SPP Plant Profile: Golden Paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta)

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in Ecological Research Science

SPP Plant Profile: Golden Paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta)

By Graduate Research Associate Evan Hayduk

Basic information: Castilleja levisecta is an endangered perennial herb that can grow up to 20 inches tall and is covered with soft, sticky hairs.  Occurring in open grasslands in the Puget Trough, the species used to be common from British Columbia to the Willamette Valley in Oregon.  Now only a few populations remain, mostly in the area of the San Juan Islands and in the Puget Sound prairies.  Similar to other prairie species, populations have declined due to loss of habitat to agriculture, residential, and commercial uses.  The suppression of fire disturbance, a vital component of the prairie ecosystem, has also led to the decline of populations (see previous post on Prairie Fires).  The U.S. and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are actively reintroducing this species that nearly went extinct within the last two decades.

Ecological Importance:

Golden Paintbrush is relatively short-lived, with individual plants only surviving for 5-6 years.  Although it tends to grow in clumps from one to fifteen stems, it seems to reproduce only through seed.  As mentioned in previous posts, paintbrush species are hemi-parasitic.  Studies have shown Golden Paintbrush that were established with Roemer’s Fescue (Festuca roemeri), were more successful after outplanting than those established alone or with Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum).  Other studies have shown that Castilleja levisecta grown in a greenhouse with Eriophyllum lanatum were larger than with other host species.  Pollinators of Golden Paintbrush are currently being studied, but previous research described a species of bumblebee (Bombus californicus) as an active pollinator.

Fun Facts:

Paintbrush species are known to actively absorb selenium, which is a mineral that is toxic in high concentrations.  This is an unexplored use of paintbrush for reclamation of areas contaminated with selenium.  The dense growth nature of Castilleja levisecta may make it the most useful for this purpose.

Guest Blogger: Babel goes to prison

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Babel goes to prison

Editor’s note: This post was written by former SPP staff member Alicia LeDuc, who recently spent several months volunteering in Tanzania.  She returned to Washington and shared her story at WCCW as a guest lecturer last month.  She wrote about the experience on her own blog, which we are re-posting here with her permission.  To see the post in its original context, please visit:  http://babelsfables.com/2012/02/07/babel-goes-to-prison/.  Enjoy!

The inmates at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, Washington got an inside look into life in east Africa today when Babel partnered with the Sustainability in Prisons Project to deliver a presentation inside the prison as a part of the project’s Science and Sustainability Lecture Series. The lecture, titled Sustainability and Biodiversity in Tanzania, East Africa,  featured a slide show of over 400 photographs documenting the daily life and amazing biodiversity of rural Tanzania.

The crowd proved both attentive and entertaining, sharing their own revelations about sustainable living and even a few personal horror stories inspired by the photographs of deadly fruit and spitting cobras.

The event was hosted by SPP’s Brittany Gallagher, an Evergreen State College graduate student and former Peace Corps volunteer.  Gallagher said she enjoyed the presentation, as it reminded her of the two years she spent living in a small village in Niger, in western Africa.  The inmates thoroughly enjoyed it as well, with one woman concluding the event by thanking the speaker and host and asking Babel to please, go on a trip to Hawaii or the Philippines, then come back again!

A lush papaya grove in Tanzania. (Photo by Alicia LeDuc)


SPP Plant Profile: Spring Gold (Lomatium utriculatum)

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in Science

SPP Plant Profile: Spring Gold (Lomatium utriculatum)

By Graduate Research Associate Evan Hayduk

Basic Information:

Lomatium utriculatum, or Spring Gold, grows in upright clumps with mostly basal leaves. Leaf blades are dissected into very narrow, fern-like ornate leaves. Flowers are small and bright yellow, and clustered in open umbels. Spring gold grows in meadows, woodlands, open and rocky areas from California to British Columbia. A spring flowering perennial, it has a persistently blooming flower, often flowering from as early as January to late July.

