Recovery Strategy for the Red Mulberry (Morus rubra) in Canada [Proposed] 2010

SARA is the Act developed by the federal government as a key contribution to the common national effort to protect and conserve species at risk in Canada. SARA came into force in 2003, and one of its purposes is "to provide for the recovery of wildlife species that are extirpated, endangered or threatened as a result of human activity."

In the context of species at risk conservation, recovery is the process by which the decline of an endangered, threatened, or extirpated species is arrested or reversed and threats are removed or reduced to improve the likelihood of the species' persistence in the wild. A species will be considered recovered when its long-term persistence in the wild has been secured.

A recovery strategy is a planning document that identifies what needs to be done to arrest or reverse the decline of a species. It sets goals and objectives and identifies the main areas of activities to be undertaken. Detailed planning is done at the action plan stage.

Recovery strategy development is a commitment of all provinces and territories and of three federal agencies - Environment Canada, Parks Canada Agency, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada - under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk. Sections 37-46 of SARA (http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/approach/act/default_e.cfm) outline both the required content and the process for developing recovery strategies published in this series.

Depending on the status of the species and when it was assessed, a recovery strategy has to be developed within one to two years after the species is added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk. Three to four years is allowed for those species that were automatically listed when SARA came into force.

In most cases, one or more action plans will be developed to define and guide implementation of the recovery strategy. Nevertheless, directions set in the recovery strategy are sufficient to begin involving communities, land users, and conservationists in recovery implementation. Cost-effective measures to prevent the reduction or loss of the species should not be postponed for lack of full scientific certainty.

This series presents the recovery strategies prepared or adopted by the federal government under SARA. New documents will be added regularly as species get listed and as strategies are updated.

To learn more about the Species at Risk Act and recovery initiatives, please consult the Species at Risk Public Registry (http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/).

Parks Canada Agency. 2010. Recovery Strategy for the Red Mulberry ( ) in Canada [PROPOSED]. Recovery Strategy Series. Parks Canada Agency. Ottawa, Ontario. vii + 25 pp. + 3 Appendices.

Additional copies can be downloaded from the Species at Risk Public Registry (http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/).

Photo courtesy of Donald Kirk, Natural Heritage Ecologist, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Guelph District.

Également disponible en français sous le titre:
« Programme de rétablissement du mûrier rouge (Morus rubra) au Canada »

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of the Environment, 2010. All rights reserved.
ISBN: ISBN no. to come
Catalogue no.: Catalogue no. to come

Content (excluding the illustrations) may be used without permission, with appropriate credit to the source.

Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for Red Mulberry (Morus rubra) in Canada

Recommended by:

Marian Stranak
Superintendent, Point Pelee National Park of Canada

Date: September 2, 2010

Approved by:

Rod Blair
Acting Field Unit Superintendent, Southwestern Ontario Field Unit

Date: September 2, 2010

Approved by:

Alan Latourelle
Chief Executive Officer, Parks Canada

Date:

Under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk (1996), the federal, provincial, and territorial governments agreed to work together on legislation, programs, and policies to protect wildlife species at risk throughout Canada. The Species at Risk Act (S.C. 2002, c.29) (SARA) requires that federal competent ministers prepare recovery strategies for listed Extirpated, Endangered and Threatened species.

The Minister of the Environment presents this document as the recovery strategy for the Red Mulberry as required under SARA. It has been prepared in cooperation with the jurisdictions responsible for the species, as described in the Preface. The Minister invites other jurisdictions and organizations that may be involved in recovering the species to use this recovery strategy as advice to guide their actions.

The objective and recovery approaches identified in the strategy are based on the best existing knowledge and are subject to modifications resulting from new findings and revised objectives.

This recovery strategy will be the basis for one or more action plans that will provide further details regarding measures to be taken to support protection and recovery of the species. Success in the recovery of this species depends on the commitment and cooperation of many different constituencies that will be involved in implementing the actions identified in this strategy. In the spirit of the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk, all Canadians are invited to join in supporting and implementing this strategy for the benefit of the species and of Canadian society as a whole. The Minister of the Environment will report on progress within five years.

This recovery strategy was initially drafted by John Ambrose, independent consultant and former Chair of the Red Mulberry Recovery Team, and Donald Kirk, Natural Heritage Ecologist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), Guelph District, in collaboration with the original Red Mulberry Recovery Team consisting of Kevin Burgess (former PhD. candidate, University of Guelph), Linda DeVerno (former Acting Assistant Director, Science and Technology Directorate, Natural Resources Canada), Brian Husband (Professor, University of Guelph), Dennis Joyce (Provincial Forest Geneticist, OMNR), Gary Mouland (former Park Ecologist, Point Pelee National Park of Canada), Paul Prevett (former Regional Ecologist, Southwest Zone and later Ecologist, Science and Technology Transfer Unit, OMNR), Lisa Twolan (former RENEW Coordinator, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada), and P. Allen Woodliffe (Aylmer District Ecologist, OMNR). Numerous people assisted in providing information and ideas for the study of this species, going back to early surveys on this species more than a decade ago (George Meyers [Grimsby Naturalist], Mike Oldham [Natural Heritage Information Centre {NHIC}, OMNR], and Gerry Waldron [M.Sc. Consulting Ecologist]), to early studies of the hybrid dynamics and population biology by Peter Kevan and Steve Stewart (Professors, University of Guelph). Several additional people assisted with field observations (Steven Aboud [Abound and Associates Inc.], John Ambrose, Dirk Janas [private consultant], Bill Kilburn [former Summer Assistant, Toronto Zoo], Mark Laird, and Brendon and Jeff Larson [students]) and in determining propagation techniques (Henry Kock, former Interpretive Horticulturalist, University of Guelph Arboretum). Dirk Janas, Kevin Burgess, and Brian Husband completed habitat mapping and ELC classification for Red Mulberry, across its Canadian range, in 2001 for the OMNR. The Royal Botanical Gardens staff (Paul O'Hara, Christine Thuring, Tyler Smith, Carl Rothfels, Sean Spisani, and Jennifer Sylvester) completed Red Mulberry inventories, ELC mapping and health assessments of trees in the Hamilton area. John McLaughlin and Sylvia Greifenhagen (Ontario Forest Research Institute) completed a pathological survey and provided disease management recommendations for Red Mulberry in southern Ontario. Tim Pearce, of the University of Michigan, identified gastropod specimens from Point Pelee National Park and provided information on their ecology. Bill Stephenson (former Conservation Biologist, Parks Canada Agency [PCA]) provided significant input into the earlier management plan developed for the Point Pelee National Park population. Paul Prevett is acknowledged for his initiative in doing a recovery plan for a plant species when the system was only looking at animal species. Appreciation is expressed to the recovery team who participated actively in developing and reviewing many versions of this recovery strategy. The OMNR and World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF) provided funding respectively for the early surveys and the later population biology studies. PCA matched the WWF funding and supported the preparation of the Point Pelee National Park management plan and the later pathological survey. Earlier versions of this recovery strategy, including the field observations, meetings, and report preparation, were supported by the OMNR. Research on hybridization between Red and White Mulberry was conducted by Kevin Burgess at the University of Guelph (see Burgess 2004a - Ph. D. thesis) under the supervision of Brian Husband and was supported primarily by the Endangered Species Recovery Fund, (sponsored by WWF and Canadian Wildlife Service), as well as OMNR, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, and the University of Guelph Botany Department. Brett Groves, Coordinator, Essex County Stewardship Network, is thanked for his forestry expertise. OMNR's NHIC, Ontario Parks, and Land Information Ontario, the North American Atlas, Parks Canada Agency, Royal Botanical Gardens, Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, Essex Region Conservation Authority, Janas et al. (2001), Conservation Halton, Hamilton Region Conservation Authority, and Gerry Waldron are thanked for their contributions of data layers used to map critical habitat. All of these individuals and supporting agencies are gratefully acknowledged. Finally, special mention should be made to Rebecca Hay and Carrie Mackinnon, both former Species at Risk Biologist Interns with OMNR, Guelph District as well as Vicki M^cKay, Kim Borg, Ed Paleczny, and Gary Allen of PCA who greatly assisted in addressing numerous and complex edits and reformatting of the document to current formatting standards. Finally, thanks go to the many people who have commented on drafts of the document.

