MONTANA STATE This "cover" page added by the Internet Archive for formatting purposes STATE DOCUMENTS COLLECTION MA L 1993 MONTANA STATE LIBRARY 1515 E. 6th AVE. HELENA, MONTANA 59S20 MONITORING POPULATIONS OF SHOSHONEA PULVINATA IN THE PRYOR AND BEARTOOTH MOUNTAINS, CARBON COUNTY, MONTANA 1991 ESTABLISHMENT REPORT Prepared by: Peter Lesica P.O. Box 8944 Missoula, Montana 59807 and Peter L. Achuff Montana Natural Heritage Program State Library Building 1515 East Sixth Avenue Helena, Montana 59620 Prepared for: Bureau of Land Management Montana State Office P.O. Box 36800 Billings, Montana 59107 November 1991 r s ; ; tJ & ua ttssn J ti - I- INTRODUCTION Passage of the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 and subsequent recognition of the value of conserving biotic diversity (Wilson 1988) have resulted in many government agencies becoming active in species conservation. Surveys to determine the location and size of populations of rare species are being conducted on public lands throughout the west. These surveys are necessary in any species conservation program; however, knowing the location and size of populations at any one point in time is only the first step in a long-term protection strategy (Sutter 1986) . Understanding the population dynamics of long-lived perennials is especially difficult because noticeable changes usually occur slowly, and important growth-limiting population- level events, such as bouts of recruitment or catastrophic mortality may occur only at infrequent intervals (Braughman and Murphy 1990) . Thus, long-term monitoring of growth, fecundity, recruitment and mortality is essential for understanding the condition and trends of plant populations, particularly long- lived, slow-growing species. Shoshonea (Shoshonea pulvinata Evert & Constance) is a long- lived, mat-forming perennial in the Carrot Family (Apiaceae) . This recently described species (Evert and Constance^ 1982) comprises a monotypic genus endemic to the Beartooth and Pryor mountain ranges of Carbon County, Montana and the Absaroka and Owl Creek ranges of Park and Fremont counties, Wyoming (Lesica and Shelly 1988). In Montana, shoshonea is generally restricted to shallow, calcareous soils of exposed limestone outcrops, rims, ridgetops and talus slopes at 6,800-7,800 ft (Lesica and Shelly 1988) . In Montana, there are no apparent, immediate threats to populations of shoshonea. However, the species is threatened in the Beartooth Mountains by potential mining or oil and gas development and, in the Pryor Mountains, by grazing of wild horses. The species is ranked as G2G3/S1 (globally threatened, state endangered) by the Montana Natural Heritage Program and is considered sensitive in Montana (Lesica and Shelly 1991) . Shoshonea is listed as sensitive by Region One of the U.S. Forest Service (Lesica and Shelly 1991) and is a candidate for listing as a threatened or endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USDI-FWS 1990) . This report describes the establishment of long-term monitoring studies at three sites in Carbon County, Montana. We also detail the methods used in reading the permanent transects and present the first year's data. Finally, we discuss statistical methods for analyzing the data. METHODS Study Sites Grove Creek Location: From the town of Belfry, take Hwy 72 south ca . 9 miles to the secondary road that crosses the Clark's Fork Yellowstone River. After crossing the river proceed west ca. 1 mile to a T-intersection. Proceed north, following the signs for the Meeteetse Trail. Continue for ca. 11 miles to the crossing of the South Fork of Grove Creek. Cross the creek and go west for a short distance and then go right and continue along the face of the mountains rather than going up into the canyon. Continue for ca. 1 mile to the North Fork of Grove Creek. Cross the creek and take the road into the canyon as far as it goes. At this point follow the trail up into the canyon, and once the cliffs are passed, turn north and climb to the ridge just west of the cliff-forming ridge (see Fig. 1). T8S R20E S26, NE1/4 of NW1/4; ca . 7,000 ft. The transect is on a narrow portion of the ridge ca. 100 yds west of the highest point of the ridge in Section 26. The two ends of the transect are marked by reinforcing bar pounded into the ground and painted red on top. Line Bearing: start to end 353° Line Length: 10 meters Instructions: start at north end of transect; read west side of transect line. Mystery Cave Ridge Location: From Big Ice Cave turnout on top of the Pryor Range, proceed north and east ca . 5 miles on the main secondary road towards Dryhead Vista Point. One mile west of Dryhead Vista the road forks; take the right fork and proceed on this deteriorating road east and south 4.1 miles to an old cabin. Continue south for ca . 3/10 mile to a fork in the road. Follow the left fork of the road ca. 1 mile to the end (the right fork goes to Mystery Cave Road site) . From the end of the road, hike east ca. 1/6 mile to a north-south ridge. Follow this ridge downhill to the south for ca . 1/3 mile to the site (Fig. 2). The ridge forks just north of the site, so stay on the west side of the ridge. T8S R28E S21, SE1/4 of SW1/4 ; ca . 7,550 ft. Figure 1. Location of Grove Creek Shoshonea pulvinata monitoring transect. The transect is on the west edge of the ridge in an area where it is relatively broad and open. Both ends of the transect are marked by reinforcing bar pounded into the ground and painted red on top. Line Bearing: Not recorded Line Length: 10.15 meters Instructions: Start at north end of transect; read the west (downhill) side of the transect. Mystery Cave Road Location: From Big Ice Cave turnout on top of the Pryor Range, proceed north and east ca . 5 miles on the main secondary road towards Dryhead Vista Point. One mile west of Dryhead Vista the road forks; take the right fork and proceed on this deteriorating road east and south 4.1 miles to an old cabin. Continue south for ca . 3/10 mile to a fork in the road. Follow the right fork of the road ca . 1.5 mile to a narrow section of the ridge where the road is just slightly to the east of the exact crest. Just east of the site on the east side of the road is a stump with a board that is painted red on top. T8S R28E S20, SE1/4 of SE1/4 ; ca . 7,520 ft. Figure 2. Location of (A) Mystery Cave Ridge and (B) Mystery Cave Road Shoshonea pulvinata monitoring transects The transect is in open Douglas fir forest on the west side of the ridge. Both ends of the transect are marked by reinforcing bar pounded into the ground and painted red on top. Line Bearing: Not recorded Line Length: 12 meters Instructions: Start at north end of transect; read west (downhill) side of transect line. Field Procedures At each site place the end ring of the meter-tape over the start pin and stretch the tape to the end pin, making sure that the tape is taut. Using a meter-stick and the meter-tape, record the coordinates (in centimeters) for the center of each plant that occurs along the line and within 50 cm of the line on the west side. After the coordinates of each plant have been recorded, its size is estimated using a 50 cm X 50 cm sheet of clear plexiglass marked into a grid of sguares that are 4 cm X 4 cm each. Place this grid on top of the shoshonea cushion in a random orientation and count the number of 1/4-squares that are filled by green vegetation (Fig. 3). Many larger plants have died out in the center; this dead region is not counted. Finally, for each plant, count the number of inflorescences. Repeat this procedure for every shoshonea plant in the 50-cm wide belt transect defined by the tape. Data Reduction In each transect, each shoshonea plant is assigned a unique alpha-numeric code that identifies it. If the plant occurs in the first meter of the belt transect, it is given the code "1" followed by a letter assigned in order. In 1991 there were six plants recorded in the first 1 meter of the Grove Creek transect. We have assigned these six plants the following codes la, lb, lc, Id, le and If (Appendix A). These unique codes remain assigned to the