(No Subject)

invasive European Phragmites australis subspecies australis has been
reported, so we are interested in seeing how conditions here compare to
what we'd observed elsewhere in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia... we
drove the busy road across the marshes both ways, waypointing stands and
taking representative specimens...

next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects


"The first thing we noticed was that the stands were very distinctly 
divided into native-like and invasive-like kinds: we counted 11 alien 
and 7 native stands, and only 1 that we called ambiguous, though the 
natives graded out into little whisps, and we doubtless missed some of 
these which an observer on foot could have waypointed. The most striking 
feature of this difference was the persistent green foliage of the 
aliens, in contrast to the shriveled get-ready-for-winter brown of the 
natives (one often sees that alien plants from NW Europe retain green 
leaves far longer than native plants do).

"Those on NatureNS will remember that throughout Nova Scotia we were 
perplexed by the intermediacy and confusing morphology of the majority 
of the Phragmites stands we sampled there: at Tantramar there was no 
ambiguity, and the natives didn't look much different from the ones we 
see in Ontario".

Those of us in Ontario have seen how completely the invasive Phragmites 
can take over wide areas, and really wish action could be taken in the 
Maritimes before the task becomes impossible.

fred.
====================================================

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Catling & company on invasive Phragmites in the Maritimes (& Nfld)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 10:39:08 -0500
From: Frederick W. Schueler <bckcdb@istar.ca>
Organization: Bishops Mills Natural History Centre
To: NATURENB@LISTSERV.UNB.CA <NATURENB@LISTSERV.UNB.CA>

New Brunswickers,

I urge you to read the appended article (which has just come out in
BEN), very carefully, and to take action to suppress stands of the alien
race. All you need to do is to drive along the eastern shore of NB, and
then drive along the shore roads of New Jersey (solid alien Phragmites
as far as the eye can see), to envisage just what you don't want your
province to become. The Fundy shore is more different from New Jersey,
so the geomorphic comparison isn't so close, but solid stands of
Phragmites would be equally undesireable there.

fred.
------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------
BOTANICAL ELECTRONIC NEWS No. 324, March 16, 2004
<aceska@victoria.tc.ca>                Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
  Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

STATUS OF THE ALIEN RACE OF COMMON REED (_PHRAGMITES AUSTRALIS_)
IN THE CANADIAN MARITIME PROVINCES
From:  Paul  M.  Catling*,  Gisele  Mitrow*,  Lynn Black*, Susan
    Carbyn**
    * Agriculture and AgriFood Canada,
    Environmental Health, Biodiversity,
    Saunders Bldg., C.E.F., Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6
    catlingp@agr.gc.ca
    **Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
    Environmental Health, Biodiversity
    32 Main Street, Kentville, Nova Scotia B4N 1J5

An alien race of Common Reed (presumably  the  European  _Phrag-
mites australis_ (Cav.) Trin. ssp. _australis_) has been rapidly
spreading  along  roadsides and invading and dominating wetlands
in parts of southern Ontario and Quebec since  the  early  1990s
(Schueler  2000a,  b,  Robichaud  & Catling 2003, Catling et al.
2003). The invasion and domination of native  plant  communities
led  to  a  substantial  reduction  in native biodiversity (e.g.
Catling et al. 2003, Lavoie et  al.  2003).  Very  recently  the
status  of  the  alien race has been clarified in other parts of
Canada (e.g. Martin 2003, Schueler et al. 2003). However, in the
Canadian maritime provinces its status has  been  unclear  until
recently  when  both  field  study  and  a database of herbarium
records was completed. The herbarium records  database  includes
data  from  all major herbarium collections in Canada (including
those of particular importance with regard to the maritimes such
as ACAD, CAN, DAO, MT, MTMG, NFLD,  NSPM,  UNB).  The  value  of
herbarium  specimens  in  understanding  status  and  spread was
increased when a method of distinguishing the  races  using  the
floral  character  of  lower  glume  length (Robichaud & Catling
2003) made it possible  to  identify  many  herbarium  specimens
lacking  the  distinctive  lower stem characters.  The alien in-
vasive race was distinguished from the  native  race  by  having
first  glumes  4.1  mm  long  or  less and lower stem internodes
yellow or brownish instead of reddish-purple  (Robichaud  &  Ca-
tling  2003). A chemical method for distinguishing the races has
also recently become available (Saltonstall 2003). The following
notes, arranged  by  province,  are  derived  from  response  to
several  questions regarding the status of the alien race in the
maritime region.

NEWFOUNDLAND:

The only record is that of a specimen  collected  from  Stephen-
ville  Barachois  by  R.  Day in 1991 (DAO). The native race has
apparently not been recorded in the province.

