NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND 
     
     P.0. BOX 2346, CHARLOTTETOHN, P.E.I. ClA 8C1 
     
    
   
   
    
     MEETINGS are held on the first Tuesday of the month (except June, July, August, 
     
     and September) at 7:30 p.m{ at the Farm Centre on University Avenue, 
     
     Charlottetown. Members and non—members are welcome. Please bring your coffee 
     
     cup so that we will contribute as little as possible to the waste stream. 
     
    
   
   
    
     MEMBERSHIP is open to anyone interested in the natural history of Prince Edward 
     
     Island. Membership is available at any meeting or by contacting Dan McAskill, 
     
     Charlottetown RR # 5, Donagh, P.E.I. CIA 7J8 (phone 569-4351). Annual 
     
     membership rates are: single - 54; family - $5. Renewals are due in January. 
     
     Membership expiry dates are in the top right hand corner of the mailing label. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Society is directed by a volunteer executive elected from its members. 
     
     1990 Executive: President.......Pat Hootton, Charlottetown 892-5761 or 962-3641 
     
    
   
   
    
     Vice-President. . . . . . . . . ..Hendell MacKay, Stanley Bridge 886-2495 
     
     Past President...........Sue Stephenson, Charlottetown 368-2789 
     
     Secretary...... . . . . ......Barbara Currie, Charlottetown 894-9297 
     
     Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...........Dan McAskill, Donagh 569-4351 
     
     Directors............ . . . . . . . ..Vic Toews, Charlottetown 566-4998 
     
    

    
     . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Mary Beth Harris, Battery Point 569-2665 
     
    
   
   
    
     NEWSLETTERS are published bi-monthly on recycled paper. Articles, notes, 
     
     reports, drawings, etc. are welcomed from members and non-members. If you have 
     
     seen anything unusual, please share it with us. It is important to have your 
     
     observations recorded so that others may learn from them. "Today's notations 
     
     become tomorrow‘s history". All contributions should be sent to: 
     
    

    
     Dan McAskill, The Newsletter Editor 
     
    

    
     Natural History Society of Prince Edward Island 
     
    

    
     Charlottetown RR # 5, Donagh, P.E.I. ClA 7J8 
     
     The next newsletter deadline is December 10th, 1990. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Natural History Society gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance 
     
     from the Department of Tourism and Parks which enables the newsletters to be 
     
     distributed to schools and libraries and to members. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Natural History Society is an affiliate of the Canadian Nature Federation 
     
     and has representation on the board of the Island Nature Trust. The Society is 
     
     a registered, non-profit organization. Tax receipts are issued for donations to 
     
     the Society and these funds are used to further the work of the Society. 
     
     Editors of other newsletters are welcome to reprint articles from the Island 
     
     Naturalist (except when copyrighted). Acknowledgment would be appreciated. 
     
    
   
   
    
     THIS MONTHS COVER 
     
    

    
     The American Smelt (Osmerus mordax) is common in our bays and estuaries at 
     
     this time of year. Many Islanders take to harbour wharves each fall and to ice 
     
     shacks in winter to fish this species. The smelt is anadramous, i.e. it lives 
     
     in salt water for much of its 3 to 5 year life but spawns in fresh water. 
     
     Copepod and other planktonic forms are its primary food when small while larger 
     
     smelt take amphipods, euphausiids, mysids, shrimp, marine worms, and any small 
     
     fish that are available. It in turn is food for cod, salmon, cormorant, seals. 
     
    
   
   
    
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