Volume 10 • Number 2 • November 2003What’sInside…✴ Creating a Second

Sandplain GerardiaPopulation

✴ Assessing HabitatSuitability forAmphibians

✴ BioBlitz 2003Photos

✴ A New Feature:“Notes from Fieldand Study”

✴ Memories ofRichard Champlin

✴ RINHS 2004Conference

✴ and lots more...

Freshwater Mussels in Rhode Island: Part I. IntroductionB Y J A Y C O R D E I R O

The animalPhylum Mol-lusca (mollusks)includes suchorganisms asclams, snails,slugs, chitons,octopus, andsquid, amongothers. Only thesnails and clamshave beensuccessful incolonizingfreshwaterhabitats. This isthe first of three

articles on Rhode Island freshwatermussels to appear in Rhode IslandNaturalist. This article will discussmussel life history, population declines,and threats to freshwater mussels in thestate. Future articles will document astate faunal list, describe habitat andconservation status, review the historyof the state’s freshwater mussel studies,list eminent local malacologists, andprovide insight into Rhode Islandmussel collections, among them that atthe Roger Williams Park Museum inProvidence.

Freshwater mussels (familiesMargaritiferidae and Unionidae) haveattained their greatest diversity inNorth America, with more than 300species and subspecies in the UnitedStates and Canada (Turgeon et al.1998; Williams et al. 1993) of about1000 worldwide. Currently, no compre-hensive field guide exists for RhodeIsland, although the Rhode IslandDivision of Fish and Wildlife doesmaintain a database of freshwater

mussels in Rhode Island (C. Raithel,pers. comm.). Guides have beenrecently produced for neighboringstates, including Connecticut (J.Cordeiro, in prep.), Massachusetts(Smith 1995), Maine (Nedeau et al.2000), New York (Cordeiro 2003;Strayer and Jirka 1997), and Vermont(Fichtel and Smith 1995).

Life HistoryFreshwater mussels (Figure 1) areusually separate sexed (dioecious), withsome species capable of self-fertilizing(hermaphroditic). Sperm, releaseddirectly into the water, fertilizes eggs inmodified brood pouches (marsupia) inthe gills of the female, where theydevelop from days to months intolarvae called glochidia. Long-termbrooders (bradytictic) fertilize insummer or early fall with glochidiareleased the following spring, whileshort-term brooders (tachytictic)fertilize in spring with glochidialrelease later the same summer.

Freshwater mussels have evolved ahighly specialized mode of dispersal forthe glochidia larvae. In nearly allspecies, glochidia are obligate parasiteson the bodies or gills of fish or someamphibians. Glochidia encyst justbeneath the host tissue as ectoparasites,rarely causing permanent harm to thehost. When metamorphosis is complete,the juvenile mussel falls from the hostto the bottom to begin its life.

Glochidia are host-specific (one ormore host species per species of mussel)and unless the proper host is found,they will be sloughed off by the host’snatural defenses and die.

Mussels reach sexual maturity at aboutsix years, and life span averages 8 to20 years, although one species in RhodeIsland, Margaritifera margaritifera (theEastern Pearlshell), may live over 100years. Survival past maturity is depen-dent on the critical dispersal, settle-ment, and early growth stages. Once amussel reaches maturity, its chances ofsurvival increase exponentially.

ThreatsThere currently exists a global crisis offreshwater mussel decline and extinc-tion. In the last 25 years, this crisis hasdeveloped on a monumental scale. Ofthe 300 North American taxa, only25% have stable populations, while23% are listed under the U.S. Endan-gered Species Act (62 endangered and 8threatened), and some 12% are be-lieved to be already extinct (Bogan1996). NatureServe (a nonprofitconservation organization providingup-to-date information on rare plants,animals, and communities) lists 68% ofNorth American freshwater mussels atrisk of extinction (Stein and Flack1997), a greater percentage than anyother animal or plant group tracked byNatureServe. Most endangered musselspecies in North America are found inthe Southeast, where extensive riversystems support a great diversity ofnative species. Rhode Island supports afew state species at risk (to be discussed

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in detail in an upcoming article in this series).

Natural threats to freshwater mussel populations are varied.Predation is limited because relatively few animals consumeadult freshwater mussels, among them muskrats, raccoons,mink, otters, some waterfowl, some turtles, and a few fishes(freshwater drum, carp, some sturgeon, and certain catfish).Various parasites (mites, leeches, flukes, distomids) areknown to infect freshwater mussels, causing death in rareinstances.

Pollution has become a severe problem for all freshwaterorganisms across North America. Point-source pollutionincludes that from industrial effluent pipes, wastewaterrelease, and chemical spills. Non-point-source pollutionincludes sediment accumulation, nutrient accumulation,nutrient overloading, acid precipitation, and heavy metals.Effects on mussels include decreases in metabolism, declinein respiration, tissue deterioration, growth rate reduction,and death.

Channelization of a riverbed during dredging to allow boattraffic physically scours sediments (as well as mussels) fromthe streambed, resulting in a streambed inhospitable to themussel fauna that formerly occurred in the area. Impound-ment, or damming of a river system, reduces flow, increasessediment load upstream of the impoundment, and erodeshabitat downstream. Mussels cannot tolerate the sedimentaccumulation or the deeper, colder water of reservoirs, andthey perish. Dams also restrict fish distribution, strandingmussel populations upstream with no hosts and no chance ofreproducing.

In recent years, introduced aquatic species have causedsignificant declines in native mussel populations (Mills et al.1997; Strayer 1999) and have had serious and costly eco-nomic impacts on North American industry, causing billionsof dollars in damage, subsequent repair, and removal. TheZebra Mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, was accidentally

introduced into Lake Erie in December 1987 (Leach 1993)and into Lake St. Clair in June 1988 (Hebert et al. 1989),most likely as larvae in the ballast water of cargo ships fromEurope. Like the marine Blue Mussel, Mytilus edulis, ZebraMussels attach to hard surfaces, with a reported density ofover 10,000 individuals on a single native mussel. Foulingon native freshwater mussels decreases fitness, respiration,and water clearance rates; depletes energy stores; and leadsto death by smothering. Zebra Mussels can alter entireecosystems, increasing water transparency, reducing sus-pended organic matter and phytoplankton production, andphysically altering the community (Karatayev et al. 1997).In 1938, Asiatic Clams, Corbicula fluminea, were introducedinto the Columbia River near Knappton, Washington,possibly as a potential food item (Counts 1986). In additionto fouling power plants and irrigation pipes like ZebraMussels, this species can alter benthic substrates and com-pete with native mussels for food, and may inadvertentlyconsume larval freshwater mussels (Leff et al. 1990). ZebraMussels now have been documented in 22 U.S. states andtwo Canadian provinces, while Asiatic Clams occur in 40states and two provinces. Fortunately, Zebra Mussels havenot invaded Rhode Island, but they are in Twin Lakes inwestern Connecticut and in Lake Champlain, Vermont.Despite low water temperatures limiting dispersal (Graney etal. 1980), Asiatic Clams occur at Haddam Neck in the lowerConnecticut River (Morgan et al. 1991, 2003) and arespreading to other tributaries (J. Cordeiro, personal re-search). They were also recorded in Tiogue Lake in Coven-try, Rhode Island in July 2000 by Charles Brown of theRIDEM Division of Fish & Wildlife.

Concluding RemarksUnfortunately, freshwater mussels are experiencing severedeclines across North America, and Rhode Island is noexception. Of the ten species documented historically tooccur in Rhode Island, nearly all are in some state of declinein New England. A complete list of Rhode Island species andglochidial hosts, habitat, North American distribution,limited state locality data, and state conservation status willbe included in the second article in this series.

Literature CitedBogan, A.E. 1996. Decline and decimation: the extirpation of the

unionid freshwater bivalves of North America. Journal ofShellfish Research 15:484.

Cordeiro, J. 2003. Freshwater Mussels of the New York Metropoli-tan Region and New Jersey. A Guide to Their Identification,Biology and Conservation. American Museum of NaturalHistory, New York, NY. At http://research.amnh.org/biodiversity/mussel/index.html

Counts, C.L., III. 1986. The zoogeography and history of theinvasion of the United States by Corbicula fluminea (Bivalvia:Corbiculidae). American Malacological Bulletin, Special Edition2:7–39.

Fichtel, C., and D.G. Smith. 1995. The Freshwater Mussels ofVermont. Leahy Press, Montpelier, VT.

Figure 1. Specimens of Ligumia nasuta, the Creeper (photographed bythe author).

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Gerardias belong to the plant family Scrophulariaceae,familiar to botanists and gardeners alike, which includessuch species as foxgloves and snapdragons. This is a largegroup, containing about 50 native Rhode Island species(Gould et al. 1998). Gerardia flowers are slightly irregularin shape (with weak bilateral symmetry), and feature fivepetals that are fused at their base to form a tube or corolla.Several species are hemiparasites, forming root connectionswith certain host plants to augment their nutrient intake.This relationship apparently does not harm the host plant.

The Sandplain Gerardia (Agalinis acuta) is one of the rarestplants in the world. A. acuta was not endowed with a largedistribution to begin with; its historical range extended onlyfrom Maryland to Cape Cod along a narrow region ofcoastal plain. But A. acuta was extremely localized evenwithin that band, with only 49 known historical sites. Itsstatus in Rhode Island mirrors this pattern: there are onlyfive verified historical sites, none more recent than about1945. By the time Agalinis acuta attracted conservationattention in the 1980s, it had declined to about ten popula-tions range-wide, most of which were located on LongIsland, New York, and it was believed long gone fromRhode Island. Because of its extreme rarity and the vulner-ability of existing populations (most of the known sites wereon roadsides), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listedAgalinis acuta as an endangered species in 1988 (U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service 1989).

Even though there were no known extant localities forAgalinis acuta in Rhode Island, we learned from CarenCaljouw and Bruce Sorrie, then botanists in Massachusetts,that the best chance of finding it in Rhode Island was tosearch in historical cemeteries. Apparently, cemeteriesoverlying the proper soil type and managed a certain way(mowed consistently but not too often) mimicked the sus-pected ancestral habitat of A. acuta. For several years Iscouted old cemeteries throughout southern New England tolook for potential habitats. I made initial trips in the springto locate patches of plant species that liked the same condi-tions, such as Birds-foot Violet (Viola pedata), and then Ifollowed up with visits during the peak flowering season ofA. acuta in August and September. Fall visits were always

B Y C H R I S R A I T H E L

Graney, R.L., D.S. Cherry, J.H. Rodgers, Jr., and J. Cairns, Jr. 1980.The influence of thermal discharges and substrate compositionon the population structure and distribution of the Asian clam,Corbicula fluminea, in the New River, Virginia. The Nautilus94(4):130–135.

Hebert, P.D.N., B.W. Muncaster, and G.L. Mackie. 1989. Ecologicaland genetic studies on Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas): a newmollusc in the Great Lakes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries andAquatic Sciences 46:1587–1591.

Karatayev, A.Y., L.E. Burlakova, and D.K. Padilla. 1997. The effectsof Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas) invasion on aquatic communi-ties in eastern Europe. Journal of Shellfish Research 16:187–203.

Leach, J.H. 1993. Impacts of the zebra mussel (Dreissenapolymorpha) on water quality and fish spawning reefs inwestern Lake Erie. In: Zebra Mussels: Biology, Impacts, andControl. T.F. Nalepa and D.W. Schloesser, eds. Lewis Publishers,Boca Raton, FL. pp. 381–397.

Leff, L.G., J.L. Burch, and J.V. McArthur. 1990. Spatial distribution,seston removal, and potential competitive interaction of thebivalves Corbicula fluminea and Elliptio complanata, in a coastalplain stream. Freshwater Biology 24:409–416.

Mills, E.L., M.D. Scheuerell, J.T. Carlton, and D.L. Strayer. 1997.Biological invasions of the Hudson River basin. New York StateMuseum Circular 57:1–51.

Morgan, D.E., M. Kesser, J.F. Foertch, and J.M. Vozanik. 1991. TheAsiatic clam, Corbicula fluminea, extends its North Americandistribution to the Connecticut River. Environmental Manage-ment 16(4):523.

Morgan, D.E., M. Keser, J.T. Swenarton, and J.F. Foertch. 2003.Population dynamics of the Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea(Müller), in the lower Connecticut River: establishing a footholdin New England. Journal of Shellfish Research 22(1):193–203.

Nedeau, E.J., M.A. McCollough, and B.I. Swartz. 2000. TheFreshwater Mussels of Maine. Maine Department of InlandFisheries and Wildlife, Augusta, ME.

Smith, D.G. 1995. Keys to the Freshwater Macroinvertebrates ofMassachusetts. 2nd ed. Douglas G. Smith, Sunderland, MA.

Stein, B.A., and S.R. Flack. 1997. 1997 Species Report Card: theState of U.S. Plants and Animals. The Nature Conservancy,Arlington, VA.

Strayer, D.L. 1999. Effects of alien species on fresh water mollusksin North America. Journal of the North American BenthologicalSociety 18:74–98.

Strayer, D.L., and K.J. Jirka. 1997. The Pearly Mussels of NewYork State. New York State Education Department, Albany, NY.

Turgeon, D.D., J.F. Quinn Jr., A.E. Bogan, E.V. Coan, F.G.Hochberg, W.G. Lyons, P.M. Mikkelsen, R.J. Neves, C.E.F.Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F.G. Thompson, M.Vecchione, and J.D. Williams. 1998. Common and ScientificNames of Aquatic Invertebrates from the United States andCanada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society,Bethesda, MD.

Williams, J.D., M.L. Warren, K.S. Cummings, J.L. Harris, and R.J.Neves. 1993. Conservation status of the freshwater mussels ofthe United States and Canada. Fisheries 18(9):6–22.

Jay CordeiroJay CordeiroJay CordeiroJay CordeiroJay Cordeiro is a research zoologist in the Science Divisionof NatureServe (Boston, MA) and Field Associate in theDivision of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museumof Natural History (New York, NY).

Two Populations Are BetterThan One: Attempting to

Introduce a Population of theEndangered Sandplain

Gerardia

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problematic because I had no way of knowing the mowingschedule of a particular cemetery. If a site had been recentlymowed, I would not be able to find A. acuta, even if it werepresent, and on many occasions a long drive produced noreward. These field trips, often made on weekends and withmy young children in tow, gave me an appreciation of howunusual potential A. acuta habitat really was. We visitedmany sites and found many interesting plant species, but notAgalinis acuta. Eventually, fate intervened. As I was drivingto work one day, I saw an historical cemetery that I hadpassed many times before but had never visited. I pulled inand had barely left the car when I saw the object of my longsearch, Agalinis acuta—in full flower. That moment remainsone of my more memorable field experiences.

Now that we had located an extant Rhode Island site, webegan to monitor the plants and to tinker with the mowingregime a bit to try enhancing this population. Also, to hedgethe bet against extinction, we collected a small subset ofseeds for several years and stored them at the New EnglandWild Flower Society. This strategy, known as seed banking,seemed prudent, but no one really knew how long thesestored seeds would remain viable. Despite giving thispopulation our increased attention in the 14 years since itsdiscovery, Agalinis acuta has declined and become muchmore localized within its habitat, for reasons that are notentirely clear. The situation became so troubling that by2001 the population consisted of only 12 plants, and wefeared that extirpation was imminent.

Although each case of species endangerment is subtlydifferent, there are some general rules that one can apply tonearly every recovery attempt. Conventional wisdomdictates that having more individuals in a population isbetter, and having more populations is better, too. Ideally,populations should be spread out enough to span the historicrange, yet close enough to interact at some temporal scale.Such simple guidelines reduce the chance that a randomevent will negatively affect all populations. Once we haddecided that it was about time to introduce Agalinis acuta toanother Rhode Island locale, the first step in this process wasthe selection of a suitable site. We searched for a site thatwas roughly similar to the existing site—a coarsely mowedfield with the same soil and with the host plant LittleBluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) growing in profusion.To fine-tune the selection, we looked for the presence of atleast a few plant species that associated with Agalinis at theexisting site. However, there is another important componentof endangered species habitat—its political context. Though

we very rarely hear discus-sion about the politicalcomponent of wildlifehabitat, it undeniablyexists. We all recognizeintuitively that not allendangered species arecreated equal—that certainspecies are more tolerablethan others. People will goout of their way to shepherdBald Eagles but are lesslikely to accept GrayWolves. Therefore, in orderto create a new Agalinispopulation that would beviable in the long term, wehad to find an area that notonly contained protectedand suitable habitat, butwas far from physical risksand human conflicts, andalso owned or managed bya steward that wouldconsider the plants a highpriority and care for them(or allow us to do so). After identifying an appropriate old-field habitat on the Eppley Wildlife Sanctuary that containedseveral associating species, the Audubon Society of RhodeIsland graciously gave us permission to proceed with thetransplantation experiment.

To extract as much information as possible, even if theintroduction failed, we established an experimental design atthe Eppley site whereby each of two 9 by 9 meter areas wassubdivided into three zones—left, middle, and right. Each ofthese 3 x 9 meter zones was further separated into 1 x 1meter plots. We used two sources of seeds in this experiment.We collected about 8% of the fresh mature seed capsulesfrom the existing population during the fall of 2002. Webroke apart the capsules and counted the tiny seeds (yellow-ish and about the size of a period on this page), separatingthem into lots of about 100 seeds within glassine envelopes.We received the other seeds from the New England WildFlower Society. These seeds, originally from Rhode Island,had been seed-banked for just such an occasion during thefall of 1995. By using both sources of seeds in the sameexperiment, we could compare germination rates in the fieldwhile controlling for other effects (such as weather andpredators) that also influence seed germination. Beforeintroducing the seeds during November of 2002, we pre-pared the introduction area by mowing down the existinggrassy vegetation and scarifying the plots with garden rakes.

Sandplain Gerardia (Agalinisacuta) plants are 10–40 cm tall withthin, 1–2.5 cm leaves and 1–1.5 cmtubular flowers. The flowers arepink with two yellow lines and faintpurple spots (Illustration fromHolmgren, 1988).

Rhode Island Naturalist, the newsletter of the Rhode Island Natural HistorySurvey Inc., is published twice yearly. RINHS, Room 10 Coastal Institute

in Kingston, 1 Greenhouse Road, URI, Kingston, RI 02881-0804

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We then introduced 100 fresh seeds to each of severalrandomly selected plots in the left-hand zones and placed100 1995 seeds in each of several plots in the right-handzones. We left the middle zones as non-treatment “control”areas to prevent confusion that might arise if some seeds“wandered” from their initial placement site. Agalinis acutaseeds need a cold period to spur germination, so while theylay dormant on the ground during the snowy winter of2002–2003, we wondered, as we shoveled our walks andtried to stay warm, about the result of our effort.

Finally, in August 2003, came the season to search for newAgalinis acuta plants; I was actually reluctant to visit thenew site for fear that there would be nothing to see. How-ever, it was exciting to see that Agalinis acuta was present—33 plants now graced our experimental plots. All but four ofthese were derived from the fresh seeds; a result that sug-gests, unfortunately, that seed-banking may not be aneffective conservation strategy for this species. Even thegermination rate of the fresh seeds was low overall, withabout 1% of the seeds producing seedlings. However, thatrate is not unexpected for this species, and in fact representedbetter germination than for the existing “wild” site. Wesuspect that the plot scarification done during the fall atEppley enhanced germination relative to the other site. Sothe next obvious question is, “OK, so now what”? Sincethere are more old Rhode Island Agalinis seeds available,we’ll probably try the same experiment again in an adjacentarea and manage the existing Agalinis plots to enhance thenumbers of plants. A fall 2003 survey of the seed sourcesrevealed that there will be plenty of fresh seeds to transplantagain, and the new population also produced nearly 200seed capsules. Barring unforeseen events, there should beenough seeds to guarantee another generation of Agalinisacuta at the Eppley site. This does not mean that this newpopulation will be viable in the long run or that the species

is on the road to recovery—neither premise is a given.However, if we can figure out what Agalinis likes and betterprovide it, the probability of its extirpation from RhodeIsland will be significantly lowered. That sound you hearwhen you turn your ear to the wind may be the collectivesigh of all those who care about the security of rare plants.

Literature CitedGould, L.L., R.W. Enser, R.L. Champlin, and I.H. Stuckey. 1998.

Vascular Flora of Rhode Island: A List of Native and Natural-ized Plants. The Biota of Rhode Island. Vol. 1. Rhode IslandNatural History Survey, Kingston, RI.

Holmgren, N.H., ed. 1998. Illustrated Companion to Gleason andCronquist's Manual: Illustrations of the Vascular Plants ofNortheastern United States and Adjacent Canada. New YorkBotanical Garden, New York, NY.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1989. Sandplain Gerardia (Agalinisacuta) recovery plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NewtonCorner, MA.

Chris RaithelChris RaithelChris RaithelChris RaithelChris Raithel is Senior Wildlife Biologist for RIDEM’sDivision of Fish & Wildlife, and serves on the RINHSBoard of Advisors.

In New England, seasonal ponds (also commonly calledvernal pools) provide primary breeding habitat for severalamphibian species, including the Wood Frog (Ranasylvatica) and the Spotted Salamander (Ambystomamaculatum), as well as a host of invertebrate species. Thesesmall, depressional wetlands typically fill with water duringthe winter and spring months and dry in the summer or earlyfall of each year. The length of time that surface water iscontinuously present, known as the hydroperiod, may varyfrom a few weeks to a year or more. The periodic drying ofthese wetlands generally precludes the presence of predatoryfish, which would otherwise decimate the egg masses andlarvae of pond-breeding amphibians.

In Rhode Island, frogs and salamanders typically migrate tothese small wetlands during March and April. There theymate and deposit egg masses. They then return to thesurrounding upland forests, where they spend the rest of theyear. Each species requires a specific hydroperiod in order tocomplete development and metamorphose to the terrestrialjuvenile stage. For instance, Paton and Crouch (2002) showedthat in Rhode Island, ponds must hold water until late June if

Estimating the Hydroperiod ofSeasonal Ponds: Assessing

Amphibian Breeding HabitatSuitability

B Y D E N N I S E . S K I D D S

Lawrence Taft sowing seeds of Sandplain Gerardia at the EppleyWildlife Sanctuary in West Kingston, RI.

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50% of the young Wood Frogs are to survive. SpottedSalamanders require surface water until mid-August toachieve the same percentage of survival. Hydroperiod,therefore, is considered one of the most important factorsdetermining habitat suitability for a given species (Snodgrasset al. 2000).

Most New England seasonal ponds are less than a quarteracre in size, and legal protection of these small, isolatedwetlands is often weak or lacking (Calhoun et al. 2003).Before protection measures can be applied, regulators andresource managers need to be able to identify those pondsthat provide suitable amphibian breeding habitat. Pondhydroperiod is a key factor; unfortunately, historicalhydroperiod data are rarely available for individual ponds,and hydroperiod estimation typically requires regularmonitoring over the course of several months to years. Ifthere were a way to estimate the hydroperiod of a pondusing data gathered during a single site visit, it wouldgreatly facilitate habitat suitability assessments foramphibians.

Site characteristics that might serve as accurate indicators ofhydroperiod range widely. Obvious candidates includeaspects of pond morphology, such as size and depth. How-ever, researchers in New England and elsewhere in theUnited States have shown only weak relationships betweenpond morphology and hydroperiod (e.g., Brooks andHayashi 2002). The geologic setting of a wetland heavilyinfluences its hydrology, and soil composition both affects,and is affected by, the duration of saturation (Gosselink andTurner 1978). Water chemistry might provide some indica-

tion of the relative influence of groundwater on a pond’shydroperiod (Gay 1996). Finally, the relative abundance oftrees growing in or near a seasonal pond might affect pondhydroperiod by influencing water transpiration or evapora-tion rates (Bosch and Hewlett 1982).

In the fall of 2000, URI Professor Frank Golet and I beganresearch aimed at (1) identifying those features of seasonalponds that might serve as good predictors of hydroperiod,and (2) developing a model for hydroperiod estimation basedon one or more of these features. During 2001 and 2002, wemonitored surface water in 65 ponds in the Pawcatuck Riverwatershed and used a combination of field measurementsand GIS techniques to assess other site characteristics.Features that we examined included basin depth and surfacearea, surficial geologic setting, thickness of organic-rich soilhorizons and soil texture, percent tree-canopy cover, basalarea of trees within and surrounding the pond, and specificconductance and pH of surface water.

Hydroperiods of ponds that dried in 2001 ranged from 19 to41 weeks, and 13 ponds held water through December. In2002, which was much drier, hydroperiods of ponds thatdried ranged from 2 to 25 weeks, and only three ponds heldwater through the end of the year. By combining severalfeatures in a statistical model, we found that we couldexplain nearly 60% of the variation observed in the 2-yearmean hydroperiod, the highest value reported to date. Treecanopy cover, basin depth, and specific conductance ofsurface water (a measure of dissolved minerals) were amongthe most useful site characteristics for estimatinghydroperiod, while surficial geology and the texture of soilparent material made smaller contributions to the model.Pond hydroperiods estimated using our method differed fromthe actual 2-year mean hydroperiods by an average of only3.3 weeks. Overall, the model correctly predicted whether agiven pond’s hydroperiod would be long enough to supportsuccessful amphibian breeding 95% of the time for WoodFrogs and 75% of the time for Spotted Salamanders.

These results indicate that prolonged and costly hydrologicmonitoring is not necessary to estimate the hydroperiod ofseasonal ponds. The ability to use predictive models torapidly assess the potential habitat suitability of theseponds—especially at the watershed scale—should greatlyassist federal, state, and local regulatory and resourcemanagement agencies in identifying and protecting signifi-cant amphibian habitat and in implementing more effectivemanagement strategies. Areas with high densities of pondsrepresenting a variety of hydroperiods might be targeted for

A vernal pool on the Marchant Farm in South Kingstown.

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special protection because they can provide adequatebreeding habitat in at least some ponds regardless ofannual precipitation levels (Semlitsch 2000). Nongovern-mental conservation organizations and land trusts can usesuch information to identify tracts of land for open spaceacquisition. Finally, such information should provevaluable to municipal governments in developing effectiveresource protection plans, land-use ordinances, and bestdevelopment practices.

Literature CitedBosch, J.M., and J.D. Hewlett. 1982. A review of catchment

experiments to determine the effect of vegetation changes onwater yield and evapotranspiration. Journal of Hydrology55:3–23.

Brooks, R.T., and M. Hayashi. 2002. Depth-area-volume andhydroperiod relationships of ephemeral (vernal) pools insouthern New England. Wetlands 22:247–255.

Calhoun, A.J.K., T.E. Walls, S.S. Stockwell, and M. McCollough.2003. Evaluating vernal pools as a basis for conservationstrategies: a Maine case study. Wetlands 23:70–81.

Gay, D. 1996. A comparison of the hydrology and aqueousgeochemistry of temporary ponds on the Prescott Penninsulaof the Quabbin Reservoir watershed in Central Massachu-setts. Report to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, ForestService, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Broomall,PA.

Gosselink, J.G., and R.E. Turner. 1978. The role of hydrology infreshwater wetland ecosystems. In: Freshwater Wetlands:Ecological Processes and Management Potential. R.E. Good,D.F. Whigam, and R.L. Simpson, eds. Academic Press, NewYork, NY. pp. 63–78.

Paton, P.W.C., and W.B. Crouch III. 2002. Using breedingphenology of pond-breeding amphibians to develop conserva-tion strategies. Conservation Biology 16:192–204.

Semlitsch, R.D. 2000. Principles for management of aquatic-breeding amphibians. Journal of Wildlife Management64:615–631.

Snodgrass, J.W., M.J. Komoroski, A.L. Bryan, and J. Burger,2000. Relationships among isolated wetland size,hydroperiod, and amphibian species richness: implications forwetland regulations. Conservation Biology 14:414–419.

Dennis SkiddsDennis SkiddsDennis SkiddsDennis SkiddsDennis Skidds is currently a Research Assistant with theUniversity of Rhode Island’s Environmental Data Center.

Rhode Island Natural History Survey Advisory Board, 2003–2004Members of the Board of Directors are indicated with an asterisk (*)

David H. Abedon, URI Department of Community Planning & Landscape Architecture*Peter V. August, URI Coastal Institute & Department of Natural Resources Science*Judith Benedict, Land Planning & Conservation ConsultantDavid Blockstein, National Council for Science & the Environment*Jon Boothroyd, URI Department of Geosciences*Janet Coit, The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island*Richard W. Enser, RIDEM Natural Heritage Program*Laura Ernst, ESS Group, Inc.*Robbie Fearn, Roger Williams Park Zoo*Alex Frost, Science Editors Company*Howard S. Ginsberg, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center & URI Plant Sciences*David Gregg, Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal HistoryRoger Greene, RIDEM Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research ReserveStephen S. Hale, US EPA Atlantic Ecology Division*Katherine Horoschak, URI College of the Environment & Life Sciences*Jennifer Hughes, Brown University, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary BiologyThomas P. Husband, URI Department of Natural Resources Science*Robert D. Kenney, URI Graduate School of Oceanography*Keith T. Killingbeck, URI Department of Biological SciencesMargaret Leinen, Geosciences, National Science FoundationChristopher H. Little, Little Medeiros Kinder Bulman & Whitney P.C.*Peter T. Lockwood, RI Association of Wetland ScientistsPatrick A. Logan, URI Department of Plant Sciences*Marilyn Massaro, Museum of Natural History, Roger Williams Park*William McEneaney, South Kingstown Senior High School EmeritusDouglass H. Morse, Brown University, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology*M. Carolyn Murphy, RIDEM Office of Water ResourcesScott Nixon, URI Graduate School of OceanographyCandace A. Oviatt, URI Graduate School of Oceanography*Peter W. Paton, URI Department of Natural Resources ScienceJohn F. Paul, US Environmental Protection AgencyJ. Christopher Powell, RIDEM Division of Fish & Wildlife, Marine FisheriesChris Raithel, RIDEM Division of Fish & WildlifeDavid S. Reis, Coastal Resources Management CouncilLee C. Schisler, Jr., Audubon Society of Rhode IslandJeff Seemann, URI College of the Environment & Life Sciences/AES/CE*Julia R. Sharpe, Narrow River Preservation AssociationLinda Steere, Applied Bio-Systems, Inc.*Prentice K. Stout, URI Marine Educator EmeritusEverett Stuart, Natural Resources Conservation ServiceStephen K. Swallow, URI Department of Environmental & Natural Resource

Economics*Lawrence Taft, Audubon Society of Rhode IslandMartine Villalard-Bohnsack, Roger Williams University, Department of BiologyEd Wood, former Director, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

Executive Board:Keith T. Killingbeck PresidentPeter W. Paton, Vice-PresidentLawrence Taft, SecretaryHoward S. Ginsberg, Treasurer

RINHS Staff:Lisa L. Gould, Executive DirectorPatty Taylor, Data ManagerVirginia Brown, EIMS CoordinatorJackie Sones, Conservation BiologistNina Briggs, Odonata Specialist

Newsletter:Robert D. Kenney, EditorPat Cahalan, GraphicsAlex Frost, Publications Chair

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The Ecological Inventory, Monitoring,and Stewardship (EIMS) Program hashad a busy and successful first year.While we continued with ongoingprojects, including monitoring thecondition and status of Nature Conser-vancy (TNC) preserves, conductinginitial site visits for potential TNCacquisitions, and participating inconservation planning activities forTNC, EIMS staff also initiated anumber of new inventory and monitor-ing projects in 2003. Additionally, twoimportant TNC-RINHS initiatives, theJohn Wald Ecological Research grantprogram and the Rhode Island OdonataAtlas, produced great results this year.

Much of the inventory and monitoringwork requested by TNC this year wasconducted on the Francis Carter Pre-serve in Charlestown. This 840-acreparcel is primarily forested (Pitch Pine/Scrub Oak barren and oak/heathwoodland), but it contains a 35-acregrassland that is being restored andmanaged for nesting birds. Botanicalinventory in the grassland yielded over100 species, including Butterflyweed(Asclepias tuberosa), a plant listed asSpecial Concern by the Rhode IslandNatural Heritage Program. To create abaseline for long-term vegetationmonitoring associated with ecologicalmanagement of the grassland, EIMSstaff collected data from 125 1-m2 plots.

Because TNC was interested in use ofthe grassland and immediate surround-ing woodlands by breeding birds, EIMSstaff conducted breeding bird surveys inthe early morning hours of May, June,and early July. Over 70 species of birdswere recorded, most associated with

B Y V I R G I N I A B R O W N

Ecological Inventory,Monitoring, and

Stewardship Program

secondary growth and woodlandssurrounding the grassland. Two to fourpairs of Grasshopper Sparrows(Ammodramus savannarum—StateThreatened) and one pair of EasternMeadowlarks (Sturnella magna) nestedin the grassland this year, each manag-ing to fledge young.

EIMS staff also conducted several smallmammal-trapping sessions at the CarterPreserve. Trap-lines were set in fourdifferent natural community types onthe preserve, and over 100 individualsof 4 species were trapped. Preliminaryresults indicate that species diversitywas greatest in the Pitch Pine/ScrubOak barren and lowest in the oak/heathwoodland, while abundance wasgreatest near the wetland and lowest inthe grassland.

The Rhode Island Odonata Atlascompleted its sixth and final fieldseason in 2003. Volunteers and staffpushed hard to close remaining datagaps, generating 17 new county recordsand 224 new township records. Twodragonfly species never before reportedfor Rhode Island were recorded thisyear: the Umber Shadowdragon(Neurocordulia obsoleta) and theArrow Clubtail (Stylurus spiniceps).These two additions to the state’sodonate fauna bring the total to 135species of dragonflies and damselflies.

Other notable results of the 2003 Atlasseason include the first ever discoveryof Zebra Clubtails (Stylurus scudderi)outside of the Pawcatuck River water-shed, this time in the Blackstone Riverwatershed. This beautiful dragonflyinhabits clean, cold, forested streamswith riffles. It is considered globallyimperiled and has been selected byTNC as an ecoregional conservationtarget. We know of only four popula-tions in Rhode Island. Also of interestwas the discovery of three new popula-tions of the Ringed Boghaunter

(Williamsonia lintneri), bringing thetotal to 27 known populations for thestate. This bog and fen-dwellingdragonfly is also considered globallyimperiled and is a conservation targetfor TNC.

EIMS staff initiated and/or completed anumber of projects for governmentagencies and local land trusts. A largemulti-year contract has been securedwith the National Park Service toconduct Odonata inventories at NewYork City area national parks, includ-ing Fire Island National Seashore,Gateway National Recreation Area,and Sagamore Hill National HistoricSite. The Rhode Island Army NationalGuard has contracted the Survey toinventory, map, and monitor invasivespecies at its Camp Fogarty trainingsite in East Greenwich. This work willbegin in 2004 and continue through2005. EIMS staff also conducted abotanical inventory in South Kingstownand natural community mapping atQuonochontaug Beach. Future inven-tory and monitoring work is planned inLincoln, Scituate, and Cumberland.

The numerous projects that have beencompleted this year could not havebeen done without the assistance ofhard-working volunteers. We wouldlike to acknowledge and thank thecontributions of all of our volunteers.

Virginia BrownVirginia BrownVirginia BrownVirginia BrownVirginia Brown is Coordinator of theRINHS Ecological Inventory, Monitor-ing, and Stewardship Program

Scientific Reports

RINHS November 2003Page 9

President’sMessage

Impressive ignorance. An oxymoron? Probably. But the essence of this binomial was usedhalf a century ago by Marston Bates to suggest that natural history is “an area in whichour ignorance is more impressive than our knowledge.” Has that changed in 50 years?Perhaps—but I would argue only by degree. We still know only a fraction of what there isto know about dung beetles and beetle dung, river otters and otters’ rivers, pitch pine andpine pitch. In fact, we probably know more about the Mayflower than the Mayflower.

This realization is a major driving force behind the emerging strategic plan of the RhodeIsland Natural History Survey. A new facet of this plan is our Ecological Inventory,Monitoring, and Stewardship (EIMS) program. Less than a year old, EIMS has alreadyaccelerated the documentation and understanding of the biota and natural systems of ourstate. Rapid assessments of properties considered for acquisition, descriptions and mappingof natural communities, detailed taxonomic inventories, long-term monitoring programs,development of management and stewardship plans, environmental hazards assessments,and information procurement from databases are all functions of EIMS.

While the Survey is committed to becoming an ever-increasing light in the darkness ofbiotic ignorance, there are many other lights as well. One of them walked through myoffice door in 1979. The polite, almost inaudible knock that announced a visitor produceda gentle man I had never seen before, and did not know by reputation. His quest? To talkabout plants, nothing more.

As was clear from the outset, this man knew the plants of Rhode Island. Having myselfjust arrived in the Ocean State from the Land of Oz, or as the public relations gurus usedto write, “Kansas—The Land of Ah’s,” I feared I had little to offer this soft-spoken natural-ist. I was right of course, not yet knowing much about the specifics of the Rhode Islandflora, but I was also wrong. We sat in the University of Rhode Island KIRI Herbarium nextto my office for an hour, exchanging information about plant locations, taxonomy, andadaptations. I learned fifty times what he learned, but it became clear that what I couldprovide, and what this most welcome visitor needed, was a sounding board. I could dothat. My larval botanical skills were a poor trade for his considerable knowledge and wit,but we both reveled in the conversation during that unexpected hour.

Quite fittingly, this distinguished naturalist became a Distinguished Naturalist. In 1996,Richard Champlin, the gentleman’s gentle man, was the recipient of the RINHS Distin-guished Naturalist Award. Richard died this past summer. I mention him here because,just as it is the mission of the RINHS to make the unknown known, so it is to recognize,encourage, and honor individuals who do the same. It is not only institutional programsand elaborate sampling strategies that are eroding ignorance, but also dedicated, indepen-dent naturalists like Richard Champlin. Cheers to both for making our biotic ignorance lessimpressive.

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Over 140 scientists and volunteers gathered in Tiverton, Rhode Island on June 20and 21 to participate in the Rhode Island Natural History Survey’s 4th BioBlitz, thebest attended ever. Combing the Pardon Gray Preserve, Weetamoo Woods, RueckerWildlife Refuge, Sapowet Marsh, and Babbitt Memorial Wildlife Area, bioblitzerscounted 844 taxa. The count included 309 vascular plants, 26 marine algae, 32fungi, lichens, and mosses, 18 mammals, 96 birds, 10 herptiles, 6 fishes, 16mollusks and crustaceans, 85 beetles, 108 butterflies and moths, 15 dragonflies anddamselflies, 95 other insects, 13 spiders, and 15 other invertebrates. A full listing ofall taxa will be posted on the RINHS website at www.rinhs.org.

The planning and organization of BioBlitz 2003 was co-sponsored with The NatureConservancy of Rhode Island, Tiverton Land Trust, and the Audubon Society ofRhode Island. We are also grateful to the corporate sponsors, which included Bankof Newport, Birdwatcher’s Nature View, Humphrey’s Building Supply Center,Largess Forestry, Leary & Holland, New England Property Holding LLC, andSakonnet Boathouse.

BioBlitz 2004 is in the planning stages: set your calendar for June 18–19, 2004 andcome to West Greenwich to help us explore the ecologically rich 2,300 acres atURI’s W. Alton Jones Campus.

B i o B l i t z 2 0 0 3 T a c k l e s T i v e r t o n !

Lisa Gould with the final species count

Eli Mitchell examining an EasternRibbon Snake

Sheila Hughes and Eugenia Marksadmiring a fungus

Children examining skulls at the Education Booth

Above, Joe Metzen and Danice Whitaker with a TurkeytailFungus; below, Howard Ginsberg dressed for entomologi-cal action

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RINHS November 2003Page 11

During early summer of 2002, localbotanist Frances Underwood was in themidst of his favorite activity—prowlingthe little known corners of RhodeIsland looking for rare plants. On thisday he had selected a bottomland pinestand in West Greenwich where therewas little evidence of past logging, andan open sphagnum-carpeted understorythat suggested areas where unusualorchids might be found. Instead, withinscattered moist depressions Francesfound clumps of an unfamiliar sedge. Itwas a member of the genus Carex thatincludes over 200 species in RhodeIsland, but this one with its distinctiveprostrate stems and widely spaced,starburst fruits was clearly one he hadnot seen before. But he suspected theplant’s identity and by the next day,after his digital photographs had beene-mailed for confirmation, the wordwas out that Collin’s Sedge (Carexcollinsii) had been rediscovered inRhode Island.

What’s that you say? You hadn’t heardthis news before? Not surprising. Manyof the discoveries made in RhodeIsland natural history go unrecognized.Sometimes the discoverer or a col-league may submit a note for a peer-reviewed journal, but these publica-tions tend to be seen by only a few.More often the defining specimen orphotograph languishes in a deskdrawer awaiting an appropriaterepository. But first-time discoveries ofnew species, or ones that significantlyalter the current understanding ofdistributions and status of species, areimportant bits of information for thescientific and conservation community.

Therefore, it is the objective of thiscolumn to provide a forum in eachissue of Rhode Island Naturalist for

B Y R I C H A R D W. E N S E R

getting the word out on new discoveriesin Rhode Island. Maybe you’ve madean important find or know someonewho has, or you have ideas about thekinds of things that should be includedin this column. Email your thoughts tothe Survey office, or to me atrenser@dem.state.ri.us. As an introduc-tion, allow me to suggest a couple ofground rules.

First, significance. New state recordsare always worthy of note, but moreimportantly today the find might be ofa new potentially invasive plantspecies, or a previously unknown forestinsect pest. Other items could besignificant range extensions, or theappearance of a species in an unusualhabitat or location. What makes FrancesUnderwood’s discovery of C. collinsiisignificant? The last record for thisspecies was in South Kingstown in1979, at a site that has been searchedmany times since then without success.Thought to be extirpated, the new WestGreenwich occurrence is the only knownpopulation of Carex collinsii in RhodeIsland, and in all of New England.

Second is documentation. All signifi-cant records should be documentedwith appropriately collected andprepared specimens, or with photo-graphs. Most naturalists, amateur andprofessional, understand the basis forthis guideline. In support, I can onlyreflect on the numerous observations of“rattlesnakes” that have been reportedto us in the past twenty years, allunsupported by either physical orphotographic evidence. More about thisdebate in the future, but for now, let usserve as your conduit for getting newsout about your exciting discoveries.

Editor’s note: One of the reasons theRINHS Board selected Rhode IslandNaturalist as the new name for ourjournal and newsletter was to maintaina sense of historical continuity withNarragansett Naturalist, published bythe Audubon Society of Rhode Island

from 1958 to 1971. “Notes from Fieldand Study” follows in that sametradition—a column with the same titlewas a regular feature in NarragansettNaturalist.

Richard Enser Richard Enser Richard Enser Richard Enser Richard Enser is Coordinator of theRIDEM Natural Heritage Programand serves on the RINHS Board ofDirectors.

One of the greatest challenges RINHSfaces is the handling of biotic andcommunity data. From its inception,RINHS has spearheaded local efforts tocatalogue biodiversity and to date,along with a sizeable list of contribu-tors, has collected data on plants,animals (including a specimen collec-tion of the Odonata in the region),fungi, and rare and endangered species.Although the collective breadth of thisinformation is possibly the mostcomplete for the region, access to thedata has been problematic, becausedifferent database management pro-grams were used to manage eachdatabase and safe storage was notensured.

To integrate and secure the databases,RINHS has hired Jeff Hollister, a PhDcandidate in landscape ecology at URI’sEnvironmental Data Center. Jeff hascombined the Biota of Rhode Islanddatabases (Animalia, Plantae, andFungi), the Rhode Island NaturalHeritage database, and the RhodeIsland Odonata Atlas into a single,seamless database using MS Access. Inaddition, he is working with RINHSstaff to standardize the storage of alltaxonomy information, add TaxonomicSerial Numbers from the IntegratedTaxonomic Information System, createdata entry forms, and work on dataexchange processes. Jeff has alsomoved the database to a secure serverhoused by the Environmental DataCenter.

Notes from Fieldand Study

Accessing RINHS Data

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8 June 1927 – 14 August 2003

In Memoriam: Richard L. ChamplinIn Memoriam:Richard L. Champlin

(1927–2003)

The RI Natural History Survey lostone of its most venerable colleagueswith the death of Richard Champlinthis past summer. Mr. Champlin wasthe recipient of the 1996 RINHSDistinguished Naturalist Award andco-author of Vascular Flora of RhodeIsland. He was instrumental in thedevelopment of Rhode Island’s firstlists of rare and endangered speciesand was arguably the premier naturalhistorian in Rhode Island during thelatter half of the twentieth century.

Richard Lawrence Champlin was bornin Newport on 8 June 1926 and was alifelong resident of Newport andJamestown. He attended MountHerman Preparatory School andMiddlebury College, where he majoredin Russian. Between 1944 and 1946 heserved in the Navy, providing instruc-tion to the Russian military in theAleutian Islands. He retired as thehead librarian of the Redwood Libraryin Newport in 1991, where he washighly regarded for his scholarship andliterary capabilities.

Beyond his lifelong “avocational”interest in the natural sciences, heeducated himself in diverse academicareas of local history, and authorednumerous articles for such periodicals asNewport History, The Newport Review,Yankee, Verbatim, and the Rhode IslandYearbook. He researched and acquiredextensive information and local knowl-edge on such topics as antique clocksand clockmakers, Newport architectureand historical land use, ferries, light-houses, stone walls, and weather events.A highly literate individual, he wasfascinated with word study and read

classical Greek for pleasure. His ownartwork included highly refined andprecise pen and ink line drawings ofbotanical specimens and impressivepastel drawings of local landscapes.

The breadth and diversity of his knowl-edge embodied a classical definition ofnatural history. Richard was the authorof more than 20 published articles orbooks on the subject of Rhode Island’sflora and fauna, and was a contributorto Narragansett Naturalist, Rhodora,and American Fern Journal. His interestsranged across the biological realm(botany, ornithology, mycology,entomology, malacology, ecology) togeology and hand-sample mineralogy,and predated what we today havenamed “landscape ecology.”

Richard had an intuitive appreciationand understanding of the historicalprocesses by which human cultureaffects our flora and fauna, andmaintained a lifelong interest in

colloquial history. He was a very goodstoryteller and was a companion tomost of the old Yankees from north-western Rhode Island. For many years,his day off from the Redwood Library(Thursday) was spent exploring andvisiting in the Towns of Burrillville,Glocester, Foster, Coventry, and WestGreenwich. Accordingly, he came tolearn a great deal about local lore andcultural history including the locationsof springs, Native American mortarstones, threshing rocks, charcoalmounds, and other colonial industry.

Richard’s special skills related to fieldbotany and he had particular knowl-edge of orchids, ferns, mosses, andtrees. One of his more significantbotanical accomplishments included thediscovery and published description ofa red-flowered form of Spicebush,which has been accepted as Linderabenzoin forma rubra R.L. Champlin.He maintained records of notable treesfor many years and was the discovererof the national champion Pussy Willowin Rhode Island. In Newport andJamestown he was considered theexpert on the flora of the variousestates and exhibited an authoritativeknowledge of their woody horticulturaltaxa. In addition, he was an exception-ally astute and persistent observer ofall types of wildlife, providing ongoingcontributions regarding, for example,birds, turtles, and butterflies. A diligentkeeper of written records, his dailyjournals amounted to over 35 volumesover the years, and will provide aninvaluable record of his explorationsand observations.

Most of all, Richard was a true gentle-man. He was a reverent, modest, andprivate man. His manner easily im-pressed those who had just met himand, without exception, he was deeplyrespected by those who knew him well.Among professionals in the field,Richard Champlin’s report of a plant

Richard L. Champlin(1927–2003)

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RINHS November 2003Page 13

B Y M A R I L Y N R. M A S S A R O

Champlin, R.L. 1960. The Yellow-throatedWarbler in Jamestown. NarragansettNaturalist 3(3):83.

Champlin, R.L. 1961. A fern new to RhodeIsland. Rhodora 63(746):46.

Champlin, R.L. 1961. A flight of Wilson’sPetrel. Narragansett Naturalist 4(4):118–119.

Champlin, R.L. 1962. A new nesting record.Narragansett Naturalist 5(3):80–81.

Champlin, R.L. 1963. The black spruce inRhode Island. Narragansett Naturalist6(1):6–8.

Champlin, R.L. 1963. A Black Guillemot ridesout the storm. Narragansett Naturalist6(1):16–17.

Champlin, R.L. 1963. The roaming bog-trotters. Narragansett Naturalist 6(4):123.

Champlin, R.L. 1965. Indian Rock, Scituate:Just pausing between glaciers. NarragansettNaturalist 8(2):48–49.

Champlin, R.L. 1968. New England’s giantheath. Narragansett Naturalist 9(3):20–21.

Champlin, R.L. 1969. A Rhode Island stationfor luminous moss. Rhodora 71(786):305.

Champlin, R.L. 1971. In search of RhodeIsland springs. Yankee 35(9):96–97, 188–190.

Champlin, R.L. 1973. The slowest, mostunpredictable messenger on earth. Yankee37(8):96–99, 138.

Champlin, R.L. 1976. Scotch pine as anassociate of the tessellated rattlesnakeplantain. Rhodora 78(816):788–789.

Champlin, R.L. 1976. Trees of Newport on theEstates of the Preservation Society ofNewport County. The Preservation Societyof Newport County, Newport, RI.

Champlin, R.L. 1977. Red form of Linderabenzoin. Rhodora 79(817):166.

Church, G.L., and R.L. Champlin. 1978. Rareand Endangered Vascular Plant Species inRhode Island. The New England BotanicalClub, in cooperation with U.S. Fish andWildlife Service (Region 5), Newton Corner,MA.

Champlin, R.L. 1980–1981. Newport estatesand their flora, Parts 1–3. Newport History53(178):48–66; 53(179):88–100;54(182):45–50.

Champlin, R.L. 1993. Lawton’s Valley revisited.RI Wild Plant Society Newsletter 7(1).

Champlin, R.L. 1993. Lore of ConanicutIsland’s springs. The Jamestown Press25(24):5.

Champlin, R.L. 1994. Notes on the RhodeIsland flora. Rhodora 96(885):102–103.

Champlin, R.L. 1997. Ferns of Fort AdamsState Park. American Fern Journal 87(1).

Gould, L.L., R.W. Enser, R.L. Champlin, andI.H. Stuckey. 1998. Vascular Flora of RhodeIsland: A List of Native and NaturalizedPlants. The Biota of Rhode Island. Volume1. Rhode Island Natural History Survey,Kingston, RI.

occurrence or wildlife sighting wasaccepted verbatim and as fact—a levelof credibility not to be exceeded in thescientific community. Nevertheless, hehumbly referred to himself as “only anamateur, with little or no formaltraining in the natural sciences.”

Perhaps it should be said that Richardspent his last day doing what he lovedmost. It was during the dog days ofAugust when he returned to one of hisfavorite places in Foster to glean somepeaches from an abandoned orchard.He came to rest alongside a stone wall,with his hand atop a sapling and a fullbox of peaches at his side. Rhode Islandmay never again know such a remark-able man.

The day before he died, Richardstopped by our house for a brief visit. Itwas a hot day and we sat in the shadediscussing various plants and othernatural phenomena. We shared some ofthe last blueberries of the season fromour bushes in the yard. I commentedthat the wild blueberries were generallysuperior. After a lengthy but relaxedpause he reflected, “Yes, I know.”

PeterPeterPeterPeterPeter LockwoodLockwoodLockwoodLockwoodLockwood is a Director of theRI Natural History Survey and anAssociate and Senior EnvironmentalScientist with Mason & Associates, Inc.

Many of us are affiliated with anorganization of one kind or another.Whether public, private, governmental,academic, not-for-profit, etc., all ofthem have one thing in common: theyall amass vast quantities of records.These records may be in the form ofpaper documents such as manuscripts,publications and correspondence;photographs; and contemporarycommunications media. Those recordswhich contribute to the institutionalhistory of an organization, or whichdocument the regular activity of anindividual or organization, constitutean archive. Archives, then, are collec-tions of primary records or primarysource material generated by anindividual or agency. In natural historycollections management, field notes,collectors’ catalogues, original speci-men labels, and all other ancillarymaterials are considered to be archives.

So why focus on archives? My reasonswriting this column are twofold. Thiscolumn presents an ideal opportunity toraise a general awareness about animportant and often neglected kind ofcollection, i.e., archives. Further, itoffers an opportunity to share informa-tion about available resources, many ofthem free of charge, to assist you andyour institution to better manage yourarchives.

Both you, and your organization,possess a unique history. This historycan only be documented in the futureby the records that are preserved forothers to examine and research. Intoday’s world of electronic communica-tion, it is vitally important to remem-ber, that, unless you have saved a hard-copy record of that communication, noone in fact can know about it in thefuture. Historical reconstruction of any

A Selected Bibliography ofthe Natural History Writingsof Richard L. Champlin

Rhode IslandCollections: “Just for

the Record...”

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Page 14 RINHS November 2003

kind is impossible without recordretention and preservation.

Whether you are a scientist, educator,or amateur naturalist, if you producerecords in the course of your day, youare assembling your archives. Do notunderrate their importance! Not onlyare they irreplaceable as documenta-tion of your life’s work, their value isfurther enhanced if they also contributeto the history of an organization withwhich you are affiliated.

To whom might these records matter?They may be of immediate importanceto current staff members needing toresearch an organizational matter.They may be needed by your immedi-ate successor or by one a hundred yearsfrom now. These records may be vitallyimportant to your biographer if youhave made noteworthy contributions toa cause or discipline. Or, they may beof great importance to a colleagueworking in your interest area. Anorganization’s archives are the histori-cal backbone of the agency and vital toits chronological documentation. As wehave seen in recent times, they mayalso serve as evidence in legal issues.

If you are an independent or freelanceworker, either professional or amateurin your pursuits, do not underrate theimportance of your archives. It isequally important to retain the recordsthat document your life’s work, be theyin the form of manuscripts, field notes,correspondence, photographic media,etc. If you maintain a collection ofnatural history materials, never discardyour original notes and journals, andkeep all associated labels (includingfield tags) with your specimens. Theseprimary documents constitute thearchives associated with your collection.

Institutions bear an ethical responsibil-ity to steward their records and those oftheir affiliates appropriately. They bearthis responsibility to professionalsuccessors, to colleagues and clientele,and to society at large. A gap in aninstitution’s history from the loss of

primary records, or those generated byits affiliates, cannot be reconstructeddue to the nature of those records.Which brings us to the question: Howdoes one know what is worth saving?And how does one maintain order forall these retained records? How can wearrange them to facilitate and expeditetheir accessibility?

Amazingly, there is plenty of help outthere. In the best of all possible worldsa professional archivist would be hiredas a permanent staff member or even asa short-term consultant to organize and“arrange” these records. Arrangementis a technical term for organizingrecords in the world of archives, andfollows a suite of standards andprotocols. A directory of professionalarchivists in our area is published bythe New England Archivists (NEA).Their website(www.newenglandarchivists.org) isextremely user-friendly and a greatresource. It currently has a dozenFrequently Asked Questions (FAQs),with succinct, pithy answers—questionssuch as: How can I preserve myorganization’s records or my familypapers? How do I donate my records toa repository? How can I find out aboutarchives education in New England?

Another excellent resource is theNational Historical Publications andRecords Commission (NHPRC).Affiliated with the National Archivesand Records Administration, it pro-motes the nationwide preservation ofdocumentary records. A major way itdoes this is through its grant program,funded each year by Congressionalappropriation. More information onNHPRC and its grants can be obtainedfrom its website: www.archives.gov/grants/about_nhprc/about_nhprc.html.

In our state we have yet anotherresource, the Rhode Island HistoricalRecords Advisory Board (RIHRAB),established by Executive Order in1976. It is the in-state entity that helpslocal agencies apply for grants, andalso the body that reviews grant

requests submitted to NHPRC. Itsmission is to “serve the people of thestate by advocating, developing, andsupporting programs that defend andprovide access to its documentaryheritage.” It serves as the centraladvisory body for all historical recordsissues in our state and promotesprograms that identify historicalrecords. RIHRAB consists of a Board ofat least ten members having recordsmanagement backgrounds and ischaired by the State Archivist. Itpublishes a directory of records-holdingrepositories within our state, accessiblevia its website at: www.state.ri.us/RIHRAB. You can enter or correct youragency’s information at this website.

In closing, I would like to add that weat the Museum of Natural History havecompleted a formal “arrangement” ofour photographic archives completewith the publication of a finding aidand a manual for their ongoing man-agement. These documents are avail-able at our website: www.osfn.org/museum/. This project was imple-mented in 1998–99 with grant fundsprovided by the Rhode Island Councilfor the Humanities (RICH). Ourdocumentary archives, though chrono-logically arranged and quite accessible,have not yet been inventoried orcatalogued and therefore do not have apublished finding aid.

If this article helps encourage even afew people to generate and save hardcopies of their work output, I will haveachieved my goal in writing it. Yourarchives and your institution’s archivesare important and irreplaceable. Theyare part of our collective historicallegacy. They warrant engaged andinformed stewardship for today’s accessand that of tomorrow. They deserve ourattention…just for the record.

\Marilyn MassaroMarilyn MassaroMarilyn MassaroMarilyn MassaroMarilyn Massaro is Curator of Collec-tions at the Museum of Natural His-tory, Roger Williams Park, Providence;Chair of the RINHS CollectionsCommittee; and a member of the RIHistorical Records Advisory Board.

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RINHS November 2003Page 15

for Rhode Islanders to study and enjoynative plants in their natural habitats.People of all ages and interests havethe opportunity to learn about nativeplants through our courses, programs,tours, lectures, and field trips at sitesthroughout Rhode Island and NewEngland. The Certificate in NativePlant Studies offered through theRIWPS and the New England Wild-flower Society offers committedstudents a comprehensive series ofprograms on the identification, ecol-ogy, cultivation, and conservation ofnortheastern plants.

Over the last sixteen years our pro-grams have grown and improved, andcontinue to spread the word aboutusing native plants and protectinghabitat. We look forward to continuingto partner with the Rhode IslandNatural History Survey to offerprograms, publications and services, aswe all work to use education as ameans to conserve Rhode Island’snative plants and habitats.

Erin FournierErin FournierErin FournierErin FournierErin Fournier is the Director of theRhode Island Wild Plant Society.Memberships and publications can bepurchased through the RIWPS’s officeat (401) 783-5895 or by email,office@riwps.org.

spread the word about protecting nativespecies. Like the RINHS, we offer plantinventories and surveys to members,individuals, and organizations. Theselists become part of the statewide plantinventory compiled in conjunction withthe RINHS and the RI Natural Heri-tage Program. As RIWPS membershone their botanical skills they areencouraged to participate as PlantConservation Interns for the NewEngland Plant Conservation Programand help monitor rare plant popula-tions, as well as search for new popula-tions.

Each year we educate the public on thescientific and aesthetic values of wildplants through a variety of outreachactivities. Our annual display at theRhode Island Spring Flower andGarden Show reaches thousands ofRhode Islanders each year. Our Educa-

tion Committee provides lecturesand slide talks on nativespecies for adult groups andschools. They also manageour plant discovery boxes,which provide materialsand curriculum for Rhode

Island teachers and are placedin local libraries throughout the

state. We have recently embarked ona new service that offers consultation togroups wanting to develop interpretivenature trails. Each year garden clubsuse our speaker list to schedule talks ona variety of botanical and conservationtopics including invasive speciesidentification and control and usingnatives in a garden setting.

To encourage and offer guidance in thecultivation and propagation of wildplants, we have several active SeedStarters groups. They meet monthly tolearn how to propagate native plantsand supply hundreds of plants eachyear for the RIWPS plant sales. We alsooffer courses and publish detailedcultivation notes in each issue of ournewsletter, RIWildflora.

Probably the most popular part of ourmission is the opportunities we provide

Sometime in the early spring of 1986, acongenial group gathered at the EppleyWildlife Sanctuary for a workshop inwild plant gardening offered by LisaGould and Doris Anthony. In the courseof the day, Lisa described the wild-flower garden club to which her motherbelonged. That group had threeprimary interests: growing wild plants,working toward conservation, andtaking walks and trips to see wildplants in their native habitats. This wasan inspiring idea to the group gatheredat Eppley, and they began todiscuss starting a similarorganization in RhodeIsland. As support grew,several ideas emerged.Instead of a garden club, thewild plant group should havea strong conservation compo-nent; it should have a broad baseto interest many people, from highlyqualified professionals to those thatsimply liked to walk; and it should befun for its members.

This concept eventually grew into theRhode Island Wild Plant Society, whichwas officially incorporated in 1987.Many of the original founders are stillour most active volunteers, and ourmission today remains the same. Weare a nonprofit organization dedicatedto the conservation of Rhode Island’snative plants and habitats throughpreservation, education, propagation,and recreational programs.

Today our preservation efforts encom-pass several programs. In 1991 wesponsored legislation to protect SeaLavender under the Christmas GreensAct, and we continue to educate and

T E X T B Y E R I N F O U R N I E R

Benefits of membership in theRhode Island Natural History Survey

For Individual, Family, andStudent Members

Rhode Island Naturalist, the newsletterParticipation in the RINHS List-ServeFree membership list10% discount on all publicationsDiscount on annual conference fee20% discount on subscription to the

journal Northeastern Naturalist

For Institutional MembersRhode Island Naturalist, the newsletterParticipation in the RINHS List-Serve2 free membership listsListing in Annual Conference Program10% discount on all publications1 free registration at annual conference20% discount on subscription to the

journal Northeastern Naturalist

Focus on RINHSOrganizational Members:

The Rhode IslandWild Plant Society

Latest News

Page 16 RINHS November 2003

Institution Press. Thirty-eight addi-tional authors contributed to the book,and much biological, fisheries, andhabitat data were contributed by theNortheast Fisheries Science Center. Wealso conducted a cruise in the Gulf ofMaine to ground-truth earlier descrip-tions of the more common fishes.

How many species of fish live in theGulf of Maine? The grand totaldocumented in the new edition is 252species in 111 families—33 morespecies and 10 more families than inthe 1953 edition. Nine of these speciesare newly described since 1953—theDeepwater Skate (Bathyrajarichardsoni), Slope Hatchetfish

(Polyipnus clarus), a lightfish withoutan official common name (Polymetmethaeocoryla), Black Spinyfin(Diretmichthys parini), Silver Roughy(Hoplostethus mediterraneus), WesternRoughy (H. occidentalis), GulfSnailfish (Liparis coheni), InquilineSnailfish (L. inquilinus), and AtlanticSoftpout (Melanostigma atlanticum).Most of these are strays from relativelydeep water, but the two snailfishes aresmall, secretive species that occupyshallow to moderate depths. TheInquiline Snalfish can be fairly abun-dant and is often found inside seascallops in a commensal relationship atcertain times of the year, but the GulfSnailfish is relatively rare.

Other species that have been found toinhabit the Gulf of Maine since the1953 edition was published are alsomostly deeper-water species. Some ofthese might be more abundant thenbelieved because fewer collections aremade in deeper water. For example, theGlacier Lanternfish, Benthosemaglaciale, is the most frequently col-lected lanternfish in the Gulf of Maine,but was not reported until the 1970s.The Striped Cusk Eel, Ophidionmarginatum, is a shallow-waterspecies, first reported only in 1997, thatmight be more common than previ-ously believed. This species burrows inthe bottom and may go unnoticed, butit is very vocal; its sounds have beenrecorded in Barnstable Harbor. Thereare also species that represent rangeextensions. The Smallmouth Flounder(Etropus microstomus) is common fromCape Hatteras to Long Island. Earlylife stages occur regularly off southernNew England and Cape Cod. Adultswere first collected in Cape Cod Bay inthe 1980s, and have since been col-lected regularly in the MassachusettsDepartment of Marine Fisheries trawlsurveys north of the Cape. They havebeen increasing in numbers in southernNew England since the 1980s, witheggs and larvae collected in estuariesfrom Long Island to Narragansett Bay.The Bigeye Soldierfish (Ostichthystrachypoma) is represented by a singleindividual collected at a power plantintake in Seabrook, New Hampshire.This species is known from deep reefsfrom Brazil to Cape Hatteras, and wasprobably carried up by the GulfStream. The Bullet Tuna (Auxis rocheirochei) is also represented by a singlespecimen, but also has been reportedoff Nova Scotia and Martha’s Vine-yard.

A particularly interesting addition isthe Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchusmykiss, which has been utilized inmariculture since 1978 in the Gulf ofMaine. Escapees from cages arecollected occasionally, although there

Bigelow and Schroeder’s Fishes ofthe Gulf of Maine, 3rd ed.The first edition of Fishes of the Gulf ofMaine was published in 1925 by HenryB. Bigelow, professor at the Museum ofComparative Zoology (MCZ) atHarvard University, and later the firstdirector of the Woods Hole Oceano-graphic Institution, and William W.Welsh. It was published by the U.S.Bureau of Fisheries, the predecessoragency of today’s National MarineFisheries Service (NMFS), NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administra-tion (NOAA), and resulted from fieldwork conducted during the early part ofthe 20th Century by Bigelow andcolleagues from the Bureau of Fisheriesand the MCZ. The first edition in-cluded what was then known about thebiology and ecology of 178 fish speciesin 83 families. The book was revisedby Bigelow and William C. Schroederin 1953, describing 219 species and 108families. This second edition served asthe standard reference for nearly a halfcentury.

An updated revision of Bigelow andSchroeder’s Fishes of the Gulf of Mainewas originally suggested by CharlesSheldon, a fisheries consultant, to AllenPeterson, the director of the NMFSNortheast Fisheries Science Center atWoods Hole in the 1980s. Dr. Petersonwas very enthusiastic about this andcontacted Bruce Collette, at that timethe director of the NOAA SystematicsLaboratory in Washington, D.C. Brucealso felt that a revision was longoverdue and agreed to take on the task.He subsequently contacted me becauseI had done work on a number of thecommercial species in the Gulf ofMaine, particularly the flatfishes. I wasvery excited about the project andbegan a collaboration with Bruce thatwas to last 15 years until the book waspublished in 2002 by Smithsonian

Book ReviewREVIEW BY GRACE KLEIN-MACPHEE

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RINHS November 2003Page 17

is little evidence of long-term survivalor reproduction to date. This species,native to Asia and the Pacific north-west, has been widely stocked through-out the world and naturalized popula-tions are common, but its presence inthe Gulf of Maine illustrates thepotential danger of culturing speciesthat are not native to the region.

Some new additions, like the OffshoreHake, Merluccius albidus, and WhiteMullet, Mugil curema, are easilyconfused with similar species (SilverHake and Striped Mullet). They mighthave been present earlier but weremisidentified. Meek’s Halfbeak,Hyporhamphus meeki, was reported asH. unifasciatus, its southern relative, inthe 1953 edition, but was not describedas a separate species until 1993.

We are pleased to have added to thespecies list and biological informationgiven in the two previous editions ofFishes of the Gulf of Maine, and hopethat people who find additional specieswill keep us informed so that we canfurther expand the knowledge for thenext edition. In a review of our bookearlier this year in Bioscience, IoneHunt von Herbing, Associate Professorat the University of Maine School ofMarine Sciences, wrote that the newedition is “a standard for the next 50years.” If so, can you imagine howmany more species might be addedwhen the fourth edition comes out?

Bigelow and Schroeder’s Fishes of theGulf of Maine, 3rd Edition, edited byBruce B. Collette and Grace Klein-MacPhee (2002, ISBN 1-56098-951-3,882 pp., hardcover, $75.00), is pub-lished by Smithsonian Institution Press,Washington, DC (www.sipress.si.edu,800.233.4830). A reprint of the 1953edition is available from BlackburnPress (www.blackburnpress.com).

Grace Klein-MacPhee is an AssistantMarine Research Scientist at the URIGraduate School of Oceanography,and winner of the RINHS Distin-guished Naturalist Award in 2002.

Rhode Island’s Natural Heritage Under Siege: Meeting the Challenge of InvasiveSpecies is the title of two new outreach items just released by RINHS. A 25" x17" full-color poster, shown below, highlights the impacts of invasive plants onnative plant and animalpopulations, and a full-color brochure describesimpacts, facts aboutinvasive species, how totake action, and resourcesfor further information.

Production of thesematerials was madepossible by the support ofthe U.S. Fish & WildlifeService, The NatureConservancy of RhodeIsland, URI CoastalInstitute, Rhode IslandAgricultural ExperimentStation, and the RhodeIsland Wild Plant Society.Anderson Pop Designprovided the graphicdesign. The items areavailable without chargeif picked up at the RINHSoffice.

Rhode Island’s Natural Heritage under Seige:Meeting the Challenge of Invasive Species

Illustration credits: Artwork: p. 4 fromHolmgren, N.H., ed. 1998, used bypermission; p. 7. from BIODIDAC,www.biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca, Universityof Ottawa; p. 18 from Jim Harter, 1979.Animals: 1491 Copyright-free Illustra-tions, New York: Dover Publications, Inc.Photos: p. 5 by Chris Raithel; p. 6 by JonMitchell; p. 10 all by Trish Sylvester; p. 12by Alan Buxton.

T h a n k s a n d C r e d i t s

Volunteer Joyce Valentine-Kenney, CPAdeserves a huge thanks for working with theRINHS to change our accounting systemfrom a cash to an accrual system. We alsothank the following people for their contribu-tions to the RINHS library: Alex Frost, forThe Guide to Pressing Seaweed; the estate ofGeorge Church, for Picocola Flora delleDolomiti and Mountain Flowers ofScandinavia; and Chris Modisette for Rareand Endangered Plant Species Field Guide forSouthern New England.

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Page 18 RINHS November 2003

Ferns of New England: Don Lubin is a fernenthusiast from Allston, Massachusettswith a broad interest both in wild-growing ferns and in their gardencultivation. He maintains a personalwebsite with a wealth of information onferns and fern allies (clubmosses,quillworts, horsetails, etc.). There he saysthat he “thinks there are more fernspecies in his garden than any other inMassachusetts, but he’s not sure.”Resources available on the websiteinclude extensive photos, species lists,site surveys, and information onavailable classes. Particularly worthnoting is a table of 112 fern species andtheir status (extant, watch list, specialconcern, threatened, endangered,historic, extirpated, or never present) ineach of the six New England states —select “MORE,” then “FERNS,” then“New England endangered and extanttaxa by state.” http://theworld.com/~donlubin/

Kluwer Academic Publishersing, headquar-tered in Dordrecht, The Netherlands,

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announcedon-line availability of data on fishcommunities for 960 stream sites inmore than 50 major river basins acrossthe nation. More than 1,900 fishcommunity samples, collected from 1993through 2002 by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Pro-gram, can be downloaded. USGS fishcommunity samples document thepresence of all fish species and theirrelative abundances within designatedstream reaches. Online access tomacroinvertebrate and algae data wereanticipated to follow in succession. Thesedata are part of the NAWQA DataWarehouse, which also provides onlineaccess to 8 million records of water-quality information, enabling water-resource managers, scientists, and thepublic to find data about the quality ofwater or chemical concentrations inaquatic tissue at 4,100 stream sites and6,500 wells across the United States. Forquestions regarding online data retriev-als, please contactgs.nawqa.data@usgs.gov or Mr. SandyWilliamson at (253) 428-3600, ext.2683. For technical questions, such asregarding biological collection methodsand taxonomy, please contact Dr. SteveMoulton at smoulto@usgs.gov or (703)648-6874. http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/data.

recently made available free on-lineaccess to all of the articles published inthe Journal of Landscape Ecologybetween 1987 and 1997, at either of theweb addresses given. Free access to morerecent articles is available for a limitedtime, until the end of December 31,2003, only at the Kluwer website. http://www.kluweronline.com/issn/0921-2973http://landscape.forest.wisc.edu/landscapeecology/

U.S. Forest Service: This site hasdownloadable images and maps for 135tree species that have at least a portion oftheir range in the eastern United States.You can use the data in a GIS to displayboth ranges (according to Elbert Little’smaps) and importance values by 20-kmcell (according to U.S. Forest ServiceForest Inventory Analysis data) fromtheir most recent surveys. Click on the“New” button on lower right corner ofthe start page to get to the tree informa-tion. At the same website, you can alsoaccess a climate change atlas, a databaseon 3200 species from the Illinois flora, adocumentation of biological trends inthe United States, and information onprescribed fire studies. http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/delaware/4153/4153.html

Natural History Opportunities for Volunteers and StudentsThe Audubon Society of Rhode Island is

looking for volunteers for two naturalhistory-related projects. One volunteer isneeded who can help in confirming theidentification of birds eggs. A 10–12hour commitment is required. Avolunteer is also needed for waterfowlmonitoring on Wesquage Pond inNarragansett (Bonnet Shores). Theproject will run from December throughMarch, with weekly monitoring ideal butbi-weekly or monthly acceptable. Thisproject requires someone with good birdidentification skills; reports can besubmitted by email or regular mail. Hotchocolate certificates provided! Pleasecontact Eugenia Marks at (401) 949-5454 or emarks@asri.org.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture,Natural Resources Conservation Service(NRCS) is offering Wildlife HabitatRestoration Internships. Internshipperiods are negotiable and hours areflexible at 10–35 hours/week. Internswill conduct field work in Rhode Islandcoastal and inland habitats and also

work in the NRCS office in Warwick.Duties may include: participation in pre-restoration and post-restoration field-work (monitoring vegetation, hydrology,birds, nekton, and herptiles in an arrayof upland, freshwater and coastalhabitats, GIS mapping (ARCVIEW 3.3),general database management (MSEXCEL), reporting and analyzingmonitoring data, and working withprivate landowners to develop conserva-tion plans. You will have the opportu-nity to participate in multi-partnerprojects with other federal, state, andnon-governmental agencies. The goal ofConservation Programs implemented byNRCS is to enhance and restore nativewildlife habitats that have been de-graded, altered, or eliminated as a resultof agriculture, urban and residentialdevelopment, and other changes in landuse. In Rhode Island, NRCS focuses onthe restoration of coastal habitats (saltmarshes, eelgrass beds, and diadromousfisheries); freshwater wetlands andriparian habitats, and early successionalupland habitats (grasslands). Interns will

earn Experiential Learning Credits, and astipend may be possible. This position isideal for individuals interested in agetting real-world experience andconducting an independent study foracademic credit or personal satisfaction.Qualifications include: a genuine interestin ecological restoration techniques,ecological monitoring, and databasemanagement; effective organizationaland time-budgeting skills; completion ofsome coursework in natural sciences(ecology, natural resources science, soilscience, hydrology, biology, geology, etc.);a demonstrated ability to work indepen-dently and perform a range of job tasks;the ability to be comfortable gettingmucky in the field or in an office at acomputer; and the ability to work hardand maintain a sense of humor. Toapply, submit a resume and availabilityto Andy Lipsky, Natural ResourcesConservation Service, 60 Quaker Lane,Warwick, RI 02886. For more informa-tion contact: Andy Lipsky at (401) 822-8842 or Andrew.Lipsky@ri.usda.gov

Weaving the Web:Electronic Resources

Latest News

RINHS November 2003Page 19

Events CalendarOctober 19th – February 23rd 10:00 AM –

5:00 PM daily. Museum of NaturalHistory and Planetarium exhibit: TheNature of Holography. This exciting newexhibit produced by Holophile, Inc.features dramatic 3-D laser-generatedimagery of natural history subjectsaugmented by specimens from theMuseum’s own collections. RogerWilliams Park, Providence. For informa-tion call (401) 785–9457.

January 2nd. Southern New EnglandChapter of the American FisheriesSociety winter meeting. ConnecticutDepartment of Environmental Manage-ment, Old Lyme CT. There will be paperson many aspects of fishery biology,systematics, ecology, and aquaculture,with students competing for the Saul B.Saila best student paper award. Registra-tion, which includes lunch, is $35 fornon-AFS members, $25 for members,and $10 for students. Registration fornon-SNEC members and studentsconfers a one-year affiliate membershipto SNEC, including the discount rate atthe summer meeting to be held in RhodeIsland. For information contact LesaMeng at (401)782-9618 ormeng.lesa@epa.gov.

January 21st 7:00 PM. Roger Williams ParkZoo Conservation Lecture Seriespresents Search for the Golden MoonBear at the Feinstein IMAX Theatre atProvidence Place. Seating is limited and

lecture schedule is subject to change. Pre-registration is required. For moreinformation/updates, call (401) 785-3510 or visit rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org.To register, e-mail lectureseries@rwpzoo.orgor call (401) 785-3510 x378.

January 29 – 30. National Council forScience and the Environment: 4thNational Conference on Science, Policyand the Environment: Water for aSustainable and Secure Future. RonaldReagan Building and International TradeCenter in Washington, DC. Visitwww.NCSEonline.org to register online,read pre-conference materials, obtain thelatest program updates, and view linksto travel and lodging options. Forgeneral conference questions, contactconference@NCSEonline.org.

February 4th 7:30 PM. RINHS Mark D.Gould Memorial Lecture Series. SuzannePaton, Senior Biologist, Rhode IslandNational Wildlife Complex, US Fish &Wildlife Service, presents Piping PloverManagement in Rhode Island 1992–2003: The Road to Recovery at theWesterly Public Library, Westerly, RI. Formore information, contact the RINHS at(401) 874-5800 or info@rinhs.org.

February 26th 7:00 PM. Journalist JohnFrederick Walker presents A CertainCurve of Horn: The Hundred-YearQuest for the Giant Sable Antelope ofAngola. Roger Williams Park ZooMeller-Danforth Education Center. SeeJanuary 21st listing for more informa-tion.

March 5th. Rhode Island Natural HistorySurvey 9th Annual Conference, Ecologi-cal Research in Rhode Island. Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet, Cranston, RI. Formeeting details, see the separate an-nouncement on the back cover. For moreinformation, contact the RINHS office at(401) 874-5800 or info@rinhs.org.

March 20th. Audubon Society of RI: AnnualBirders’ Conference, held at the ASRIEnvironmental Education Center, Bristol.Mark your calendar now for day-longactivities; program details will beannounced in February. For moreinformation contact Eugenia Marks at(401) 949-5454 or emarks@asri.org.

April 1st 7:30 PM. RINHS Mark D. GouldMemorial Lecture Series. O. DonHermes, Professor, URI Department ofGeosciences, presents Virtual RealityGeologic Field Trips: Examples fromNational Parks and Rhode Island atWeaver Auditorium, Coastal Institute inKingston, URI. For more information,contact the RINHS at (401) 874-5800or info@rinhs.org.

April 14th 7:00 PM. Dr. Alison Jollypresents Lords and Lemurs: People andConservation in the South of Madagas-car. Roger Williams Park Zoo Meller-Danforth Education Center. See January21st listing for more information.

June 18th 3:00 PM – June 19th 3 PM.Rhode Island Natural History Survey’sBioBlitz 2004. URI W. Alton JonesCampus, West Greenwich. Watch fordetails in the Spring 2004 Rhode IslandNaturalist.

Please include me as a member of theRhode Island NatRhode Island NatRhode Island NatRhode Island NatRhode Island Natururururural Histal Histal Histal Histal History Survory Survory Survory Survory Surveeeeeyyyyy,,,,, Inc. Inc. Inc. Inc. Inc.

Annual dues (check one) (see page 15 for membership benefits): Individual ($25) Family ($40) Student/Senior Citizen ($15) Organizational ($100)

Additional donation of $

Name_____________________________________________ Telephone____________________Affiliation___________________________________________ Fax____________________________Address____________________________________________ E-mail_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Make checks payable to RINHS and send to: RINHS, Rm 101 CIK, 1 Greenhouse Road, URI, Kingston, RI 02881RINHS is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Dues and contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

Our Mission✴ To facilitate and coordinate

the gathering and disseminationof information on RI’s biota,ecological communities, andgeological systems;

✴ To enhance communicationamong RI’s natural scientists,educators, and decision makers;

✴ To provide sound scientific datathat can be used to help makeinformed management decisions;

✴ To foster the preservation ofRI’s natural history collections; and

✴ To provide educational outreach.

Room 101, Coastal Institute in Kingston1 Greenhouse Rd., URIKingston, RI 02881–0804

Non-Profit OrganizationPresorted Standard

US PostagePAID

Permit #47West Kingston, RI 02892

To Contact Us…

Rhode Island Natural History SurveyRoom 101, Coastal Institute in Kingston1 Greenhouse Road, URIKingston, RI 02881–0804Tel: 401.874.5800 • Fax: 401.874.4561info@rinhs.org • www.rinhs.org

2004 RINHS Conference:Ecological Research in Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Natural History Survey’s 9th annual conference will beheld on Friday, March 5, 2004 at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet in Cranston, RI.The theme will be Ecological Research in Rhode Island, featuring oral andposter presentations on research and projects on geology, hydrology, ecosys-tems, organism biology, population biology, and conservation/management.The call for abstracts can be found on the RINHS website at www.rinhs.org;the deadline is December 15th.

The keynote speaker at the conference will be John Wiens, Lead Scientist forThe Nature Conservancy’s Mid-Americas Conservation Region. Wiens iswidely known for his work in landscape ecology and the ecology of birdsand insects in arid environments. Wiens left a distinguished academic careerin 2002 and joined the staff at The Nature Conservancy, where he focuseson developing and helping to implement science-based conservation.

In addition to the scientific sessions, there will be organizational displaysand presentation of the 2004 Distinguished Naturalist Awards. We will oncemore be hosting secondary school teachers and high school students at theconference, thanks to a generous grant from the Virginia B. Butler Fund ofThe Rhode Island Foundation, a charitable community trust serving thepeople of Rhode Island.