Ecological Importance:

Lomatium utriculatum has been found to be the primary nectar sources of Taylor’s checkerspot (Euphydryas editha taylori) butterflies in certain locations. Where it is not present, Taylor’s checkerspots use wild strawberry (Fragaria spp.) instead. In restoration efforts, planting of important nectar source species, like Spring Gold, near larval host plants such as Harsh Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja hispida) is important because Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies do not move a long distance when foraging or laying eggs.

At the Scatter Creek Wildlife Area, in south Thurston County, Lomatium utriculatum has also been found to be an important nectar species for mardon skipper (Polites mardon) butterflies.

Fun Facts:

Lomatium is in the carrot family, and the root is edible raw or cooked. It can also be dried and ground into a power or roasted as a vegetable. Young leaves and shoots can also be eaten raw or cooked as greens. Historically, a decoction of the plant was used as a wash for swollen or broken limbs. The root of the plant is analgesic and stomachic; it was chewed or infused as a treatment for headaches and stomach upset.

Inmate Frog Technicians Experiment with Cricket Rearing

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in Ecological Research Education Prison Life Science

Inmate Frog Technicians Experiment with Cricket Rearing

by: Inmate Frog Technicians at Cedar Creek Corrections Center

Editor’s note: Below is a message from our frog technicians at CCCC, who are currently experimenting with raising crickets to feed to the endangered Oregon spotted frogs being reared at their facility.

On 10/16/11, we received 65 over-winter frogs from a handful of sites. When received, frogs were about as big as dimes. Now they have grown to the size of half-dollars. They are doing very well, very good coloring, spotting on top and red on bottom.

When frogs were received, four frogs looked very bad and have since died. I don’t know what exactly was wrong with them, all I know is they would not eat and were very thin because of it. Except for that, everything has been going very smoothly.

We have now started a new cricket project. We have always bought our crickets from Fluker Farms to breed, but we have been unable to breed multiple generations with them.  Recently we got Jamaican Black Crickets from Woodland Park Zoo and we feel that we could breed a generation of these crickets.  What we hope to do is cross-breed European crickets with these Jamaican Black Crickets and try to get the long life span from the Jamaican but the easier edibility of the European House Crickets we buy from Flukers.

We are going to get 2500 European crickets (5 weekers) and 2500 Jamaican crickets (5 weekers) and raise them side by side, do everything the same between the tanks, food, water, temperature, etc. We are hoping to see which cricket is a more efficient candidate for our cricket project. And also see which crickets we can raise generations from.

In a totally separate experiment, we want to get 500 of each style crickets and raise them together in one tank, hoping to cross-breed these two crickets, getting traits from both.   We’ll see if that may be the best candidate for our cricket program.

Cricket Traits:

European House Cricket: The more popular of the cricket species, these crickets can grow up to 2cm in length. They are more extensively fed to reptiles. Easily digested.

Jamaican Black Cricket: These crickets grow fast and get bigger, probably reaching 3-4cm in length. In my experiences these crickets live longer and are easier to breed, but might be harder for the frogs to eat when they get too big.

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To donate to SPP and support the rearing of the Oregon spotted frog in Washington state, click here.

Foundation Donations Provide Support for SPP!

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By SPP Project Manager Kelli Bush

The Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) recently received generous donations from two different family foundations. The funds from the first donation will be used to help support our evaluation program, efforts to expand SPP to other states, and some of our general operating costs. The second donation provides much needed help with general operating costs such as supplies for our conservation projects, printed pamphlets describing our work, education materials for incarcerated individuals or transportation to prisons. Both awards are greatly appreciated and make a significant difference in helping us accomplish our mission. If you would like to make a donation to SPP through The Evergreen State College Foundation please click here.