This recovery strategy addresses the recovery of Red Mulberry across its native range in Canada, (i.e. the Carolinian Life Zone of southern Ontario).

The Minister of the Environment is the "competent minister", on behalf of both Parks Canada Agency and Environment Canada, for this species under SARA. Parks Canada Agency adapted this recovery strategy, in cooperation with Environment Canada, from a more detailed draft document prepared by the OMNR, which itself was based on a document originally developed by the Red Mulberry Recovery Team. The Royal Botanical Gardens; Hamilton, Niagara Peninsula, and Halton Conservation Authorities; Niagara Parks Commission; Ontario Forest Research Institute; Nature Conservancy of Canada; academia; and private consultants all provided valuable contributions. All responsible jurisdictions reviewed the strategy.

Red Mulberry (Morus rubra) is an understory tree of moist, eastern North American forests, woodlands, and talus communities. In Canada, it has been confirmed as extant in 21 locations in two broad regions within the Carolinian Life Zone of southern Ontario: 1) Essex County and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and 2) Niagara, including the cities of Hamilton and Burlington. Only 10 sites have five or more individuals. This species' range is contracting and its numbers are declining. In 2000, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) designated Red Mulberry as Endangered because of its small and declining number of mature individuals (under 250) and its fragmented population.

Red Mulberry is threatened with extirpation by the non-native and more aggressive White Mulberry (Morus alba), with which it freely hybridizes. Other significant threats include habitat loss and fragmentation, disease, which is often facilitated by various stress factors, and the impacts of nesting Double-crested Cormorants. Threats posed by other exotic species and grazing by White-tailed Deer and snails are of lesser concern.

The recovery of Red Mulberry is believed to be technically and biologically feasible. The five year, provisional population and distribution objectives are to maintain all currently existing populations of the species across its Canadian (Ontario) range, and to prevent further decline in the number of individuals across the species' range. This objective will be refined once genetic work confirms the total number and location of pure Red Mulberry trees in Canada. The Red Mulberry Recovery Team has been actively working to protect and recover this species since 1998. Recovery will be achieved through critical habitat protection, habitat restoration, population enhancement, protection and restoration of genetic integrity, management of the impacts of nesting Double-crested Cormorants and grazing species, community support and stewardship, monitoring, and enhancing knowledge and understanding of the species.

Knowledge of the existing Red Mulberry populations, their demography, population dynamics, pollination distances, habitat requirements, stress factors and disease needs to be updated. Efforts need to be made to locate previously undocumented trees and/or populations. Genetic testing of trees for hybrids and Morus murrayana and monitoring the results of White Mulberry removal and Red Mulberry enhancement activities, and the changing nature of the resulting populations is also necessary. A population viability analysis is needed as is an understanding of the factors that will increase the success of Red Mulberry establishment.

This strategy identifies critical habitat range wide on public and private lands to the extent possible with the information that is currently available. The approach includes protection of a tree root zone area plus intervening forest, woodland, and talus habitats between trees 999 m or less apart. Biophysical attributes of critical habitat are defined and examples of activities likely to result in the destruction of critical habitat and their effects are outlined. A schedule of studies lists additional work necessary to complete critical habitat identification in Canada. Progress toward recovery will be assessed in five years according to the performance measures identified. One or more action plans related to this recovery strategy will be completed by March 2018.

Recovery of Red Mulberry in Canada is considered biologically and technically feasible. The species meets all four criteria presented in the draft Government of Canada Species at Risk Act Policies (2009), as described below, although some caveats exist.

1. Individuals of the wildlife species that are capable of reproduction are available now or in the foreseeable future to sustain the population or improve its abundance.
   Within the native Canadian populations of Red Mulberry, it is believed that approximately 322 pure strain individuals exist, many of which are capable of reproduction now or in the near future. However, confirmation of the genetic purity of individuals identified based on morphology is required and further analysis of all individuals is needed to determine if any are actually Morus murrayana, a newly discovered mulberry species in North America. This work may reduce the known Red Mulberry population size in Canada. Red Mulberry trees can be propagated and cultivated from seeds or summer cuttings and can be established as seedlings within existing habitats to improve abundance.

2. Sufficient suitable habitat is available to support the species or could be made available through habitat management or restoration.
   Native Red Mulberry is confined to the Carolinian Life Zone of Canada (located within Ontario), occurring in moist, forested habitats. There is currently believed to be sufficient suitable habitat to support the long-term survival of Red Mulberry populations. Sustaining and restoring Carolinian woodlands is important for the re-colonization of Red Mulberry in currently unoccupied areas. Large-scale stewardship projects are currently taking place in Carolinian Canada through projects such as the Big Picture Network.

3. The primary threats to the species or its habitat (including threats outside Canada) can be avoided or mitigated.
   Each core population is located completely or almost entirely on conservation lands, providing additional protection to that already afforded by legislation. It is believed that the major threats to Red Mulberry can be mitigated, at least to some extent, through management techniques and protection. However, while local efforts may be able to reduce White Mulberry numbers within and/or adjacent to Red Mulberry populations, elimination of White Mulberry in southern Ontario is not possible or feasible. Similarly, while the impacts of nesting Double-crested Cormorants may be managed, they will not be eliminated. As such, the long term viability of the Middle Island and East Sister Island Red Mulberry populations cannot be guaranteed. Lastly, it may not be possible to influence some factors like drought and low soil fertility that stress Red Mulberry trees or to prevent stressed individuals from being invaded by secondary pathogens that may lead to their decline and death. Given that 11 populations consist of only one or two individuals each, such threats may lead to loss of the smaller, non-core Red Mulberry populations.

4. Recovery techniques exist to achieve the population and distribution objectives or can be expected to be developed within a reasonable timeframe.
   Recovery techniques such as habitat restoration and population enhancement, White and hybrid Mulberry removal, and Red Mulberry augmentation exist and can be implemented to support the achievement of the Red Mulberry population and distribution objectives.

DECLARATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PREFACE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

RECOVERY FEASIBILITY

1. COSEWIC SPECIES ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

2. SPECIES STATUS INFORMATION

3. DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES AND ITS NEEDS

3.1. Species Description

3.2. Species Needs

4. THREATS

4.1. Hybridization

4.2. Habitat Loss and Fragmentation

4.3. Nesting Double-crested Cormorants

4.4. Disease and Causative Stress Factors

4.5. Other Threats

4.5.1. Other Exotic Species

4.5.2. Herbivory

5. POPULATION AND DISTRIBUTION

5.1. Population and Distribution Context

5.2. Population and Distribution Objectives

6. BROAD STRATEGIES AND APPROACHES TO RECOVERY

6.1. Actions Already Completed or Currently Underway

6.2. Strategic Direction for Recovery

7. CRITICAL HABITAT IDENTIFICATION

7.1. Activities Likely to Result in the Destruction of Critical Habitat

7.2. Schedule of Studies to Identify Critical Habitat

8. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

9. MEASURING PROGRESS

10. STATEMENT ON ACTION PLANS

11. REFERENCES

APPENDIX A: EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND OTHER SPECIES

APPENDIX B: CRITICAL HABITAT MAPS

APPENDIX C: RECOVERY TEAM MEMBERS

Table 1:

Threat classification

Table 2:

Location and landownership of Red Mulberry trees in Canada

Table 3:

Recovery planning table

Table 4:

Examples of activities likely to result in the destruction of critical habitat

Table 5:

Schedule of studies for the identification of critical habitat

Figure 1:

North American Red Mulberry distribution

Figure 2:

Canadian distribution of Red Mulberry

Figure 3:

Conceptual illustration of critical habitat (15 m radius tree root zone) around a single Red Mulberry tree

Figure 4:

Conceptual illustration of A) the area within which critical habitat is found for locations that have two or more Red Mulberry trees separated by 999 m or less and B) a distance greater than 999 m between Red Mulberry trees resulting in separate polygons related to critical habitat for each population

Figure 5:

General locations of critical habitat for Red Mulberry in Canada

Figure 6:

Area within which critical habitat parcel # 228_1 for Red Mulberry is found

Figure 7:

Area within which critical habitat parcel # 228_2 for Red Mulberry is found

Figure 8:

Area within which critical habitat parcel # 228_3 for Red Mulberry is found

Figure 9:

Area within which critical habitat parcel # 228_4 for Red Mulberry is found

Figure 10:

Area within which critical habitat parcel # 228_5 for Red Mulberry is found

Figure 11:

Location and extent of critical habitat parcel # 228_6 for Red Mulberry

Figure 12:

Location and extent of critical habitat parcel # 228_7 for Red Mulberry

Figure 13:

Area within which critical habitat parcel # 228_8 for Red Mulberry is found

Figure 14:

Area within which critical habitat parcel # 228_9 for Red Mulberry is found and location and extent of critical habitat parcel # 228_10 for Red Mulberry

Figure 15:

Area within which critical habitat parcels #s 228_11, 228_12, and 228_13 for Red Mulberry are found

Figure 16:

Location and extent of critical habitat parcel # 228_14 for Red Mulberry

Figure 17:

Area within which critical habitat parcel # 228_15 for Red Mulberry is found

Figure 18:

Area within which critical habitat parcel # 228_16 for the Red Mulberry is found

Figure 19:

Area within which critical habitat # 228_17 for the Red Mulberry is found

Figure 20:

Location and extent of critical habitat parcel # 228_18 for Red Mulberry

Figure 21:

Area within which critical habitat parcel # 228_19 for Red Mulberry is found

Figure 22:

Location and extent of critical habitat parcel # 228_20 for Red Mulberry

Figure 23:

Location and extent of critical habitat parcel # 228_21 for Red Mulberry

Figure 24:

Area within which critical habitat parcel # 228_22 for Red Mulberry is found

Date of Assessment: May 2000

Common Name (population): Red Mulberry

Scientific Name: Morus rubra

COSEWIC Status: Endangered

Reason for Designation: Few small declining disjunct populations remain within a geographically restricted area. They are threatened by hybridization with an alien species, a blight disease, and habitat degradation.

Canadian Occurrence: Ontario

COSEWIC Status History: Designated Threatened in April 1987. Status re-examined and uplisted to Endangered in April 1999. Status re-examined and confirmed Endangered in May 2000. May 2000 assessment based on new quantitative criteria applied to information from the existing April 1999 status report.

Red Mulberry is listed as Endangered on Schedule 1 of Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA 2002) and is similarly listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List under Ontario's Endangered Species Act, 2007. It reaches the northern edge of its global range in southern Ontario. The Canadian distribution represents a small portion of the entire breeding range in North America and is estimated to be less than 1% of the global distribution (Ambrose et al. 1998). Red Mulberry is considered imperiled in Ontario (S2) and Canada (N2), but occurs as an exotic species in British Columbia. It is at risk of extirpation (Michigan, Vermont, and Massachusetts), or possibly extirpated (Minnesota) in a few other range-edge states, although it is considered secure in the United States (N5), particularly within the central portion of its range, and around the globe (G5) (NatureServe 2010). Additional detail is available on the NatureServe website at: Click Here.

Red Mulberry is a dioecious¹, although sometimes monoecious² understory tree that typically reaches a height of 6 to 18 m (Ambrose 1987). The flowers are wind-pollinated, yellowish to reddish-green catkins³ that bloom in early spring (Ambrose 1987). Red Mulberry trees produce a moderate quantity of deep, red-coloured fruit that mature yearly in mid to late July (Ambrose 1987). The large, heart-shaped leaves are serrate⁴, long tipped, rough, and hairy and may have one to three lobes. Red Mulberry can be difficult to distinguish from White Mulberry (M. alba) and their hybrids (Ambrose 1987, 1999). Field guides that are representative of Red Mulberry before the introduction of White Mulberry in North America include: Peattie (1950), Braun (1961), Harlow and Harrar (1969) and Tomlinson (1980).

¹ Dioecious plants have male and female flowers on separate plants.

² Monoecious plants have male and female flowers on the same plant.

³ A catkin is a slender, often drooping, cylindrical flower cluster whose petals are absent or difficult to see.

⁴ Serrate refers to teeth on a leaf that are notched like a saw and point forward.

Across its North American range, the best site conditions for Red Mulberry are found in moist, sheltered coves near streams (Martin et al. 1961). In Canada, the species is native to the Carolinian Life Zone in Ontario. There, it occurs in fresh (damp) to moist, well-drained, forested habitats, including floodplains, bottomlands, the slopes and ravines along the southern portion of the Niagara escarpment and in swales⁵ on some western Lake Erie sand spits (Ambrose 1999). It occurs on sandy soils in the Essex-Chatham-Kent area and on limestone-based, loamy soils on the Niagara Peninsula (Ambrose 1999). While moderately shade tolerant, forest openings of exposed mineral soil, free of competition, appear to promote better recruitment (Ambrose 1999). Seedlings are sensitive to the heat of summer (Ambrose 1987).

⁵ A swale is a long, narrow, shallow depression, often running parallel to a shoreline, which typically remains moister than bordering ridges of higher land.

As a wind pollinated species, groupings of trees within the pollen dispersal range are important to ensure the production of sufficient, viable seeds for colonization of new sites. Birds, and possibly small mammals, are important dispersal agents of Red Mulberry fruit (Ambrose 1987).

Populations of Red Mulberry in Canada face four significant threats listed in order of importance: hybridization; habitat loss and fragmentation, impacts from nesting Double-crested Cormorants, and disease and the stress factors that make trees susceptible. Threats posed by other exotic species and grazing by White-tailed Deer and snails are of lesser concern. Table 1 classifies each threat.

Table 1 : Threat classification

Hybridization with White Mulberry is the most significant, population level threat to Red Mulberry in Canada. White Mulberry was introduced from eastern Asia for the silkworm industry. It has naturalized across eastern North America and freely crossbreeds with Red Mulberry (Farrar 1995, Waldron 2003). Almost all Red Mulberry populations in Canada occur in communities mixed with White Mulberry; with hybrids between the two species common (Ambrose 1999). Burgess (2004a, Burgess et al. 2005) found that 53.7 % of the Red Mulberry trees in six of the core populations (five or more individuals less than 1 km away from at least one other individual) in southern Ontario were hybrids. Of those hybrids, approximately 67% were genetically more similar to White Mulberry than Red. Based on an analysis of the pollen pool in two different locations, Red Mulberry pollen production per tree is similar to that of hybrid and White Mulberry trees. However, because White and hybrid Mulberry trees are more common than their native counterpart, only 8% of the total mulberry pollen rain comes from the native Red Mulberry (Burgess et al. 2008b). Selective removal of White and hybrid mulberry trees in a 50 m diameter around reproductive, female Red Mulberry trees resulted in a 14% increase in pure Red Mulberry seed produced by those individuals (Burgess et al. 2008b). This shows that Red Mulberry is experiencing a strong mating disadvantage associated with its low abundance. The reduction in Red Mulberry offspring was found to be largely attributable to crossbreeding with hybrid trees.

From observations at Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve, on Pelee Island, where frequent tree blow-downs have occurred, it appears that White and hybrid Mulberry trees establish naturally at a high rate while Red Mulberry seedlings are rarely encountered (K. S. Burgess pers. comm.). Transplant experiments show that seedling and juvenile survival and fitness were much higher for White Mulberry and their hybrids than Red Mulberry in all environments and that no habitat differentiation occurred between Red, White, and hybrid Mulberry trees that could shelter Red Mulberry from the effects of hybridization (Burgess and Husband 2006). In addition, offspring from female White Mulberry trees were more likely to survive than those from female Red Mulberry trees (Burgess and Husband 2004).

