The Natural Treasures of Carolinian Canada: Discovering the Rich Natural Diversity of Ontario's Southwestern Heartland.

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

There’s a stretch of southwestern Ontario that has the distinction of being the most biologically diverse patch of Canada. Its claim to fame, however, is more likely to be based on its status as the most densely populated area in Canada. Oops! All those cities, subdivisions, factories, farms, highways, and industries on top of a very fragile, very rare ecosystem do not make for the happiest of bedfellows. When muscular urban sprawl encroaches on endangered lady slipper orchids, delicate swallowtail butterflies, and colourful little salamanders, it’s no contest, and Canadians are the losers.

The area is the most southern part of Canada, a stretch from Toronto to Windsor which, in climate and biodiversity, has a lot in common with the U.S. states of North and South Carolina. Its distinctive habitats are the most threatened in North America; one-third of Canada’s rare and endangered species are found here. It’s an area known for southern species such as tulip, pawpaw, sassafras and swamp cottonwood trees, Virginia opossum, southern flying squirrel, and the endangered badger. More than 180 species of birds nest here, of which 30 have the heart of their range in the southeastern United States. These include some of Canada’s rarest birds, such as the prothonotary warbler, Acadian flycatcher, and king rail. It is home to 50 of Ontario’s 79 mammal species, 28 at-risk fish species, Canada’s greatest diversity of amphibians and reptiles, and the largest number of imperiled bugs in Canada. A leafhopper known to exist nowhere else on earth lives here. As does our only lizard and the rare riffleshell mussel.

This book brings together the work of 19 authors to detail the value of, and advocate for, the area. They review 200 years of human impact, including the introduction of invasive exotic species and pathogens, the interrelatedness of habitat and species survival, and the progress made by voluntary stewardship conservation agreements. Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation are identified as the main cause of losses in all species.

The text is detailed yet slanted for the general reader. Over 160 quality colour photos illustrate the immense diversity of vegetation and mammal, avian, insect, fish, reptile, and amphibian life of the area. A glossary, index, bibliography, and list of websites for relevant organizations strengthen the work’s value as a reference and working tool for naturalists and conservationists.