Forest communities

Birds

Fish, reptiles, amphibians

Mammals

Emergence of wetlands

Exotic invasive plants

Human modifications

ECOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

The forests encountered in the Black River Watershed result from the adaptation of ecological communities to differing geological conditions. As a result of glaciation, the watershed consists of lake plains to the north (from Erie’s ancestral lakes) and till plains in the central part of the watershed (where glacial till comprises the soils). The southern part of the watershed, defined by glacial end moraine and the glaciated lower Appalachian plateau, consists of more varied terrain. As the Black River carved its channels through each of these geological zones, floodplain forest communities emerged along its banks, remaining saturated for most of the year. The forests encountered in the watershed reveal a great deal of information about the varying geological conditions to which they have adapted.

Beech-maple forests dominate the old Lake Plains of Erie’s ancestral lakes and the flat glacial till plains. These forests contain beech trees, with their smooth, grayish bark. Unlike many deciduous trees, which completely shed their leaves, beech trees often retain their brownish leaves throughout the winter. Sugar maples, their leaves exploding into an intense spectrum of fiery yellow and orange in the fall, also frequently grow in these forests. These maples produce a sugary sap that can be boiled to make maple syrup. Other trees common to these forests include red maple, black walnut, black cherry, and shagbark hickory.

Much of the northern part of the watershed consists of mixed mesophytic forests which contain a diverse mixture of hardwood species. While beech and maple still grow in these forests, they tend not to dominate. White and red oaks occur more frequently in these northern woods. Although the American Chestnut tree populated these forests as recently as 100 years ago, due to a deadly blight, the Chestnut essentially disappeared from the Northern Ohio landscape during the last century.

The trees occupying the floodplains that hug the banks of the Black River tend to tolerate wetter conditions. Floodplain forest communities contain large numbers of sycamore trees, easily identified by blotchy brown bark that falls off in large flakes to reveal a bleached-white underbark. Cottonwoods, with their quaking leaves and thickly-ridged, dark-gray bark, are also common. Other common trees along these floodplains include silver and red maples, as well as Ohio buckeye.

Elm-Ash swamp forests dominate wetland areas where standing water submerges the land for at least a portion of the year. American Elm trees once dominated the canopies of these forests. Today, due to Dutch Elm disease, these trees usually die before reaching maturity. Black and white ashes grow in abundance in these areas. Their wood is durable and has been used for everything from furniture to early farm implements and baskets. Red and silver maples are frequently encountered in these forests. Due to the drainage of wetlands, only small remnants of these forests remain in the watershed.

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Birds
Given its location in the upper portion of North America, the Black River Watershed is host to over 200 species of birds. These birds have adapted to the variety of habitats encountered in the watershed, including even urban areas. Given the seasonal extremes of the area, many birds are here for only a portion of the year and others are seen only during their fall or spring migrations. The list below shows the seasons of habitation, including:

                S= Summer
                W= Winter
                M= Migrant (parts of fall and spring)

The second column shows habitats to which these birds have adapted, including:

                F=Forest
                W=Wetlands
                M=Meadow, agricultural field, old field, shrubby areas
                C= cities and urban areas