The large number of White Mulberry trees and hybrids across the landscape, and the genetic makeup of the hybrids, suggest that the Red Mulberry is being genetically assimilated by White Mulberry. Given the negative effect that hybridization has on mating and establishment in Red Mulberry (Burgess 2004a), it is likely that, without recovery action, hybridization may result in the extirpation of pure Red Mulberry in Canada. Furthermore, habitat disturbance promotes hybridization with rare taxa (Wolf et al. 2001).

Loss of suitable habitat poses a threat to Red Mulberry of only slightly lesser magnitude to that of hybridization. Land clearing for agriculture, industry, urban development, and utility and transportation corridors has greatly reduced the amount of natural wooded habitat in Carolinian Life Zone of southwestern Ontario. In some areas within the historical range of Red Mulberry, less than 3% forest cover remains, much of which is highly fragmented (Larson et al. 1999). The historical range of Red Mulberry in Canada once extended through eastern Toronto to Whitby, but these sites have disappeared (Figure 2), likely due to land clearing and habitat degradation (Ambrose 1987). Two populations in the Niagara Region have been lost to construction in the last 20 years (G. Meyers pers. comm. 1985), and others were likely impacted by valley infilling and development adjacent to what are now small populations. In addition, natural events, like the June 6, 2010 Harrow to Leamington tornado that passed near one of the Essex County woodlands containing a small Red Mulberry population, have the potential to eliminate populations. The resultant increased distances between populations, particularly the smaller ones, enhances their susceptibility to natural randomly occurring events and/or anthropogenic impacts that could lead to extirpations of additional species' occurrences. Beyond clear cutting, other high intensity forestry practices (high grading or diameter limit cuts) can damage vegetation, cause soil compaction which may result in reduced Red Mulberry establishment, cause soil disturbance which may promote increased establishment of exotic plants and increase evaporation resulting in decreased soil moisture levels thereby increasing drought-related stress on individual trees.

Ontario's Double-crested Cormorant (Phalocrocorax auritus) population has increased dramatically over the past 30 years. Large colonies of nesting cormorants are threatening the long-term persistence of Red Mulberry populations and their habitat on Middle Island (10 trees in 2002/3 [North-South Environmental Inc. 2004]) and East Sister Island (five trees [S. Dobbyn unpub. data 2009, NHIC unpub. data 2010]) in the western basin of Lake Erie. Research has shown that cormorants impact trees in their breeding locations by physically breaking branches, stripping foliage for nesting material (Korfanty et al. 1999) and through the deposition of excrement on trees, leaves, and soil. The latter can affect photosynthesis as well as soil chemistry (Hobara et al. 2001, Hebert et al. 2005).

Since 2000, an average of 4 897 nests have been recorded on Middle Island, while an average of 4 752 have been recorded on East Sister Island during the same period (Parks Canada unpub. data). Double-crested Cormorant population estimates for the islands, 24 485 and 23 760 respectively, are based on an average of 2.5 adults (includes non-breeding individuals loafing around each island) and 2.5 chicks per nest (Hatch and Weseloh 1999; T. Dobbie pers. comm. 2010). On Middle Island, cormorant nests have been found in Red Mulberry trees as well as in adjacent trees, with all but one Red Mulberry tree being negatively impacted. One Middle Island tree appears to be dead and another nearly so (T. Dobbie pers. comm. 2010). This population, in particular, is threatened with extirpation. On East Sister Island, the population may be less impacted as three of five trees are in areas of low to moderate cormorant nesting while another, in an area of more extreme impacts, appears to be faring well due to its location in a patch of lower trees and shrubs not yet used for nesting by cormorants (S. Dobbyn pers. comm. 2010).

Red Mulberry is known to suffer from twig blight, twig dieback, cankers, and root rot (Ambrose et al. 1998). Health assessments of four populations of Red Mulberry indicate that some populations are in very poor health, suffering population-level declines described as a "gradual, general deterioration" (McLaughlin and Greifenhagen 2002; Spisani et al. 2004). The former study concluded that no single pathogen was responsible for the disease symptoms. Rather, several opportunistic, canker-causing pathogens and two opportunistic root disease pathogens affected the diseased trees. These pathogens are not known to infect healthy tissues, but can successfully cause damage to stressed and weakened hosts. Probable factors causing such stress include drought, low soil fertility and/or poor or suppressed canopy position. The Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve and Point Pelee National Park populations were not found to be as healthy as the one at Rondeau Provincial Park due to a lower water table and less developed Red Mulberry tree canopies as a result of competition with neighbouring trees. The Royal Botanical Gardens population was found to have a broad range of health conditions based on more fertile and moist soils, but often suppressed canopy position (McLaughlin and Greifenhagen 2002).

Other research indicates that the species is highly sensitive to air pollution, with high levels likely making the species more susceptible to disease (Little 1995). In West Virginia, ozone damage to Red Mulberry leaves is believed to increase susceptibility to an opportunistic twig canker disease (Nectria cinnabarina) leading to the death of whole trees (O. Loucks pers. comm. 1996). Areas of reduced air quality may also be impacting populations through nitrogen enrichment, which has been identified to have a serious impact on natural grasslands (Wedin 1992). Similarly, soil enrichment from agricultural pollution may negatively impact soil microbes, which could make Red Mulberry habitats and populations more susceptible to White Mulberry colonization and hybridization. Studies of mycorrhizal⁶ functioning on other species have established a negative impact of nitrogen deposition, causing mycorrhizae to become more parasitic⁷ on plants rather than having the usual mutualistic⁸ relationships (Allen 1991). Given that many of these stress factors can, and do, occur together, they may have cumulative stress effects on Red Mulberry, increasing susceptibility to attack by opportunistic pathogens, leading to reductions in population size and potential extirpations.

⁶ Mycorrhizal refers to a close, and mutually beneficial, association between a fungus and the roots of a tree in which the fungus is wrapped tightly around the tree rootlets or actually penetrates the cells of the tree roots.

⁷ A parasitic animal or plant lives in or on another plant or animal, obtaining the nourishment it needs from this individual without benefitting or harming the other plant or animal.

⁸ Mutualistic relationships refer to the way in which two different species interact in a way that benefits both.

The following are either unconfirmed threats or threats considered to be of low concern relative to the four primary threats listed above.

Other invasive species, beyond White Mulberry, may negatively impact Red Mulberry or/and its habitat. Several introduced insect species are increasing their distribution across southern Ontario. Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) and Asian Long-horned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) are two insects of high concern due to their invasive nature and ability to infest and kill healthy trees. The Emerald Ash Borer primarily targets ash species while the Asian Long-horned Beetle attacks a variety of tree species. The expansion of either or both insect ranges could alter forest composition and Red Mulberry habitat, with unknown impacts to Red Mulberry. Invasive plant species, such as European and Glossy Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica and R. frangula), Norway Maple (Acer platanoides), Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), European Alder (Alnus glutinosa), Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata), and Dog-strangling Vine (Vincetoxicum nigrum), may pose a threat to mature Red Mulberry trees or their seedlings by aggressively competing for light, producing chemicals toxic to other plants or inhibiting mycorrhizal activity (Vaughn and Berhow 1999).

The fruit of Red Mulberry is an attractive food source of birds and small mammals, which, if eaten and dispersed before it is fully mature, may result in lower regeneration success (Johnson and Lyon 1976). High populations of gastropods can hinder seedling growth. Grazing by eight species of native snails and slugs was observed at Point Pelee National Park (T. Pearce pers. comm. 1992) to effectively eliminate seedlings (Ambrose 1991). Gastropod impacts at other sites are unknown. In areas of high deer populations, browsing of Red Mulberry has been observed and is a further hindrance to the establishment of new seedlings (Ambrose 1993, Thompson 2002b).

In 2000, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) designated Red Mulberry as Endangered because of its small and declining number of mature individuals (under 250) and its fragmented population (COSEWIC 2010).