NEW BRUNSWICK:

Of the locations mapped by  Hinds  (2000,  p.  606),  only  that
collected  from  2 km S of Beaver Dam in Sunbury County by H. R.
Hinds in 1981 (MTMG, UNB) was referable to the introduced  race.
A  depauperate specimen from the salt marsh at St. Louis Cape in
Kent County collected by P. R. Roberts and B. Pugh in 1965 (UNB)
has a lower glumes approx. 4.0 mm long but lacks  stem  and  was
not assigned to race. In 2003 the alien race was collected by P.
M.  Catling  at  two  locations  on  the Trans Canada highway at
Sackville (DAO). Here it occurred within 20 m of the paved  edge
of  the  highway.  From  here  it  may  spread into the adjacent
Tantramar  Marshes  and  displace  the  native   race   of   _P.
australis_,    (which    is   presumably   referable   to   ssp.
_berlandieri_, see Fernald 1932). Schueler (2000b,  2002)  found
_Phragmites  australis_  absent from sides of major roads in New
Brunswick (and Prince Edward Island) so that the  occurrence  in
the Sackville area along the major highway is almost certainly a
recent  phenomenon.  This  conclusion  is supported by the small
size of the clones present, i.e. only several m2.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND:

At the present time only the native race is  known  from  Prince
Edward  Island  and it is considered rare in the province (Day &
Catling 1991). It was collected from the Dunk River  estuary  in
Bedeque  by  M. L. Fernald and H. St. John in 1914 (CAN, MT) and
later by D. Erskine and A. J. Smith in 1953  (DAO,  MT).  Plants
reported  from  Lennox Island (Day & Catling 1991) have not been
seen.

NOVA SCOTIA:

  Most of the locations mapped for Nova Scotia  (Roland  &  Smith
1969,  Zinck 1998) represent the native race. The obvious excep-
tions are the specimens from Annapolis Royal and Bridgetown. The
alien race was first collected  at  Annapolis  Royal  in  by  J.
Macoun  in  1910 (CAN), and subsequently by M. L. Fernald and B.
Long in 1921 (ACAD, CAN, MT), by H. E. Perry and M. V. Roscoe in
1928 (ACAD), by G. C. Warren in 1938 (ACAD), W. G. Dore in  1940
(DAO),  F. Kinsman in 1949 (DAO), M. S. Brown in 1949 (NSPM), P.
Douglas in 1949 (NSPM), J. R. Jotchan in 1978 (ACAD), E.  Specht
in  1979  (ACAD),  P.  M. Catling, S. Carbyn and J. Achenbach in
2003 (DAO). It is believed in Annapolis  Royal  that  the  alien
race  was introduced with straw on trains carrying Elephants and
other circus animals in the early  1900s  (J.  Achenbach,  pers.
comm.).  It  is  locally called Elephant Grass. For many decades
the occurrence of this gigantic (to 4  m  tall  in  one  season)
grass  in and around Annapolis Royal was recognized as a remark-
able occurrence. Interestingly the Common  Reed  growing  around
Annapolis  Royal  was used to thatch a restored Acadian dwelling
in the same way that the Acadians used the native race. Prior to
the dyking which began around 1700, the  native  race  may  have
been much more abundant in the Fundy tidal marshes.

The alien race was also recorded relatively early at Bridgetown.
Here  H.  G.  Perry  and  M. V. Roscoe made a collection in 1928
(ACAD, MTMG, NSPM). Despite the continuity of  collections  from
Annapolis  Royal,  there  was  a  gap  of 44 years until another
locality of the alien race was recorded, this being  from  South
Brookfield  where  it  was  collected  by P. L. Comeau and J. M.
Stanley in 1972 (NSPM). There are several  more  recent  collec-
tions;  Big Pine Lake by M. Zinck and R. Ogilvie in 1992 (NSPM),
Sable River by R.E. and R.B. Newell in 1993 (ACAD),  south  side
of  Annapolis  River at Middleton by P.M. Catling in 2003 (DAO),
junction of Trans Canada Highway 104 at Highway  102  by  P.  M.
Catling  (DAO),  Highway  101  at Grand Pré by S. Carbyn in 2003
(DAO), 2 km W of Dodge Road overpass on Hwy 101 3 km W  of  exit
17  (Kingston/Greenwood)  by  S.  Carbyn in 2003 (DAO),1 km W of
exit 16 Hwy 101(Aylesford exit) by S. Carbyn in 2003.  All  of
these  are  within 20 m of a paved road suggesting that vehicles
and roads are the means and pathway of invasion.

Conclusions

Although the alien race  became  established  in  the  maritimes
almost  100  years  ago, it appears to have spread only recently
and is apparently spreading  by  means  of  vehicle  traffic  on
roads.  This parallels the situation elsewhere in eastern Canada
(Catling et al. 2003).  Although  the  alien  race  is  invading
agricultural  land, including cornfields in southern Quebec, its
most serious impact to date has been the replacement of  diverse
native vegetation in wetlands with significant loss of biodiver-
sity  in  general.  Considering  its  impact on Atlantic coastal
marshes in the United States (e.g. Blossey 2002,  Marks  et  al.
1994,  Meyerson  et  al.  2000),  marshes along the St. Lawrence
River (e.g. Lavoie et al. 2003) and wetlands in southern Ontario
(pers. ob.), it is considered a threat to  the  biodiversity  of
the  Bay  of  Fundy  marshes.  Since its spread into much of the
region is recent, there is an opportunity for regional  control,
especially  around major brackish marshes. For example, invasion
of the upper levels of the Tantramar Marshes, at the head of the
Bay of Fundy, may be prevented by eliminating  patches  invading
along  the  Trans  Canada  highway (hwy 104), and monitoring the
adjacent marshlands.