SPP Plant Profile: Harsh Indian Paintbush (Castilleja hispida)

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By Graduate Research Associate Evan Hayduk

Harsh Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja hispida)

Basic information:

Castilleja hispida, or harsh Indian paintbrush, grows in a cluster from a woody perennial base with many fine hairs throughout. Its leaves are lance-shaped, and the upper stem may be divided into shallow lobes. Flowers are greenish, but are partially covered by bracts of bright scarlet, yellow, or orange. It grows best in dry openings in forests and meadows, from the coast to high elevations. Locally common, it flowers in the early summer.

Harsh Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja hispida)

Harsh Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja hispida) Photo: Rod Gibert

Ecological Importance:

Castilleja hispida is an important larval host for Taylor’s checkerspot (Euphydryas editha taylori) butterflies, state listed as endangered and a candidate for federal listing. In February, SPP will begin a captive rearing program for Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies at Mission Creek Correctional Center for Women (MCCCW). Inmates at MCCCW, along with SPP graduate research associate Dennis Aubrey, have been preparing by raising a surrogate species.  The painted lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies have been successfully bred in facilities at MCCCW and The Evergreen State College over the last six months.

An interesting and potentially important relationship between Castilleja hispida, Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies and gophers has been witnessed. Some paintbrush specimens at the Artillery Impact Area (AIA) have been found fresh and green well after the majority of the population has senesced  on Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) prairies. Currently, the only remaining population of Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies on JBLM is also found on the AIA. It is hypothesized that these persistent blooming paintbrush specimens may be atop gopher or mole mounds, which create enough of a microclimate to lengthen flowering time. This factor, along with other reasons such as frequent fires from artillery exercises may help to explain the long-term persistence of Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies on the JBLM prairies.

Fun Facts:

Similar to other Castilleja species, harsh paintbrush is hemiparasitic, which means it’s parasitic under natural conditions but is also photosynthetic. It may just obtain water, mineral nutrients, or organic nutrients from the host plant. Although it does not always require a host plant, it may grow better with a host, such as Roemer’s fescue (Festuca roemeri).

SPP Plant Profile: Early-Blue Violet (Viola adunca)

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in Education Science

By Graduate Research Associate Evan Hayduk

Early-Blue Violet (Viola adunca) Photo: Rod Gilbert

Basic information:

Viola adunca, or early-blue violet, is a short perennial with short slender rhizomes. Leaves are alternate, heart shaped to ovate. The flowers of this viola are blue to deep violet, but can often be whitish at the base. Flowers have 5 petals, and bloom from April to August. Fruit are born in capsules with three valves, and the explosiveness of the splitting of the capsules often makes seed collection tricky.

Ecological Importance:

The Mardon skipper (Polites mardon) butterfly depends on Viola adunca as a spring-flowering nectar source. The small orange butterfly is found on two South Sound prairies, and is listed as a State Endangered Species and is a Federal Candidate Species. Zerene fritillaries (Speyeria zerene) also use Viola adunca, but as a larval host. Three subspecies of the Zerene Fritillary are listed on the U.S. Endangered Species List, including the Oregon Silverspot which is classified as threatened in California, Oregon and Washington.

Studies have found that Viola adunca are poor competitors, and are easily displaced by invasive species. Non-native grasses increase thatch density and vegetation height, compete for resources and reduce open space for germination and thus reduce Viola adunca populations. Experiments also show that fire stimulates germination in Viola adunca, and fire could be used to increase Viola adunca populations and provide more area for nectar and larval hosting for butterflies.

Early-Blue Violet (Viola adunca) Photo: Rod Gilbert

Fun facts:

Violet leaves contain more vitamin A than spinach, and a half-cup of leaves has more vitamin C than four oranges! Now, don’t go out and start eating, Viola adunca is a very important larval host and nectar source for threatened butterflies. Another reason to limit consumption: its rhizomes, fruits and seeds are poisonous. Adunca means hooked, and other common names include the hooked-spur violet and the western dog violet.