Figure 1. Red Mulberry occurs from Massachusetts west through southern Ontario to Minnesota, and south to states bordering the Gulf of Mexico.

Red Mulberry reaches the northern edge of its range in southern Ontario where it is confined to the Carolinian Life Zone (Figure 1). While its range is somewhat diminished, there are no records to indicate that it was ever common or widespread here (Ambrose 1987). COSEWIC last assessed the species in 2000 based on 10 known locations, including six core populations of five or more trees, in two broad regions: 1) Essex County and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, including Point Pelee National Park and Pelee, Middle, and East Sister Islands, adjacent to western Lake Erie and 2) Niagara, including the cities of Hamilton and Burlington. Occupation of these two areas may correspond to different historical migration paths from the central part of the range in the United States. The forest habitats in these two regions are quite different; Red Mulberry in Niagara occurs along the moist, calcareous⁹ Niagara Escarpment, while habitat along the Lake Erie shore is more open and sandy. These disparate ecological conditions appear to have given rise to genetic differentiation and local adaptation within Red Mulberry (K. S. Burgess pers. comm.).

⁹ Calcareous refers to a calcium or calcium carbonate-based substrate.

Twenty-one extant populations (separated by at least 1 km) have now been confirmed (Table 2 and Figure 2). Of those, 10 are core populations of five or more trees (Thompson 2002b, Burgess et al. 2008a, Natural Heritage Information Centre [NHIC] unpub. data 2010). Of those 10, all are completely or almost entirely located on public or conservation lands. However, the impacts of nesting Double-crested Cormorants on the vegetation of Middle and East Sister Islands, in the western basin of Lake Erie, raise questions as to the long-term viability of these two populations. The remaining 11 populations, having only one or two trees each, may not be viable unless recovery work is undertaken to elevate their population size and minimize threats.

Overall, recruitment is low at all sites (K. S. Burgess pers. comm.). Red Mulberry seedlings are rarely encountered at Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve (K. S. Burgess pers. comm.) and have only been infrequently observed in more stable forest communities, such as at Ball's Falls over the past 15 years. Although first year seedlings have been observed germinating at the edge of a gravel path under large fruiting trees at Point Pelee National Park, they did not survive for more than two years (Ambrose 1987). Numerous pollination experiments suggest that inbreeding depression in Red Mulberry is minimal (Burgess 2004a), although direct comparisons with Red Mulberry crosses within larger extant populations across the species range have not been made.

The largest population in the Niagara/Hamilton/Burlington region consists of approximately 155 trees of all age classes. The largest population in the Essex/Chatham-Kent region consists of approximately 55 trees of all ages. The total number of Red Mulberry trees, of all age classes, across the Canadian landscape is approximately 322 (Janas et al. 2001; Burgess et al. 2008a; Essex Region Conservation Authority unpub. data 2008; Parks Canada Agency unpub. data 2008; Ontario Parks unpub. data 2008, 2009; Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority unpub. data 2009; Royal Botanical Gardens unpub. data 2009; NHIC unpub. data 2010; and G. Waldron, pers. comm. 2010). Apparent increases in overall population size in recent years are due to the location of older, previously undiscovered trees, rather than recovery of the population.

The Canadian distribution of Red Mulberry shows decline when compared to historical records (Figure 2). A total of 36 occurrences have been recorded for Red Mulberry. However, five of these are now considered extirpated and another 10 historic (not observed in the past 20 years). The northern limits of the Red Mulberry range once extended to Whitby, but have since contracted south to the Burlington area (Ambrose 1987). At Point Pelee National Park, the loss of three genetically pure trees has been documented since the late 1990s (Burgess et al. 2008a). At some other sites, only hybrid forms can now be located; indicating that Red Mulberry likely occurred there in the past, but has been swamped by hybridization with the exotic White Mulberry (Ambrose 1999). The recorded loss of occurrences, as well as individual trees within occurrences, combined with minimal observed recruitment, indicates a decline is continuing.

Table 2 : Location and landownership of Red Mulberry trees in Canada.

Figure 2. Twenty-one extant populations of Red Mulberry occur in Canada in two broad regions within southwestern Ontario: 1) Essex County and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, including Point Pelee National Park and Pelee, Middle, and East Sister Islands, adjacent to western Lake Erie and 2) Niagara, including the cities of Hamilton and Burlington. Extant locations in Essex County include LaSalle Candidate Natural Heritage Site CA5 in LaSalle; Canard River Kentucky Coffee-tree Woods Environmentally Sensitive Area in McGregor; Big Creek Study Site #40 in Amherstburg; For the Birds in Colchester; Lot 6, Concession 3 East in Kingsville; and two populations in the mainland property of Point Pelee National Park. In the western basin of Lake Erie, additional extant sites exist on Middle Island, part of Point Pelee National Park; at East Sister Island Provincial Nature Reserve; and at Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve and on the Stone Road Alvar on Pelee Island. Niagara area extant populations include Clappison Escarpment Woods; Waterdown Escarpment Woods; and the Borer's Creek Conservation Area/Rock Chapel Escarpment/Berry Tract complex in Hamilton; a Niagara Glen/Niagara Parkway site in Niagara Falls; a site in St. David's; on Leawood Court and at Pendale Plaza in St. Catharines; and at Ball's Falls Conservation Area in Vineland. In addition, two populations exist at Rondeau Provincial Park, Morpeth. Sites that are either historic or extirpated exist at Amherstburg, LaSalle, Leamington and southeast of Cottam in Essex County; on the Red Cedar Savanna on Pelee Island; at the Rondeau Peninsula in the Municipality of Chatham-Kent; in the Delaware Bottomland Forest in Middlesex County; at St. David's, Queenston Heights, Niagara Falls, Bertie Township and Grimsby in the Regional Municipality of Niagara, as well as at Dundas, Whitby and Toronto.

The goal of this recovery strategy is to ensure persistence of Red Mulberry in Canada by conserving and restoring functioning metapopulations¹⁰ to long-term stability in the two broad regions of its occurrence.

¹⁰ A metapopulation is made up of a group of populations of the same species that are separated from one another, but that still experience exchange in individuals.

The five year, provisional population and distribution objectives for Red Mulberry are:

1. to maintain all currently existing populations of the species across its Canadian (Ontario) range, and
2. to prevent further decline in the number of individuals across the species' range.

These objectives are provisional for three reasons. First, they will need to be revisited and potentially revised once genetic work to confirm the total number and location of pure Red Mulberry trees is completed on some of the largest populations in Canada. Recent research in the United States has identified a distinct species, Morus murrayana, in western Kentucky and the surrounding states, that has been previously identified as Red Mulberry (Galla et al. 2009). Further genetic research will be required across the native Canadian population to determine if one or both native species of mulberry are present and to ascertain associated population size(s).

Second, the impacts of nesting Double-crested Cormorants on the Middle Island and East Sister Island populations are severe enough that retention of these two populations cannot be guaranteed. Third, while attempts need to be made to retain the 11 populations consisting of one to two trees each, given the size of these populations and the potential for extirpation through natural events, their long term maintenance remains uncertain, even if threats are reduced. For instance, the June 6, 2010 tornado that touched down from Harrow to Leamington passed very near one of the Essex County woodlands containing a Red Mulberry population of two trees.

Note that the second objective is not specifically to maintain the number of mature individuals. This is because: (1) the current population estimates are uncertain, given the possible occurrences of hybrids and of a new species; (2) a number of mature individuals are dying and their loss cannot likely be prevented; and (3) the only way to maintain populations is to facilitate regeneration or plant young (non-mature) trees.

The expectation under the objectives, and the best possible scenario, is that in future evaluations Red Mulberry would remain in the "Very Small Total Population" category of COSEWIC, but not in the "Small and Declining Number of Mature Individuals" category.