Species	Season	Habitat
Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps	S	W
Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus	S	W
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias	S	W
Great Blue HeronArdea herodias	SW	W
Great EgretArdea alba	S	W
Snowy Egret Egretta thula	S	W
Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea	S	W
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis	S	W
Green Heron Butorides virescens	S	W
Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax	S	W
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea	S	W
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura	S	WFMC
Snow Goose Chen caerulescens	M
Canada Goose Branta canadensis	SW	W
Mute Swan Cygnus olor	SW	W
Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus	M
Wood Duck Aix sponsa	S	W
GadwallAnas strepera	M
American Wigeon Anas americana	M
American Black Duck Anas rubripes	SW	W
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos	SW	W
Blue-winged Teal Anas discors	S	W
Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata	M
Northern Pintail Anas acuta	M
Green-winged Teal Anas crecca	M
Canvasback Aythya valisineria	M
Redhead Aythya americana	M
Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris	M
Greater Scaup Aythya marila	M
Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis	M
White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca	M
Oldsquaw Clangula hyemalis	M
Bufflehead Bucephala albeola	M
Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula	W	W
Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus	M
Common Merganser Mergus merganser	W	W
Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator	W	W
Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis	M
Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus	SW	W
Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus	SW	M
Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus	SW	F
Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii	SW	F
Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis	M
Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus	SW	M
Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus	S	F
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis	SW	FM
Rough-legged Hawk Buteo lagopus	W	M
American Kestrel Falco sparverius	SW	M
Merlin Falco columbarius	M
Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus	SW	M
Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo	SW	FM
Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus	S	W
American Coot Fulica americana	S	W
Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola	M
Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus	M
Piping Plover Charadrius melodus	M
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus	S	MC
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca	M
Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes	M
Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria	M
Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia	S	W
Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda	S	M
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres	M
Red Knot Calidris canutus	M
Sanderling Calidris alba	M
Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla	M
Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla	M
White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis	M
Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos	M
Dunlin Calidris alpina	M
Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus	M
Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus	M
Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago	M
American Woodcock Scolopax minor	S	WFM
Bonaparte's Gull Larus philadelphia	MW
Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis	SW	W
Herring Gull Larus argentatus	SW	W
Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus	W	W
Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus	W	W
Caspian Tern Sterna caspia	M
Common Tern Sterna hirundo	M
Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri	M
Rock Dove Columba livia	SW	MC
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura	SW	FC
Black-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus erythropthalmus	S	F
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus	S	F
Barn Owl Tyto alba	SW	M
Eastern Screech-Owl Otus asio	SW	F
Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus	SW	F
Barred Owl Strix varia	SW	F
Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor	S	C
Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica	S	FMC
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris	S	FM
Belted Kingfisher Ceryle alcyon	S	W
Red-headed Woodpecker Melanerpes erythrocephalus	SW	F
Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus	SW	F
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius	M
Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens	SW	FM
Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus	SW	F
Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus	SW	F
Pileated Woodpecker Dyrocopus pileatus	SW	F
Olive-sided Flycatcher Contopus cooperi	M
Eastern Wood-Pewee Contopus virens	S	F
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Empidonax flaviventris	M
Acadian Flycatcher Empidonax virescens	S	F
Alder Flycatcher Empidonax alnorum	S	WM
Willow Flycatcher Empidonax trailii	S	WM
Least Flycatcher Empidonax minimus	S	WFM
Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe	S	FM
Great Crested Flycatcher Myiarchus crinitus	S	F
Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus	S	WFM
Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus	S	M
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus	S	FM
Yellow-throated Vireo Vireo flavifrons	S	F
Blue-headed (formerly Solitary)Vireo Vireo solitarius	S	F
Warbling Vireo Vireo gilvus	S	F
Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus	S	F
Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata	SW	FMC
American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos	SW	FMC
Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris	SW	WM
Purple Martin Progne subis	S	WM
Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor	S	WM
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis	S	W
Bank Swallow Riparia riparia	S	W
Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota	S	W
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica	S	MC
Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapilla	SW	F
Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor	SW	F
Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis	SW	F
White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis	W	F
Brown Creeper Certhia americana	M
Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus	SW	FM
House Wren Troglodytes aedon	S	WFMC
Winter wren Troglodytes troglodytes	M
Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris	S	W
Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa	M
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula	M
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea	M
Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis	SW	M
Veery Catharus fuscescens	S	F
Gray-cheeked Thrush Catharus minimus	M
Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus	M
Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus	M
Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina	M
American Robin Turdus migratorius	SW	WFMC
Gray Catbird Dumatella carolinensis	S	WFM
Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum	S	MF
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris	SW	FMC
Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum	SW	FC
Blue-winged Warbler Vermivora pinus	S	M
Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora chrysoptera	S	M
Tennessee Warbler Vermivora peregrina	M
Orange-crowned Warbler Vermivora celata	M
Nashville Warbler Vermivora ruficapilla	M
Northern Parula Parula americana	M
Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia	S	WFM
Chestnut-sided Warbler Dendroica pensylvanica	M
Magnolia Warbler Dendroica magnolia	M
Cape May Warbler Dendroica tigrina	M
Black-throated Blue Warbler Dendroica caerulescens	M
Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata	M
Black-throated Green Warbler Dendroica virens	M
Blackburnian Warbler Dendroica fusca	M
Yellow-throated Warbler Dendroica dominica	M
Pine Warbler Dendroica pinus	M
Prairie Warbler Dendroica discolor	M
Palm Warbler Dendroica palmarum	M
Bay-breasted Warbler Dendroica castanea	M
Blackpoll Warbler Dendroica striata	M
Cerulean Warbler Dendroica cerulea	M
Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia	M
American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla	S	F
Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea	S	W
Ovenbird Seirus aurocapillus	S	F
Northern Waterthrush Seirus noveboracensis	M
Louisiana Waterthrush Seiurus motacilla	S	F
Connecticut Warbler Oporornis agilis	M
Mourning Warbler Oporornis philadelphia	M
Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas	S	M
Hooded Warbler Wilsonia citrina	S	F
Wilson's Warbler Wilsonia pusilla	M
Canada Warbler Wilsonia canadensis	M
Yellow-breasted Chat Icteria virens	S	M
Summer Tanager Piranga rubra	S	F
Scarlet Tanager Piranga olivacea	S	F
Eastern Towhee Pipilo erythropthalmus	S	MF
American Tree Sparrow Spizella arborea	W	MF
Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina	S	MC
Field Sparrow Spizella pusilla	S	M
Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus	S	M
Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis	S	M
Grasshopper Sparrow Ammodramus savannarum	S	M
Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca	M
Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia	SW	MW
Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii	M
Swamp Sparrow Melospiza georgiana	SW	W
White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis	W	MF
White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys	W	MF
Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis	W	MFC
Lapland Longspur Calcarius lapponicus	W	M
Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis	W	M
Bobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorus	S	M
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus	S	WM
Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna	S	M
Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus	M
Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula	SW	FMC
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater	SW	M
Orchard Oriole Icterus spurius	S	FM
Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula	S	F
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis	SW	FMC
Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus	S	F
Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea	S	FM
Dickcissel Spiza americana	S	M
Purple Finch Carpodacus purpureus	M
House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus	SW	MC
American Goldfinch Carduelis tristis	SW	MC
House Sparrow Passer domesticus	SW	MC

