Submitted by: Mary C. Johnston, Past President, Big Thicket Association SUBJECT: 2015 Field Research in the Big Thicket

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1 Thicket of Diversity PO Box 198 Saratoga, TX January 16, 2016 Submitted by: Mary C. Johnston, Past President, Big Thicket Association SUBJECT: 2015 Field Research in the Big Thicket SARATOGA- The Big Thicket National Preserve s Field Research Station is managed by the staff of the Big Thicket Association, a partner group in alliance with the National Park Service (NPS) and a charitable non-profit. The partnership is facilitating exciting research and service opportunities across the Southeast Texas region. The preserve consists of nine land units and six water corridors encompassing more than 112,000 acres across the seven counties of Hardin, Orange, Jefferson, Liberty, Tyler, Polk and Jasper. Due to the expanse of this territory, significant environmental management challenges exist. The Thicket of Diversity All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory was established in 2006 to inventory every species living within the preserve. Information is logged into a national database housed by the NPS. The baseline data combined with succeeding studies provides valuable knowledge to enable managers to better understand ecosystem changes. Throughout 2015 many scientists and researchers utilized the Field Research Station, a facility that offers a dormitory, a kitchen, classroom and laboratory space. Maria D. Esteve-Gassent of Texas A&M collected ticks from various units of the preserve to look for the presence of different bacteria. The field research of Mackenzie Tietjen also of Texas A&M University involved trapping mammals and additional tick collection. Brad Westrich of Texas State University captured small mammals for a National Institutes of Health disease ecology project. The Gulf Coast Bird Observatory under Lijin Zeng organized an annual forest bird survey in the preserve. Later Felipe Chavez-Ramirez came to conduct breeding bird monitoring via point count surveys at the Turkey Creek Unit. Eric Worsham with Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower group conducted a plant survey of invasive species. Dr. Robert Z. Selden Jr. of Stephen F. Austin State University began a cultural project with an archeological inventory of 1000 acres in the Big Thicket National Preserve. Wetland research was conducted and shared with the public. Zachary Loughman of West Liberty University, West Virginia returned for year two of his crayfish survey and inventory. Edward Realzola of Sam Houston State University collected whirligigs and surveyed sites for bryophyte collection. He shared presentations on his work with Kountze High School students through lectures, on a guided field trip and through a science café. At Beaumont s Logon Café, Neil Ford, University of Texas Tyler, presented Surveys of Freshwater Mussels in the Big Thicket National Preserve, Dr. Solomon, Rice University, presented Ants in the Big Thicket, and Brad Glorioso, US Geologic Survey, shared Effects of Salinity on Amphibians in the Big Thicket.

2 Researcher Edward Realzola on Guided Field Trip

3 Kountze High School Students Aboard the Neches River Ivory Bill Many Thicket of Diversity researchers were able to further disseminate their research April through the Biodiversity and Ecology in the West Gulf Coastal Plain Big Thicket Science Conference at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches. Presenters included Katherine Winsett, of North Carolina State University, who shared Myxomycete Diversity in the Big Thicket National Preserve and Chad Hargrave, Sam Houston State University, who presented Fish in the Piney Woods of East Texas.Researchers David Lewis, Neil Ford and his graduate student, Dan Symonds, also shared research. Selected papers from the conference will be published in the SouthEast Naturalist.

4 Evelyn Anemaet of the National Wetlands Research Center in Louisiana did field work in bald cypress swamps in the Beaumont, Big Sandy Creek, Jack Gore Baygall and Lance Rosier units of the preserve. Beth Middleton of the US Geological Survey also visited bald cypress study sites, and collected leaf litter with seed samples for her research. David Lewis and Gulf States Mycological Society members conducted two fungi collecting trips, a Fungi Blitz and a workshop. Thomas Powers of the University of Nebraska- Lincoln shared a nematode workshop at the Field Research Station and continued his research on worms which is resulting in the discovery of new species to science. Nicole Fowler, 2nd grade China Elementary student, learning about nematodes from Dr. Thomas Powers Dr. Peter Mullin, University of Nebraska-Lincoln nematode researcher Fungi Blitz with David Lewis

5 Several groups in addition to the Thicket of Diversity used the Field Research Station to host meetings to further Big Thicket education, volunteerism and advocacy. These included the Big Thicket Association, the Big Thicket Natural Heritage Trust and the East Texas Black Bear Task Force. ExxonMobil s 2015 Collegiate Conservation Program interns under the leadership of Alison Pollard of Houston Zoo Inc. used the FRS as a base to learn about the piney woods habitat and to practice conservation field techniques. Cat Frondrof of Texas Conservation Corps performed conservation work. Kate Floyd and St. Michael s College in Vermont performed volunteer service for the Big Thicket. Jessica Rongholt of Austin Peay State University in Tennessee and Shawn Benedict of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) led efforts to plant longleaf pine seedlings. Melissa Wong of Houston Zoo, Inc. conducted an Alternative Teen Break program to offer teens a meaningful spring break that focused on conservation and service. Scott Solomon directed a Rice University student bioblitz on Turkey Creek. Shawn Benedict (TNC) returned with a fire crew of six to do controlled burning at the Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary. Molly Vonholten of Texas Conservation Corps led a crew to remove exotic plants in the preserve. Science Café on Ants for the Public at the Logon Café by Dr. Solomon The Big Thicket is recognized internationally for its unique biodiversity by the United Nation s UNESCO as a Man and Biosphere Reserve and plays a vital role in Southeast Texas. Collaboration between partners to address and resolve natural resource problems is necessary to ensure its sustainability. As environmental leaders the Big Thicket National Preserve and the Big Thicket Association are successfully working to this end. The Thicket of Diversity is attracting scientists and specialists of the highest caliber, while the Field Research Station provides comfortable, economical living quarters for their short term stays funding for the Field Research Station and Thicket of Diversity research was facilitated through the Brown Foundation, the National Park Service, a matching fund Park Partnership with the Big Thicket Association, individual contributions, and with penalty monies from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality enforcement actions.

6 (Edited and approved by Ruppel, Young, Ginder, Halvorsen) Photos: Herbert Young, Big Thicket National Preserve Mary Catherine Johnston, Kountze High School Mona Halvorsen, Director Thicket of Diversity