Many Red Mulberry recovery actions have been undertaken since 1998. Included are surveys in the vicinity of extant and historic records and in some areas of suitable habitat, population censuses and heath assessments, Ecological Land Classification (ELC)¹¹ according to Lee et al. (1998), Conservation Land Tax Incentive Program (CLTIP) (MNR 1998) mapping and landowner contact, prior to regulation of the species under the Endangered Species Act, 1971 (Husband and Burgess 1999, 2000, O'Hara 2000, Janas et al. 2001, Thuring and Smith 2001, Spisani et al. 2004).

¹¹ ELC is a land and resource classification system that describes and delineates ecosystem units based on ecological factors including vegetation, soil and geologic conditions (Lee et al. 1998).

Extensive research has been conducted on hybridization between Red and White Mulberry, its impacts, and management activities to address this threat, as well as comparative studies between both species and their hybrids (see Section 4.1) (Burgess 2000, 2003, 2004a, b, Burgess and Husband 2001, 2002a, b, 2004, 2006, Husband and Burgess 1999, 2000, 2001; Burgess et al. 2005, 2008b, Husband et al. 2000, 2001, Janas et al. 2001). This has led to additional knowledge regarding Red Mulberry demography and population dynamics. A pathology study (see Section 4.4) was also completed (McLaughlin and Greifenhagen 2002). Some work has also been done to test for differences in habitat characteristics between the two regions of occupancy and to compare seedlings from the different regions in a common environment (Beavers 1998).

Management activities to date include White/hybrid Mulberry removals conducted as part of an adaptive management study (Rodger 1997, Burgess et al. 2008b) and reductions in the size of the hyperabundant Double-crested Cormorant population on Middle Island to address impacts on plant species at risk, including Red Mulberry, according to the Conservation Plan developed to restore ecological integrity to the island (Parks Canada 2008). Ontario Parks' East Sister Island Park Management Plan has identified nesting Double-crested Cormorants impacts as an issue. A background document, which summarizes a number of studies to investigate the overall effects of cormorants on the island ecosystem, is now in preparation (S. Dobbyn pers. comm. 2010).

The Carolinian Woodlands Recovery Team is leading an ecosystem approach to recovery of the overall ecosystem in which Red Mulberry is found. At the broader landscape level, a gap analysis (Carolinian Canada's Big Picture Project) is informing restoration efforts to buffer and amalgamate forest fragments in the natural landscape to improve habitat quality by creating larger forest interior habitats.

Broad strategies to recover Red Mulberry have been developed within this wider ecosystem context, with a focus on addressing threats and gathering the information needed to refine and attain the population and distribution objectives to support the recovery of Red Mulberry (see Table 3).

Table 3: Recovery planning table.

Recovery and conservation initiatives outlined in this strategy should be coordinated with other recovery teams (e.g. Carolinian Woodland Recovery Team), conservation groups (e.g. local Ontario Stewardship councils and conservation authorities) and restoration initiatives wherever possible.

Critical habitat is defined in section 2(1) of SARA as "the habitat that is necessary for the survival or recovery of a listed wildlife species and that is identified as the species' critical habitat in the recovery strategy or in an action plan for the species". This recovery strategy identifies critical habitat range-wide for native Red Mulberry in Canada, to the extent possible at this time based upon the best available information.

Geographical locations of known Red Mulberry trees were obtained from OMNR's NHIC (Figures 6, 7, 9-13, 16, and 19-22) and Ontario Parks (Figures 14 and 19), Parks Canada Agency (Figures 15 and 18), Royal Botanical Gardens (Figure 8), Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (Figure 13), Janas et al. (2001; Figure 17), Essex Region Conservation Authority (Figure 24), and Gerry Waldron, M.Sc., Consulting Ecologist (Figure 23). Additional map components were provided by OMNR's Land Information Ontario (Figures 6-24), the North American Atlas (Figures 6-24), Conservation Halton (Figures 6-7), Parks Canada Agency (Figures 15 and 18), Hamilton Region Conservation Authority (Figure 8), Royal Botanical Gardens (Figure 8), and Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (Figure 13).

This data was collected by regional, provincial, and federal agencies and their contractors, as well as by non-government organizations and individuals over the course of many years. The majority of trees were located during extensive searches in Hamilton, the Regional Municipality of Niagara and Essex County from 2000 to 2001, as part of the Conservation Land Tax Incentive Program for Endangered species in Ontario (Janas et al. 2001, Thompson 2002a). Targeted surveys at various locations were also completed from 2002 to 2004 and in 2007. Where possible, local experts were consulted regarding the continued existence of individual trees, knowledge regarding their genetic purity, accuracy of the data, and missing information.

Critical habitat has been identified for individuals that have been confirmed as pure-strain Red Mulberry trees through genetic testing or that were identified as Red Mulberry (as opposed to hybrid or White Mulberry) trees through morphological evaluation by species experts. Critical habitat has not been identified for trees that have been documented as hybrids through the techniques noted above, or for Red Mulberries that are known to have been planted or transplanted, or that have unverified origins. Records that are older than 20 years (pre 1990), with no verification through follow-up surveys, were deemed historical and were also not considered during critical habitat identification.

Critical habitat is based on UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system) locations of individual trees, obtained using a GPS (geographic positioning system) unit. Coordinates, obtained using this technology, are expected to be accurate to approximately 10 m or better.

Critical habitat is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, encompassing a critical habitat area of 707 m² around each tree (see Figure 3). This is based on a critical root zone definition, used as a zone of protection for trees, of up to 36 times the diameter at breast height (dbh - i.e. the diameter of a tree 1.3 m above ground level) of a tree (Johnson 1997). Given that the maximum-recorded dbh for Red Mulberry in Canada is 40 cm (Farrar 1995), the maximum critical root zone is then calculated to be 15 m (40 cm x 36 = 14.4 m rounded up to the nearest metre). This is supported by a 12.7 m rooting radius reported for a mature White Mulberry tree (dbh not provided) (Stone and Kalisz 1990), which occurs in the same genus as Red Mulberry. To be precautious, the larger of the two values has been applied in the identification of critical habitat.

For locations where more than one Red Mulberry tree occurs, critical habitat also includes all Forest¹², Woodland¹³, and Talus¹⁴ ELC community classes¹⁵ that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat maps, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree (see Figure 4A). On Middle Island, critical habitat also includes the Cultural Meadow/Cultural Thicket ELC community series, as this community is in the process of regenerating from former anthropogenic uses and is expected to succeed to woodland and eventually forest. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon¹⁶ around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at that location (see Figure 4B). One kilometre is considered the minimum separation distance needed to place trees into two separate populations rather than a single one (NatureServe 2010). As such, the 999 m value has been selected to ensure protection of all suitable habitats between trees within a Red Mulberry population.

¹² Forests have a tree cover greater than 60%.

¹³ Woodlands have a tree cover greater than 35% and less than or equal to 60%.

¹⁴ Talus are slopes of rock rubble at the base of cliffs where coarse, rocky debris makes up more than 50% of the substrate surface and there is an average substrate depth of less than 15 cm.

¹⁵ A Community Class is an organizational level with the ELC system of classification that groups plant communities based on similar, generalized ecological patterns and processes.

¹⁶ A minimum convex polygon is the smallest shape, drawn with straight line segments, which will surround all straight line segments that can be drawn between any two points (in this case, Red Mulberry trees with their 15 m tree root zone). As an analogy, picture an elastic stretched around a group of pegs on a peg board.

Figure 4A: For locations where more than one Red Mulberry tree occurs, critical habitat falls within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at that location.

Figure 4B: A distance greater than 999 m between Red Mulberry trees results in separate critical habitat polygons.

Across the species' range, the biophysical attributes of Red Mulberry critical habitat include moist, but well-drained, areas that have tree cover greater than 35% (Forest and Woodland ELC community classes). This includes:

• floodplains and river valleys,
• areas where additional light penetrates the tree canopy (e.g. forest gaps and edges),
• Essex County, including Point Pelee National Park, Pelee, Middle, and East Sister Islands and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent: moist swales in sandy soils,
• Niagara Escarpment and Peninsula: limestone-based, loamy soils, plus the Talus ELC community class in areas, especially along benches (flat areas) in the escarpment, where moisture levels remain high.

General locations of Red Mulberry critical habitat are shown in Figure 5. Site-specific critical habitat maps for 22 critical habitat parcels are provided in Appendix B. Where a Red Mulberry tree exists within 999 m of another Red Mulberry tree, the area within which critical habitat is found has been mapped. Only the areas within this boundary that meet the biophysical description of critical habitat outlined in this section are critical habitat.

Existing anthropogenic features are excluded from critical habitat as they are not suitable habitats for the long-term persistence of this species. These features include, but are not limited to existing infrastructure (e.g. roads, trails, and parking lots), existing cultivated areas (e.g. agricultural fields), and unnatural vegetation types (e.g. grassed areas and septic beds). In addition, all White Mulberry trees and hybrid mulberry trees are excluded from critical habitat as optimal habitat for Red Mulberry should be free from these trees.

Figure 5: Critical habitat parcels have been identified for Red Mulberry at the following locations: parcel 228_1: Clappison Escarpment Woods, Hamilton/Burlington, parcel 228_2: Waterdown Escarpment Woods, Hamilton/Burlington, parcel 228_3: Borer's Creek Conservation Area/Rock Chapel Escarpment/Berry Tract, Hamilton, parcel 228_4: Niagara Glen/Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls, parcel 228_5: St. David's, parcel 228_6: Leawood Court, St. Catharines, parcel 228_7: Pendale Plaza, St. Catharines, parcel 228_8: Ball's Falls Conservation Area, Vineland, parcel 228_9: Rondeau Provincial Park - North, Morpeth, parcel 228_10: Rondeau Provincial Park - South, Morpeth, parcel 228_11: Point Pelee National Park - North, Leamington, parcels 228_12 and 228_13: Point Pelee National Park - South, Leamington (although historically one population, loss of a single, centrally located tree now places extant trees over 1 km apart. Critical habitat for this population is therefore mapped in two pieces), parcel 228_14: Stone Road Alvar, Pelee Island, parcel 228_15: Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve, Pelee Island, western Lake Erie basin, parcel 228_16: Middle Island, Point Pelee National Park, western Lake Erie basin, parcel 228_17: East Sister Island Provincial Nature Reserve, western Lake Erie basin, parcel 228_18: Lot 6, Concession 3 East, Kingsville, parcel 228_19: For the Birds, Colchester, parcel 228_20: Big Creek Study Site #40, Amherstburg, parcel 228_21: Canard River Kentucky Coffee-tree Woods Environmentally Sensitive Area, McGregor, and parcel 228_22: LaSalle Candidate Natural Heritage Site CA5, LaSalle.

Examples of activities, in or near critical habitat, likely to destroy critical habitat include, but are not limited to those outlined in Table 4 below.

Table 4: Examples of activities likely to result in the destruction of critical habitat.

Additional work required to refine the population and distribution objectives and determine if critical habitat identification requires modification to support these objectives for recovery is outlined in Table 5.

Table 5: Schedule of studies for the identification of critical habitat.

Information gaps still exist and need to be filled in order to meet the population and distribution objectives set out in this recovery strategy. These gaps include:

• Census Surveys and Population Information: Searches need to continue for as yet undocumented trees, recording new distribution, abundance, demography, health, genetic variation, habitat, threats, and trends. Updates are needed for many known populations.
• Habitat Requirements: The habitat of Red Mulberry needs to be fully characterized, including a comparison of habitats in the two regions of its occurrence.
• Hybridization Research: An expansion of the screening of trees for hybrid status is needed. In addition, it is imperative that White Mulberry removal and Red Mulberry enhancement trials, past, present and future, be monitored to evaluate the effect on Red Mulberry recruitment and community response to tree removal so that adaptive management can take place.
• Disease and Causative Stress Factors: Whether the attack of opportunistic pathogens is as a result of stress from drought, low soil fertility, and/or poor canopy position and the severity of those threat(s) needs to be confirmed.
• Pollination: Pollination distances for Red, White, and hybrid Mulberry need to be determined to inform hybrid and White Mulberry management.
• Population Viability Analysis: Information (sex, fecundity, seed predation, germination, seed dispersion, survivorship, recruitment, dispersal) needs to be gathered to complete a population viability analysis¹⁷.
• Transplantation: Factors that will increase the success of Red Mulberry establishment (e.g. seeds sown in the field vs. the use of older transplants) need to be determined.

¹⁷ In a population viability analysis, demographic information (age or size specific survival and reproductive probabilities) are collected and incorporated into models or simulations with the intent of projecting future populations and estimating the likelihood of extinction or persistence.

Performance measures for evaluating the success in achieving the Red Mulberry population and distribution objectives in five years are as follows:

• Ten core populations and 11 non-core populations of Red Mulberry can be found distributed in two metapopulations (Essex County/Municipality of Chatham-Kent, including Point Pelee National Park and Pelee, Middle, and East Sister Islands, and Hamilton/Burlington/Niagara).
• The genetic composition and purity of trees across the Canadian range is known such that the population and distribution objectives can be revised if necessary (e.g. should trees formerly identified as Red Mulberry be determined to be hybrids or M. murrayana).
• The number of individual Red Mulberry trees of all age classes (approximately 322) has not declined, unless genetic studies determined that trees formerly believed to be Red Mulberry are in fact M. murrayana or hybrids with White Mulberry. Should genetic research determine that there are fewer pure Red Mulberry trees in Canada than previously thought, the target number of trees to be maintained will be lowered based on the findings.
• Habitat suitability has been maintained (Woodland, Forest, and Talus ELC community classes still exist) in areas of critical habitat.

One or more action plans related to this recovery strategy will be completed by March 2018.

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A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is conducted on all SARA recovery planning documents, in accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals (Government of Canada 2004). The purpose of a SEA is to incorporate environmental considerations into the development of public policies, plans, and program proposals to support environmentally sound decision-making.

Recovery planning is intended to benefit species at risk and biodiversity in general. However, it is recognized that strategies may also inadvertently lead to environmental effects beyond the intended benefits. The planning process, based on national guidelines, directly incorporates consideration of all environmental effects, with a particular focus on possible impacts upon non-target species or habitats. The results of the SEA are incorporated directly into the strategy itself, but are also summarized below in this statement.

The majority of the broad strategies presented in this recovery strategy will have positive impacts on other species occupying the Carolinian forest, as well as the forests themselves. Many Red Mulberry populations occur in areas where there are other species at risk (e.g. Blue Ash [Fraxinus quadrangulata] and Butternut [Juglans cinerea]). Fragmentation is one of the main threats to Carolinian woodlands. Efforts to protect habitat, increase connectivity among habitat patches, and maintain and restore ecological integrity within the Carolinian Life Zone will inevitably benefit species at risk, as well as many common species found in association with Red Mulberry. Where White or hybrid Mulberry removal occurs or branch removal occurs near heavily shaded Red Mulberry trees, these activities will open the forest canopy, increasing light penetration to the benefit of shade intolerant, native plant species like Blue Ash. Such activities will need to be carefully monitored and managed to prevent a flush of other introduced/invasive species in these areas. Efforts to reduce invasive species will positively benefit other native species that are competing for space and resources. Increases in Red Mulberry abundance due to enhanced seedling recruitment will serve as a food source for birds, and, to a lesser extent, small and mid-sized mammals that feed on and later disperse its fruit.

Some of the strategies could, however, have a negative impact on other species occupying Carolinian forest habitat. Herbicide use to prevent White or hybrid Mulberry from resprouting could impact soil, ground and surface water quality, and damage surrounding vegetation if not carefully applied. To limit these impacts, herbicides should be directly applied through stem injections or through careful painting or wicking of the cut or girdled stems. Herbicide application on Parks Canada lands will need to comply with Integrated Pest Management Directive 2.4.1 (Parks Canada 1998). Where cutting of White or hybrid Mulberry trees occur, careful attention will need to be given to sensitive vegetation and fauna in the vicinity to ensure minimal damage occurs to other species, communities and ecological processes. Removal of larger White and/or hybrid Mulberry trees could potentially disturb nesting activities, damage nests or injure rare or migratory birds, small mammals (including the Southern Flying Squirrel) and other wildlife species utilizing them as habitat. Removal programs will need to take place during the fall to avoid the breeding bird season (May to August) to mitigate potential impacts to birds as well as on herbaceous plants and the understory. Trees are also most sensitive to herbicides during this time period and so this will increase the effectiveness of herbicide treatments. Careful field surveys prior to removal will be needed to determine if other species, including species at risk, will be impacted so that appropriate mitigation measures can be implemented. In addition, areas where trees are to be but down, as well as any access routes to be used for access or tree removal activities, will need to be scouted ahead of time to make sure that other species at risk are not being trampled or harmed. To the extent possible, the number of routes in and out of the areas to be targeted will be minimized. Gaps in the forest created through removals may promote the growth of invasive species. Soil disturbance should therefore be kept to a minimum. Native species recruitment in these gaps should be promoted through plantings, as well as immediate removal of colonizing invasive species, or other means. Depending on the density of White Mulberry removals, understory shade tolerant species may be negatively affected (Parks Canada 2006). In some locations, where White Mulberry occupies a significant proportion of the forest, removal may decrease food and habitat availability for some birds and small animals; however the increased presence of Red Mulberry through enhanced seedling recruitment could alleviate some of these effects. Removal programs targeting White Mulberry and hybrids should involve follow-up monitoring to determine the success of the techniques implemented, in addition to the impacts on other species, vegetation communities and ecological processes and changes in the rate of Red Mulberry hybridization. Removal of competing branches next to heavily shaded trees will also be monitored. In both cases, this will allow for adaptive management and continual adjustment and improvement of recovery efforts. As Red Mulberry is found within the Carolinian Life Zone, an area with a high number of protected and rare species, all monitoring and research activities should take care to minimize or avoid trampling and disturbance to those species.

Invasive species and vegetation removals at Point Pelee National Park may require screening level environmental assessments under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (1992, c. 37) (CEAA) to address project specific concerns. Control of insects, disease, and invasive vegetation in provincial parks are included under A Class Environmental Assessment for Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves (OMNR 2005).

Addressing the large Double-crested Cormorant populations on Middle and East Sister Islands, which could include their control, will adversely affect individual cormorants, but will benefit many species of native plants, especially trees, which are killed by the cormorant's ammonia-rich excrement. Maintaining the ecological integrity of the island's Carolinian forest is the target. Efforts to control deer browse will positively benefit forest vegetation damaged by browsing. Both management practices have been assessed under their respective environmental assessment processes and project-specific environmental impacts and mitigation measures have been or will be implemented. Any potential conflicts arising from recovery efforts will need to be addressed early on through adaptive management.

Figure 6. Critical habitat parcel #228_1 is located south of Rockcliffe Road, southeast of Waterwheel Crescent and Highway 5, northeast of Highway 6 and northwest of Old York Road in Clappison Escarpment Woods in Hamilton/Burlington, Ontario. It is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest, Woodland, and Talus ELC community classes that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at this location.

Figure 7. Critical habitat parcel #228_2 is located southeast of Mountain Brow Road, southwest of King Road and northeast of Rennick Road in Waterdown Escarpment Woods in Hamilton/Burlington, Ontario. It is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest, Woodland, and Talus ELC community classes that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at this location.

Figure 8. Critical habitat parcel #228_3 is located south of Highway 5 and Rock Chapel Road, west of York Road, north of McKay Court and McKay Road and south and east of Rock Chapel and east of Sydenham Road in the protected areas of Borer's Creek Conservation Area, Rock Chapel Escarpment and Berry Tract of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Ontario. It is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest, Woodland, and Talus ELC community classes that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at this location.

Figure 9. Critical habitat parcel #228_4 is located southeast of the Queenston-Chippewa Power Canal and northwest of the Niagara River at Niagara Glen and along the Niagara Parkway in Niagara Falls, Ontario. It is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest, Woodland, and Talus ELC community classes that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at this location.

Figure 10. Critical habitat parcel #228_5 is located east of Four Mile Creek Road and west of Melrose Drive in St. David's within Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. It is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest, Woodland, and Talus ELC community classes that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at this location.

Figure 11. Critical habitat parcel #228_6 for Red Mulberry, located on Leawood Court in St. Catharines, Ontario, is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of a live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree.

Figure 12. Critical habitat parcel #228_7 for Red Mulberry, located at Pendale Plaza on the south side of Glendale Avenue and west of Tremont Drive in St. Catharines, Ontario, is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of a live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree.

Figure 13. Critical habitat parcel #228_8 is located north of Twenty Mile Creek at Ball's Falls Conservation Area in Vineland, Ontario. It is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest, Woodland, and Talus ELC community classes that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at this location.

Figure 14. Critical habitat parcel #228_9 is located north of Rondeau Park Road in Rondeau Provincial Park, Morpeth, Ontario. It is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest and Woodland ELC community classes that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at this location. Critical habitat parcel #228_10 for Red Mulberry, located south of Rondeau Park Road in Rondeau Provincial Park, Morpeth, Ontario, is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of a live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree.

Figure 15. Critical habitat parcels #228_11, 228_12 and 228_13 are located near the Sanctuary lookout, from the former Henry Community Camp to just south of the Visitor Centre and north of the Sparrow field along the east side of the main park road respectively in Point Pelee National Park in Leamington, Ontario. Each is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest and Woodland ELC community classes that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found for each critical habitat parcel is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at that location.

Figure 16. Critical habitat parcel #228_14 for Red Mulberry, located north of Shore Road and west of Stone Road on the Stone Road Alvar on Pelee Island, Ontario is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of a live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree.

Figure 17. Critical habitat parcel #228_15 is located north and south of Shore Road in Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve on Pelee Island in the western basin of Lake Erie, Ontario. It is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest and Woodland ELC community classes that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at this location.

Figure 18. Critical habitat parcel #228_16 is located on Middle Island of Point Pelee National Park in the western basin of Lake Erie, Ontario. It is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest and Woodland ELC community classes and the Cultural Meadow/Cultural Thicket ELC community series that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at this location.

Figure 19. Critical habitat parcel #228_17 is located in Easter Sister Island Provincial Nature Reserve in the western basin of Lake Erie, Ontario. It is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest and Woodland ELC community classes that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at this location.

Figure 20. Critical habitat parcel #228_18 for Red Mulberry, located at Lot 6, Concession 3 East (north of Concession Road 3, west of the Graham Sideroad and south of Highway 3) in Kingsville, Ontario is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of a live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree.

Figure 21. Critical habitat parcel #228_19 is located east of Erie Road and south of Gore Road at For the Birds, Colchester, Ontario. It is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest and Woodland ELC community classes that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at this location.

Figure 22. Critical habitat parcel #228_20 for Red Mulberry, located just west of the 4^th Concession Road at Big Creek Study Site #40 in Amherstburg, Ontario, is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of a live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree.

Figure 23. Critical habitat parcel #228_21 for Red Mulberry, located north of the Canard River and west of the 8th Concession Road at the Canard River Kentucky Coffee-tree Woods in McGregor, Ontario, is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of a live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree.

Figure 24. Critical habitat parcel #228_22 is located east of Malden Road, south of Bouffard Road and northwest of the West Branch Cahill Drain in LaSalle Candidate Natural Heritage Site CA5 in LaSalle, Ontario. It is identified as a circle with a radius of 15 m surrounding the trunk of each live, individual, naturally occurring Red Mulberry tree, plus all Forest and Woodland ELC community classes that fall within a shape, identified as the area within which critical habitat is found on the critical habitat map, that encompasses the tree root zone of all Red Mulberry trees that are within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree. The area within which critical habitat is found is represented by a minimum convex polygon around all Red Mulberry tree root zones falling within 999 m or less of another Red Mulberry tree at this location.