SPP Plant Profile: Roemer’s Fescue (Festuca roemeri)

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in Education Science

By Graduate Research Associate Evan Hayduk

Festuca Roemeri, Roemer’s Fescue

This is the first installment in a new series of pieces we are calling our plant profiles. Over the coming months we will highlight one of the 40 species of prairie or riparian plants that are grown at Stafford Creek Correctional Facility. This is intended to give you an idea of what we are growing, focus on the conservation importance of each species, and offer a few fun facts about each species.

Basic Information: Roemer’s fescue is a bluish, gray-green tufted bunch grass that grows from British Columbia (southeastern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands), and west of the Cascade Mountains in Washington, Oregon and Northern California. These areas are typically temperate, with maritime influence. Roemer’s fescue grows from sea level to about 2500 ft. The species is also found in thin-soiled windswept shorelines on the islands of the Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Straits of Georgia.

Ecological Importance: A foundation species of the prairies of the Pacific Northwest, Roemer’s fescue is predominately found in the glacial outwash prairies of the South Sound and those which have a history of anthropogenic burning.  Its quick growth makes this fescue an effective ground cover, but its bunch grass nature allows for the growth of other important prairie species, including associated species common camas (Camassia quamash), field woodrush (Luzula campestris), spike goldenrod (Solidago spanthulata), early blue violet (Viola adunca) and prairie lupine (Lupinus lepidus) to name a few.

Who is this Roemer guy anyway? Roemer’s fescue is named for Swiss physician, professor of botany and entomologist Johann Jakob Roemer (1762-1819). Roemer was best known for one of the greatest achievements in the history of Swiss entomology, the Genera insectorum Linnaei et Frabricii. Roemer also published the 16th edition of Carlos Linnaeus’ Systema Vegetabilium.

Fescue in the teaching gardens at The Evergreen State CollegeFescue plugs

Fescue plugs

 

December Butterfly Update

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in Education Prison Life Science

December Butterfly Update

By Inmate Butterfly Technicians at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women

Editor’s note: Below is a message from our butterfly rearing technicians at MCCCW, who are currently raising a surrogate species in preparation for their work with the endangered Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly.

During this holiday season, even though we miss our families, we are fortunate to be a part of this unique experience of rearing butterflies.  On a daily basis we clean, care for, observe, and interact with this delicate and necessary part of our environment.  We continue to learn and prepare for the crucial project ahead – captive rearing of the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly.

It is an amazing feeling to come out to the greenhouse every day and know that we are working toward making an important change for our environment.  We are extremely lucky to be at the start of this project.  We are anticipating the arrival of the Taylor’s checkerspot in February.

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To donate to SPP and support the rearing of the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly in Washington state, click here.

 

 

Inmate Technicians Attend Annual Species Recovery Conferences

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in Education Science

Inmate Technicians Attend Annual Species Recovery Conferences

By Graduate Research Associate Dennis Aubrey

For the first time in the history of the SPP, inmate technicians were able to attend annual species working group meetings. DOC administrators at both Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW) and Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC) were generous in their support and were able to arrange for the inmates to travel to the event.

The Taylor’s checkerspot meeting was held on November 10th at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, and the two inmates who attended learned about species recovery efforts, reintroduction site assessments, genetic taxonomy work, and other ongoing research. The inmates were well received by the community and took copious notes on everything that was said.

The Oregon spotted frog meeting was a week later, at Blakely Tree Farms in Tumwater, and inmates were able to listen to detailed captive rearing reports from each of the four rearing institutions. Then they were able to share information of their own with colleagues they had heard about but never met, and techniques were learned by both sides. Additionally, release data, monitoring effort reports, and other research projects were discussed by various experts.

In both cases, the inmates involved were enthusiastic about attending and were able to get a sense of the larger effort going on outside the walls. The connections they formed with the conservation community can only help them feel more a part of the larger body of work, and more ownership of their own roles within that effort.