Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Neotropical migrants, such as the black-throated green warbler and northern oriole, depend upon the varied habitats of
the temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome.
Not surprisingly, the Atlantic Ocean exerts a strong influence on the vegetation dynamics, especially in
coastal regions, and nowhere more so than along the Bay of Fundy, where strong winds, cooler summers, and
shallow soils lead to conifer-dominated forests in which red spruce is prevalent. Along the Atlantic coast of
Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, white spruce is the dominant conifer, as it is best able to tolerate salt spray.
More sheltered areas bordering the warmer waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence allow for better growth of hard-
woods.
The mixture of hardwoods and conifers attracts an equally rich mixture of bird types, of which 230 breed in
the region. These include typical boreal species that prefer coniferous forests, such as sparrows, flycatchers,
and woodpeckers, and along the coastlines of the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, typical
northern breeding species such as the blackpoll warbler. At the same time, the deciduous forests are a haven
for hardwood-loving species such as eastern wood-pewee, black-throated blue warbler, black-and-white
warbler, and scarlet tanager. In total, some 468 species have been recorded in the Maritime Provinces and
Gaspé Peninsula (the Atlantic Maritime ecozone) alone. More than a third of these are vagrants,
however—either land birds blown into the region during their migration by the predominant westerly winds
off the continent, or wandering seabirds “wrecked” on land by northeasterly storms over the Atlantic. This
same region is home to 58 nonmarine mammal species, and a handful more farther south in New England.
