Conservation Assessment For The Kansan spikerush leafhopper (Dorydiella kansana Beamer) USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region January 11, 2005 James Bess OTIS Enterprises 13501 south 750 west Wanatah, Indiana 46390 This document is undergoing peer review, comments welcome This Conservation Assessment was prepared to compile the published and unpublished information on the subject taxon or community; or this document was prepared by another organization and provides information to serve as a Conservation Assessment for the Eastern Region of the Forest Service. It does not represent a management decision by the U.S. Forest Service. Though the best scientific information available was used and subject experts were consulted in preparation of this document, it is expected that new information will arise. In the spirit of continuous learning and adaptive management, if you have information that will assist in conserving the subject taxon, please contact the Eastern Region of the Forest Service - Threatened and Endangered Species Program at 310 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 580 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................ 1 NOMENCLATURE AND TAXONOMY ..................................................................................... 1 DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES........................................................................................................ 2 DESCRIPTION OF ADULT STAGE........................................................................................ 2 DESCRIPTION OF IMMATURE STAGES.............................................................................. 2 LIFE HISTORY.............................................................................................................................. 2 REPRODUCTION...................................................................................................................... 2 ECOLOGY ................................................................................................................................. 3 DISPERSAL/MIGRATION ....................................................................................................... 3 OBLIGATE ASSOCIATIONS................................................................................................... 4 HABITAT....................................................................................................................................... 4 RANGE-WIDE........................................................................................................................... 4 NATIONAL FORESTS: HOOSIER NF (PERRY CO., IN)...................................................... 4 SITE SPECIFIC.......................................................................................................................... 5 Hoosier NF: Cloverlick Barrens Special Area .....................................................................................................5 DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE......................................................................................... 5 RANGE-WIDE DISTRIBUTION.............................................................................................. 5 STATE AND NATIONAL FOREST DISTRIBUTION............................................................ 5 RANGE WIDE STATUS ...............................................................................................................6 POTENTIAL THREATS................................................................................................................ 7 PRESENT OR THREATENED RISKS TO HABITAT............................................................ 7 Fire Suppression...................................................................................................................................................8 Grazing...............................................................................................................................................................10 Pasture Development .........................................................................................................................................10 Competition from Introduced Species................................................................................................................11 Over utilization ..................................................................................................................................................11 Disease or Predation...........................................................................................................................................11 Insect Pest Control Efforts .................................................................................................................................12 Peat and Marl Mining ........................................................................................................................................14 Residential Development ...................................................................................................................................14 Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms...............................................................................................14 SUMMARY OF LAND OWNERSHIP & EXISTING HABITAT PROTECTION ............... 15 SUMMARY OF EXISTING MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ................................................... 15 SUMMARY OF EXISTING MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS 16 CURRENT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES........................................................................... 16 RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................................... 16 RESEARCH AND MONITORING ............................................................................................. 16 EXISTING SURVEYS, MONITORING, AND RESEARCH................................................. 17 SURVEY PROTOCOL ............................................................................................................ 17 MONITORING PROTOCOL................................................................................................... 18 RESEARCH PRIORITIES ....................................................................................................... 19 Additional Areas of Potential Dorydiella kansana Research..............................................................................20 Other Rare Species Associated with Dorydiella kansana...................................................................................20 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 21 APPENDIX................................................................................................................................... 35 Conservation Assessment for the Kansan spikerush leafhopper (Dorydiella kansana) ii LIST OF CONTACTS.................................................................................................................. 35 INFORMATION REQUESTS ................................................................................................. 35 REVIEW REQUESTS.............................................................................................................. 35 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Immature and Adult Stages of the Kansan spikerush leafhopper (Dorydiella kansana). Figure 2. Known Distribution of the Kansan spikerush leafhopper (Dorydiella kansana) and its Foodplants in the Eastern United States. Conservation Assessment for the Kansan spikerush leafhopper (Dorydiella kansana) iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Kansan spikerush leafhopper (Dorydiella kansana Beamer) is a fairly large, grayish leafhopper known from three widely separated regions of North America: 1.) alkaline cyperoid wetlands around the southern Great Lakes; 2.) similar wetlands on the southern Atlantic Coastal Plain and 3.) wetlands in the central Great Plains. It is considered rare and local throughout its range; always found in close association with its primary foodplants, spikerushs (Eleocharis spp.) and nutsedges. In much of its range, this leafhopper produces one to two broods per year, with the adults appearing in early summer and again in late summer. In peninsular Florida and the southern Atlantic Coast, it probably occurs year-round. Despite the production of multiple broods, the Kansan spikerush leafhopper is almost never common and most records consist of only one or a few individuals. The destruction and degradation of the nation's wetlands and wet- mesic grasslands over the past 200 years has greatly reduced suitable habitat for this and many other species. The few high quality fragments that remain are often small and highly isolated from one another. Therefore, a concentrated, region-wide effort to protect and restore habitat for this species will be needed to ensure its long-term survival. It is recommended that restoration projects (particularly those involving hydric alkaline grasslands and cyperoid wetlands) track the effects of restoration techniques on globally imperiled species, such as the Kansan spikerush leafhopper, when present. Much is still unknown about this insect, particularly regarding its range of habitat requirements, dispersal capabilities and long-term response