Season:  S - Summer; W - Winter; M – Migrant (fall and spring)

Habitat:  F – Forest; W – wetland; M – meadow, agricultural field, old field, shrubby areas; C – cities and urban areas

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FISH, REPTILES, AMPHIBIANS
Amphibians are extremely sensitive to changes in their environment because they respire through their skin, which is permeable to toxic pollutants. Amphibians are also sensitive to ultraviolet radiation, temperature, and other environmental factors. They are in decline both globally and locally due to a combination of factors, including widespread habitat loss and possibly ozone depletion, acid rain, disease, and the accumulation of toxic chemicals. Amphibians are difficult to find, as they are secretive, highly camouflaged, and generally subterranean. Yet, they play a crucial ecological role in the food web, as agents of mosquito control, as well as vehicles for material and energy transport in soil systems.

A variety of amphibious species exist within the Black River Watershed. Frog and toad species inhabiting the watershed include: American and Fowler’s toads, northern spring peeper, gray tree frog, western chorus frog, bullfrog, green frog, pickerel frog, and wood frog. Salamander species include: mudpuppy (which frequent large streams and rivers); eastern spotted newt (which require permanent pools for breeding); the Ambystomids – (Jefferson, smallmouth, spotted, silvery, tiger, and marbled salamanders); and the Plethodontids – (dusky, two-lined, red-backed, slimy, and ravine salamanders). All but the last three species require streams or wetlands for feeding and breeding habitats.

At one time, the watershed supported thousands of salamander populations that covered many square miles. Today, they are reduced to a few populations. For example, only one population each of Jefferson, silvery, and tiger salamanders is known to exist. A dozen known populations exist of spotted salamanders and perhaps two dozen populations of smallmouth salamanders. The single known marbled salamander population has been decimated.

These salamander populations are greatly dispersed and genetically isolated, as are local frog species. Instead of breeding in swamp forest pools that once covered hundreds of acres, these amphibians are now confined to isolated wet patches, called vernal pools, which fill with fall and spring rains, but usually dry out by July. These temporary wetlands are frequently not recognized as protected lands by developers and regulators. Though seasonal, these vernal pools are the most ecologically and biotically important wetlands in the area. Without them, many salamanders and many species of frogs would quickly disappear. The Ambystomid salamanders, for example, live in underground tunnels and follow early spring rains, migrating to swamp forests or vernal pools to breed.

Vernal pools range widely in size, some covering several acres and others spanning just a dozen feet across. They form in depressions left by uprooted trees or in other low spots in woods, streambeds, and swales within floodplains and are characterized by the presence of such trees as the swamp cottonwood, black willow, sycamore, pumpkin and green/red ash, black willow, American elm, and silver maple. Vernal pools also contain fowl manna grass, and a number of sedges such as Carex crinita, C. intumescens, C. grayi, C. lupulina, C. seorsa, and C. bromoides. Pools exposed to more sun will develop additional herbaceous species such as buttonbush, moneywort, water purslane, swamp dock, and sensitive fern. In dry months, vernal pools are generally barren of herbaceous vegetation, appearing as basins of blackened leaves with a scurfy fringe of green sedges and fowl manna grass. While wet, they contain the eggs of countless insects and crustaceans hatch. During the spring, vernal pools fizz with life: fairy shrimp, protists, amphipods, water fleas and copepods lace and cloud the water with their movements. Water striders, water boatmen, and other insects ply the surface at their predatory trades. Dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, beetles and their larvae, ostracods, fingernail clams, frog and toad tadpoles, and isopods graze or hunt in the leaf litter at the pool’s bottom.

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MAMMALS
Mammals once common to the area included black bears, river otters, mountain lions, martens, muskrats, wolves, bobcats, gray foxes, white tailed deer, elk, and raccoons. Mammal populations have been affected by the recent growth in; human activity as many species lack the ecological range and habitat needed to sustain healthy populations. In some cases, as with the white tailed deer, animal populations lack their natural predators due to human impacts.   As a result, these animal populations tend to proliferate and overwhelm the food supplies in crowded forest communities.

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EMERGENCE OF WETLANDS
Much of the biological diversity in the Black River Watershed is concentrated in the fragmented wetland communities throughout the area. As the predominant ecosystem type prior to European settlement, the wetlands in the Black River Watershed reveal valuable information about the species and communities that once proliferated throughout the watershed. Ohio’s present wetlands date back to the end of the Ice Age, about 12,000 years ago. When the glaciers retreated, they left behind altered stream valleys and coated the landscape with a layer of glacial till. The biotic community that colonized the landscape as it was released from the grip of the ice consisted of a mixture of southern (“Carolinian”) species and northern (“boreal”) organisms whose propagules (seeds, spores, and eggs) survived physical transportation by the ice. For example, the watershed included larch trees from northern climes as well as the Carolinian oaks and hickories. The Black River Watershed also hosted about 90 (and likely more before European settlement) of Ohio’s 150 species of sedges. Sedges are part of the Cyperaceae family, resembling grasses but having solid rather than hollow stems.

The action of glaciers led to the formation of bogs in the watershed. Bogs are rich ecosystems that formed in areas where large chunks of ice broke off of melting glaciers and became surrounded by the till that washed out as the glaciers receded. As the ice chunks slowly melted, they left a depression called a kettle hole, in which water collected. The ecology of bogs is characterized by acidic conditions and the presence of water with few or no inlets or outlets. Bogs are ombrotrophic, meaning that their water levels vary according to rates of evaporation and rainfall. The remains of incompletely decayed vegetation accumulate in bogs. The chemical by-products of this slow decomposition include acids. This acidic environment becomes toxic, limiting the presence of bacteria and fungi essential to the decaying process. The bog’s decaying plant material slowly forms a floating mat that supports a living biotic community, giving rise to the term “quaking bog.” Sphagnum moss species compete well in such environments and tend to further acidify the system.

