birds and butterflies of the alpine: pipits, arctics, and fritillaries on mount washington
DESCRIPTION
Presented 29 May 2009 at the 6th Northeast Alpine Stewardship Gathering in Lake Placid, NY. Showcases Vermont Center for Ecostudies' research on American Pipits, White Mountain Arctic, and White Mountain Fritillary on the Presidentials Range in New Hampshire.TRANSCRIPT
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Birds and Butterflies of the AlpineBirds and Butterflies of the AlpinePipits, Arctics, and Fritillaries on Mount Washington
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VCE Mountain ResearchVCE Mountain Research
• Bicknell’s Thrush• Mountain Birdwatch• Mercury bioaccumulation• Climate modeling• American Pipits• Alpine Butterflies
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Why Mountains?Why Mountains?
• Unique • Vulnerable
– Mercury– Climate
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American PipitAmerican Pipit ((Anthus rubescensAnthus rubescens))
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• Mt Washington• Mt Katahdin• Chic-chocs
American PipitAmerican Pipit
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Our QuestionsOur Questions
• Is it feasible to conduct long-term studies of the Mt Washington population?
• Is there gene flow between populations?• Are they exposed to high levels of
mercury?• Do they warrant conservation status?
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2 nests13 chicks4 adults
July 10-11 2 Nests 4 Adults 13 Chicks
BandedMorphometricsFeathersBlood
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Deuterium: Genetic IsolationDeuterium: Genetic Isolation
Auk 2001
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Blood MercuryBlood Mercury
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
Araneae
Opiliones
Coleoptera
Hymenoptera
Diptera
Lepidoptera
Homoptera
Orthoptera
Hemiptera
Ord
er
Hg (ppm dry wt)
Ecotoxicology 2005
Wolf Spider
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Next StepsNext Steps
• Analyze feathers for deuterium• Determine main food items• Determine mercury content of prey• Estimate population size
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Alpine ButterfliesAlpine Butterflies
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Arctic Fritillary (Boloria titania)
Melissa Arctic(Oeneis melissa)
Two Unique SubspeciesTwo Unique Subspecies
Kaufman 2006
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White Mountain Arctic White Mountain Arctic ((Oenis melissa semideaOenis melissa semidea))
Allison Bell
State ThreatenedState Threatened
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Two-year Life CycleTwo-year Life Cycle
Host Plant: Bigelow’s Sedge(Carex bigelowii)
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Lek site
Sedge lawn
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Sunny, Calm Flying Time is LimitedSunny, Calm Flying Time is Limited
• Completely sunny days: one in June, one in July, three in August
• Percent of minutes sunny: 21% June, 30% July, 28% August
• Days more than half sunny: 18 of 92
• June had five days more than half sunny, but three of those had an average wind speed of more than 30mph
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White White Mountain Mountain Fritillary Fritillary ((Boloria titania Boloria titania montinus)montinus)
State EndangeredState Endangered
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Fritillary Habitat: Fritillary Habitat: • snowbank• cushion-tussock• alpine streamside plant communities
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Important Nectar SourcesImportant Nectar Sources • Alpine Goldenrod• Purple-stemmed Aster• Meadowsweet
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Eastern Canada:
• Dwarf Willows
• Alpine Smartweed
• Violets
Western Populations:
• Willows
• Bilberry
• Blueberry
• Cranberry
Potential Host PlantsPotential Host Plants
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0
10
20
30
40
50
60
23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
% Butterflies Observed
Week
Oeneis melissa semidea
Boloria titania montinus
Flight PeriodsFlight Periods
WM Arctic WM Fritillary
% B
utte
rflie
s O
bser
ved
Week
14 J
une
23 J
uly
15 S
epte
mbe
r
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RecommendationsRecommendations
• Monitoring protocol for Arctic- lek sites- transects
• Monitoring protocol for Fritillary- transects
• Determine survivorship and detectability• Determine host plant of Fritillary• Investigate shifts in timing of flight periods• Continue education efforts
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Large format poster on display at Appalachian Mountain Club and Randolph Mountain Club huts in the Presidential Range
EducationEducation
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Logistic and Financial Support:Logistic and Financial Support:
The Waterman Fund
White Mountain National Forest
Mount Washington Auto Road
Appalachian Mountain Club