The vascular flora of Akimiski Island, Nunavut Territory, Canada

• Main Authors: Blaney, C. Sean, Kotanen, Peter M.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Ottawa Field Naturalists Club 2000
• Subjects: Akimiski Island; biodiversity; flora; global change; James Bay; Nunavut; Lesser Snow Geese; Arctic; Hudson Bay; Canada; Hudson; Akimiski island; Climate change
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/73667

This is the accepted manuscript of an article published by the Ottawa Field Naturalists Club. The James Bay region is floristically little known. In this paper, we substantially expand and revise the flora of the largest of the James Bay islands: Akimiski Island, Nunavut Territory. We have added 73 taxa in 32 families, for a total of 273 native taxa and 5 exotics. In addition, we have updated taxonomy and have provided information on rarity. A large fraction of the plants on Akimiski are classed as uncommon or rare in Ontario; in many cases, these represent either coastal species, or species near their geographic range limits. Some may be threatened by climate change and habitat degradation. This is a publication of the Hudson Bay Project. This work would have been impossible without the financial and logistical assistance of the Hudson Bay Project, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Wildlife Habitat Canada, the Arctic Goose Joint Venture, the Northern Scientific Training Program, and NSERC.