Conservation in Action
VOLUME 5
The Paradox and Surprises of Local Biodiversity
In April 2014, an article published in the peer-reviewed journal Trends in
Ecology and Evolution estimated the total number of species on Earth at
8.7 million, of which only 1.5 million have thus far been catalogued
(formally described in detail and given a scientific name). Anyone who is
familiar with the concept of interspecies competition might find this figure
a bit perplexing. Why do we observe patterns of high species diversity in
undisturbed remnant and restored ecosystems? Why doesn’t competitive
exclusion result in ecosystems that consist of only a handful of coexisting
super-competitive species? Why are there so many different species?
In 1958, renowned lake biologist G. Evelyn Hutchinson provided a partial
answer to this question in a presentation to the American Society of
Naturalists entitled “Homage to Santa Rosalia, or Why are there so Many
Kinds of Animals?” In this pivotal paper, which has since become
mandatory reading when preparing for graduate school qualifying exams,
Hutchinson argued that engaging in direct competition is detrimental to
organisms because competition requires the expenditure of energy, which
diverts energy away from growth and reproduction thereby reducing
fitness (the probability that an organism will survive long enough to pass
on its genes). He further reasoned that organisms that avoid competition
by expanding or altering their niche breadth (utilizing an alternative food
source, for instance) will have higher fitness. Stated differently, it is more
energetically favorable to diversify than to compete for resources, and
organisms that develop dissimilar characteristics that enable them to avoid
direct competition and partition limited resources are more likely to
survive and reproduce. Thus, nature has an underlying intrinsic drive to
create and maintain diversity in natural systems. Hutchinson called this
mechanism of evolution character displacement and niche separation,
and 50+ years' worth of empirical research has both lent enormous
support to this concept and also expanded upon it. For instance, we now
know that habitat (or beta) diversity also influences the occurrence of
high species diversity patterns because multiple habitats have a larger
cumulative number of niche spaces available that can be occupied by
different organisms. There is also evidence (albeit scale-dependent and
not universally accepted) that high diversity provides a degree of stability
to an ecosystem, helping it to resist disturbances and species invasions and
maintain itself in a remnant condition. Also of consequence to restoration
is the intermediate disturbance concept, which states that diversity is
maximized when disturbance (e.g., fire or flooding) regimes are of
intermediate frequency and intensity.
(Continued on page 3)
February 2015
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Gerald R. Goth
President
H. Lee Swanson
Vice President, Treasurer
Tom J. Kuehn
Secretary
NEWSLETTER
Craig A. Annen
Editor, Design, & Layout
Fire is an essential management tool for
prairies & oak-dominated woodlands
Swamplovers 2014 burn crew
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2014 Highlights
Lee, Tom, and Gerry with 2014’s Leopold Award recipients
2014 was another busy year for the Foundation's outreach programs.
In May, geology students from UW-Platteville and ecology students from
UW-Whitewater made use of the Preserve to study science in the
natural setting. The students and their professors examined the
Preserve's numerous geological features and learned about the
Foundation’s bullsnake habitat enhancement efforts. In June, technicians
from the USFWS, WDNR, Nature Conservancy, and Sauk County Land &
Water Conservation District held their annual Conservation Reserve
Program Meeting at the Preserve's Picnic Hill Pavilion. Once again, the
Preserve was opened to Disabled Hunters and a Pheasants Forever Field
Day. The Foundation continued its tradition of sponsoring and organizing
youth outreach events to instill a sense of environmental stewardship in
young people. 2014 events included Girl Scout and Boy Scout tours,
Hunter Safety Education, a Youth Pheasant Hunt, and a Youth Deer
Hunt, with discussions by Lee on achieving a mutually beneficial balance
between outdoor recreation and habitat conservation. In June, Gerry
instructed 4th grade students from Park Elementary School on the
importance of prairie conservation in the Midwest. In July, Karl &
Dorothy Legler and R. Tod Highsmith guided a tour of Butterflies and
Dragonflies at Swamplovers' Preserve. Attendees observed 26 species of
butterfly and 12 species of dragonfly during the outing, including the
Hickory Hairstreak (WI-Special Concern), Dion Skipper (rare), and Red
Saddlebags (also rare).
In October, the Swamplovers were
presented with the prestigious Aldo
Leopold-Virginia Kline Restoration
Award
for
Community
Based
Ecological Restoration by the Friends
of the Arboretum in recognition of
their long-term commitment to
restoration and community outreach.
