Preliminary Checklist of the Terrestrial Flora and Fauna of Fern Cave
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Preliminary Checklist of the Terrestrial Flora and Fauna of Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge ______________________________________________ Prepared for: United States Fish & Wildlife Service Prepared by: J. Kevin England, MAT David Richardson, MS Completed: as of 22 Sep 2019 All rights reserved. Phone: 256-565-4933 Email: [email protected] Flora & Fauna of FCNWR2 ABSTRACT I.) Total Biodiversity Data The main objective of this study was to inventory and document the total biodiversity of terrestrial habitats located at Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge (FCNWR). Table 1. Total Biodiversity of Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson Co., AL, USA Level of Classification Families Genera Species Lichens and Allied Fungi 14 21 28 Bryophytes (Bryophyta, Anthocerotophyta, Marchantiophyta) 7 9 9 Vascular Plants (Tracheophytes) 76 138 176 Insects (Class Insecta) 9 9 9 Centipedes (Class Chilopoda) 1 1 1 Millipedes (Class Diplopoda) 2 3 3 Amphibians (Class Amphibia) 3 4 5 Reptiles (Class Reptilia) 2 3 3 Birds (Class Aves) 1 1 1 Mammals (Class Mammalia) 2 2 2 Total 117 191 237 II. Vascular Flora (Appendix 3) Methods and Materials To compile a thorough vascular flora survey, several examples of different plant communities at numerous sites were visited and sampled during the study. Approximately 45 minutes was spent documenting community structure at each site. Lastly, all habitats, ecological systems, and plant associations found within the property boundaries were defined based on floristic content, soil characteristics (soil maps) and other abiotic factors. Flora & Fauna of FCNWR3 The most commonly used texts for specimen identification in this study were Flora of North America (1993+), Mohr (1901), Radford et al. (1968), Short and Spaulding (2012) and Weakley (2015). Determinations were reinforced by consulting specimens from the UWAL herbarium and hb. J.K. England. Nomenclature of identifications generally follows Flora of North America (1993+) and Weakley (2016). Vascular Flora Results and Discussion During the current study, a total of 176 unique taxa classified in 138 genera, and 76 families were documented to occur on the property (Table 2) (Appendix 3). The six largest families within the flora were Asteraceae (21 taxa), Poaceae (13 taxa), Cyperaceae (10 taxa), Fabaceae (7 taxa), Fagaceae (6 taxa), and Juglandaceae (6 taxa) (Fig. 1). These six families comprise 35.39 percent of the flora. The seven largest genera within the flora were Carex (9 taxa), Quercus (6 taxa), Carya (5 taxa), Acer (4 taxa), Asplenium (4 taxa), Solidago (3 taxa), and Ulmus (3 taxa) (Fig. 2). These seven genera comprise approximately 19.10 percent of the flora. Approximately 3.98 percent of the flora is considered non-native to Jackson County, Alabama (Table 3). Non-native taxa were commonly found in throughout FCNWR. Five sensitive taxa were encountered on the property (ANHP 2017) (Table 4). County records encountered on the Refuge only accounted for 0.57 percent of the flora (Table 5). This lower number of county records was primarily due the thesis work by Brodeur (1999) and frequent collections by other botanist. Herbaceous taxa were the typical growth habit encountered which accounted for 54.49 percent of the flora (Table 6). Flora & Fauna of FCNWR4 Table 2. Vascular Floristics of Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson Co., AL, USA Level of Classification Families Genera Species Lycopodiophyta (Clubmosses) 0 0 0 Monilophyta (Ferns) 8 10 13 Acrogymnospermae (Extant Gymnosperms) 1 1 1 Magnoliids & Primitive Angiosperms 4 9 10 Monocotyledonae (Monocots) 9 18 31 Eudicotyledonae (Eudicots) 54 100 121 Total 76 138 176 Table 3. Comparison of Non-Native Taxa of the Vascular Plants of the Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson Co., AL, USA Level of Classification Non-Native % of Flora Lycopodiophyta (Clubmosses) 0 0.00% Monilophyta (Ferns) 0 0.00% Acrogymnospermae (Extant Gymnosperms) 0 0.00% Magnoliids & Primitive Angiosperms 0 0.00% Monocotyledonae (Monocots) 1 0.57% Eudicotyledonae (Eudicots) 6 3.41% Total 7 3.98% Table 4. Sensitive Vascular Plant Taxa of the flora of Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson Co., AL, USA State Global Federal Scientific Name Vernacular Name Rank Rank Status Asplenium American Hart's Tongue S1 G4T3 Threatened scolopendrium* Fern Cladrastis kentukea Kentucky Yellow Wood S3 G4 — Cotinus obovata American Smoketree S2 G4 — Jeffersonia diphylla Twinleaf S2 G5 — Oxalis grandis Great Wood Sorrel S1 G4/G5 — *Extirpated Flora & Fauna of FCNWR5 Table 5. Comparison of County Records Collected During the Vascular Plants of the Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson Co., AL, USA Level of Classification Non-Native % of Flora Lycopodiophyta (Clubmosses) 0 0.00% Monilophyta (Ferns) 0 0.00% Acrogymnospermae (Extant Gymnosperms) 0 0.00% Magnoliids & Primitive Angiosperms 0 0.00% Monocotyledonae (Monocots) 0 0.00% Eudicotyledonae (Eudicots) 1 0.57% Total 1 0.57% Table 6. Comparison of Growth Habits of the Vascular Plants of the Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson Co., AL, USA Growth Habit Abbrv. # of Taxa % of Flora Herbaceous H 97 54.49% Tree T 50 28.09% Vine V 16 8.99% Shrub S 15 8.43% Total 178 100.00% Flora & Fauna of FCNWR6 25 14.00% 12.00% 20 10.00% 15 8.00% 6.00% 10 4.00% 5 2.00% 0 0.00% Number of Taxa Percent of Flora Figure 1. Size comparison of major plant families of the Vascular Flora of the Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson Co., AL, USA 10 6.00% 9 5.00% 8 7 4.00% 6 5 3.00% 4 2.00% 3 2 1.00% 1 0 0.00% Carex Quercus Carya Acer Asplenium Solidago Ulmus Number of Taxa Percent of Flora Figure 2. Size comparison of major plant genera of the Vascular Flora of the Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson Co., AL, USA Flora & Fauna of FCNWR7 III. Lichen and Allied Fungi (Appendix 1) Field and Herbarium Studies Collecting trips at FCNWR were also spent gathering lichens according to standard collecting procedures using a hammer, chisel, knife and a hand-held pruner (Brodo et al. 2001). Lichens were placed in folded paper or paper sacks and stored for identification and later processing. Primary literature used for identification included, Brodo (2016), Brodo et al. (2001), Dey (1978), Esslinger (1978), Harris and Ladd (2005), and Lendemer et al. (2013), and standard spot tests (K, C, P) followed Brodo et al. (2001). Chemical compounds in some specimens were also examined using thin layer chromatography following Culberson and Kristinsson (1970) in solvents A, B′, and C. The use of standard dissecting scopes and compound light microscopes along with UV light fluorescence were also employed in identification. In addition to collections made, herbarium records located at AUA and UWAL were searched and a query of the Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria (CNALH 2019) was also made to obtain additional records previously collected from the FCNWR. Results and Discussion Table 7. Comparison of Growth Habits of the Lichen and Allied Fungi of the Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson Co., AL, USA Growth Habit Abbrv. # of Taxa % of Lichens & Allied Fungi Flora Crustose CR 9 32.14% Foliose FO 15 53.57% Fruticose FR 4 14.29% Total 28 100.00% IV. Fauna (Terrestrial) (Appendix 4) Flora & Fauna of FCNWR8 V. Bryophytes (Bryophyta, Anthocerotophyta, Marchantiophyta) (Appendix 2) VI. Habitats & Plant Communities Many different habitats made up of unique plant communities were encountered within the FCNWR property. Distinct plant habitats documented include disturbed woodlands, wetlands, true aquatic vegetation and ruderal communities. Each habitat is influenced by soil type, topography, moisture levels, and level of human disturbance, and is divided into unique ecological systems. Ecological systems are biological communities found in similar physical environments and influenced by similar ecological processes (Comer et al. 2003). These ecological systems were defined qualitatively during the current study based on distinct plant compositions within a defined habitat. Within each ecological system specific plant community types, or associations, were documented. These associations tend to occur together within areas with similar ecological processes and substrates (Comer et al. 2003). Some of the specific plant associations are considered sensitive by NatureServe (2017). Each habitat, ecological system, and association that could be located is listed below. All rare associations listed below, according to NatureServe (2017), will be designated by the global rankings and a star (). 1. XXXX Flora & Fauna of FCNWR9 APPENDIX Species entry set-up is as follows: Genus species Authority; State/Global/Federal Rankings; Common Name; Growth Habit; {Notes} Specific designations are as follows: County Record (*) (Genus species Authority are all in bold.) State Designations: Rare Species (), Non-native species (‡), Invasive () Growth Habit (Lichens & Allied Fungi): Crustose (CR), Foliose (FO), Fruticose (FR) Growth Habit (vascular plants): Herbaceous (H), Shrub (S), Tree (T), Vine (V) Appendix 1. Lichens and Allied Fungi CALICIACEAE Buellia erubescens Arnold; Black-dot lichen; CR COLLEMATACEAE Enchylium coccophorum (Tuck.) Otálora, P.M. Jørg. & Wedin; Tar-jelly lichen; FO Leptogium austroamericanum (Malme) C.W. Dodge; Dixie jelly lichen; FO Leptogium cyanescens (Rabenh.) Körb.; Blue jelly-skin lichen; FO GRAPHIDACEAE Graphis scripta (L.) Ach.; Common script lichen; CR LECIDEACEAE Clauzadea chondrodes (A. Massal.) Clauzade & Cl. Roux; Blackspot Lichen; CR Porpidia albocaerulescens (Wulfen) Hertel & Knoph;