Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Characteristic large mammals include moose, black bear, red fox, snowshoe hare, porcupine, fisher, beaver,
bobcat, marten, muskrat, and raccoon.
Typical northern and southern species of birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles mix here and in some
cases reach the limits of their tolerance. Many northern species such as mink frog, merlin, Wilson's warbler,
and moose reach their southern limits in New England, whereas others—including timber rattlesnake, slimy
salamander, opossum, and least shrew—fetch up against their northern limits.
A string bog mirrors the stark beauty of the boreal forest.
The boreal forest, whose climax species are balsam fir and black spruce, occupies the mountainous regions
of the Maritime Provinces and northern Maine but has total dominion in Newfoundland and Labrador and on
the North Shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Black spruce, along with paper birch and aspen, dominates on
disturbed sites, while the salt-tolerant white spruce grows in areas affected by sea spray. The boreal forest is
prime habitat for many of the same species found in the New England/Acadian Forest— moose, black bear,
and red fox—but it is also home to distinctive species such as lynx and woodland caribou. On exposed head-
lands, high winds create barrens, covered only by moss-heath vegetation, or cause the krummholz effect,
whereby trees suffer dwarfism. Arctic plants appear in disjunct populations, especially on alpine peaks of the
Appalachian chain, and Arctic hares appear at the southernmost limits of their continental range in Newfound-
land's Long Range Mountains.
