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§-iSs IF Umversi berta Library ■ ; c: :§: <§»‘^Sps§SsiP&:-v %;-\ypir 0 1620 3444076 6 September 2015 Volume 73 Number 3 rfM. ! "’“r ^ V SCI/TECH Front Covi Haga Ex Libris Back Cove :dkins fSl UNIVERSITY OF T T wALBERTA UNIVERSITATIS Albertensis Common Yellowthroat nest in the Habitat Conservation Area, within Wascana Centre, with two Brown-headed Cowbird chicks, June 2013. - Jared Clarke American goldfinch chicks Jared Clarke Blue Jay Vol. 73 No. 3 September 2015 101-152 Plants USING MULTIPLE DATA SOURCES ON SPECIES DISTRIBUTION FOR BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT: THE PRARIE CROCUS (ANEMONE PATENS) AS A CASE STUDY Vladimir V. Kricsfalusy, Meng Li and Charu Gupta.102 Birds AVIAN BIODIVERSITY IN AN URBAN PARK: BREEDING BIRDS OF THE HABITAT CONSERVATION AREA (2010-2014) Jared Clarke and Matthew Tokaruk.123 FREQUENCY OF NEST VISITS BY NON-RESIDENT HATCH-YEAR TREE SWALLOWS Russell D. Dawson...:...133 Notes and Letters NEWLY FLEDGED TREE SWALLOWS WHICH VISITED OTHER NESTBOXES Donald J. Stiles, William P. Taylor... 139 BULLSNAKE ENJOYING A MEAL Tera Edkins. *140 “WHITE’AMERICAN COOT Gale Diakuw. 141 Mushroom Series STARS OF THE GROUND - THE EARTHSTARS Chris Hay. 143 Mystery Photo.146 101 73 (3) September 2015 PLANTS USING MULTIPLE DATA SOURCES ON SPECIES DISTRIBUTION FOR BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT: THE PRARIE CROCUS (ANEMONE PATENS) AS A CASE STUDY VLADIMIR V. KRICSFALUSY1, MENG LI2 and CHARU GUPTA3 School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, 117 Science Place, Saskatoon SK, Canada S7N 5C8; department of Geography and Planning, University of Saskatchewan, 117 Science Place, Saskatoon SK, Canada S7N 5C8 3College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, 28 Campus Drive, Saskatoon SK, Canada S7N 5E6, Canada Corresponding author: Vladimir V. Kricsfalusy; email: [email protected] INTRODUCTION Biodiversity assessment comprehensive analysis of studies requires precise data about on biogeographical patterns and species distribution that are various environmental questions lacking for many areas because where herbarium collections they are often incomplete or have been successfully used, biased12. Recently, many studies refer to Lavoie12. In most cases are turning to the vast amount herbarium data provide error-free of information associated with information5. However, because of the natural history collections, its existing limitations2, additional particularly herbaria. Herbarium sources of information are data are useful for biodiversity required to assist in biodiversity exploration34, identification assessment and conservation of species of conservation planning. concern5, development of regional red lists6, prioritizing of Although mostly ignored until now, rare species for conservation freely accessible citizen science planning78, documenting effects phenology databases, which have of urbanization on flora9 as well as advanced intensely during the last assessment of spread and status decades, might be another source of invasive species1011. For a of information about species university library 102 UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA Blue Jay distribution. Monitoring programs data. These data offer particularly like NatureWatch in Canada are valuable information on plant highly cost effective and provide species occurrence within the a wealth of accurate data13. province’s Representative Areas A part of NatureWatch is the Network (RAN), which is intended PlantWatch program which was to conserve varied and unique established by Nature Canada and landscapes of Saskatchewan16. Environment Canada’s Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Data on species distribution Network14. PlantWatch enables obtained from different sources, citizen scientists to get involved i.e. herbarium collections, in research by recording flowering phenological database and field times for selected plant species surveys, often do not have the and reporting these dates to same level of accuracy17. This is databases or researchers. mostly because they were collected Based on the evidence of high using different approaches, i.e. effectiveness of the PlantWatch the traditional ad hoc method program13, the phenological versus systematic survey. Also, records from the regional distribution data often were databases like the Saskatchewan recorded before the widespread PlantWatch15 might be a good use of global positioning systems data source about plant species (GPS), particularly the older data distribution. in herbarium collections, and therefore in many cases cannot Field observations and surveys, be georeferenced with a high recorded in the form of vegetation level of accuracy. The combined releves, also provide valuable analysis of data obtained from data for biodiversity assessment; different sources may minimize however they are not often used the biases associated with each of for distribution analysis. Field the data sets which will eventually surveys can help to establish how help to judge the biodiversity representative existing herbarium conditions to improve the quality specimens are of general species of biodiversity assessments. range within the study area. In the course of the recent studies We initiated study on using multiple on sensitive plant species and data sources for distribution vegetation communities in analysis to inform biodiversity Saskatchewan8, a few hundred assessment by selecting the inventories were produced which prairie crocus (Anemone patens contain georeferenced distribution L.) from the buttercup family 103 73 (3) September 2015 (Ranunculaceae) as a model A. patens is a typical example species (Figure 1). This plant of a prairie plant that has declined is a common species of native greatly because most of its habitat grasslands in Saskatchewan18, were ploughed or cultivated2021. which have experienced a Therefore, studying distribution dramatic decline as a result of and range dynamics of A. changes in land use and the patens can provide conservation lack of a natural dynamic regime planners with important insights (e.g. grazing, fire) during the last into how this and other prairie centuries19. Current estimates plants may respond to the indicate that, on average, less increasing anthropogenic impact than 20% of the original prairie in and how to model the landscape the Central Plains remains, and to help assess the effects of only 3.5% has been protected different projects development overall within Canada. For some on biodiversity. This approach will prairie types, the situation is also allow expanding the current critical; e.g. most of the fescue knowledge on habitat preferences prairie in Saskatchewan was of A. patens, as well as important ploughed and less than 1 % of the features of the species ecology once vast area remains19. and biology. Figure 1. The prairie crocus (Anemone patens). 104 Blue Jay METHODS and author’s field surveys (2011 — For the purposes of this study 2013) have been included in this we access the freely available study. distribution records of A. patens from herbarium collections and Herbarium data phenological database, as well as Specimens of A. patens from conducted intensive field surveys. the collections in the W.P. Fraser Distribution records of A. patens Herbarium of the University of were obtained from herbarium Saskatchewan in Saskatoon specimens collected in the period (SASK)22 and the G.F. Ledingham from 1920 to 2000. In order to Herbarium of the University of reduce the herbarium data gap Regina (USAS)23 were the primary which occurred after the year sources of herbarium data for this 2000, observation records from study. Distribution data from the the SK PlantWatch (2001-2010) National Collection of Vascular Table 1. Records of Anemone patens occurrences in Saskatchewan (derived from the W.P. Fraser Herbarium of the University of Saskatchewan - SASK) d * l a e d t s ns it ns ze to or e os e y f m m l o ct p a i e i n e Period e c d c a g l e e l a o p K p K t c s s n S S e f f A f A o o o c S S r o o o e N N n N n P i i 1920-1930 4 4 0 2.6 1931-1940 7 10 5 6.6 1941-1950 2 4 3 2.6 1951-1960 13 13 13 8.6 1961-1970 10 36 35 23.8 1971-1980 13 27 27 17.9 1981-1990 18 30 29 19.9 1991-2000 18 27 27 17.9 Total 154 137 100.0 Note: *Specimens were removed from analysis if they could not be georeferenced. 73 (3) September 2015 105 Plants in Agriculture and Agri-Food In addition to the data gathered Canada (DAO)24, the National from the herbaria, a total of 3 Herbarium of Canada (CAN)25 in records of A. patens specimens Ottawa, and the Vascular Plant collected in Saskatchewan were Herbarium of the University of obtained using on-line access Alberta in Edmonton (ALTA)26 from the Vascular Plant Herbarium were also used in our study. of the University of Alberta26. Thus, finally selected 177 voucher In total, 179 specimens of A. patens specimens, asserted from 1920 to from the SASK were investigated 2000, formed database of records (Table 1). Of these, 24 specimens from herbarium collections (137 - outside of Saskatchewan and one SASK; 31 - USAS; 6 - DAO and specimen lacking location data CAN; 3 - ALTA) for the A. patens were excluded from the analysis. distribution analysis. Therefore, 154 records have been further analyzed. In cases where Phenological data latitude and longitude were not The SK PlantWatch15 database indicated, the coordinates were contains 83 georeferenced estimated based on the legal phenological observations of A. survey information given in terms patens recorded by volunteers of quarter, section, township and in Saskatchewan between 2001 meridian data or the best possible and 2010. All recorded points location point was estimated using were checked for accuracy and the Google Earth and the Atlas mapped using Google Earth. All of Canada reference maps27. recurrent points were excluded to Coordinates that were estimated eliminate multiple year collections may have inaccuracies of 5-10 km. at the same location (58 points). All recorded points were mapped Two locations were excluded, as using Google Earth. From the the plants were not growing in the preliminary selected 154 records, wild. In this way 23 observation 17 locations could not be correctly records from the database were estimated due to inadequate data selected and included in further on the voucher specimens and distribution analysis. hence 137 locations of A. patens from SASK were identified for the Survey data distribution analysis. Field surveys to search for A. patens were conducted The same procedure was used by researchers and student with respect to specimens from all volunteers from the University herbarium collections listed above. of Saskatchewan in the six 106 Blue Jay province’s ecoregions (Table 2). using a handheld GPS unit. As These field surveys were carried a general rule, two occurrences out at the sites with federal (2 of A. patens were considered national parks), provincial (3 to be distinct if their centers provincial parks), and private were separated by at least 100 (7 rangelands) land ownership. m. In some cases the recorded We also surveyed preserved large locations were an artificial remnants of natural grasslands representation of a population within the city of Saskatoon and its continuum. To minimize sampling vicinity, which are under municipal bias, we identified occurrences as administration (9), managed by separate points only when they the Meewasin Valley Authority (8), were more than 1 km apart. In Wanuskewin Heritage Park (1) or this way, 74 occurrences out of the University of Saskatchewan 288 were selected for distribution (1). Visits were made from the analysis. end of April to early June in 2011 — 2013. Student volunteers from G/S analysis the School of Environment and A map depicting the Sustainability at the University of distribution range of A. patens Saskatchewan contributed above in Saskatchewan was prepared 150 hours to this survey effort. for the final 274 records from different data sources: herbarium Field surveys were conducted collections (177), phenological by walking. A total 288 point database (23) and field surveys occurrences of A. patens were (74). Distribution of A. patens is georeferenced in these locations shown in 325 UTM grid cells 50 x Table 2. Geographical locations of field surveys of Anemone patens in Saskatchewan (n = 74 occurrences) Survey site Ecozone Ecoregion Greenwater Lake Provincial Park Boreal Plain Mid-Boreal Upland Prince Albert National Park Boreal Plain Mid-Boreal Upland Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve Prairie Aspen Parkland The Battlefords Provincial Park Prairie Aspen Parkland City of Prince Albert Prairie Boreal Transition Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park Prairie Cypress Upland Grasslands National Park Prairie Mixed Grassland City of Saskatoon Prairie Moist Mixed Grassland Meewasin Valley Authority Prairie Moist Mixed Grassland University of Saskatchewan Prairie Moist Mixed Grassland Wanuskewin Heritage Park Prairie Moist Mixed Grassland 107 73 (3) September 2015 m nm 8 as- £ D © 1 u. J E a E Z SASIC USAS DAO & CAN ALTA SK Field Surveys PiarttWateh IN umber of record.! Number of i Figure 2. Collecting intensity of Anemone patens in Saskatchewan (location records and mapping grids): SASK-W.P. Fraser Herbarium of the University of Saskatchewan; USAS - G.F. Ledingham Herbarium of the University of Regina; DAO - National Collection of Vascular Plants in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; CAN - National Herbarium of Canada; ALTA - Vascular Plant Herbarium of the University of Alberta; SK PlantWatch - Saskatchewan PlantWatch phenological database; Field surveys - author’s vegetation releves. 50 km (Table 3). This approach is in ecoregion and ecodistrict), climate accordance with plant distribution (precipitation, temperature and maps for other parts of the world. climate moisture index), soils, land cover, and protected area. We developed ArcGIS layers The ecological systems layer is a using data from different subset of the National Ecological sources and plotted A. patens Framework for Canada, which is occurrences. To analyze the A. designed in a nested hierarchy patens habitat associations across of ecozones, ecoregions, and the range, the following GIS layers ecodistrict, all these 3 layers were were considered: topography, acquired from AAFC website28, ecological systems (ecozone, and analyzed in this paper. 108 Blue Jay