East Sister Island (Ontario)

For the island in the Bay of Bengal, see East Sister Island (Andaman).

East Sister Island

East Sister Island
Geography
Location	Lake Erie
Coordinates	41°48′47″N82°51′23″W / 41.81306°N 82.85639°W / 41.81306; -82.85639
Archipelago	Sister Islands
Major islands	East Sister Island and West Sister Island
Area	0.15 km2 (0.058 sq mi)
Highest elevation	571 ft (174 m)
Administration
Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Essex
Township	Pelee
Demographics
Population	uninhabited nature reserve

East Sister Island is a 15 hectare island in Ontario, Canada, located within Lake Erie. It has no long-term human population and is maintained as a Provincial Nature Reserve. ^[1]

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. ^[2] Their droppings have threatened the forest, a relict of Carolinian forest in southern Ontario. ^[3] The forests of the island are dominated by the common hackberry and Kentucky coffeetree. ^[4] Unusual species on the island include the wild hyacinth ^[5] and the Lake Erie water snake, Nerodia sipedon insularum. ^[6]

East Sister Island is in the northwest quadrant of this map.

References

1. "East Sister Island (Ontario Parks)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
2. "East Sister Island". Ontario Parks . Archived from the original on 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2018-09-09. East Sister is the one island of the Erie Archipelago that escaped being logged.
3. 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 . 69 (1). The Wildlife Society: 68–76. doi:10.2193/0022-541X(2005)069<0068:UIHMBT>2.0.CO;2 . Retrieved 2009-03-23.
4. Parks Ontario. "East Sister Island Provincial Park Management Plan". Ontario.ca. Queen's Printer for Ontario. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
5. "Wild Hyacinth" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-03-23.
6. 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.