plant at that location for the duration of the study. If a new plant appears in the first meter of this belt transect in subsequent years, it will be assigned the code lg, etc. Assigning a unique alpha-numeric code to each plant allows us to easily follow the fate of individuals during the course of the study. For each plant, count the number of 1/4-squares and multiply the total by 4. This gives the area of the foliage in square- centimeters. Each plant's size and reproductive status can now be summarized using the following codes: Figure 3. Use of plexiglass grid to estimate area of S. pulvinata plant. From left to right and top to bottom, the number of filled 1/4-squares are 2,2,2,1,3,2,1,2,0; 15 1/4- squares=60 cm2. I . mm ' •! y y , \ > . / 10 A (area) = area of vegetation in square-cm I (inflorescences) = number of inflorescences Thus, a plants with an area of 6 1/4-squares and 3 inflorescences is coded, A24-I3. Statistical Analysis For the purpose of analysis, each plant is treated as an independent observation. Two dependent variables may be derived from the data: (1) plant size, a measure of plant vigor, and (2) number of inflorescences, a measure of fecundity. Both variables can be analyzed with a mixed-model analysis of variance (ANOVA) (Sokal and Rohlf 1981) with year as the fixed factor and plant as the random factor. If only two years are being analyzed, the ANOVA reduces to a paired-samples t-test. If more than two years are analyzed, the ANOVA is followed by a contrast or multiple range test to determine which pairs of years are significantly different . There are three sources of variation for these dependent variables in a long-term study: (1) experimental error, resulting from counting or measuring inaccuracies, (2) short-term changes resulting from year-to-year climatic fluctuations, and (3) long- term changes - positive or negative trends resulting from habitat 11 enhancement or degradation (e.g. climate change, gradual changes in predation pressure, introduction of a pathogen, etc.). It is only the last source of variation that is of interest in a long- term monitoring study; (1) and (2) are "noise" that must be removed to reveal the long-term trends. The long-term changes can be separated by using a temporally stratified sampling design. Transects are read for 2-4 consecutive years and then reread for 2-4 consecutive years at 5 to 10-year intervals following the baseline period. For example transects might be read yearly in 1991-1993 and then again in 1998-1999. A mixed- model ANOVA can be used to analyze these data. Period (1991-1993 and 1998-1999) is the fixed factor with years within period as replications, and plant is the random factor. A significant effect due to period would indicate a trend. Variation due to experimental error and short-term fluctuations comprise the error term in the ANOVA. Data may have to be transformed before analysis. A less rigorous analysis for two years of data may be performed by scoring each plant as either bigger or smaller (disregarding those that stayed the same) and examining the data array visually to determine if equal numbers of plants are increasing and decreasing in size. 12 Results and Discussion Summary statistics for sample size, reproduction and fecundity for Shoshonea pulvinata are presented in Table 1. There was a great deal of variation in reproduction and fecundity among the three sites, suggesting that these sites provide significantly different environmental conditions for S . pulvinata . Table 1. Sample size, reproduction and fecundity of Shoshonea pulvinata in three monitoring transects. Grove Mystery Mystery Creek Ridge Road 59 37 57 17 26 32 29% 70% 56% 5.8+6.4 14.1+16. 0 3. 5 + 4 . 1 Total no. plants No. reproductive plants % reproductive plants Mean no. inflorescences/ reproductive plant (±SD) 13 LITERATURE CITED Braughman, J. F. and D. D. Murphy. 1990. Beware of snapshots at the bottleneck - temporal considerations in conservation planning. Endangered Species Update 7(8,9): 6. Evert, E. F. and L. Constance. 1982. Shoshonea pulvinata. a new genus and species of Umbelliferae from Wyoming. Systematic Botany 7: 471-475. Lesica, P. and J. S. Shelly. 1988. Report on the conservation status of Shoshonea pulvinata , a candidate threatened species. Report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Endangered Species, Denver, Colorado. Lesica, P. and J. S. Shelly. 1991. Sensitive, threatened and endangered vascular plants of Montana. Montana Natural Heritage Program Occasional Publication No. 1, Helena. Sokal, R. R. and F. J. Rohlf. 1981. Biometry. W. H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco. Sutter, R. D. 1986. Monitoring rare plant species and natural areas - ensuring the protection of our investment. Natural Areas Journal 6: 3-5. USDI-Fish and Wildlife Service. 1990. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants: Review of plant taxa for listing as endangered or threatened species; Notice of review. Federal Register 55: 6184-6229. Wilson, E. 0. 1988. Biodiversity. National Academy Press, Washington D.C. 14 Appendix A. Scores for vegetation area (A, cm2) and number of inflorescences (I) for plants of Shoshonea pulvinata at three sites . 1991 la A144-I0 b A4-I0 c A16-I0 d A8-I0 e A4-I0 f A16-I0 2a A4-I0 b A4-I0 c A4-I0 d A4-I0 e A228-I6 f A4-I0 g A40-I5 h A28-I2 i A16-I1 J A4-I0 k A4-I0 3a A4-I0 b A20-I0 c A36-I3 d A4-I0 4a A8-I0 b A4-I0 c A4-I0 d A4-I0 e A20-I1 f A4-I0 g A4-I0 h A4-I0 i A104-I2 J A4-I0 5a A40-I1 b A64-I7 c A8-I0 6a A116-I11 b A68-I12 c A16-I0 d A80-I5 e A108-I7 f A4-I0 g A4-I0 h A4-I0 i A4-I0 7a A24-I0 Grove Creek 15 b A12-I0 c A16-I0 8a A112-I0 b A116-I4 9a A52-I0 b A20-I0 c A16-I0 10a A532-I27 b A4-I0 c A16-I3 d A4-I0 e A4-I0 f A4-I0 Mystery Cave Ridge 1991 la b c d e f 2a b c d e f 3a b 4a b 5a b c d 6a b c d 7a b c d 8a b A40-I3 A24-I5 A36-I11 A16-I1 A196-I12 A348-I24 A20-IO A244-I43 A408-I21 A80-I6 A16-I1 A44-I31 A80-I20 A16-I4 A16-I4 A28-I9 A16-I5 A16-I3 A14-I0 A4-I0 A56-I0 A64-I11 A28-I0 A16-I0 A16-I0 A32-I2 A16-I0 A24-I0 A128-I23 A88-I11 16 9a b c d 10a lla b A16-I0 A16-I0 A160-I34 A48-I11 A236-I69 A16-I1 A16-I1 Mystery Cave Road 1991 2a A24-I1 b A24-I1 c A16-I1 d A20-I2 e A60-I5 f A48-I1 3a A16-I0 b A16-I1 c A20-I1 d A16-I0 e A24-I1 f A16-I0 g A24-I0 h A16-I0 i A16-I1 J A4-I0 k A32-I0 1 A24-I2 m A56-I4 n A16-I1 4a A52-I0 b A20-I2 c A16-I0 d A40-I3 e A16-I0 f A24-I5 g A16-I0 h A16-I0 i A16-I0 J A16-I1 5a A56-I4 b A60-I0 c A96-I1 d A132-I20 6a A80-I7 7a A24-I2 b A24-I2 8a A80-I11 b A36-I5 c A64-I12 17 d A20-I0 e A16-I0 11a A20-I0 b A64-I0 c A48-I1 d A24-I0 e A44-I3 f A4-I0 g A16-I0 h A16-I0 i A16-I0 J A16-I0 18 Date 19 Tus^ /??/ Recorder (s) ojjz^yCC^ SHOSHONEA MONITORING FORM site Gro u a Cc C VAtZMMteMW S7 2,-3,4, 3, 3,2. - — F I2>0 ^2. 6 1 / G iza ^o iS 3, i, 7, 3 16 H HI 1/ 2 2, I, 7, Z 7 X 151 £1 / V V x IB4> 36 O / / K t%l 11 6 / / 2 A -Pol 31 0 / I b ML XL 0 3,l> 1 5" c 3^1 37 3 Hrit ',.J 9 D XT) 22 o ( I HA 3dS 3<=i 0 z. i- 3 2)6<7 50 & / \ c 369 37 o / 1 D 3V0 H 0 / /• £ 3V6 XL 1 3,/,/ ,5" f 3U 25 & / / G JV7 n 6 / / Date «=?*? ~TusvU2 1^9/ SHOSHONEA MONITORING FORM Site £>foU 3?> 2. 2,3,'*>l,2L,1i3j'2je', Z ZU T 38S 3/ 6 I 1 5A H--h1h V3 / t/;f, z, * 10 b HSi* /2 7 V, 2 , 3, <£ / , 2. /£, c H^D 37 0 z. 2- LA Soo ^y // <>3ll)Z,LlJV,2,/l^(e -50 7 2,*,',h'li*,l1>ltit4l\ ^7 F SSI 41 1 1 / 6 SH>\ to 6> / / H 567 V& 0 ( / J £&S 32 6 / / 7* £>l (o 7 0 V|*- 6 P G2S 2. O 3 3 c US -?V 0 V V 8ft 773 J7 O /^VjM/W; z'3 -?* & mi 3^ V ViVjS/^Vj 3° 3 V y SHOSHONEA MONITORING FORM Date 27 Zfc*A02 1191 Site ££*U£ C?e f7*i V3 6 / / £ ?3 SuS^ tfC<\ Recorder ( s ) AcUu V"C SHOSHONEA MONITORING FORM site Muster > ^Siery OlV£ gicb* Page No. ID = alpha numeric code; Tape = position on transect tape; Stick = distance off of baseline; Infl. = No. of inflorescences; 1/A-squares = No. of 1/4 squares filled by vegetation; Total = total 1/4-squares. ID Tape Stick Infl. 1/4-squares Total Comments M If 5" 3 10 b W ii 5 (o c \°i °i /I 7 D n ik / H £ *1 2Z 12- H°l F no 21 ZH 27 zA loi ib 0 5 0 no 2>lo H2> W c \(A \l zl /% 73 1 V HA 323 12. 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