Although physically wet, the low pH of bogs makes it difficult for many plant species to extract water with their roots, allowing such species as blueberries, which are typically adapted to dry conditions, to flourish. Another characteristic of bogs is the low nutrient content of the organic soils that exerts selective pressures, favoring carnivorous species. These carnivorous plants, such as sundew and pitcher plant, supplement their nitrogen diet by trapping and digesting insects.

While many bogs have been drained for agriculture, the finest remaining example of a bog in Lorain County is Camden Bog. Acquired by Oberlin College in 1991, Camden Bog is located in the Vermilion River watershed, which lies to the west of the Black River. The historical existence of bogs in the area is apparent from the presence of organic bog soils, called Carlisle Muck (abbreviated with the code “Cg”on soil maps). Most Cg soils in Lorain County are in Camden, Henrietta, and Columbia Townships, outside of the Black River Watershed. A few areas with Cg soils exist within the watershed, mostly in Russia, Brighton, Wellington, and Pittsfield Townships.

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EXOTIC INVASIVE PLANTS
The introduction of exotic and invasive plants presents a significant ecological threat in the Black River Watershed. These are plants that originate from another part of the world (exotic) and proliferate by outcompeting local plants (invasive). Substantial populations of exotic herbaceous and woody species, mostly of European or Asian origin, are now firmly established throughout the Black River Watershed. Most pervasive is a collection of early successional species dominated by summer annuals and herbaceous perennials that regularly compete with local row crops (such as corn and soybeans). These species often dominate disturbed habitats such as roadsides and construction sites. They occur less frequently in naturally disturbed communities, particularly in areas such as regularly scoured sandbars along waterways. Invasive species commonly encountered in upland forests include Amaranthus spp., Chenopodium alba, Cirsium arvense, certain Polygonum spp., the foxtail grasses (Setaria spp.) and Xanthium stramarium (cocklebur). Tussilago farfara (colt’s foot), Phragmites communes (flag grass), and Typha angustifolia, among others, colonize wet sites and floodplains, sometimes crowding out native flora. Local forest understory habitats remain relatively free of invaders, with the notable exception of Allaria petiolata, the garlic mustard.

Naturalized woody exotics constitute the greatest threat to the watershed’s remaining natural communities. Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) is especially invasive. Over the last several decades, it has become a conspicuous and troublesome component of the understory in many local forests. Its bird-dispersed seeds facilitate rapid colonization of fallow farm fields, sometimes rendering these sites unusable (along with Cretaegus spp.for grazing within a few years. Additional woody species invading from adjacent managed plantings include members of Berberis, Euonymous, Ligustrum(privet), and Rhamnus (buckthorn). Uncontrolled, these aggressive exotic species can transform natural landscapes, reducing biodiversity and physical access with dense, sometimes thorny, low-growing canopies. The density of alien woody species is increasing so rapidly that controlling it will be difficult to nearly impossible within the next two decades.

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HUMAN MODIFICATIONS
The Black River Watershed contains several fragments of once abundant forest and wetland communities. Human activity, particularly over the last 100 years, has drastically altered the composition of forests and habitat in the area. By the early 1900’s, most forests were cleared and burned by settlers and farmers. Wetlands were drained to create fields for agriculture and support the establishment of new settlements for recent immigrants. The composition of forests changed as they adapted to conditions altered by human activity. The introduction of exotic European and Asian plants has altered the mix of species encountered in the woods and wetland areas.

Fortunately, the emerging field of restoration ecology has the potential to reclaim biologically impoverished sites. Restoration ecology involves the re-introduction of native forest and wetland habitats through hydrological modifications, the introduction of native seed varieties, and the control of invasive, exotic species. Wetland banks have led to the establishment or expansion of wetland communities throughout the watershed (unfortunately, these banks are often established as a result of wetland destruction elsewhere). Many residents and businesses are now utilizing natural landscaping techniques that incorporate native species and help to repair the fragmented ecological fabric of the Black River Watershed. While the original ecological integrity of the Black River Watershed will never be fully restored, an increasing number of tools and techniques are becoming available to land-owners or residents interested in restoring native ecological conditions.

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