Category: Field Work

PSERAI in Olympic National Park…

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On August 27, 2022

In Field Work, Project Weekly

During Week 10, we headed out to the northern half of the Olympic Peninsula to conduct searches for Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis on the Hoh and Sol Duc rivers within the boundaries of Olympic National Park. Both searches were successful, but required extensive hiking. Our first stop was the Hoh River Trail which follows the Hoh River in through temperate rainforest famous for its old growth dripping with bryophytes and lycophytes, such as Isothecium stoloniferum and Selaginella oregana. After driving up from Olympia we hiked three miles to our camp at Mount Tom Creek where we conducted opportunistic searches for P. rainierensis along the river and at Mineral Creek Falls. The following day we hiked the remaining seven miles to a previously known site at the junction of the Hoh River Trail and Hoh Lake Trail. There we were able to relocate a population of the species and collect 10 tissue samples for population genetic analyses. The old blue was found growing in association with a substantial population of the cyanolichen Sticta weigelli. We hiked the entire ten miles back out to the Hoh River trailhead and made our way to Third Beach near Forks, WA. On Third Beach, we stayed up to watch the ocean waves illuminated by a species of the bioluminescent algae in genus Noctiluca and woke to a thick layer of coastal fog. The next day we headed east for the Sol Duc River. We visited two previously known sites along Sol Duc Hot Springs Road both of which showed no sign of “Old Blue”. We proceeded to hike to a previously known site at the confluence of the Sol Duc River and Seven Lakes Creek a little more than 3 miles southeast down the Sol Duc River Trail. There we found a sprawling population of P. rainierensis and were able to collect another 10 samples for our population genetic analyses. Those populations on the Hoh and Sol Duc rivers represent the northern most collections of the species on the Olympic Peninsula, and in addition to helping us round out our sampling scheme on the peninsula, they may provide valuable insight into the influence of National Parks on the population genetic structure of P. rainierensis.

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A. Undergraduate student Silas Cranmer collects tissue at a site on the Hoh River in Olympic National Park. B. Sticta weigelii growing on Alnus rubra along the Hoh River in Olympic National Park near Forks, WA C. Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis growing on Alnus rubra along the Hoh River in Olympic National Park near Forks, WA. D. Evergreen alumna Franny Waldear records element occurrence data at the tissue collection site on the Hoh River in Olympic National Park. E-F. Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis growing on Abies amabilis at the confluence of Seven Lakes Creek and the Sol Duc River in Olympic National Park near Port Angeles, WA. G. Silas Cranmer walking up downed log to get back on trail as Franny Waldear records element occurrence data at the tissue collection site on the Sol Duc River in Olympic National Park. (All photos by S. Sharrett)

PSERAI in the North Cascades…

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On August 17, 2022

In Field Work, Project Weekly

During Week 9, we traveled to the North Cascades to conduct searches for Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis at sites we selected within North Cascades National Park and in the surrounding Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (MBS) with mixed results. We were successful in relocating the species at one site in MBS using the data from a 2001 collection by Ann Risvold via the Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria (CNALH). The site was found at the confluence of the south and middle forks of the Cascade River near Marblemount, WA. There we were able to collect another 10 tissue samples of P. rainierensis for our population genetic analyses. Those tissue samples collected represent the most northern population we have sampled in Washington state. Unfortunately, our success was limited by the boundaries of NOCA. Our first attempt left us at a dead end where an avalanche had created a chute too difficult to pass leaving us no choice but to turn back just past the border of NOCA on the abandoned mining road we followed above Marble Creek. We encountered several other cyanolichen species, including Lobaria anomala and Lobaria anthraspis, along our route and remain optimistic that P. rainierensis is still present further east on Marble Creek. The following day we hiked along Thunder Creek Trail and conducted intensive searches along the western bank of Thunder Creek and at Thunder Creek Camp with no sign of “Old Blue”.

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A. Evergreen alumna Franny Waldear collecting tissue along the South Fork Cascade River in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest near Marblemount, WA. B-C. Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis at the collection site on the South Fork Cascade River. D. Thunder Creek at the crossing to Thunder Camp in North Cascades National Park near Newhalem, WA. (All photos by S. Sharrett)

PSERAI on the N Fork Sauk River…

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On August 12, 2022

In Field Work, Project Weekly

“Old Blue” out of the blue! While conducting lichen community surveys and tissue collections for the United States Forest Service (USFS) air quality biomonitoring program in the Glacier Peak Wilderness we stumbled upon a population of Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis that has yet to be documented as far as our records show. Since our study began in June 2021, we have been documenting the presence/absence of P. rainierensis at historic collection and observation sites. During those revisits we have been recording data pertaining to the habitat in which the species is found, including stand age, species composition, canopy cover, and site morphometry. We intend to use the element occurrence data from our survey sites to create a model that can be used to locate currently unknown populations of P. rainierensis – if we don’t happen upon them first.

