Algonquin Provincial Park Scenery and Wildlife
My Masters field work was based in Algonquin Provincial Park, which was important to my study due to its central location and its status as an historical trapping refuge. Most of the samples for my project came from registered trappers via their local Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry offices, but the lack of commercial trapping in Algonquin Park meant I needed to obtain my own samples for genetic analysis (all sampling was done through non-invasive hair collection methods, see below). I spent three months in Algonquin Park in the winter of 2014 and returned every two weeks over a three month period in the winter of 2015.
- Learn more about Algonquin Provincial Park here.
Setting Hair Snares
Hair snares were used extensively during my field work in Algonquin Park as a non-invasive way of collecting hair samples for genetic analysis. The design I used involved a piece of bait attached to a tree at a height of roughly two meters and a coil of barbed wire wrapped around the tree below the bait. When a fisher climbed the tree to access the bait, the barbed wire would (hopefully!) snag a small tuft of hair that could be collected later. I set up a motion-activated trail camera on a nearby tree to identify the species visiting each snare.
Photos: Janet Wynands
Photos: Janet Wynands
Trail Camera Pictures
My trail cameras captured many photos of fishers accessing hair snares (see previous), as well as photos of a few more unexpected visitors.
Live Trapping
In the winter of 2014 I set live traps at many sites in Algonquin Provincial Park in an attempt to capture fishers so I could collect hair samples for genetic analysis. Animals pictured in the traps are fisher (Pekania pennanti, top row) and American marten (Martes americana, bottom row).
Photos: Janet Wynands, Andrew Orton, Jeff Bowman
Photos: Janet Wynands, Andrew Orton, Jeff Bowman