2014 marked another milestone in
the Foundation's effort to establish a
satellite population of Prairie Fringed
Orchid at the Preserve. Although a
total of 79 orchids have been
transplanted since the project began,
with bloom rates ranging from 27%
(during the 2012 drought) to 93%,
regeneration of the population has
been limited to a single seedling
observed in 2010 (which subsequently
succumbed to a fungal infection). In
2013, USFWS Endangered Species
Biologist Cathy Pollack instructed land
managers in hand-pollination of the
orchids, and in 2014 our annual
population survey detected three
blooming orchids rooted well outside
of the existing transplant exclosures!
The Foundation, working in close
partnership with John van Altena, also
transplanted an additional ten
dormant orchid tubers into the
Preserve’s wetlands in 2014.
Regenerated orchids in bloom
Butterflies and dragonflies at Swamplovers’ Preserve
Throughout the year, the Foundation
also hosted events for several
additional organizations, including the
Cross Plains Lions Club, the Red Hat
Society, and the Rocky Mountain Elk
Foundation.
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The Foundation is indebted to the
legion
of
graduate
students,
university staff, consultants, and
conservation enthusiasts who have
contributed their time and expertise
toward collecting and organizing
species presence and abundance data
for the Swamplovers' Preserve, and
for sharing their extensive practical
knowledge, experience, and sciencebased management suggestions for
the Preserve's numerous at-risk
species. Thank you:
Gerry leads students from Park Elementary School on a tour of the Preserve’s Picnic Hill
prairie remnant
Local Biodiversity (continued from page 1)
Protecting, enhancing, and educating people about local biodiversity are
among the guiding missions of the Swamplovers' Foundation. For more than
a decade, the Foundation has commissioned a diversity of experts to
conduct extensive biological surveys and document species richness at the
Swamplovers' Nature Preserve. To date, a total of 1,961 species across all
trophic levels have been recorded inhabiting the Preserve, including no
less than 133 species that possess some level of at-risk conservation status
(refer to the species richness summary on pages 4 & 5). Both practical and
symbolic reasons motivate this effort. From a management perspective,
knowing which species are present (particularly at-risk species) enables the
Preserve's land managers to ensure that restoration and habitat
enhancement efforts provide and retain adequate habitat conditions for atrisk species, some of which have conflicting habitat preferences (for
example, several species of at-risk birds prefer open grassland habitats
while others require a native shrub component for nesting; fortunately the
Preserve is large enough to accommodate both groups of species). There
are also symbolic reasons for these efforts, in that it is both encouraging
and motivating to know that the Preserve is a sanctuary for so many
species. Moreover, several of the at-risk species have been repeatedly
observed over multiple years and by different ecologists, which is a proxy
for their high abundance and population stability at the Preserve.
Every two years the Foundation updates its Detailed Management Plan,
consolidating volumes of species survey data into a single source to guide
management efforts now and into the future. Extrapolation from speciesarea curves predict the total number of species making use of the Preserve
(both migratory and residents) could range from 2,700 to 9,400! Although
the Preserve harbors a mere 2.75 x 10-4 % of global biodiversity, a collective
area only the size of the state of Georgia is all that would be needed to
provide the minimum amount of sanctuary for Earth’s biota. Have faith in
conservation efforts; even the pyramids were built one block at a time!
Craig Anderson, Craig Annen, John & Cahterine
Attig, Robert Borth, Brian Bubb, Cherry
Carbon, David Cordray, Jeff Durbin, Les Fergee,
Terry Harrison, Robert Hay, Rich Henderson, R.
Tod Highsmith, Kyle Johnson, Emmet
Judziewicz, Josh Kapfer, Susan Kercher, Katie
Kieler, Anne Koeppe, H.L. Kons, Jr., Christopher
Kregel, Kim Kreitinger, Karl & Dorothy Legler,
Sean Longabaugh, Jeff Lorch, Paul Michler,
Dave Phillips, Amy Staffen, Ryan Stephens,
Ann Thering, Kevin Thusius, and Dan Young.
Rock Fir Club Moss (Special Concern)
If you are interested in assisting with
biological, ecological, or geological
inventory efforts at the Swamplovers'
Nature Preserve, contact Gerry Goth
([email protected]) or Craig Annen at
Integrated Restorations, LLC through their
website: www.ir-wi.com.
