Letter sent to Gulf Island National Parks Advisory Committee with regard to former ERs on Brackman and Saturna Islands

Letter from The Friends of Ecological Reserves To Gulf Islands National Park Advisory Board                    December 5th 2012 Re: Gulf Islands Parks plan and management of former Ecological Reserves on Saturna and Brackman Islands. This letter is a request from Friends of Ecological Reserves (FER) to the advisory board to use the boundaries of former ERs

Perceived Predation Risk Reduces the number of Offspring Songbirds Produce per Year.

Abstract: Predator effects on prey demography have traditionally been ascribed solely to direct killing in studies of population ecology and wildlife management. Predators also affect the prey’s perception of predation risk, but this has not been thought to meaningfully affect prey demography. We isolated the effects of perceived predation risk in a free-living population of

Research on Song Sparrows. Melospiza melodia on Brackman Island

Dr. Liana Zanette, Associate Professor in the Dept. of Biology , University of Western Ontario has done research on “Perceived Predation Risk Reduces the Number of Offspring Songbirds Produce per Year”. Her website for Zanette Lab carries the most recent research article and has links to excellent images of Song sparrows and their predators,  and

Indirect predator effects on clutch size and the cost of Egg production

Abstract Predator-induced changes in physiology and behaviour may negatively affect a prey’s birth rate. Evidence of such indirect predator effects on prey demography remains scarce in birds and mammals despite invertebrate and aquatic studies that suggest ignoring such effects risks profoundly underestimating the total impact of predators. We report the first experimental demonstration of indirect

Guide to Ecological Reserves in BC

This 371 page, 50 mb book may be downloaded from http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/HFD/library/documents/bib32374.pdf Thanks to Jody Krakowski ER warden for Baynes Island ER #69 for showing us the  location of this important document.  It provides a page and a map on each of the reserves created up to 1992. Include are the Ecological Reserves now lost from

Brackman Island Warden report: Management Issues

Ecological Reserve Warden Paul Linton lists some observations on the last 35 visits to Brackman Island since becoming Ecological reserve warden in the 1980’s. His predominant  concern is the spread of Scotch Broom and recommendations for control measures.  Also the abuse of the reserve by the visiting public. ( Dogs running at large) See the