Fall 2012
Small Arboreal Mammals of the St. Lawrence Lowlands
Small arboreal mammals, such as Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), American Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) and Eastern Chipmunks (Tamias striatus), play important roles in forest ecosystems of the St. Lawrence Lowlands, including that of the Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Morgan Arboretum. These species are essential to healthy forests because they distribute seeds from plants, as well as fungi […]
The Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum, also known as “Sugar Maple”, is a deciduous tree species native to the St-Lawrence Lowlands’ area. It is usually found in the northeast of the United-States and in the southeast of Canada. The sugar maple is very dominant and broadly distributes in the northern hardwood forests of this region (Lovett & Mitchell, 2004). […]
The Black-capped Chickadee’s Natural History
Identification and Description The Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a passerine bird belonging to the family Paridae. It is a charismatic species that approaches humans without fear, which makes it much easier to see than other birds. It is a very small bird with a total body length of around 12 to 15 cm and […]
Studying the diversity and ecological importance of aquatic macroinvertebrates
When one looks out on the St. Lawrence waterway, they normally see large container ships passing by. However, the traffic below the surface is far greater, as it is teeming with life. Although they constitute a large part of this underwater community, aquatic macroinvertebrates are often overlooked. Despite this, they represent a key link between […]
Bracket Fungi
One of the most challenging aspects of studying the natural history of bracket fungi is to define exactly what one includes in this grouping. Bracket fungi is a commonly known classification, but since it is based upon the fungi’s pattern of growth as opposed to genetics and evolutionary history, there is a lot of gray […]
The St. Lawrence Lowlands 