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A – D. Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis along the North Fork Sauk River Trail near Darrington, WA. (Photos by S. Sharrett)

PSERAI in Mount Rainier Nat’l Park…

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On July 27, 2022

In Field Work, Project Weekly

During Week 5, we were provided with our permits to make tissue collections of Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis at sites we had selected in Mount Rainier National Park (MORA) AND North Cascades National Park (NOCA). (Very exciting!) This week, we were able to relocate and collect tissue from two of three previously known populations within MORA. Both populations hold historical significance as type localities for the species. P. rainierensis was first collected in 1948 at the confluence of the Ohanapecosh River and Panther Creek and at Tahoma Creek by Henry Allen Imshaug (1925-2010) who described the species in his 1950 paper New and noteworthy lichens from Mt. Rainier National Park. From a scientific perspective, we plan to explore how the genetic structure of P. rainiernesis populations sequestered in expansive protected forests, such as those within the boundaries of National Parks, differs from populations in forests that have been subject disturbance, e.g. logging and development, as are many of the National Forests in the United States.

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A. Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis growing along side Lobaria oregana adjacent Tahoma Creek. L. oregana is often found growing in association with P. rainierensis. B. Undergrad Stephen Sharrett documenting a P. rainierensis thallus at Panther Creek. C. A small rosette of P. rainierensis at the Tahoma Creek site. D. Evergreen alumna Franny Waldear retriving a tissue sample and voucher specimen at the Tahoma Creek site. E. Large P. rainierensis thallus growing on Alnus rubra along Tahoma Creek. (All photos courtesy of S. Sharrett)

PSERAI near Huckleberry Creek…

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On July 24, 2022

In Field Work, Project Weekly

Toward the end of Week 5, we conducted a revisit to a 2010 collection site attributed to G. Vos retrieved from the Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria (CNALH). The site was located ~20 miles north of Mount Rainier in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie Wilderness west of Huckleberry Creek. After finding our way on a network of logs across Huckleberry Creek we were successful in relocating a small population of Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis in an area that had been previously logged. The species was concentrated in a rather small areas growing on a handful of Acer circinatum. The portion of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest north of Mount Rainier where we conducted our revisit represents another region where we had yet to confirm the current status of the species and collect tissue for our population genetic analyses. Sites that have experienced disturbances such as logging are crucial for better understanding how changes in land use and land cover have impacted the distribution of the species over time and may be shaping the population genetic structure of P. rainierensis in the present.

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A & C. Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis growing on Acer circinatum adjacent Huckleberry Creek n the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest near Greenwater, WA B. Evergreen undergrad Andrew Restrepo collecting tissue for population genetic analyses D. The few Acer circinatum shoots that were home to Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis at our tissue collection site (Photos by Stephen Sharrett)

PSERAI on the Dingford Creek Trail…

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On July 19, 2022

In Field Work, Project Weekly

During Week 4, Dr. Calabria conducted field work in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest north of Snoqualmie Pass. Dr. Calabria was successful in relocating Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis from a 2001 observation of the species in the Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria (CNALH). The region in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest where Dr. Calabria conducted the survey represents a gap in our presence/absence and population genetic surveys across the range of the species in WA state and beyond. Much of our work this summer is devoted to revisiting historic observations to confirm the current status of the species and making tissue collections for population genetic analyses in those gap areas and other areas not surveyed since this project began in spring 2021.

Dr. Calabria and “Old Blue” (Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis) on the Dingford Creek Trail in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest near North Bend, WA. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Calabria)
Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis at Dingford Creek in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest near North Bend, WA. (Photo by Dr. Calabria)

PSERAI on the Staircase Rapids Trail in Olympic National Park…

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On July 7, 2022

In Field Work, Project Weekly

Last week we received our research permit to work in Olympic National Park! This week we headed out to our first site along the Staircase Rapids Trail and were successful in locating Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis. Thanks to a tip from one of research team members and former Evergreen grad Franny Waldear we were able to collect more data and tissue for our research. National Parks serve as refugia for the species and habitats that they protect. We are excited to have the opportunity to conduct surveys and investigate the population genetic structure of P. rainierensis populations within these refugia.

Dr. Calabria looking over some Pseudocypellaria rainierensis and Stephen Sharrett collecting tissue for population genetic analyses on the Staircase Rapids Trail near Hoodsport, WA. (Photo courtesy of A. Restrepo)
Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis on the Staircase Rapids Trail near Hoodsport, WA. (Photos by S. Sharrett)

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