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GLOM 2006
Qui est tu, jiiweganaabii, libellule, dragonfly?
Wetlands
• Occupy 6% of the earth's land and freshwater surface.
• Some wetlands have been reduced by as much as 50% worldwide.
• 40% of the world’s human populations experience serious water shortages.
• Wetlands: store water, reduce flooding, purifying process, provide habitat.
Facts about Wetlands in Canada• Approx. 14% of Canada is covered by
wetlands.
• ON, MB and the NWT contain the largest area of wetlands.
• Conflicts between wetland conservation and wetland utilization are concentrated in southern Ontario
• Agricultural expansion is the major cause of 85% of Canada's wetland losses.
Facts about Wetlands in Canada• Since European settlement, wetland
conversion to agriculture is estimated at over 20 million hectares
• Over 80% of the wetlands near major urban centres have been converted to agricultural use or urban expansion.
• Less than 0.2% of Canada's wetlands lie within 40 kilometres of major urban centres (the 23 largest urban areas which contain 55% of Canada's pop.
Wetlands• The productive ecosystem on Earth.
• Carbon sinks - The natural kidneys
• Flood barriers - Critical habitat
What Are Wetlands?
Bog Fen
PeatlandSwamp
The Value of Wetlands
• Commercial harvesting (muskrat)
• Commercial fisheries • Forestry (peatlands
softwood and wetlands hardwood)
• Aquaculture • Market gardens or
managed peatlands • Energy production
(peat) • Agricultural activities
(wild rice, cranberries)
$93.2 billion (2002)• Habitat• Recreation and
cultural use• Irrigation• Flooding• Water purification
and sinks for pollutants
• Carbon sink
Flood control and water filtering by peatlands
$77.0 billion
Pest control services $5.4 billion
“ ” by non-peatland wetlands
$3.4 billion
Net carbon sequestration $1.85 billion
Nature related activities $4.5 billion
The Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Iran, 1971)
• Intergovernmental treaty providing the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
• 147 Contracting Parties to the Convention• 1524 wetland sites, totaling 129.2 million
hectares.
Canada: 36 sites covering 13,051,501 ha
How many kinds are there?
• About 5000 species of Odonata are presently formally described.
• Expert 'guesses' put the total number of species at between 5500 and 6500.
What's the difference between a dragonfly and a damselfly?
• Generally larger, more robust animals.
• In most species the eyes touch, or almost touch, at the top of the head
• The fore and hind wings differ in shape (the base of the hindwings being broader) and the wingbases are quite broad.
• Wings are usually held spread when at rest.
Does Size Matter?
• How big do they get? – The Central American Megaloprepus
coerulatus, (wingspan of 19 cm). – The Permian Meganeuropsis permiana with a
reconstructed wingspan of about 70-75 cm. • How small do they get?
– The smallest adult Zygoptera (damselflies) are in the genus Agriocnemis with wingspans of 17-18 mm.
– The smallest dragonfly - Nannophyopsis chalcosoma from Borneo, (wingspan of about 25mm).
Life-History
– Temperate species live less than a month as adults.
– Some as much as 6 months. – No dragonfly is known which lives a year as
an adult.– Larval life spans can approach a decade in
alpine and high arctic habitats. • What is the shortest life-history?
– Egg to adult durations of about 40 days are recorded from small tropical damselflies
Who Eats Them?
• Fish, birds• Other insects (wasp,
spiders)• Other dragonflies• Black Bears• Humans (curry soup)
The Birds, The Bees and Charismatic Micro-Fauna
What’s The Attraction?• Power, predatory• Engineering• Science
– The North American Dragonfly Migration Project
What’s The Attraction?• Flight, power, beauty• Poetry• Food source• Leisure, recreation
– Dragon hunting– Dragon ponds– Engineering
• Science– Green darner migration– The North American
Dragonfly Migration Project
Why The Sudden Interest?National Geographic, April 2005
Odonata In The News: The Rainham Marshes, England
• The Emeral Damselfy (Lestes dryas) and the Rainham Marshes Development project (Harrison & Burgess, 1994).– No go land– Why declare it a special site if you’re not going to
manage it?– What’s that thing? I’ve never seen it.
Protected Areas• Sanctuaries (Britain,
Japan)• Dragonfly Trails
(SA)• Khao Phanom
Bencha NP, Thailand
• Siribhum waterfalls – flower gardens
• Tourism (Thailand)
Method
• Inductive analysis• Participant observations
• Interviews (20)
HumanisticView
Protectionist:
View
Organic
View
Nature is a resource
Rights and responsibilities
We are nature
NATURE
HUMANITYNatureworks
Field-based Education
HumanisticView
Protectionist:
View
Organic
View
Nature is a resource
Rights and responsibilities
We are nature
NATURE
HUMANITYNatureworks
Protecting the Guardians of the Watershed Wetlands
• 6% of the earth's land and freshwater surface
• 14% of Canada's total land area.
• Some wetlands have been reduced by as much as 50% worldwide.
• Urbanization and agricultural expansion is the major cause of 85% of Canada's wetland losses.
Future Outlook
© Morgenstern, 2004
• Sanctuaries • Protection• Research
– Multi and interdisciplinary– National Survey of
Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation
• Education– Management– Politicians– ENGOs– Citizens
• Responsibility
Action Research? • Research and education• Community Activism (citizen science)• Dragonfly Symposium (July 10, 2007) hosted
by the Ozhaawashko-giizhig Traditional Teaching Lodge & the Métis Nation of Ontario http://www.blueskyteachinglodge.ca/
© 2004, Bill Morgenstern
• Artisans• Signing• Dancing
• Knowledge exchanges
• Cultural exchanges
• Story telling
