Stinkpot (Sternotherus odoratus) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 7
Population Sizes and Trends
There are not enough data to estimate the overall size of the Canadian population of stinkpots. The population appears to be broken up into scattered localities across south-central Ontario. Twenty-seven Ontario districts have documented reports of the stinkpot between the years 1881 and 1997 (NHIC unpubl. data) (Table 1). Some locations have relatively high populations. For example, at Twelve Mile Bay, 575 individuals were marked between 1991 and 1997 (Edmonds 1998); and in Big Clear Lake, 69 individuals were recorded from casual sampling between 1983 and 1990 (NHIC unpubl. data; R. Saumure pers. comm.). Populations in some other districts were based on a single sighting. In Quebec, stinkpots have been found in only two counties -- Hull and Pontiac (Chabot and St. Hilaire 1991). In both counties, only a few individuals were found.
Of the 27 Ontario districts that have records of stinkpots, 11 (41%) have had no confirmed sightings after 1984 (Table 1). It is possible that populations in many of these districts have been extirpated (M. Oldham pers. comm.). Most of these 12 districts are in the southwestern end of Ontario, a region experiencing intense agricultural activity and increasing urban development. Although stinkpots behave cryptically and are not normally observed unless one deliberately searches for them (Bendall 1959; Lamond 1994), it is striking that they have apparently disappeared in the most heavily developed areas, where there are more potential observers (e.g. Hamilton-Wentworth, Lamond 1994). Nevertheless, it would be prudent to search areas with old stinkpot sightings to confirm or refute local extirpation.
District | First sighting | Last sighting |
---|---|---|
Peel (RMFootnotea) |
1969
|
1969
|
Sudbury (RM) |
1970
|
1970
|
Durham (RM) |
1974
|
1975
|
Hastings |
1977
|
1977
|
Halton (RM) |
1977
|
1977
|
Hamilton Wentworth |
1932
|
1978
Footnoteb
|
Kent |
1970
|
1978
|
Nipissing |
1978
|
1978
|
Niagara (RM) |
1979
|
1979
|
Brant |
1979
|
1980
|
Simcoe |
1961
|
1984
|
Haldimand Norfolk (RM) |
1978
|
1985
|
Ottawa Carleton (RM) |
1958
|
1987
|
Northumberland |
1973
|
1987
|
Lennox and Addington |
1988
|
1988
|
York |
1858
|
1988
|
Essex |
1881
|
1989
|
Frontenac |
1931
|
1989
|
Lanark |
1926
|
1989
|
Prince Edward |
1941
|
1990
|
Lambton |
1957
|
1990
|
Renfrew |
1992
|
1992
|
Peterborough |
1958
|
1992
|
Victoria |
1993
|
1993
|
Leeds and Grenville |
1936
|
1994
|
Muskoka |
1925
|
1995
|
Parry Sound |
1973
|
1997
|
Page details
- Date modified: