DOCSLIB.ORG

Classification of Dwarf Heath Plant Communities on the Coastal Barrens of Nova Scotia

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Classification of Dwarf Heath Plant Communities on the Coastal Barrens of Nova Scotia CLASSIFICATION OF DWARF HEATH PLANT COMMUNITIES ON THE COASTAL BARRENS OF NOVA SCOTIA By Caitlin Porter A Thesis submitted to Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Applied Science. © Caitlin Porter, 2013 Halifax, Nova Scotia Approved: Dr. Jeremy Lundholm Supervisor Approved: Sean Basquill, M.Sc. Supervisory Committee Approved: Dr. Danika van Proosdij Supervisory Committee Approved: Dr. Nick Hill Supervisory Committee i ABSTRACT Classification of Dwarf Heath Plant Communities on the Coastal Barrens of Nova Scotia By Caitlin Porter Abstract: Nova Scotia’s coastal barrens are comprised predominantly of heathlands, a globally threatened community type. Coastal barrens provide habitat for a number of nationally rare species. Despite their ecological and cultural importance, Nova Scotia’s coastal barrens are poorly described. My objectives were to classify and describe coastal dwarf heath plant communities and to quantify environmental factors that explain variation in their composition, diversity, and distribution. I sampled plant species abundance alongside comprehensive environmental and soils data across Nova Scotia. Using ordinations and cluster analyses combined, I numerically classified three distinctive plant communities. I inventoried 253 species of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens, including several species of conservation concern. Environmental variables with significant influence on heathland vegetation structure included: moisture regime, fetch distance, soil depth, elevation, distance from the coast, and slope gradient. Future conservation efforts should prioritize rare species and evaluate habitat representivity using these quantitative community definitions in place of current qualitative approaches. May, 2013. ii DEDICATION For my family for their love and support: Nan and Gramp, Aunt Joan, Mom and Dad and my brother Evan. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would firstly like to thank my supervisor Dr. Jeremy Lundholm for his mentorship. Jeremy provided valuable guidance, insight and support while also enabling me to pursue research questions that I found personally rewarding. He provided me with many unique opportunities within and parallel to my thesis that greatly enriched my learning experience. Jeremy had faith in my abilities and has always been encouraging. His leadership also created a uniquely supportive and creative-thinking lab dynamic that I have enjoyed being a part of. Sean Basquill is a committee member but also acted as my supervisor for 4 months of this thesis during my employment with NSDNR. My field experiences with Sean were challenging and among the best times of my life so far. I greatly appreciate his mentorship, encyclopedic ecological knowledge, and general support throughout the entire process of my thesis. Mentorship from both Jeremy and Sean provided me with even more opportunity to learn than I had expected of grad school. I greatly appreciate Dr. Danika van Proosdij’s broader contextual perspective, attention to detail and helpful feedback. Thanks to my external examiner, Nick Hill for providing perspective and insight, particularly in terms of ecological theory and as well from extensive field research experience in Nova Scotia. iii Thank you also to Tony Bowron and Nancy Neat of CBWES for opportunities outside of my thesis and for being helpful and flexible supervisors. This research would not be possible without all of the field support I received. Thanks to Brett Weddle for his field assistance and Lawrence Benjamin at NSDNR for field support and for introducing me to some very interesting rare plants. Thanks also to Kim Campbell and Rayna Ogilvie for field assistance. Thanks to Kevin Keys for guidance and input with respect to soils. Thanks to Terry Power for field support and he and Reg Newell for their local knowledge. Thanks to Ken Corkum for the lift. Unknown vascular species were identified by Sean Blaney and David Mazerolle of the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Center. Sarah Robinson of ACCDC also shared her reports on sand dunes in Nova Scotia. Unknown bryophyte specimens were identified by Bruce Bagnell of the New Brunswick Museum. Unknown lichens were identified by Frances Anderson of the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History. Thanks to Greg Baker for GIS help, mapping advice, and coding the fetch model for my thesis. Thanks also to Frances McKinnon at NSDNR for GIS support. Thanks to Ben Lemieux and Chance Creelman for their friendship and thoughtful review of my thesis. Thanks to Jeff Barrell for support and also review of my final draft. Thanks to Rob William for helping me with public speaking, solidarity in late lab nights, and thanks to he, Amanda Lowe and Steph Tran for their friendship and support. Thanks to all my EPIC labmates, Amy Hiem and Stephanie Appleby-Jones for their friendship and support. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS FIGURES .................................................................................................................................... VII TABLES ..................................................................................................................................... VIII INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 OVERARCHING RELEVANCE .......................................................................................................... 1 GEOGRAPHY OF NOVA SCOTIA BARRENS ..................................................................................... 2 BIOGEOGRAPHY AND CLASSIFICATION OF BARREN HABITATS ................................................... 2 ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE ........................................................................................................... 4 THREATS TO BARRENS ................................................................................................................... 6 SCOPE OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH ON NOVA SCOTIA BARRENS...................................................... 8 VEGETATION CLASSIFICATION ..................................................................................................... 9 NS COASTAL BARREN PLANT COMMUNITIES .............................................................................. 10 COASTAL BARRENS ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................................ 12 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................... 13 METHODS ................................................................................................................................... 14 STUDY AREA .................................................................................................................................. 14 GEOGRAPHY: AREA AND DISTRIBUTION OF BARRENS ................................................................... 14 CLIMATE: TEMPERATURE, PRECIPITATION AND GROWING SEASON .............................................. 15 CLIMATE: EXPOSURE ...................................................................................................................... 15 BEDROCK ....................................................................................................................................... 17 SURFICIAL MINERAL DEPOSITS ...................................................................................................... 18 SOIL ................................................................................................................................................ 19 STUDY SITE SELECTION ................................................................................................................ 20 SAMPLE UNIT (PLOTS) .................................................................................................................. 21 VEGETATION SURVEY ................................................................................................................... 22 ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS AND SOIL ....................................................................... 23 GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES ............................................................................................................ 23 SOIL SURVEY INCLUDED COMPLETE SOIL PITS AT EACH SAMPLE PLOT ......................................... 26 STATISTICAL METHODS OF NUMERICAL CLASSIFICATION ........................................................ 29 PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS (PCA) ............................................................................... 30 RATIONALE FOR SELECTION OF PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS (PCA) ............................... 30 REDUNDANCY ANALYSIS (RDA) ................................................................................................... 32 CLUSTER ANALYSES ...................................................................................................................... 34 PLANT COMMUNITY CONCEPT ....................................................................................................... 35 v RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................... 37 FLORA ............................................................................................................................................ 37 FREQUENCY AND ABUNDANCE OF SPECIES ...................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Coptis Trifolia Conservation Assessment
    CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT for Coptis trifolia (L.) Salisb. Originally issued as Management Recommendations December 1998 Marty Stein Reconfigured-January 2005 Tracy L. Fuentes USDA Forest Service Region 6 and USDI Bureau of Land Management, Oregon and Washington CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT FOR COPTIS TRIFOLIA Table of Contents Page List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. 2 List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ 2 Summary........................................................................................................................................ 4 I. NATURAL HISTORY............................................................................................................. 6 A. Taxonomy and Nomenclature.......................................................................................... 6 B. Species Description ........................................................................................................... 6 1. Morphology ................................................................................................................... 6 2. Reproductive Biology.................................................................................................... 7 3. Ecological Roles ............................................................................................................. 7 C. Range and Sites
    [Show full text]
  • Fruit Production in Cranberry (Ericaceae: Vaccinium Macrocarpon): a Bet-Hedging Strategy to Optimize Reproductive Effort1
    American Journal of Botany 93(6): 910–916. 2006. FRUIT PRODUCTION IN CRANBERRY (ERICACEAE: VACCINIUM MACROCARPON): A BET-HEDGING STRATEGY TO OPTIMIZE REPRODUCTIVE EFFORT1 ADAM O. BROWN2 AND JEREMY N. MCNEIL3 Department of Biology, Laval University, Quebec City, G1K 7P4 Canada In the cultivated cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon), reproductive stems produce 1–3 fruit even though they usually have 5–7 flowers in the spring. We undertook experiments to test the hypothesis that this was an adaptive life history strategy associated with reproductive effort rather than simply the result of insufficient pollination. We compared fruit production on naturally pollinated plants with those that were either manually pollinated or that were caged to exclude insects. Clearly, insects are necessary for the effective pollination of cranberry plants, but hand pollination of all flowers did not result in an increase in fruit number. Most of the upper flowers, which had significantly fewer ovules than did the lower flowers, aborted naturally soon after pollination. However, when the lower flower buds were removed, the upper flowers produced fruit. This suggests that the upper flowers may serve as a backup if the earlier blooming lower ones are lost early in the season. Furthermore, the late-blooming flowers may still contribute to the plant’s reproductive success as visiting pollinators remove the pollen, which could serve to sire fruit on other plants. These results are discussed in the context of their possible evolutionary and proximate causes. Key words:
    [Show full text]
  • Plant Defences at No Cost? the Recovery of Tundra Scrubland Following Heavy Grazing by Grey-Sided Voles, Myodes Rufocanus
    Evolutionary Ecology Research, 2009, 11: 1205–1216 Plant defences at no cost? The recovery of tundra scrubland following heavy grazing by grey-sided voles, Myodes rufocanus Jonas Dahlgren1,2, Lauri Oksanen3,4, Johan Olofsson1 and Tarja Oksanen1 1Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden, 2Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden, 3Department of Biology, Section of Ecology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland and 4Department of Natural Sciences, Finnmark University College, Alta, Norway ABSTRACT Background: Evergreen ericaceous dwarf shrubs form a dominating component of low arctic and low alpine vegetation. They typically produce high contents of secondary chemicals such as phenolics. The primary function of these chemicals may be to defend the shrubs by making them less palatable to herbivores. Question: Does the production of secondary chemicals carry a fitness cost in terms of low growth rate and, therefore, low capacity to recover from past herbivory? Methods: In 2000, we constructed vole-proof exclosures on low arctic islands where vegetation had, since 1991, been heavily impacted by grey-sided voles. In 2000 and 2003, we surveyed the vegetation of the exclosures, of unfenced plots on the same islands, and of control plots on a vole-free island. We used the point-frequency method for vegetation surveys. Results: In the exclosures, the biomasses of most plant species increased, by and large, at the same pace. The two woody species, which increased most rapidly, were the maximally palatable bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and the phenolics-laden, maximally unpalatable northern crowberry (Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaprhoditum). The recovery rates of these species were similar.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecology of the Broom Crowberry (Corema Conradii)
    Ecology of the Broom Crowberry (Corema conradii) a Pine Barren Perennial Alyssa Rosso Health Science, College of Arts and Sciences University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT Introduction Methods Conrad's Broom-Crowberry (Corema conradii) is found in both the meadow 1. Randomly select three Crowberry plants in each habitat. and forest habitats of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The Crowberry grows 2. Collect 50 g of the soil from under each plant and determine best in well-drained soils with an acidic pH. Wild fires have a significant the average height, diameter, and area using the equation “area = effect on the growth of its native wild life. Pine barren habitats are subject to πr2”. frequent wildfires, however the meadow habitat is burned annually as part of 3. Determine the water concentration, and pH of the soil samples. The the management of the Pine Barrens wilderness. water concentration of each soil sample was determined by taking Hypotheses the initial weight once collected then placing the soil in an autoclave 1. The meadow being the most recently burned habitat in the Pine oven at 42°C for 48 hours before weighing the sample again in order Barrens, is expected to exhibit a soil with a low water concentration to determine how much water evaporated. The pH of the soils were and an acidic pH. determined by placing the soil in a 1:1 ratio with deionized water for 2. The average diameter and area of the Conrad's Broom- 24 hours before using a Lab Quest to read the pH. Crowberry (Corema conradii) plants found in the meadow habitat will 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Impact of Climate Change on the Small Mammal Community of the Yukon
    Integrative Zoology 2019; 14: 528–541 doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12397 1 ORIGINAL ARTICLE 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 Impact of climate change on the small mammal community of the 7 8 8 9 Yukon boreal forest 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 Charles J. KREBS,1 Rudy BOONSTRA,2 B. Scott GILBERT,3 Alice J. KENNEY1 and Stan 13 14 14 4 15 BOUTIN 15 16 1Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2Department of Biological 16 17 Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 3Renewable Resources Management Program, Yukon 17 18 18 College, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada and 4Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 19 19 20 20 21 21 22 Abstract 22 23 23 24 Long-term monitoring is critical to determine the stability and sustainability of wildlife populations, and if 24 25 change has occurred, why. We have followed population density changes in the small mammal community in 25 26 the boreal forest of the southern Yukon for 46 years with density estimates by live trapping on 3–5 unmanipulat- 26 27 ed grids in spring and autumn. This community consists of 10 species and was responsible for 9% of the ener- 27 28 gy flow in the herbivore component of this ecosystem from 1986 to 1996, but this increased to 38% from 2003 28 29 to 2014. Small mammals, although small in size, are large in the transfer of energy from plants to predators and 29 30 decomposers.
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Change Affecting Dwarf Shrubs from Temperate and Arctic Ecosystems: an Experimental Approach Buizer, D.A.G
    VU Research Portal Climate change affecting dwarf shrubs from temperate and Arctic ecosystems: an experimental approach Buizer, D.A.G. 2013 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) Buizer, D. A. G. (2013). Climate change affecting dwarf shrubs from temperate and Arctic ecosystems: an experimental approach. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. E-mail address: [email protected] Download date: 11. Oct. 2021 Climate change affecting dwarf shrubs from temperate and Arctic ecosystems: an experimental approach Voor Nelleke VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT Climate change affecting dwarf shrubs from temperate and Arctic ecosystems: an experimental approach ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. F.A. van der Duyn Schouten, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de Faculteit der Aard- en Levenswetenschappen op vrijdag 13 september 2013 om 11.45 uur in de aula van de universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door Dingeman Albert Gerrit Buizer geboren te Bergen promotor: prof.dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report
    U.S. Geological Survey-National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Program Acadia National Park, Maine Project Report Revised Edition – October 2003 Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U. S. Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey. USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Acadia National Park U.S. Geological Survey-National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Program Acadia National Park, Maine Sara Lubinski and Kevin Hop U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center and Susan Gawler Maine Natural Areas Program This report produced by U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center 2630 Fanta Reed Road La Crosse, Wisconsin 54603 and Maine Natural Areas Program Department of Conservation 159 Hospital Street 93 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0093 In conjunction with Mike Story (NPS Vegetation Mapping Coordinator) NPS, Natural Resources Information Division, Inventory and Monitoring Program Karl Brown (USGS Vegetation Mapping Coordinator) USGS, Center for Biological Informatics and Revised Edition - October 2003 USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Acadia National Park Contacts U.S. Department of Interior United States Geological Survey - Biological Resources Division Website: http://www.usgs.gov U.S. Geological Survey Center for Biological Informatics P.O. Box 25046 Building 810, Room 8000, MS-302 Denver Federal Center Denver, Colorado 80225-0046 Website: http://biology.usgs.gov/cbi Karl Brown USGS Program Coordinator - USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Phone: (303) 202-4240 E-mail: [email protected] Susan Stitt USGS Remote Sensing and Geospatial Technologies Specialist USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Phone: (303) 202-4234 E-mail: [email protected] Kevin Hop Principal Investigator U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Factors Contributing to Human Injuries and Fatalities Inflicted by Brown Bears (Ursus Arctos) in Russia, 1932-2017
    Master’s Thesis 2018 60 ECTS Norwegian University of Life Sciences Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management Factors contributing to human injuries and fatalities inflicted by brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Russia, 1932-2017 Svitlana Kudrenko Master in Ecology Preface This study was conducted at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). I wish to express my warmest gratitude to my supervisors Jon Swenson and Andrés Ordiz for making this study happen. I appreciate their support of this terrifying thesis, which remains as captivating as the species studied. I have been fortunate to have their supervision and guidance through this process. They have graciously allowed me the opportunity to present a poster on this research at the 26th International Conference on Bear Research and Management. I would also like to thank IBA Travel Grants Committee for providing a travel grant to attend this conference. I wish to thank Leonid Baskin for providing valuable information on brown bear ecology, human-bear conflict in Russia, hunters’ surveys on bear encounters, as well as for the feedback that has improved the manuscript. Many thanks to Svetalna Barysheva for sharing the dataset on brown bear attacks. I am also grateful to: Mahdieh Tourani, Richard Bischof, and Ross Wetherbee for valuable tips about data analysis and visualization, as well as to the staff at the NBMU Library for ordering literature from abroad and helping me with editing Russian references. Ås, 05.12.2018 ………………………………………………………. Svitlana Kudrenko i Abstract In this thesis, I have compiled, summarized, and reviewed 322 cases of people killed and injured by brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Russia from 1932 to 2017.
    [Show full text]
  • Acadian-Appalachian Alpine Tundra
    Acadian-Appalachian Alpine Tundra Macrogroup: Alpine yourStateNatural Heritage Ecologist for more information about this habitat. This is modeledmap a distributiononbased current and is data nota substitute for field inventory. based Contact © Josh Royte (The Nature Conservancy, Maine) Description: A sparsely vegetated system near or above treeline in the Northern Appalachian Mountains, dominated by lichens, dwarf-shrubland, and sedges. At the highest elevations, the dominant plants are dwarf heaths such as alpine bilberry and cushion-plants such as diapensia. Bigelow’s sedge is characteristic. Wetland depressions, such as small alpine bogs and rare sloping fens, may be found within the surrounding upland matrix. In the lower subalpine zone, deciduous shrubs such as nannyberry provide cover in somewhat protected areas; dwarf heaths including crowberry, Labrador tea, sheep laurel, and lowbush blueberry, are typical. Nearer treeline, spruce and fir that State Distribution: ME, NH, NY, VT have become progressively more stunted as exposure increases may form nearly impenetrable krummholz. Total Habitat Acreage: 8,185 Ecological Setting and Natural Processes: Percent Conserved: 98.1% High winds, snow and ice, cloud-cover fog, and intense State State GAP 1&2 GAP 3 Unsecured summer sun exposure are common and control ecosystem State Habitat % Acreage (acres) (acres) (acres) dynamics. Found mostly above 4000' in the northern part of NH 51% 4,160 4,126 0 34 our region, alpine tundra may also occur in small patches on ME 44% 3,624 2,510 1,082 33 lower ridgelines and summits and at lower elevations near the Atlantic coast. NY 3% 285 194 0 91 VT 1% 115 115 0 0 Similar Habitat Types: Acadian-Appalachian Montane Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forests typically occur downslope.
    [Show full text]
  • Minutes of the 990 Meeting 12 September 2003 Arthur V. Gilman
    New England Botanical Club - Minutes of the 990th Meeting 12 September 2003 Arthur V. Gilman, Recording Secretary pro tempore The 763rd meeting of the New England Botanical Club, being the 990th since its original organization was held at the University of Massachusetts-Boston Field Station on Polpis Rd., Nantucket, MA. The fall away meeting was well attended by over 25 members and guests. Following brief remarks and remembrances of long-time Club member Dr. Wesley N. Tiffney, Jr., who ran the field station for many years, the Club welcomed Dr. Ernie Steinauer, Director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s programs on Nantucket, who spoke on “Restoring and Maintaining Nantucket’s Rare Plant Communities.” The particular Nantucket communities of most concern from a botanical perspective are sandplain grassland, which is considered globally endangered, and coastal heathland, which is considered globally threatened. Rare species of these habitats include butterfly-weed (Asclepias tuberosa), bushy rockrose (Helianthemum dumosum), broom crowberry (Corema conradii), silvery aster (Aster concolor), New England blazing star (Liatris borealis var. novae-angliae), and lion’s-foot (Prenanthes serpentaria). There is a serious debate about the original extent of these habitats. In presettlement times (when there a was large but mostly seasonal population of Native Americans) they may have been limited to immediate coastal areas, where salt spray reduced woody plant cover. In any case, it is apparent that these plant communities were in large part maintained over a period of more than 200 years by sheep-grazing, which was at times quite intensive (in 1700 there were 17,000 sheep on the island).
    [Show full text]
  • Corema Conradii) Benefits from Ant Seed Dispersal in Coastal US Heathlands
    Plant Ecol DOI 10.1007/s11258-015-0493-5 Vulnerable broom crowberry (Corema conradii) benefits from ant seed dispersal in coastal US heathlands Erin Hilley . Rachel Thiet Received: 13 January 2015 / Accepted: 1 July 2015 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015 Abstract Ant seed dispersal is a globally important dispersed 60 % of fruit in fruit-baiting experiments, mutualism that occurs in over 10,000 plant species. suggesting they may function as primary dispersers in Relatively little research has been conducted on ant this system. Ants dispersed fruit outside the burn seed dispersal of Corema conradii (broom crowberry), footprints 82 % of the time, and seedlings occurred a key constituent of globally threatened coastal outside the burn footprints 90 % of the time. Our heathland ecosystems where fire is part of the distur- results suggest that ant seed dispersal confers impor- bance regime. We conducted field studies at Cape Cod tant reproductive benefits to C. conradii by directing National Seashore, MA, USA to better understand the seed dispersal sufficient distances away from parent fruiting biology of C. conradii and to explore the plants onto suitable substrates for germination after benefits of ant seed dispersal. We identified how C. intense, episodic fires. conradii fruit is displayed to foraging ants, determined the ant species that disperse C. conradii fruit, and Keywords Elaiosomes Á Endangered plants Á quantified the distance that ants disperse fruit. We Fire adaptation Á Mutualism Á Myrmecochory hypothesized that ants would disperse fruit away from C. conradii parent plants that become burn footprints following fire, to ensure seed dispersal to suitable Introduction germination sites, where we expected to find higher seedling establishment.
    [Show full text]
  • Koryak Autonomous Okrug
    CHUKOTKA Russian Far East Ayanka Severo-Kamchatsk Slautnoe Oklan MAGADAN Manily Kamenskoe Paren Talovka PENZHINSKY OLYUTORSKY Achavayam Verkhnie Pakhachi Srednie Pakhachi Khailino Pakhachi a Apuka e Tilichiki S Korf Vyvenka g k n s i t SKY Tymlat r ¯ o Lesnaya Ossora e h Karaga B km PALANA k 100 P! KARAGIN Karagin O Island Ivashka f Voyampolka o a Sedanka Tigil e TIGILSKY Map 9.1 S Kovran Ust-Khairyuzovo Koryak Autonomous Khairyuzovo Okrug 301,500 sq. km KORYAKIA KAMCHATKA By Newell and Zhou / Sources: Ministry of Natural Resources, 2002; ESRI, 2002. 312 Ⅲ THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST Newell, J. 2004. The Russian Far East: A Reference Guide for Conservation and Development. McKinleyville, CA: Daniel & Daniel. 466 pages CHAPTER 9 Koryak Autonomous Okrug (Koryakia) Location The Koryak Autonomous Okrug (Koryakia) covers the northern two-thirds of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the adjoining mainland, and several islands, the largest of which is Karaginsky Island. The northern border with Chukotka and Magadan Oblast runs along the tops of ridges, marking Koryakia as a separate watershed from those territories. The southern border with Kamchatka Oblast marks the beginning of Eurasia’s most dramatic volcanic landscape. Size 301,500 sq. km, or about the size of the U.S. state of Arizona. Climate Koryakia’s subarctic climate is moderated by the Sea of Okhotsk and the North Pacifi c. January temperatures average about –25°c, and July temperatures average 10°c to 14°c. Average annual precipitation for the region is between 300 and 700 mm. Inland areas in the north have a more continental and drier climate, and areas around the Sea of Okhotsk tend to be cooler in winter and summer than those on the Pacifi c shore.
    [Show full text]