A researcher is investigating the impact of an invasive bug and the chemicals used to combat it on the wildlife in aged hemlock forests. Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) has been causing significant damage to forests in southwestern Nova Scotia for nearly ten years. To control its spread, various entities such as Parks Canada, the province, local groups, and private landowners have been employing insecticides like imidacloprid and dinotefuran.
Mathilde Christjansen, a master’s student at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., highlighted the lack of knowledge concerning how woolly adelgid and the insecticides are affecting other species. She pointed out that while imidacloprid is designed to impact insect nervous systems, it has been detected in the brains of other creatures like fish and tadpoles.
Rather than individually studying all species in every hemlock forest, the team is using the eastern red-backed salamander as a bioindicator species to provide a snapshot of the ecosystem’s condition. These salamanders are sensitive to environmental changes and pollutants, making them ideal for assessing forest health.
For their study, researchers placed coverboards in forests last year to serve as habitat for salamanders. They monitored the salamanders living beneath these coverboards, measuring and tagging them during the process. Some of the forests under study are treated with either or both insecticides, while others remain untreated.
The team conducted behavioral tests on the salamanders, including gentle prodding to observe their response to potential threats and flipping them over to assess their agility. Christjansen emphasized that the salamanders’ well-being and characteristics could offer insights into broader ecosystem impacts.
Julia Riley, an associate professor at Mount Allison University and one of the study supervisors, explained that salamanders are crucial indicators of forest health due to their high abundance. She noted that these creatures constitute a significant biomass in Eastern Canadian woodlands, surpassing even the number of deer.
In addition to studying the effects of HWA and insecticides, the research also examines the influence of dying hemlock trees on salamanders. Chris Edge, a supervisor and scientist with the Canadian Forest Service, warned that the loss of hemlocks could disrupt the unique ecosystems they support, affecting salamander populations due to changes in moisture levels.
The project, a collaboration among Mount Allison University, Canadian Forest Service, Acadia University, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the University of Saskatchewan, is part of a broader initiative investigating forest health in Eastern Canada. Christjansen plans to continue her study until next year, analyzing the data collected over the summer to draw conclusions.
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