1. Project Title: Aquatic Macrophyte Establishment in McKellar River Embayments at Thunder Bay, Ontario
2. Contact
Dr. P.F. Lee
Department of Biology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5E1
Tel.: (807) 343-8662; FAX: (807) 346-7796
3. Agencies Involved
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Lake Superior Remedial Action Program, Thunder Bay, Ont.
Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ont.
4. Restoration Goal
Increase wetland habitat for waterfowl, fish and amphibians.
5. Project Type
Comparison of artificial and natural regeneration of plant species in newly created embayments on the McKellar River.
6. Background and Rationale
Shoreline wetlands in Lake Superior are important as land-water interfaces and attract many vertebrates and invertebrates through the provision of both food and shelter afforded by an abundance of aquatic macrophyte growth. However, in the Canadian portion of Lake Superior there are less than 1200 ha of wetlands, and major areas of this habitat have been greatly reduced near industrialized areas. In order to improve the situation, new wetlands are being established under Remedial Action Plans. These new wetlands are expected to enhance fisheries production and provide habitat for waterfowl and amphibians.
The speed and extent by which aquatic macrophytes colonize newly
created wetlands is not known in Lake Superior. Nor is it known
whether colonizing species will be desirable from both a production
and cover point of view. Elsewhere, the approach has often been
to artificially establish aquatic macrophytes deemed to be desirable
for the end target (fish, waterfowl, etc.). In this study, natural
versus artificial macrophyte colonization is being examined in
two nearly identical (in size, depth, substrate, wind fetch),
newly constructed embayments on the McKellar River.
7. Regulatory Considerations
There are no regulations governing the introduction of native aquatic plants.
8. Criteria
The plant establishment zone in wetlands is limited by depth and sediment type (and inter-and intraspecific plant competition in natural situations). Aquatic plants differ in their response to these two variables.
9. Project Design
In the embayment to be artificially colonized, plant species were matched to their known depth tolerances. A total area of 0.19 ha was to be planted. All plant species used were native to the Kaministiquia Valley as per the National Museum of Canada's Syllogeus 63 "Flora of the North Shore of Lake Superior (Vascular plants of the Ontario Portion of the Lake Superior Drainage Basin)" by J.H. Soper, C.E. Garton and D.R. Given. The planting sites (Figure 1) were designed to provide habitat for fish, waterfowl, and amphibians. Site 1 was most affected by wave action from wind and passing boats and species were used that were tolerant of these conditions. Site 2 and Site 3 were easily seen from the embayment lookout and so species were included that should attract waterfowl and other marsh birds. As well as being visually attractive, the water lilies in Site 3 should be important for amphibians. Site 4 was most visible from the road leading into the embayments and so taller species were selected to give privacy to colonizing bird species. Planting schematics are available by contacting the author.
10. Implementation
No physical manipulation of the environment was possible. In some cases this resulted in plants being placed in locations which were not ideal in terms of slope and soil type.
The proposed areal coverage by species, recommended planting densities, and total plants to be used per species were as below:
Species Aerial coverage Recommended Total Plants
(m2) Planting Density RequiredEleocharis smallii 170 30 cm centres 1830 Scirpus lacustris 276 60 cm centres 1487 Sagittaria latifolia 143 48 cm centres 963 Polygonum amphibium 261 30 cm centres 2814 Calla palustris 18 24 cm centres 247 Glyceria canadensis 17 15 cm centres 360 Zizania aquatica 77 30 cm centres 832 Iris versicolor 42 15 cm centres 904 Phragmites communis 51 30 cm centres 546 Caltha palustris 45 60 cm centres 241 Nuphar variegatum 36 5 per 7.5 m centres 78 Nymphaea odorata 144 5 per 7.5 m centres 310 Juncus effusus 79 30 cm centres 852 Potamogeton pectinatus 131 30 cm centres 1415 Vallisneria americana 240 30 cm centres 2581 Sparganium eurycarpum 113 30 cm centres 1215 Total 1844 15034
All species were collected within the drainage basin and transplanted or nursery grown in large holding tanks at Lakehead University and then transplanted. A key part of this operation was locating large enough stands of the various species prior to actually collecting them.
Planting was done by digging the roots or rhizomes into the bottom substrate. The waterlily rhizomes were first wrapped in cheesecloth, weighted with rocks, and them planted. Wetsuits were necessary for this operation due to the cold water temperature.
Best results in terms of recovery from planting shock were obtained when the plants were transplanted within 24 h of being collected. Plants were held in water in large coolers until they could be transplanted.
Difficulty was experienced in collecting or nursery growing sufficient quantities of Vallisneria for a single season project. Mortality was quite high for nursery rearing Sparganium. In order to transport large numbers of this species from the collection site in the storage coolers, the stems were cut off to a height of approximately 15 cm. If these stems were then totally submerged in the nursery tanks, the plants died.
Large numbers of Canada Geese invaded the wetland soon after planting and caused considerable damage. Further damage was virtually eliminated by erecting snow fence around the planted sites and tying string with coloured flagging tape attached between the fence borders.
11. Degree of Environmental Intervention
The planting of selected species at the embayment will likely affect the natural colonization of species in the area. The immediate area, however, is highly disturbed and the species are from the same drainage basin where no disturbance has occurred.
The removal of plant species from natural wetlands to colonize this created wetland is also of environmental concern. Care was taken to select large enough stands of the plants such that the source population should easily recover. It is noteworthy that many of the species were collected on private land and it is likely that collection locations for these species could be found entirely on private land in the Thunder Bay area. This provides a feasible alternative to nursery stock.
12. Cost
Plants (locating, collecting, storage) $10 000
Nursery Expenses and Care $3 500
Nursery Planting and Removal $ 5 000
Site Planting $3 000
Total $21 500
Lakehead University Services $ 4 300
Grand Total $25 800
13. Biological Assessment
A species was defined as successfully transplanted if new growth appeared. The introduced plants were monitored at biweekly intervals for this factor after transplanting.
The two embayments were also compared at the end of the first growing season for percent cover of all species present. This monitoring should continue in future years.
14. Measures of Success
The wetland plantings will be considered successful if transplanted species can regenerate in future years. Initial results for 1994 suggest that the transplanted embayment has considerable more vegetation coverage than the non-transplanted embayment.
Success Rating: 4 - but will require monitoring in future years.
15. Key References
Odum, H.T. 1989. Ecological engineering and self-organization. In W.J. Mitsh and S.E. Jorgensen [editors]. Ecological Engineering. Wiley, New York, NY.
Correct citation for this contribution:
Lee, P.F. 1995. Aquatic macrophyte establishment in McKellar River embayments at Thunder Bay, Ontario, p. 179-183. In J.R.M. Kelso and J.H. Hartig [editors]. Methods of modifying habitat to benefit the Great Lakes ecosystem. CISTI (Can. Inst. Sci. Tech. Inf.) Occas. Pap. No. 1.