from Scatarie Island, including 81 native and 13 introduced Palaearctic species. Seventeen species are recorded for the first time for Cape Breton Island. Of these five, Atheta remulsa Casey, Baeocera youngi (Cornell), Cyphon confusus Brown, Scirtes tibialis Guérin-Méneville, and Trixagus carinicollis (Schaeffer) are recorded for the first time in Nova Scotia. Other noteworthy records include the coccinellid Hyperaspis brunnescens (Dobzhansky), previously known from the American Midwest; an undescribed weevil in the genus Parenthis, and Atheta (Datomicra) acadiensis Klimaszewski & Majka, a recently described aleocharine rove beetle known only from the Maritime Provinces. The composition of this fauna is briefly discussed in the context of introduced species, flightless species, and island biogeography and biodiversity benchmarks in the province and region. Preliminary indications are that no more than (and possibly considerably less than) 2/3 of the predicted fauna on Scatarie Island has this far been documented. The composition of this island fauna is compared to the “source” fauna found in Cape Breton County to determine how representative the Scatarie Island fauna may be of the beetles found on the adjacent mainland.Item Open Access Intertidal Invertebrates of Scatarie Island: A Preliminary Species Inventory and Habitat Description(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2010) White, K.L.; Townsend, S.M.; Reynolds, A.S.; Barrington, E.B.As intertidal habitats of offshore islands remain relatively undocumented compared with their mainland counterparts, we conducted a survey of intertidal habitats on Scatarie Island, Nova Scotia. Two sites at Northwest Cove on the western side of the island and two sites at Eastern Harbour on the eastern side were classified in terms of their backshore and substrate characteristics. Infauna were collected within quadrates at each site and identified to species when possible. Additional visual searches of the wrack line, intertidal and subtidal zones were conducted to supplement the species inventory. Our survey represents a starting point for the characterization of intertidal habitats and inventory of intertidal fauna within this Protected Wilderness Area. Twenty-two species of marine invertebrates, including sponges, molluscs, echinoderms, arthropods and bryozoans, were identified. The majority of these were collected on the eastern side of the island within a relatively well protected area characterized by rock pools. Sites examined on the western side of the island had lower faunal diversity and less accumulated macroalgae. Differences in the subtidal depth, slope, dominant substrate type and exposure may offer a partial explanation for this finding.Item Open Access Managing the Scatarie Island Wilderness Area: Introduction to Issues for an Island Protected Area(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2010) Williams, David; Cameron, Robert P.Scatarie Island is a 1500 ha island off the coast of Cape Breton which contains a variety of habitats and a diversity of plants and animals. Over the last 300 years the island has seen human settlement, use by fishermen and management as a Wildlife Management Area. In 1998 the island was designated as a Wilderness Area under the Wilderness Areas Protection Act. The island’s designation recognizes both its significant ecological values and wilderness recreation potential. Suitable management strategies for Scatarie Island Wilderness Area must give proper consideration to protecting those ecological values for which the island was originally designated. Current visitors to the island include all-terrain vehicle drivers and sea kayakers, both of which offer different management challenges. Climate change and possible effects of air pollution from adjacent industrial areas are other issues for the management of the protected area. In order to better understand the biota of the island and provide an adequate information base for the management of the protected area, a 4 day bioblitz consisting of 15 scientists and students was conducted in 2005. This bioblitz consisted of a biological survey in a variety of disciplines over the 4 days. More than 180 species were documented during this survey and at least 8 species had not been reported previously for Nova Scotia.