Assessing exotic plant species invasions and associated soil characteristics: A case study in eastern Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA, using the pixel nested plot design

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 622-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed A. Kalkhan ◽  
Evan J. Stafford ◽  
Peter J. Woodly ◽  
Thomas J. Stohlgren
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Soil Characteristics ◽  
Rocky Mountain National Park ◽  
Exotic Plant ◽  
Exotic Plant Species ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
Plot Design

scholarly journals Geographical Analysis of the Distribution and Spread of Exotic Plant Species in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

1998 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 3-12
Author(s):  
Deborah Kurtz ◽  
Richard Aspinall ◽  
Katherine Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Exotic Species ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Exotic Plants ◽  
Rare Plants ◽  
Exotic Plant ◽  
Exotic Plant Species ◽  
Grand Teton National Park ◽  
Park Service

The effects of introduced exotic species in natural environments are becoming important issues in conservation biology and natural resource management and recent scientific literature reveals increasing concern regarding the spread of invasive exotic plant species (Allen, 1996; Vitousek et al. 1996; Walker and Smith, 1997). Ecological consequences of these species include increased competition for space, water, and nutrients with native plants (which could result in a decrease in biodiversity), decreased forage quality for native ungulates, and changes in the microenvironments where the establishments took place (Woods, 1997). Sheley et al (1998) list several ecologically and economically detrimental impacts of exotic species. The National Park Service recognizes the need to protect ecosystems from exotic species (National Park Service, 1997) through management based on the ability to predict species distributions and spread, and monitoring in areas that are most susceptible to invasion. Recommended strategies for preventing the spread of exotic species include developing an early warning system to identify and eradicate new infestations of exotic plants in National Parks, and continued inventory and monitoring of exotic plants (National Park Service, 1997). These strategies will be based on assessment of the distribution and spread of exotic plants (National Park Service, 1997) using remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies for mapping and monitoring exotic plants, and models to predict the invasiveness and spread of exotic plants. In Grand Teton National Park (GTNP), exotic species are a great concern for park managers (National Park Service, 1997). Of the 1000 species of flowering plants within GTNP, there are also four (possibly five) rare plants that may be threatened as a result of competition with exotics (Wyoming Rare Plant Technical Committee, 1994): Draba borealis (Boreal draba), Epipactis gigantea (Giant helleborine), Lesquerella carinata var. carinata (Keeled bladderpod), Lesquerella paysonni (Payson's bladderpod), and possibly Draba densifolia var. apiculata (Rockcress draba). The continued survival of these sensitive plants in GTNP increases the need for management of exotic plants. GTNP has implemented a classification system for exotic plant species that consists of three priority levels (GTNP, 1997a). Priority 1 species are designated as "noxious" since they are capable of invading natural ecosystems and disrupting or displacing native vegetation. Currently, there are thirteen exotic plant species with a Priority 1 status within GTNP (Table 1 ).

The genetic legacy of more than a century of stocking trout: a case study in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 1565-1574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sierra M. Love Stowell ◽  
Christopher M. Kennedy ◽  
Stower C. Beals ◽  
Jessica L. Metcalf ◽  
Andrew P. Martin
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Rocky Mountain National Park ◽  
Oncorhynchus Clarkii ◽  
Continental Divide ◽  
Molecular Genetic Data ◽  
Northern Colorado

Human introductions can obscure the diversity and distribution of native biota; hybridization with and replacement by introduced congeners is a primary conservation threat, particularly in salmonids. Cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) are an important component of biodiversity in the American West, and all recognized subspecies are targets for state and federal conservation efforts. Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) in northern Colorado is a microcosm of trout introductions that happened worldwide. We used a combination of extensive stocking records and molecular genetic data to ask whether native trout populations persist despite stocking and whether patterns in the distribution of cutthroat trout clades could be explained by source and intensity of stocking. Nearly 15 million cutthroat trout were stocked into RMNP from a mosaic of sources in the 20th century. A single lineage of cutthroat trout was historically native to each side of the Continental Divide in RMNP, but we detected at least five divergent clades of cutthroat trout in 34 localities on both sides of the Divide. The distribution of lineages was predicted by stocking pressure and source but not by which lineage was historically native. The future of mixed and non-native cutthroat trout populations in RMNP poses a substantial conservation challenge.

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