Yucca Glauca) in Alberta
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Status of Soapweed (Yucca glauca) in Alberta Donna Hurlburt Alberta Wildlife Status Report No. 35 April 2001 Published By: Publication No. T/598 ISBN: 0-7785-1492-7 ISSN: 1206-4912 Series Editor: Isabelle M. G. Michaud Senior Editor: David R. C. Prescott Illustrations: Brian Huffman For copies of this report, contact: Information Centre - Publications Alberta Environmental Protection Natural Resources Service Main Floor, Great West Life Building 9920 - 108 Street Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5K 2M4 Telephone: (780) 422-2079 OR Information Service Alberta Environment #100, 3115 - 12 Street NE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2E 7J2 Telephone: (780) 297-3362 OR Visit our web site at : http://www.gov.ab.ca/env/fw/status/reports/index.html This publication may be cited as: Hurlburt, D. 2001. Status of Soapweed (Yucca glauca) in Alberta. Alberta Environment, Fisheries and Wildlife Management Division, and Alberta Conservation Association, Wildlife Status Report No. 35, Edmonton, AB. 18 pp. ii PREFACE Every five years, the Fisheries and Wildlife Management Division of Alberta Natural Resources Service reviews the status of wildlife species in Alberta. These overviews, which have been conducted in 1991, 1996 and 2000, assign individual species ‘ranks’ that reflect the perceived level of risk to populations that occur in the province. Such designations are determined from extensive consultations with professional and amateur biologists, and from a variety of readily available sources of population data. A primary objective of these reviews is to identify species that may be considered for more detailed status determinations. The Alberta Wildlife Status Report Series is an extension of the general statusing exercises (1996 Status of Alberta Wildlife, Status of Wild Species in Alberta 2000), and provides comprehensive current summaries of the biological status of selected wildlife species in Alberta. Priority is given to species that are potentially at risk in the province (At Risk, May be at Risk), that are of uncertain status (Status Undetermined), or which are considered to be at risk at a national level by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). Reports in this series are published and distributed by the Alberta Conservation Association and the Fisheries and Wildlife Management Division of Alberta Environment, and are intended to provide detailed and up-to-date information which will be useful to resource professionals for managing populations of species and their habitats in the province. The reports are also designed to provide current information which will assist the Alberta Endangered Species Conservation Committee to identify species that may be formally designated as endangered or threatened under the Alberta Wildlife Act. To achieve these goals, the reports have been authored and/or reviewed by individuals with unique local expertise in the biology and management of each species. iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Soapweed (Yucca glauca Nuttall) is distributed throughout the southwestern United States and just reaches Canada into the Milk River region . It is considered rare in Canada and in Alberta (Csotonyi and Hurlburt 1999) and has been designated ‘vulnerable’ by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC 2000). This report is intended to summarize existing information on soapweed and to assist in the management of soapweed, its mutualist pollinator and their habitat in Alberta. Soapweed is a long-lived arid grassland perennial that is engaged in a unique obligate mutualism with its only pollinator and seed predator, the yucca moth (Tegeticula yuccasella). This species occurs naturally at two confirmed sites in Alberta along the Milk River and its tributary, the Lost River. The current population of soapweed in Alberta is estimated to be 29 557 plants (rosettes) distributed among 8903 clones. Recent monitoring activities show large annual variation in flowering and moth emergence, an apparent decline of sexual reproduction in one population, and possibly a change in the costs and benefits associated with the obligate mutualism between soapweed and its moth. Threats to the survival of soapweed are most likely related to the northerly location of the plant and include pollinator loss due to unpredictable flowering and moth emergence. Other threats not related to latitude include habitat fragmentation and herbivory. Soapweed has never been abundant in Alberta given its northern, peripheral distribution; however, it is a representative grassland species, has had historical significance to indigenous peoples as a medicinal and fiber source, and through its relationship with the yucca moth represents the very epitome of food web interactions. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to the Agriculture & Agrifood Canada staff and their families at the Onefour Substation for their great hospitality, logistical support and for making the 1999 field season a success. Further logistical support was provided by the Alberta Heritage Information Network (ANHIC, Alberta Environment, Edmonton). Thank you to Joyce Gould (Alberta Environment), Brett Purdy (University of Alberta), Isabelle Michaud (Alberta Conservation Association) and Sherry Feser (Alberta Conservation Association) for their helpful reviews of this report. Assistance with data collection was provided by Tannis Piotrowski (Lost River Ranch, Manyberries), Patsy Cotterill (ANHIC, Edmonton), Dragomir Vujnovic (ANHIC, Edmonton), Joyce Gould (ANHIC, Edmonton), and Julius Csotonyi (Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta). Historical and biological data were provided by John Dormaar (Agriculture & Agrifood Canada, Lethbridge), Cliff Wallis (Cottonwood Consultants, Calgary) and Alan Ross (Onefour Substation, Agriculture & Agrifood Canada), Dr. John Addicott (Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta) Norbert Kondla (Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Government of British Columbia) and Carol Porter. Preparation of this report was funded by the Wildlife Management Enhancement Program of the Alberta Conservation Association. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ........................................................................................................................... iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ v INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 HABITAT ............................................................................................................................ 1 CONSERVATION BIOLOGY ............................................................................................ 1 DISTRIBUTION ................................................................................................................. 3 1. Alberta .................................................................................................................... 3 2. Other Areas ............................................................................................................. 5 POPULATION SIZE AND TREND .................................................................................... 5 1. Alberta .................................................................................................................... 5 2. Other Areas ............................................................................................................. 5 LIMITING FACTORS ........................................................................................................ 7 1. Pollinators and Pollen Dispersal ................................................................................ 7 2. Flowering Phenology ............................................................................................... 7 3. Habitat Fragmentation and Alteration ........................................................................ 8 4. Herbivory ................................................................................................................ 8 5. Wind ...................................................................................................................... 8 6. Horticultural and Medicinal Uses .............................................................................. 9 7. Exploitation by Non-pollinators ................................................................................ 9 STATUS DESIGNATIONS ............................................................................................... 10 1. Alberta .................................................................................................................. 10 2. Other Areas ........................................................................................................... 10 RECENT MANAGEMENT IN ALBERTA ....................................................................... 10 SYNTHESIS ..................................................................................................................... 11 LITERATURE CITED ....................................................................................................... 12 APPENDIX 1. ................................................................................................................... 15 APPENDIX 2. ..................................................................................................................