East Sister Island

East Sister Island

East Sister Island
Geography
Location	Lake Erie
Coordinates	41°48′47″N 82°51′23″W / 41.81306°N 82.85639°WCoordinates: 41°48′47″N 82°51′23″W / 41.81306°N 82.85639°W
Archipelago	Sister Islands
Major islands	East Sister Island and West Sister Island
Area	0.15 km^2 (0.058 sq mi)
Highest elevation	571 ft (174 m)
Country
Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Essex
Township	Pelee
Demographics
Population	uninhabited nature reserve

East Sister Island is a 15 hectare island in Ontario, located within Lake Erie, maintained as a Provincial Nature Reserve.^[1] This large, wooded, Lake Erie island is uninhabited except for thousands of birds.

The island is part of the Pelee Archipelago which also includes West Sister Island (in Ohio, USA) and Middle Sister Island.

Flora and fauna

The island has become the home of a breeding colony of double-crested cormorants. Their droppings have threatened the forest, a relict of Carolinian forest in southern Ontario. ^[2] Unusual species on the island include the wild hyacinth ^[3] and the Lake Erie water snake, Nerodia sipedon insularum.^[4]

References

1. "East Sister Island (Ontario Parks)" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-03-22.
2. Hebert, Craig E.; Jason Duffe; D. V. Chip Weseloh; E. M. Ted Senese; G. Douglas Haffner (2005). Schmutz, ed. "Unique Island Habitats May Be Threatened By Double-crested Cormorants" (On-line journal). Journal of Wildlife Management (The Wildlife Society) 69 (1): 68–76. doi:10.2193/0022-541X(2005)069<0068:UIHMBT>2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
3. "Wild Hyacinth" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-03-23.
4. King, Richard B.; Alejandro Queral-Regil; Kristin M. Stanford (2006). "POPULATION SIZE AND RECOVERY CRITERIA OF THE THREATENED LAKE ERIE WATERSNAKE: INTEGRATING MULTIPLE METHODS OF POPULATION ESTIMATION". Herpetological Monographs 20: 83–104. doi:10.1655/0733-1347(2007)20[83:PSARCO]2.0.CO;2.