Acknowlegements

Jef Achenbach of Annapolis Royal assisted with field work in the
Annapolis valley region.  The  development  of  a  database  was
supported by the Federal Biodiversity Information Partnership.

References

Blossey,  B.  2002. Replacement of native North American _Phrag-
    mites australis_ by introduced invasive genotypes. _Botanical
    Electronic News_ 284: 1-3.
    http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben284.html
Catling, P. M., F. W. Schueler, L.  Robichaud  and  B.  Blossey.
    2003.  More  on  _Phragmites_  - native and introduced races.
    _Canadian Botanical Association Bulletin_ 36(1): 4 - 7.
Erskine, D. S. 1985.  _The  plants  of  Prince  Edward  Island_.
    Research  Branch, Agriculture Canada publication 1798 (publi-
    cation 1088, 1960, reprinted). 272 p.
Fernald, M. L. 1932. _Phragmites communis_ Trin.  var.  _berlan-
    dieri_ (Fournier) comb. nov. _Rhodora_ 34: 211-212.
Hinds,  H.  R.  2000.  _Flora  of  New  Brunswick_. 2nd edition.
    University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick.  695
    p.
Lavoie,  C., M. Jean, F. Delisle and G. Letourneau. 2003. Exotic
    plant species of the St. Lawrence River wetlands:  a  spatial
    and  historical  analysis. _Journal of Biogeography_ 30: 537-
    549.
Marks, M., B. Lapin and J. Randall. 1994. _Phragmites australis_
    (_P.  communis_):  Threats,   management,   and   monitoring.
    _Natural Areas Journal_ 14: 285-294.
Martin,  M.  2003.  Common  Reed (_Phragmites australis_) in the
    Okanagan  Valley,  British   Columbia,   Canada.   _Botanical
    Electronic News_ 318: 1.
    http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben318.html
Meyerson,  L.  A., K. Saltonstall, L. Windham, E. Kiviat, and S.
    Findlay. 2000. A  comparison  of  _Phragmites  australis_  in
    freshwater  and brackish marsh environments in North America.
    _Wetlands Ecology and Management_ 8: 89-103
Robichaud, L. and P. M. Catling, 2003. Potential value of  glume
    length  in  differentiating  native and alien races of Common
    Reed, _Phragmites  australis_.  _Botanical  Electronic  News_
    310: 1-3.
    http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben310.html
Roland,  A.E.  and E.C. Smith. 1969. _The flora of Nova Scotia_.
    Nova Scotia Museum. Reprinted from _Proceedings of  the  Nova
    Scotian Institute of Science_, 26: 1-238, 277-743.
Saltonstall,  K. 2003. A rapid method for identifying the origin
    of North American Phragmites populations using RFLP analysis.
    Wetlands 23(4): 1043-1047.
Schueler, F. W. 2000a. Monster Grass an Invasive or Native. _SER
    Ontario News  (Newsletter  of  the  Ontario  Chapter  of  the
    Society  for Ecological Restoration_) 6(1), Spring 2000. 2 p.
    www.serontario.org/pdfs/may00.pdf
Schueler, F. W. 2000b. GPS Surveys for  _Phragmites_  and  other
    invasives.  _SER  Ontario  News  (Newsletter  of  the Ontario
    Chapter of the Society  for  Ecological  Restoration_)  6(1),
    Spring 2000. 2pp. www.serontario.org/pdfs/may00.pdf
Schueler,  F.  W. 2002. Distribution of roadside _Phragmites_ in
    Canada. _Phragmites australis_: A Sheep in  Wolf's  Clothing?
    _Technical  Forum  6-9  January  2002,  Vineland New Jersey_,
    abstract pp 27-28.
Schueler, F. W., A. Karstad and J. H. Schueler. 2003. Non-native
    _Phragmites  communis_  in   British   Columbia.   _Botanical
    Electronic News_ 315: 1
    http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben315.html
Zinck,  M.  1998.  _Roland's  flora of Nova Scotia_. Nimbus Pub-
    lishing and Nova Scotia Musem. Halifax. 2 vol. 1296 p.


-- 
------------------------------------------------------------
          Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
          Fragile Inheritance Natural History
Mudpuppy Night in Oxford Mills - https://www.facebook.com/MudpuppyNight/
'Daily' Paintings - http://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/
4 St-Lawrence Street Bishops Mills, RR#2 Oxford Station, Ontario K0G 1T0
   on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain  44.87156° N 75.70095° W
(613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca/
------------------------------------------------------------
  nationally recognized as incapable of generating a net income from our 
work -
http://www.wwf.ca/newsroom/?31661/Glen-Davis-Conservation-Leadership-Prize
------------------------------------------------------------

next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects