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National Park Park News National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior The Midden The Resource Management Newsletter of Great Basin National Park

Lichen BioBlitz Adds New Insights into Distribution

By Bradley Kropp, State University

The Lichen BioBlitz held July 17- 19, 2017 at Great Basin National Park (GBNP) attracted roughly 50 participants. In addition to a handful of professional biologists who specialize in lichens, the participants came from a wide range of backgrounds and included some youth and a few local residents. Baker G. by Photo NPS Most of the participants had little or no prior knowledge of lichens but all brought an enthusiasm for natural history and an interest in learning.

Wolf lichen (Letharia vulpina), one of the many lichens seen during the 2017 BioBlitz. Dr Steve Leavitt of Brigham This lichen is found on dead wood of bristlecones. Overall, few tree lichens were Young University and I led the found during the BioBlitz. BioBlitz. On the opening day of the BioBlitz, Steve Leavitt gave a talk An important goal of the BioBlitz Many of the lichens collected during to attendees explaining what lichens was to build the list of lichens in the BioBlitz were already known are and covering important aspects the park that had already been put to be present in the park. Because of their biology and identification. together during a survey that I of that, BioBlitz participants have I followed up with a talk outlining conducted a couple of years prior probably added relatively few new what was known about lichens Even though work on identifying to the park list. However, in GBNP prior to the BioBlitz the lichens collected during this situations like this can have a silver and suggested areas or habitats summer’s BioBlitz hasn’t yet been lining in that the new species that that could be explored during the finalized, I hope to briefly summarize end up being found are sometimes BioBlitz. On the final day we gave a below some of what we have learned things that are especially interesting. joint presentation summarizing the about the lichens of GBNP. Continued on Page 2 results of the BioBlitz. In This Issue Lichen BioBlitz...... 1 Red Foxes in Sky Islands...... 3 Upper Lehman Wetland Resto.....4 Rattlesnakes Emerging Earlier....6

Invasive Plants at Water Systems.7

NPS Photo NPS NPS Photo NPS Recent Publications...... 7 Bats in the Basin and Beyond.....8 Forgotten Grasslands...... 9 Dr. Steve Leavitt showing a lichen during This tiny Cladonia species of lichen has Beetle BioBlitz-Save the Date...... 10 the 2017 BioBlitz. small stalks.

Winter 2017 Volume 17 Issue 2 Lichen BioBlitz (continued)

For example, is hardly the place one would expect to find aquatic lichens. I was surprised to find two aquatic species near Wheeler Campground during my first survey. However, two more aquatic lichens were added to the park list during the BioBlitz. Both of these were species of Dermatocarpon that tend to be foliose (leaf-like) and grayish-green Photo NPS in appearance. One of these that is fairly inconspicuous and grows on rock in Baker Creek was nearly overlooked. When it was first pointed out, I simply dismissed it as a liverwort! However, a closer look revealed that it was in fact not only Dr. Brad Kropp climbing up on a rock outcropping to take a closer look at some lichens. a lichen but one that was new to our list. lichens on trees appears to be the Overall, at least 123 lichen species Another interesting aspect of the aridity of the Great Basin. are known to occur within park lichen communities found in GBNP boundaries. There is no doubt that is that there are so few lichens on The most species-rich and common more are present, and quite a few trees. Only about 26 species have groups of lichens in GBNP are the will be added when the results of the been found on trees in the park crustose lichens (i.e., those growing BioBlitz are finally tallied. Between thus far. In most environments, tightly on their substrates) on my survey and the BioBlitz, most of lichens on trees are abundant and in rock. These are often colorful and the plant communities and the major many instances they are dominant fascinating lichens. However, they geological formations in the park have enough to account for most of the are challenging to identify given been explored. The most promising species present. It is well known that extensive microscopic work is remaining areas for locating additional that air pollution negatively affects typically needed to name them and species appear to be at the southern lichens on trees but that is not a few good identification resources are end of the park where numerous major factor in eastern Nevada. The available. geological formations intersect and

best explanation for the absence of road access is more limited. NPS Photo NPS

Many of the participants at the 2017 Lichen BioBlitz. Attendees spanned all ages and came from several states.

2 The Midden Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Great Basin National Park

By Preston Alden, University of Park. We performed additional scat Future research is needed to -Davis collection surveys and used previously better understand the historical collected data to make a population and contemporary connectivity of An evolutionarily distinct lineage estimate. Using a mark-recapture red fox in GBNP to other native of red fox native to the Western analysis of 25 DNA scat samples and expanding nonnative red fox occurred historically from 10 individuals, we estimated the populations. This research highlights in isolated populations scattered population to be 11 to 15 individuals. the conservation value for the among high-elevation sky This small population estimate is species both in and out of GBNP and islands of the Great Basin and likely a result of native montane provides an excellent opportunity to surrounding mountain ranges. These red fox behavior. These foxes tend better understand how climate change Pleistocene relictual populations to persist in small family groups in affects population genetics on a large are disappearing as their subalpine subalpine habitat. scale. habitats are lost to climate change and other anthropogenic causes. Great Basin National Park (GBNP) is becoming an increasingly important refuge for these and other relictual sky-island species. Additionally, these native foxes are threatened by introduced nonnative foxes at lower elevation that hybridize with native populations and appear to be increasing in number in recent decades.

Little was known about the current range-wide distribution of remaining native Great Basin red foxes prior to our research in 2015. We verified with genetic scat samples that red fox within GBNP clustered more closely with the Rocky Mountain subspecies of red fox (Vulpes vulpes macroura) and not with the red fox population (Vulpes vulpes necator). In addition, Figure 1. Comparison of red fox populations across the Great Basin and surrounding comparison of red fox genetics areas using nuclear DNA (microsatellites) with 9 partitions, i.e., presumed number of across the greater Great Basin populations. Note: Great Basin National Park contains a unique group (purple). revealed that red fox within GBNP specifically might be remnants of a distinct subspecies of native You’re invited! montane red fox originating within Beetle BioBlitz the Great Basin itself (Figure 1). June 12-14, 2018 Join Nevada State Entomologist Jeff Knight and other experts to learn Once native montane red foxes more about what beetles live in the park. were identified within GBNP, Email [email protected] to be added to the mailing list. the next step was to investigate the size of the population in the

The Midden 3 Upper Lehman Wetlands Restoration

By Tod Williams, Chief - Resources and Planning

The Upper Lehman Campground was developed in the 1960s by the U.S. Forest Service. The area of the northern campground access road was originally a wetland complex consisting of springs, seeps, wet meadows, and a braided riparian stream system. A road was graded in, covered with several feet of road base, and then paved. To redirect water from both the road and nearby campsites, ditches were constructed to drain wet areas and channel water through five culverts. A perennial tributary was placed in a 20 meter long ditch and diverted Map of project area for the Upper Lehman Wetlands Restoration. The black line into the main steam of Lehman shows the road that was removed. Blue lines indicate streams. Creek. for a four-year period. The primary water persisting throughout the The existing conditions showed that deliverables for the project included: growing season in most years. wetland functions and values were When surface water is absent, the compromised. Wetland function -Restore one-half mile of riparian water table is usually at or very was eliminated or degraded, native stream habitat to proper functioning near the land’s surface. vegetation was reduced, and condition hydrologic function was impacted -Restore eight acres of wetland • Wetland Type PSSB is a palustrine due to the diversion of natural habitat to proper functioning system dominated by woody flow patterns. Loss of hydrologic condition vegetation, (aspen, Wood’s rose, function was by far the largest -Decommission one-third mile of and water birch) that are small or impact. Wetlands and riparian road and restore native ecosystems- stunted because of environmental habitat are extremely limited within Monitor biological communities to conditions. the park, but because of their document restoration success. • Wetland Type PABFh is a outsized ecological footprint, are palustrine system but is dominated typically valued more than other All wetland and riparian types by sedges and emergents that ecological systems. showed evidence of adverse impacts grow principally on or below the due to channelization and loss of surface of the water for most of The campground was reconstructed water. There are seven mapped the growing season. It is semi- in 2015. Resource staff worked ecological systems within the project permanently flooded system with the design team to eliminate area. Five of these will benefit from with surface water persisting the need for the northern access the project: throughout the growing season. road. Thus the opportunity to • Wetland Type PUBFh is a restore the wetland complex began. palustrine system dominated • Riparian Aspen is dominated by A proposal was submitted to by shrubs, grasses, sedges, and quaking aspen with greater than Round 15 of the Southern Nevada emergents with an unconsolidated 60% cover in unconsolidated Public Lands Management Act as a bottom. It is a semi-permanently sediments near permanent Conservation Initiative and funded flooded system with surface water. Continued on Page 5

4 The Midden Upper Lehman Wetlands Restoration (continued) White fir may be present in the • Yellow warbler (Dendroica over story but the understory is petechia) dominated by wetland grasses, sedges, and forbs. Park resource and maintenance staffs have completed the second • Riparian Ponderosa is year of the four-year project. To dominated by ponderosa pine

NPS Photo NPS date, all asphalt and road base have with greater than 25% cover in been removed; the site has been re- unconsolidated sediments near contoured; five culverts have been permanent water. White fir and aspen may be present. This type removed; ditches have been filled; Recontouring streambanks after culvert is rare within the Range all springs, seeps, and tributaries removal due to heavy selective logging have been returned to their natural at the turn of the century and channels; pools were created within fire suppression resulting in low the three palustrine ecosystem recruitment. types; 250 ponderosa pine seedlings were planted; and seed mixes were Wildlife: The species below depend developed for each ecosystem with upon wetlands and riparian stream the initial planting occurring this habitat, are species of management fall. Additional re-vegetation efforts concern, and were documented and invasive species control will be within the project area. All of the required during the next two years. species would benefit from larger Post-treatment biologic monitoring

NPS Photo NPS and proper functioning wetland and will continue in all areas. Of most riparian habitats. interest, at least to the author, was watching the re-establishment of the • Water shrew (Sorex palustris) hydrologic function. Upon removal • Inyo shrew (Sorex tennellus) of the asphalt, road base, and ripping • Ermine (Mustela erminea) out the old roadbed, water poured out • Long-tailed weasel (Mustela of the hillside saturating the former Road prior to road base removal frenata) wetlands. Springs and seeps surfaced • Yellow-bellied marmot in numerous areas along the length of (Marmota flaviventris) the old road, reclaiming land after a • MacGillivray’s warbler fifty-year absence.

(Oporornis tolmiei)

NPS Photo NPS NPS Photo NPS

Return of hydrologic Re-contouring and base removal function

The Midden 5 Rattlesnakes Emerging Earlier Due to Warmer Temperatures By Bryan Hamilton, Wildlife undetermined origin in a northern Biologist population. Pages 235-256 in W. K. Hayes, K. R. Beaman, M. D. Cardwell and S. P. Bush, editors. The Biology of We conducted a 17-year study of Rattlesnakes. Loma Linda University Great Basin rattlesnakes ( Press. lutosus) at four communal hibernacula in eastern Nevada Chambers, J. C. 2008. Climate Change and western Utah. Surveys were and the Great Basin. Pages 29-32 conducted during spring emergence Photo NPS in J. C. Chambers, N. Devoe and (March, April, and May) from 2000 A. Evenden, editors. Collaborative to 2017. Hibernacula were visited management and research in the Great approximately 10 times each year. Basin — examining the issues and developing a framework for action. We defined peak emergence as the date on which the greatest number A Great Basin Rattlesnake Monahan, W. B., A. Rosemartin, K. L. of were observed at a Gerst, N. A. Fisichelli, T. Ault, M. D. hibernaculum (sensu Brown 2008). (Stewart et al. 2005), and earlier Schwartz, J. E. Gross, and J. F. Weltzin plant phenology (Monahan et al. 2016. Climate change is advancing To determine peak emergence 2016). Our observations of earlier spring onset across the U.S. National dates, we summed total captures spring emergence of Great Basin Park System. Ecosphere 7:e01465-n/a. rattlesnakes is consistent with per Julian day, by site and year. Mote, P. W., A. F. Hamlet, M. P. Clark, We then summed the total captures predictions of a warmer and earlier and D. P. Lettenmaier 2005. Declining per Julian day across years and spring. Stay tuned to The Midden mountain snowpack in Western North calculated the mean, median, and and social media for more analyses America. Bulletin of the American standard deviation of the dates of of Great Basin rattlesnake data. Meteorological Society 86:39-49. peak emergence. We also looked at the relationship between Julian day References Stewart, I. T., D. R. Cayan, and M. D. and mean April temperature using a Brown, W. S. 2008. Sampling timber Dettinger 2005. Changes toward earlier rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus): streamflow timing across Western simple correlation analysis. Phenology, growth, intimidation, North America. Journal of Climate survival, and a syndrome of 18:1136-1155. Across all years, the mean date of peak captures occurred on 23 April. The mean peak capture date decreased by about one day per year (captures= - 1.1 (year) + 2250, df = 2 F1,15= 7.57, P = 0.009, R = 0.3371; Figure 1). This decrease was related to mean April temperature (r = 0.40). Higher April temperatures correlated with earlier emergence dates.

One of the strongest signals of climate change in the Great Basin is an earlier onset of spring (Chambers 2008). Earlier spring onset brings a suite of ecological effects including a reduction in snowpack (Mote et al. 2005), earlier stream run-off Figure 1. Peak emergence date for rattlesnake emergence by year.

6 The Midden Monitoring & Treatment of Invasive Plants at Water Systems By Julie Long, Biological Science acres by two park employees. Four Technician sites were visited twenty-two times and a total of thirty-one hours were At Great Basin National Park, dedicated to hand pulling invasive four meadow complexes provide plants (Table 1). Each water source drinking water to visitors, park was surveyed in order to remove residences, and campgrounds. any invasive plants before they had Wet meadows make up only 0.1% time to flower or go to seed. The (87 acres) of the park, varying in Horner M. by Photo NPS Lehman Creek and Wheeler Peak elevations from 7,200 to 10,300 collection areas had no targeted A rosette of a bull thistle. This early feet. These mesic habitat types growth is monitored and treated by invasive plant species present while seem more susceptible to invasion the invasive plant team in the park. Cave Springs and Baker Creek each by non-native plant species or pulling by hand) treatments on had existing bull thistle populations. due to available water and soil invasive plant species as the only At Cave Springs a total of 0.2 acres, conditions. Invasive plants can appropriate mode of treatment. Use with about 461 bull thistle plants, alter fire regimes and outcompete of herbicide treatments in these areas were treated, and at the Baker Creek native plant populations that are is prohibited because of the utilized treatment site, six bull thistles were already adapted to the soil and resource – drinking water. There removed. surrounding habitat. This poses a are over twenty-five non-native threat to native plant communities, plant species in the park, but the In order to reduce infestations and impacts forage for wildlife, and four priority species for treatment prevent the spread of non-native degrades soils. were bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare), plant species, the park will continue whitetop (Cardaria draba), musk to monitor and treat invasive plant Sites at Cave Springs, Baker thistle (Carduus nutans), and Canada species following integrated pest Creek, Lehman Creek, and thistle (Cirsium arvense). management practices to protect Wheeler Peak serve as collection native plant communities and habitat. sources for potable water, Manual treatments were implemented allowing manual (grubbing from May to late September on five

Table 1. The number of acres, visits, and time spent at four water collection sources.

Park Water Systems Acres Infested acres Invasive plants Number of visits Hours Cave Springs 2.5 0.220 C. vulgare 8 16.6 Baker Creek 0.3 0.004 C. vulgare 6 5 Lehman Creek 2.2 0 - 5 7 Wheeler Peak 0.2 0 - 3 3 Total 5.2 0.224 C. vulgare 22 31.6

Recent Publications

Gray, C. A. 2017. Impact of climate variability on the frequency and severity of ecological disturbances in Great Basin bristle- cone pine sky island ecosystems. Doctoral dissertation, Utah State University.

Smithers, B. V., North, M. P., Millar, C. I., & Latimer, A. M. 2017. Leap frog in slow motion: Divergent responses of tree spe- cies and life stages to climatic warming in Great Basin subalpine forests. Global Change Biology.

Will, K., Madan, R., & Hsu, H. H. 2017. Additions to the knowledge of Nevada carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and a preliminary list of carabids from the Great Basin National Park. Biodiversity Data Journal, (5).

The Midden 7 Bats in the Basin and Beyond By Kathleen Slocum, Biological Science Technician

Great Basin National Park’s Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act funded project, “Can land managers prevent the ‘inevitable collapse’ of bats in the western US?” has just finished its first of five field Photo NPS seasons. The overarching goals of the project are to locate and protect important bat roosts, derive demographic information about local bat populations, and educate and engage the public in bat conservation. Data gathered will help managers both locally Releasing a recently banded Mexican free-tailed bat. and regionally better mitigate the been in deploying passive integrated The park is also helping with a growing threats to bat populations transponder (PIT) tag arrays at mark-recapture project studying and manage bat habitats. several major Townsend’s big-eared Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) brasiliensis) that roost in a cave What makes this project unique is maternity roosts, such as the one close to the western park boundary its scale; the study area includes in Lehman Caves. Townsend’s from May-October. This species the valleys and mountain ranges big-eared bats have been shown to migrates in the spring and fall. adjacent to the park, and has host the WNS causative fungus, The continental-scale connections interagency collaboration built Pseudogymnoascus destructans between their roosts is poorly into its framework. Before white- (Pd). This species is also known to understood. Over the last three nose syndrome (WNS) spread to share roosts with other bat species years, the Nevada Department of Washington state in 2016, White that are susceptible to developing Wildlife and partners have outfitted Pine County, NV in which Great WNS. 30,000 bats with wing bands, which Basin NP is located, was ranked the uniquely identify them as part of 10th most susceptible county west Bats are trapped as they exit the our Nevada roosting population. of the Mississippi for WNS based roost and injected with a 12 mm- on potential roost sites, bat species, long PIT tag. A small computer Migratory bats like Mexican and climate suitability (Ihlo 2013). and antenna then logs individuals free-tailed bats have been Millard County, UT, and Tooele as they enter and exit the roost. heavily impacted by wind-energy County, UT both border White Pine The dataset gathered will provide development; this project will better County and were ranked in the top novel baseline information about inform wind development and 14 counties for susceptibility. As the timing and fidelity of roost bat conservation as wind energy complex threats to bats continue use by bats in and near the park, continues to expand across the to affect our landscape, we hope as well as important life history West. commensurate efforts like this data like survival and recruitment. SNPLMA project will provide Similar arrays are on caves with Landscape-scale bat studies are managers the necessary tools to Townsend’s roosts managed by the also becoming a focus within the conserve and protect bats at the US Forest Service and Bureau of Mojave Inventory and Monitoring landscape-scale. Land Management within White Network. The first network bat blitz Pine County. Continued on Page 7 A main focus of our efforts has 8 The Midden Bats (continued) Forgotten Grasslands: Basin Wildrye was performed at - Parashant National Monument this past June. The area is a junction of the Colorado Plateau and Mojave ecoregions, very remote, and is incredibly biologically diverse. Twenty-five participants from the NPS, Game and Fish, and university partners performed three nights of trapping at 11 sites.

Twelve species were caught in the NPS Photo by G. Baker G. by Photo NPS hand, and there were potentially two more captured acoustically. The blitz was highly successful at providing a baseline assessment of bat diversity in that park and region. Aside from the science, a profitable aspect of this bat blitz was the strong emphasis on intra-agency Basin Wildrye is a native grass that will be the focus of a restoration project. networking. A great foundation By Gretchen Baker, Ecologist a park-wide watershed analysis and was built for future bat work in the conservation planning assessment network parks. Basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus) process. Reference is an easy-to-recognize grass. It Ihlo, C. M. 2013. Predicting the spread of stands up to six feet tall, and early Fortunately, basin wildrye white-nose syndrome in bats. PhD diss., pioneers that arrived in Snake communities are highly Duke University. Valley commented on how it rose recoverable. The park applied for up to their horses’ bellies. It was an a Southern Nevada Public Lands abundant grass, but that is no longer Management Area grant for five the case. Basin wildrye ecosystems years. The first year has been spent have been severely degraded by completing archeological clearance. fire suppression, timing of grazing, During years two through four, conversion to agriculture, and we will restore 90 acres of basin introduction of nonnative plants. wildrye, 80 acres of sagebrush,

NPS Photo NPS In Great Basin National Park, this and 45 acres of riparian habitat degradation has resulted in the through a combination of planting, conversion of a large proportion seeding, chemical, and mechanical of wildrye communities to areas treatments. These management dominated by non-native grasses strategies were recommended by and woody vegetation. TNC as a key restoration action in Bat found in one of the park caves. restoring park plant communities to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) desired condition. used soils data and satellite imagery The project area is near Lehman Want to help the park learn to map plant communities to a one- meter resolution. They determined Creek from the park boundary up more about ? Join us for that 268 acres in the park is a basin to Upper Lehman Campground the Christmas Count on wildrye ecosystem. This ecosystem and the lower part of the Lehman December 18, 2017! was identified as the most orchard. We expect to start endangered plant community in treatments this winter. Great Basin National Park through

The Midden 9 National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Save the Date! Beetle BioBlitz in 2018 The next BioBlitz is scheduled for The Midden is the Resource June 12-14, 2018, and will focus on Management newsletter for Great beetles (Coleoptera). Basin National Park. Join us for our tenth annual BioBlitz! A spring/summer and fall/winter issue are printed each year. The Midden is We started with beetles in our first also available on the Park’s website at BioBlitz, and we’re going to return www.nps.gov/grba. to them during a different part of

We welcome submissions of articles the year to see what else lives in the Baker G. by Photo NPS or drawings relating to natural and park. Nevada State Entomologist Jeff cultural resource management and research in the park. They can be sent Knight, along with other experts, will to: A long-horned beetle is one of the help guide citizen scientists during many denizens of the park. Resource Management, this fun, science-filled three-day Great Basin National Park, to control pest populations by Baker, NV 89311 event. We’ll be looking for beetles feeding on aphids that would Or call us at: (775) 234-7331 day and night. This event is timed otherwise eat vegetable plants. Acting Superintendent to coincide with the new moon Curt Dimmick so light traps will be even more • Dung beetles are very Chief of Resource Management effective. There is no cost to attend important in many ecosystems Tod Williams the BioBlitz. The Beetle BioBlitz will because they feed on Editor & Layout support learning about biodiversity in droppings. They recycle waste Gretchen Baker our national parks and include beetle material and speed up the walks, talks, art, and other activities. circulation of nutrients back into the food chain. Did you know: • Humans eat more beetles than any other kind of insect. There • Over 300,000 species of are over 300 species known to beetles are known to exist. be eaten, with most of these This is about 40% of all eaten at the larvae stage. known insect species. Email [email protected] for • Ladybird beetles (ladybugs) more info. What’s a midden? are a type of beetle that help A midden is a fancy name for a pile of trash, often left by pack rats. Pack rats leave middens near their nests, Upcoming Events: which may be continuously occupied December 18: Snake Valley Christmas Bird Count Help count birds in the for hundreds, or even thousands, of longest-running citizen science project. We welcome volunteers of all experience years. Each layer of trash contains levels. Contact [email protected]. twigs, seeds, animal bones and December 19: Ely Christmas Bird Count Help discover what birds live in and other material, which is cemented near Ely. Contact Nancy Herms at [email protected] together by urine. Over time, the February 6-8, 2018: Lehman Caves Lint and Restoration Camp Spend time midden becomes a treasure trove uncovering the beauty in Lehman Caves. Contact [email protected] for of information for plant ecologists, more info. climate change scientists and others February & March 14, 2018: Learn more about caves in this US Forest Service- who want to learn about past climatic sponsored video and live question and answer event. You may even see someone conditions and vegetation patterns from the Great Basin onscreen! Check out http://caveslive.org/ dating back as far as 25,000 years. June 12-14, 2018: Join us for the tenth annual BioBlitz, focusing on Beetles. Great Basin National Park contains Email [email protected] to get more info and sign up. numerous middens. Throughout Winter: Cave tours at 1 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on weekends. Reserve your spot in advance at Reservation.gov. Throughout Winter: Check out the backcountry on snowshoes! Rentals available at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

10 The Midden