Free Online Access to Feature Article in 138(2) is at https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v138i2.3301

Free Online Access to Feature Article in 138(3) is at https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v138i3.3391

Photo: Dr. Tom Reimchen recording data on the coast of British Columbia.

While I and others received print copies of volume 138, issue 2 of The Canadian Field-Naturalist (CFN) some time ago—and issue 3 should soon arrive in the mailboxes of those with print subscriptions (assuming there is no Canada Post strike!)—I now finally have some time to catch-up with the Editor’s Synopses. The Canadian Field-Naturalist is the official journal and publication of record for the Ottawa Field Naturalists’ Club (OFNC). Issue 2 of volume 138 is posted online in the CFN archive at https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/issue/archive and issue 3, the current issue, is posted at https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn.

We don’t often feature humans on the covers of CFN, but for 138(2) you’ll notice the photograph of Dr. Tom Reimchen recording data for his long-term study about the effects of Pacific salmon carcasses on the growth of old (average age ~300 years) Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) trees on the coast of British Columbia. Reimchen’s study is also the Feature Article for 138(2). As we strive to catch-up to a regular publication schedule, these next few issues of CFN will be a bit thinner than normal, with a minimum of 80 pages. While 138(2) has only six other manuscripts, they encompass a diversity of topics: an investigation into if plant toxins are responsible for gait abnormalities in Feral Horses (Equus ferus caballus) on Sable Island; the displacement of Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) spawning by a beaver (Castor canadensis) dam; irrational behaviour of Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) hens around their nests; video documentation of black bears (Ursus americanus) eating algae in stock watering troughs; stunning colour photographs of the effects of forestry activities on skeletal growth of Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus); and the first known observations of Army Cutworm Moths (Euxoa auxiliarus) in the Canadian Rockies. The issue is rounded out by 10 Book Reviews, more than the typical number, and the ever popular New Titles. I particularly like the New Titles list—if only there was enough time to read at least some of them!

For the cover photograph of 138(3), I toyed with the idea of composing an image of a Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) flying a Canadian flag in its beak as a statement of our Canadian pride to accompany the article on the distribution and habitat use of the goose along the east coast of James Bay, but my bias for molluscs showed with the composition of three southern Ontario mussels. The article on the lingering effects of the commercial mussel harvest for the button industry at the onset of the 20th century is the Feature Article for 138(3). In addition to that article and the one on the goose, five other manuscripts are in 138(3): an investigation of why Orange-fruit Horse-gentian (Triosteum aurantiacum) remains so rare in Nova Scotia; probable black bear predation on a Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) pup; Endangered Western Brook Lamprey (Lampetra richardsoni) Morris Creek population returning to nest after a stream restoration project; an apparently dispersing Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) observed in alpine talus well distance from the nearest trees; and observations of snow-surface activity of a scorpionfly (Boreus californicus). Five book reviews accompany the manuscripts. These include a review of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s latest book, The Serviceberry, and a discussion of the climate crisis comparing two recent books.

OFNC members can freely access current and past issues online. Contact Bill Halliday at wdhalliday@gmail.com to obtain instructions on how to create an account on the CFN website.

Enjoy!

Dwayne Lepitzki, Ph.D.

Editor-in-Chief