Vascular plants

Habitat Survey of the Eastern Section of Hollow Rock Nature Park

lepidopteran — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 04:19:17 +0000

Habitat Survey of the Eastern Section of Hollow Rock Nature Park lepidopteran Sun, 01/12/2025 - 23:19

The 2021-2 survey conducted by the NCBP of the New Hope Creek corridor in Durham County included the Hollow Rock Nature Park but focused primarily on the floodplain habitats along the creek itself. An upland area located east of Pickett Road was noted, however, for the maturity of its stand and its somewhat unusual composition, with a large number of Shortleaf Pines and Post Oaks intermixed with Northern Shagbark Hickories and Florida Maples. In 2024, Steve Hall and Carol Tingley conducted a more detailed habitat analysis of this site in a project funded by the Durham Open Space Program. Although focused on the vegetation – surveyed over 61 randomly selected, 5m radius circular quadrats -- this project was conducted more as a habitat survey. Instead of recording structural features, including cover and dominance in the various strata, this survey evaluated species within a set of spatially overlapping habitats and based on the viability of their occurrences within the study area, qualities that could be applied to any taxon. The odd mixture of xerophytic and mesophytic species, and acidophilic and basophilic species was confirmed, with a number of species expected for the individual habitat types as found to be missing from the site. The ecosystem overall, however, appears to closely match the Mixed Moisture Hardpan Forest recently described by Mike Schafale in his 2012 revision of the Natural Communities of North Carolina. This site may, in fact, represent one of the largest and best developed examples of this type in the state.

/sites/default/files/publications/Hollow%20Rock%20Report%2C%202024-11-27.pdf

Steve Hall, Carol Tingley

2024

Hall, S., Tingley, C. 2024. Habitat Survey of the Eastern Section of Hollow Rock Nature Park. Report to the Durham County Open Space Program. North Carolina Biodiversity Project.

Vascular plants

A Survey of the Big Shellbark Hickory, White-nymph, and Other Species Associated with Rich Alluvial Forest Habitats in the New Hope Floodplain of Durham County

lepidopteran — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 02:38:26 +0000

A Survey of the Big Shellbark Hickory, White-nymph, and Other Species Associated with Rich Alluvial Forest Habitats in the New Hope Floodplain of Durham County lepidopteran Sun, 10/29/2023 - 22:38

The survey described in this report was a follow-up to a larger biodiversity inventory conducted by the NCBP in the Durham County portion of the New Hope Creek floodplain in 2021 and 2022. The current study focuses much more narrowly on mapping the distributions within the New Hope floodplain of two of its rarest species, Big Shellbark Hickory (Carya laciniosa), and the White-nymph (Trepocarpus aethusae), both of which appear to have their best (or only, in the case of the White-nymph) populations in the state along New Hope Creek.

/sites/default/files/publications/Rare%20Species%20Occurrences%20and%20Habitat%20Mapping%2C%20New%20Hope%20Creek%20Floodplain.pdf

Steve Hall, Carol Tingley

2023

Hall, S. and Tingley, C., 2023. A Survey of the Big Shellbark Hickory, White-nymph, and Other Species Associated with Rich Alluvial Forest Habitats in the New Hope Floodplain of Durham County. North Carolina Biodiversity Project. Available online at: https://nc-biodiversity.com/publication/survey-big-shellbark-hickory-white-nymph-and-other-species-associated-rich-alluvial

Vascular plants

Using citizen science to bridge taxonomic discovery with education and outreach

lepidopteran — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 07:59:44 +0000

Using citizen science to bridge taxonomic discovery with education and outreach lepidopteran Sun, 02/12/2023 - 02:59

Biological collections are uniquely poised to inform the stewardship of life on Earth in a time of cataclysmic biodiversity loss. Efforts to fully leverage collections are impeded by a lack of trained taxonomists and a lack of interest and engagement by the public. We provide a model of a crowd‐sourced data collection project that produces quality taxonomic data sets and empowers citizen scientists through real contributions to science. Entitled MicroPlants, the project is a collaboration between taxonomists, citizen science experts, and teachers and students from universities and K–12.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5851566/

M. von Konrat, T. Campbell, B. Carter, M. Greif, M. Bryson, J. Larraín, L. Trouille, S. Cohen, E. Gaus, A. Qazi, E. Ribbens, T. Livshultz, T. J. Walker, T. Suwa, T. Peterson, Y. Rodriguez, C. Vaughn, C. Yang, S. Aburahmeh, B. Carstensen, P. de Lange, C. Delavoi, K. Strauss, J. Drag, B. Aguero, C. Snyder, J. Martinec, A. Smith

2018

von Konrat M, Campbell T, Carter B, Greif M, Bryson M, Larraín J, Trouille L, Cohen S, Gaus E, Qazi A, Ribbens E, Livshultz T, Walker TJ, Suwa T, Peterson T, Rodriguez Y, Vaughn C, Yang C, Aburahmeh S, Carstensen B, de Lange P, Delavoi C, Strauss K, Drag J, Aguero B, Snyder C, Martinec J, Smith A. Using citizen science to bridge taxonomic discovery with education and outreach. Appl Plant Sci. 2018 Mar 9;6(2):e1023. doi: 10.1002/aps3.1023. PMID: 29732254; PMCID: PMC5851566.

Vascular plants