One of 19 waterfowl production ponds
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Summary of Species Richness at the Preserve (as of 2014)
Total Number of Catalogued Species:
Total Number of Conservation Priority (At-Risk) Species:
Preserve Area
Number of Species (S), by Taxonomic Group:
1,961
133
460 acres
Group
S
Kingdom Protista (Plankton)
2
Division Chlorophyta (Unicellular Algae and Diatoms)
Oedogonium (a unicellular
single-filament algae)
2
70
Kingdom Fungi (Mushrooms, Molds, and Lichens)
Xanthoria ulophyllodes (a lichen)
Division Ascomycota (Lichenized Fungi and Associated Symbiots)
Division Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Division Basidiomycota (Higher Fungi)
Kingdom Viridiplantae (Green Plants)
540
Division Charophyta (Multicellular Algae)
Division Hepatophyta (Liverworts and Hornworts)
Division Bryophyta (Mosses)
Division Sphenophyta (Horsetails)
Division Lycopodophyta (Club Mosses)
WI-Special Concern
1
4
23
5
1
15
1
1
Green Elf Cup Fungus
Division Coniferophyta (Cone-Bearing Plants)
Division Anthophyta (Flowering Plants)
WI-Endangered
FED-Threatened
WI-Threatened
WI-Special Concern
FNA Conservation Concern Species
Conservative (C ≥ 9) or Rare
Cladonia cristatella (a lichen)
1
Division Pterophyta (Ferns)
WI-Special Concern
Conservative (C ≥ 9) or Rare
26
9
35
3
488
6
1
5
17
1
20
Ceramic Parchment Fungus
Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA) of vascular plants 116.5
(FQA scores > 50 indicate natural area remnants of exceptional quality)
Modal coefficient of conservatism (C) value
5.0
Equisetum (horsetail)
Lithospermum canescens (puccoon), Pediomellum esculentum (prairie turnip), and Cypripedium parviflorum (lady slipper orchid)
Onoclea sensiblis (sensitive fern)
4
Group
S
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
1,349
Phylum Annelida (Worms)
1
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Crustacea (Crustaceans)
Class Arachnidia (Spiders, Mites, and Ticks)
Class Chilopoda (Centipedes)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Blattodea (Roaches and Termites)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
WI-Special Concern
2
8
1
1
195
2
Order Dermaptera (Earwigs)
Order Diptera (True Flies)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, and Wasps)
Rare or Infrequently Sampled
Previously Undocumented in WI
1
1
Agripodes fallax (a moth)
768
2
16
9
1
Order Mecoptera (Scorpionflies)
Order Neuroptera (Net-Winged Insects)
Order Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)
Order Phasmatodea (Stick-Bugs)
Order Trichoptera (Caddisflies)
3
2
19
1
4
Phylum Chordata (Vertebrates)
Class Amphibia (Amphibians)
12
WI-Special Concern
Cuckoo Wasp
1
44
33
79
Order Lepidoptera (Moths and Butterflies)
WI-Endangered
WI-Special Concern
Rare or Infrequently Sampled
Previously Undocumented in WI
Splendid Tiger Beetle
2
Class Reptilia (Reptiles)
Ottoe Skipper (Endangered)
Walking-Stick Bug
12
WI-Threatened
WI-Special Concern
3
2
Class Mammalia (Mammals)
37
WI-Threatened
WI-Special Concern
3
7
Class Aves (Birds)
121
WI-Threatened
WI-Special Concern
Species of Conservation Concern
Order Perciformes (Fish)
Cope’s Grey Tree Frog
3
25
1
4
Bobolink (Special Concern)
Red Saddlebags (Rare)
American Mink
Bullsnakes (Protected Wild Animal)
Fox Squirrel
5
WDNR LIP Grant Assists with Habitat Enhancement Project
Brown Thrasher (Special Concern)
Hoary Bat (Special Concern)
In May, the Foundation broke ground on a 13-acre habitat enhancement
project for several fire-sensitive at-risk species that inhabit the Preserve.
