Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The Three Lives of the Eastern Newt

By Heather Lunn, Senior Interpreter
(Photo by Simon Lunn )

Like many other species of salamanders, eastern newts begin their lives as eggs laid in springtime in small forest ponds. They hatch in late spring and spend the first two or three months of their lives in the water as a larval newt with finned tails and gills. Around August and September, however, many of these baby newts have developed lungs, lost their gills, their tails have become rounded, and they have had their slimy brown skin change to rough, bright red or orange in colouration! They emerge from the water onto land into their next stage of life where they are known as a “red eft.” The eft stage for a newt makes them unique among salamanders. For other salamanders, once they emerge onto land from their pool of origin they are ready to begin their adult lives. However, for the eastern newt, their land-loving, red-eft stage is their time to be a teenager, and they will eventually return to the water permanently as an adult newt.

As a prepubescent newt, the terrestrial red eft will wander around in daylight, in rainy weather, more often than other salamanders. This may seem unwise given the eft’s bright red- and orange-coloured skin, which stands out against the brown of the forest floor. Their colouration is an advertisement, however, to any would-be predators that the eft is to some degree toxic and would not be very palatable to eat. At 3 to 10 cm in length, red efts often evade our eyes, even with their bright colouration. They spend much of their time under rotting logs during the day and wander around mainly at night hunting for insects, larvae, snails, and worms.

Newts will stay in their red-eft stage from two to seven years. While in this form, they over-winter in similar haunts as other salamanders, such as under rocks, logs, and banks below the frost line. Finally one spring the red eft will receive the calling to go back to the water. As they become a sexually mature adult eastern newt, their skin loses its rough feeling and becomes soft and moist again. The bright orange and red colouration changes to a more easily camouflaged olive green. Lastly, as they head back to the water, their tails become keeled again. Unlike frogs, toads, and some other salamanders, newts are not drawn back to their ancestral pond to mate. The efts will travel overland to new ponds, which promotes cross-breeding between different populations. Their entire lifespan, from egg to larva to eft to newt, can take up to 15 years. After changing into their final adult newt form, they rarely ever set foot on land again, except occasionally to hibernate. If their water pool dries up, newts will sometimes change colour to brown, loose their keeling on their tail and go in search of a new watery home.

References
Harding, James H. (2006). Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great Lakes Region. The University of Michigan Press: United States of America.

MacCulloch, Ross D. (2002). The ROM Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Ontario. Royal Ontario Museum: Toronto.

Shedd, Warner (2000). Owls Aren’t Wise and Bats Aren’t Blind. Three Rivers Press: New York.

Bennet, Doug; Tiner, Tim (1993). Up North. Reed Books Canada: Toronto.

Monday, October 12, 2009

A Prospector’s Story: Rinaldo McConnell (1852-1931)

By NHE student Tessa Inwood

The name Rinaldo McConnell may be familiar to local history buffs as well as those who have taken part in the guided Silver Queen Mine hike at Murphys Point Provincial Park. To others, he is just another name along the timeline of history. However, he played an integral part in Ontario mining history.

Rinaldo McConnell was born to a family of lumbermen in the Ottawa-Hull region and continued this career path as a young man, travelling throughout Ontario. While cruising for lumber through Vankleek Hill, Rinaldo met his future wife Emma Vogen, who he married in 1878. He and his wife Emma had ten children together. The McConnell family lived in Ottawa for fourteen years and later relocated to Toronto around 1914.

McConnell’s years spent in the lumber industry led him to a natural fascination with the art of prospecting Canadian minerals. D.M. LeBourdais, author of The Story of Nickel, had this to say about Rinaldo: “Every mining camp seems to produce at least one colourful figure and in Sudbury that was undoubtedly Rinaldo McConnell. Formerly a timber cruiser, the stained rocks of the Sudbury basin so stained his imagination that prospecting came to occupy more and more of his time and his attention” (1). This passion for mineral prospecting eventually led to a full-time occupation and a determined faith in the rocks he scoured. In the 79 years McConnell lived, he discovered, operated, and sold numerous mining sites from Sudbury to Port Elmsley where minerals such as mica and nickel were mined.

The following timeline illustrates the contribution Rinaldo McConnell made to both small-scale and large-scale mining in Ontario:

1884: Rinaldo discovered “The Lady McDonald” nickel deposit –the second nickel property to be purchased by prospectors in Snider Township.
Circa 1884-1900: Rinaldo and prospecting partners discovered 12 or more nickel-rich sites in the Sudbury region.
1902: Rinaldo opened the Globe Refining Co. in Port Elmsley, Ontario. This company mined and refined graphite and feldspar minerals.
1903: Rinaldo opened the Silver Queen Mine in North Burgess Township near Perth, Ontario which mined mica, feldspar, and apatite.
1905: Rinaldo purchased the recently closed Black Donald Graphite Mine in Calabogie, which he operated successfully for several years.
1908: Rinaldo McConnell purchased several Iron Ore properties in the Port Arthur region (present-day Thunder Bay).

Rinaldo McConnell did much throughout his lifetime as a father, a husband, and a mineral prospector in Ontario. At his time of retirement he still exemplified his enthusiasm for finding “rocks” in these words: “It has not been an easy life, but like all prospectors I had to be an optimist. The prospector must wait throughout the long winters for the vanishing of the snow to continue his search in the wilderness where he knows full well a famous gold mine awaits his coming just over the crest of the next hill. If it is not on the first, it must certainly be on the next, and soon throughout the years with his faith unshaken he goes down the long pathway of life.(2)

References:
1. Rinaldo McConnell Biography by Malcolm Rinaldo Sabiston: sent to Murphy’s Point Provincial Park in January 1996.
2. Friends of Murphys Point, Silver Queen Mine Trail Guide: Published by Lithosphere Press.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Raffle Winners!

The prizes have been collected by our 2009 raffle winners! Congratulations to all and thanks to everyone for their support of the raffle. Stay tuned for info about the 2010 raffle!
The grand prize (MEC Prospector Canoe, two paddles, two PFDs), from left: Assistant Park Superintendent Lynette Whan, Friends Secretary Cathy Lamport, Grand Prize Winner Florence McGuire of Westport, Friends Vice-President Judy Fletcher and Park Superintendent Dean Noonan.
Second prize (SuperCycle 1800 18-speed mountain bike from Canadian Tire): Friends Vice-President Judy Fletcher, Winner John Stacey of Carleton Place and Friends Secretary Cathy Lamport.

Third prize (Camping package: Coleman Propane Fold N Go 2-burner stove, MEC carry-all day pack, Tilley Endurables hemp hat, Eureka sleeping bag, 2 SC Johnson Deep Woods Off mosquito lanterns): Winner Amy Patterson of Perth, seated. From left: Park Warden Chad Stein, Friends Volunteer Beth Peterkin, Park Superintendent Dean Noonan, Friends President Stephanie Gray, Friends Secretary Cathy Lamport.