Mark Ward

The Ringed Boghaunter (Williamsonia lintneri Hagen ) in Maine : What we now know and why we don’t know more!

Mark Ward and Phillip deMaynadier

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

 

Abstract:

The Ringed Boghaunter, Williamsonia lintneri, was first discovered in Maine in 1995. Since that time the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) has conducted annual surveys to assess the distribution and status of the species in the state. The biology of W. lintneri has presented several challenges for surveyors because of its early and brief flight period (April 27-June 11 in Maine), its tendency to spend most of its brief adult life stage in forested uplands, and the difficulty of definitively distinguishing its exuviae from those of the ebony boghaunter (Williamsonia fletcheri) – a species with considerably more general distribution and habitat preferences in Maine. Nevertheless, surveys to date have improved our understanding of the habitat requirements and distribution of W. lintneri in Maine and resulted in: 1) the development of a habitat potential index to score wetland suitability, 2) the development of an evidence-based categorization of wetland breeding certainty, and 3) the identification of several previously unknown populations. The results of this work will be summarized and a wetland-specific conservation model will be proposed as a management tool for the conservation of W. lintneri breeding habitats.

 

Biography: Mark Ward is an ecological consultant who has conducted ringed boghaunter survey work for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for the past three years. He received a master’s degree in 1998 from the Field Naturalist Program at the University of Vermont . Mark has conducted a variety of conservation related projects with a number of plant and animal taxa. Most recently he has served as a consulting ecologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Maine Natural Areas Program, and the New Hampshire Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Mark resides in Portland , ME.

Phillip deMaynadier is a biologist in the Endangered and Threatened Species Group of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife whose primary responsibilities include amphibians, reptiles, Odonata, Lepidoptera, vernal pools and forest biodiversity.

 

Contact Info: Mark Ward, 45 North Street , Portland , ME 04101 . Email: maward99@earthlink.net