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Flora and Fauna for Acadia       National Park!

Winter wonderland! View from Cadillac Mountain looking towards the Cranberry Islands.

Flora:

There has been a long history of botanical exploration in and around Acadia National Park. "Flora of Mount Desert Island, Maine", authored by Rand and Redfield, in 1894. This benchmark publication cataloged vascular plants, mosses, algae and lichens. Acadia has over 1100 vascular plant species that represent a wide diversity of plant life adapted to thrive in acidic, low nutrient bogs and rocky, treeless mountain summits. Grasses and wildflowers abound in park meadows, and lakes and ponds are home to emergent and floating aquatic vegetation. Almost one quarter of Acadia's flora is non-native, and about 25 species are state-listed rare plants. It is evident that 300 years of human settlement and land use have changed the composition of plant communities throughout Acadia National Park.                                                                                                            

 

Ferns: Visitors to Acadia National Park will undoubtedly find many ferns, an interesting group of spore-producing plants. They thrive in cool, moist, shaded areas, which are quite common on the coast of Maine! Some of the easier-to-recognize ferns are species of rock polypody which appear almost identical, and are often found growing in leaf litter duff on top of large rocks. The fronds are singular and look like they are growing in a small colony or mat. If you turn one of the fronds over you may see the round sori, clusters of spore-producing structures, on the underside.

 

Freshwater Plants: Freshwater (also referred to as "aquatic") plants are probably one of the most conspicuous features of the lakes, ponds, and streams of Acadia National Park. Approximately 80 species of freshwater plants can be found in the park, with an additional dozen species that are considered semi-aquatic shoreline species. Some freshwater plants grow completely submerged. Others are rooted in the bottom, but their leaves or flowers may be on or above the water's surface. These are respectively known as "floating" and "emergent" vegetation. All freshwater plants are important members of the aquatic community, providing shelter and nesting sites to a variety of fishes and other animals, and serving as an important food source for mammals.

 

Grasses: The amateur would probably call all of these grasses, but in fact some are sedges and some are rushes. Here is a little rhyme to help tell the three apart: "sedges have edges, rushes are round, and grasses have joints." Sedges usually have a triangular stem, rushes have round stems, and grasses have a jointed stem. Sedges, grasses and rushes often inhabit wet areas. All of them have flowers; they just aren't showy. Take a closer look and you will be amazed at the diversity of these wind-pollinated wildflowers!

 

Mosses and Liverworts:  Mosses, like ferns, reproduce by spores. Sphagnum species are common and come in shades of green, red and brown. Bog hummocks, which are small mounds of Sphagnum, often form to create an undulating bog surface. Therefore, the species of Sphagnum growing on the top of the hummocks are usually different from the ones growing between the hummocks!

 

Wildflowers: If you are in a wooded area of Acadia National Park, you are likely to find common, native woodland flowers, such as wild lily-of-the-valley bunchberry, goldthread, bluebead lily, and starflower. Bunchberry is a member of the dogwood family and has dogwood-like white flowers in spring and red "bunchberries" later in the season. Notice the arcuate venation on its leaves, a hallmark of the dogwood family. Bluebead lily has a pale yellow flower in spring and later a striking blue, bead-like fruit that is poisonous. Goldthread gets its common name from its golden thread-like roots. You can take a peak at the gold threads without harm to the plant by carefully pulling the soil or moss away from the roots and then pushing it back.

 In August and September Acadia's native wildflowers, the asters and goldenrods, both in the aster family, are in full bloom. of. Each "she loves me, she loves me not" petal is actually a complete flower So what appears to be one aster or daisy flower is made up of many disk and ray flowers densely packed together. If you look very carefully at goldenrods you will see that they too are made up of tiny daisy-like "flowers".

Fauna:

From the brook trout breaking the surface of Bubble Pond to the peregrine falcon soaring high over Jordan Cliffs, the land, water, and sky at Acadia are filled with a wide variety of animal life. Some call the park their home, others are simply passing through en route to a far-off destination, but all are closely tied to this unique and fragile environment.

 

Amphibians: The lakes, ponds, streams, and ephemeral vernal pools of Acadia National Park are rich in amphibian life. Eleven amphibian species, including frogs, salamanders, and one toad, have been identified on park lands and three other species have been historically reported in the park. Salamanders find clever hiding spots in wooded areas, wetlands, and streams, but can be seen by the astute observer!

 

Birds: With a record of 338 bird species encountered, Acadia National Park is considered one of the premier bird-watching areas in the country. Through the years, park staff and countless amateurs have observed the gradual extension of southern and temperate bird species to the region. Twenty-three species of warblers alone have been recorded as breeding in the park! Acadia's offshore islands are also important nesting grounds for many birds, often marking the southern breeding limit for the species. Due to their secluded location and productive marine environment, the offshore islands administered by the park also serve as a critical nesting habitat for eiders and other sea birds, raptors, colonial birds as well as providing important wintering habitat for northern shorebirds and harlequin ducks. Both the swift peregrine falcon and the bald eagle actively use areas within Acadia National Park.

 

Fish: Historic records indicate that 31 fish species have been encountered in the lakes, ponds, and brooks of Acadia National Park, although only 28 species can be found today. While brook trout, lake trout, landlocked salmon, and smallmouth bass are perennial favorites of anglers visiting the park, many of Acadia's fish are non-game species. The American eel, the banded killifish, and 3 species of sticklebacks are only part of the diversity of freshwater fish varieties found at Acadia. 

The other Wildlife facts are as followed:

§                                                         Eleven species of amphibians have recently been identified on park lands and two other species have been historically reported in the park.

§                                                         Over 273 species of birds have been identified on Mount Desert Island and in the adjacent waters.

§                                                         Twenty-one wood warblers nest on Mount Desert Island.

§                                                         Twenty-four species of fish have been found in island lakes and ponds, including several species that are introduced.

§                                                         Over a thousand species from 18 phyla of invertebrates have been reported from the park and Mount Desert Island area.

§                                                         Insect inventories completed in the late 1940's reported over 6500 species and subspecies of insects for the Mount Desert Island area. Additional species have been identified.

§                                                         Forty mammal species have been identified on park lands and more than a dozen other terrestrial and marine mammals have been identified on adjacent lands or water bodies.

§                                                         Seven species of reptiles have recently been identified on park lands and four other species have been historically reported on the island.

 

The Latitude and Longitude for Cadllic Mountain are as followed:         44 degrees 21 minutes 04.53 seconds North (44 21 04.53 N)
68 degrees 13 minutes 37.542 seconds West (68 13 37.542 W)
North American Datum of 1927 (NAD-27)
460 meters above sea level

 

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