Priority species for this project are the southern flying squirrel, hoary bat, bluewinged warbler, woodcock, and brown thrasher (all are WI-Special Concern
species). Unlike the common grey and fox squirrels, the southern flying squirrel
utilizes cavities within snag trees (which are often created then subsequently
abandoned by red-headed woodpeckers) for communal nesting. The hoary bat
primarily feeds on moths (and there is no shortage of moths at the Preserve),
while the woodcock, brown thrasher, and blue-winged warbler forage for
insects that inhabit ground litter. The brown thrasher further requires a shrub
component for successful nesting. Frequent use of prescribed fire as a
management tool could deplete the amount of litter after a burn (and also the
abundance of insects within that litter), so the project area will only be burned
intermittently and will serve as a refugia for fire-sensitive species. Invasive
species suppression will have to be accomplished manually when fire
frequency is reduced, but the potential benefits to these at-risk species
outweigh associated maintenance costs. In 2014, we created hardwood and
softwood snags by frill-girdling trees, then planted thickets of native shrubs
such as American hazelnut, winterberry, and wild plum. This year, we will
install a variety of habitat structural elements within the project area, including
basking logs, insect dens, and houses for bats and flying squirrels. We
appreciate all of the donations, both large and small, that have helped the
Foundation achieve its various conservation missions over the previous five
years. Last year, 100% of your contributions were applied toward matching
funds for this habitat enhancement project.
Blue-Winged Warbler (Special Concern)
Flying squirrel house
Basking log & Insect den
Bat house mounted to a tree trunk
Restoration Continues on the Puccoon Hill Prairie Remnant
Woodcock (Special Concern)
Southern Flying Squirrel (Special Concern)
On a west-facing slope of the Preserve's East Ridge sits a seven-acre remnant
prairie that Lee and Gerry affectionately named the Puccoon Hill because of
the profusion of Hoary Puccoon (a highly conservative prairie wildflower from
the snapdragon family) present amongst two dozen other native prairie
species. Although aerial photographs of Dane County from 1937 show that this
hill was once dominated by open dry prairie intermixed with oak savanna,
Puccoon Hill has since become displaced by invasive shrubs and trees not
characteristic of historical conditions. Since 2010, the Foundation has been
hard at work clearing this hill of extremely dense thickets of buckthorn, elm,
and cedar, along with burning and spraying the profusion of secondary weed
outbreaks that inevitably followed the initial clearing. In 2014, this restoration
effort received a much-needed boost by grants from the FWS Partners for
Wildlife Program and Dane County Environmental Council.
6
The Swamplovers
Foundation Thanks:
Funding:
FSA-CRP Program
NRCS-EQIP Program
Dane County Farm Service
Agency
Dane County Environmental
Council Grant Program
USFWS Partners for Wildlife
Program
WDNR LIP Program
WDNR TSI Program
WDNR Turkey Stamp
Program
MG&E
Numerous Individual Donors
In-Kind and Technical
Support:
Ice Age Trail Alliance
Dane County Parks
Pheasants Forever
University of Wisconsin
Entomology Department
University of Wisconsin
Conservation Education
Plastic Ingenuity, Inc.
Integrated Restorations, LLC
Lyle ‘Doc’ Esser
Ron Endres
Lucas Olson
Tod Highsmith
Dawn Hinebaugh
Kyle Johnson
Darcy Kind
Gary Nelson
Andrew Mack
Ben Lamasney
John van Altena
Tom Gross
Pattie Haack
John Brooks
Mindy Habecker
Kurt Waterstradt
Daniela Annen
Duane Wagner
John and Cathy Attig
Will Mann
Steve Holaday
Dan Buckland
Kent McDonald
Dorothy & Karl Legler
Wayne Pauly
Jonathan Wilde
Denny Connor
Heather Kaarakka
Krista McGinley
West ridge oak savanna remnant
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If your organization is interested in a tour or holding an outreach event at the Preserve,
contact Lee Swanson at [email protected]
We need your help!
Remember, 100% of your tax-deductible donation will directly support on-the-ground conservation and
management (the Foundation has never charged one dime for overhead or administrative expenses).
Name(s) _________________________
Address _________________________
City ____________________________
State ________ Zip ________________
Email (optional) ___________________
Tax-Deductible Donation $ ________
Please send this form and check payable to:
The Swamplovers Foundation, Inc.
ATTN: Land Management Fund
5053 County Road KP
Cross Plains, WI 53528
The Swamplovers Foundation, Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the
protection, preservation, and management of southern Wisconsin’s biological, geological,
and ecological heritage.
Photo Credits: Craig Annen, Bill Arthur, Amanda Budyak, Ron Endres, Kyle Johnson, Mark Johnson, Greg Hottman, Karl Legler, Sean Longabaugh,
National Audubon Society, and Wiki Commons.
Newsletter produced by:
∳Integrated Restorations, LLC
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