| Patterns of use of uplands by mammals and waterfowl were studied at Oshawa Second Marsh, Cranberry Marsh and Darlington Wetland with a focus on the 120 m "adjacent lands" setback required under the Ontario Planning Act for Provincially Significant Wetlands. The 120 m setback was adequate to maintain the biodiversity of small and medium-sized mammals. All taxa were tracked throughout the uplands, however jumping mice (Zapus spp.), short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda), raccoons (Procyon lotor), and striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) were tracked more frequently close to ({dollar}<{dollar}120 m) than far from ({dollar}>{dollar}120 m) the wetland boundaries. Differences were likely a result of habitat preferences of each species. Similarities among the three marshes were likely due to the homogeneity of vegetation type of the abandoned farm fields in the uplands. More waterfowl nests were located close to ({dollar}<{dollar}120 m) than far from ({dollar}>{dollar}120 m) the wetlands, however there were no significant differences in the outcome of the nests or the species of nest predator as a function of distance from the wetlands. The 120 m setback was not adequate to support all waterfowl nests. None of the measured variables, which included distances from landscape and human built features, duck species and nesting time, affected the outcome of the nests. It is likely that nest success and predation are affected by a combination of several variables such as vegetation type, structure, height, and density. It was expected that narrow adjacent land areas would concentrate the waterfowl nests and their potential predators which included canids, mustelids, raccoons, and American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos). Predators did not appear to concentrate in narrow adjacent land areas. |
