Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation

Illegal collecting of wild Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula) for the horticultural trade represents a persistent threat to populations of the species across their endemic range in the coastal plain of North and South Carolina (United States). Although wild collecting of Venus flytraps is not a novel threat, there has been very little research on the impacts of collecting on the species' conservation to date or why an illegal trade persists alongside a legal one. We drew on qualitative expert stakeholder elicitation to contextualize the threat of illegal collecting to the long-term conservation of Venus flytraps in relation to other anthropogenic threats. Expert elicitation included botanical and conservation researchers, cognizant state and federal agency staff, land managers, and conservation nonprofit actors. The workshop included mapping of supply chain structures and prioritization of social and environmental harms. Expert consensus determined illegal collecting is an ongoing problem for Venus flytrap conservation, but habitat destruction, degradation, and fire suppression are the most significant threats to flytrap conservation. Supply chain analysis showed that observable social and environmental harms of the trade are focused at the supply stage and that less is known about transit and demand stages. Key research gaps identified include a lack of understanding of plant laundering practices relevant to a range of desirable plant taxa; the role of commercial nurseries in illicit horticultural supply chains; motivations for engaging in Venus flytrap collecting; and the persistent demand for illegally harvested plants when cultivated, legally obtainable plants are readily available. Our findings and methodology are relevant to a range of ornamental plants affected by illegal trade for which robust social data on illegal collecting drivers are lacking.

The Palearctic species Trechus obtusus Erichson is reported for the first time from eastern North America. Recent collections in Virginia and North Carolina (new state records) indicate the establishment of the species in the Appalachian region. DNA was extracted from six individuals, and the COI barcoding region was sequenced. All but one of the COI barcode haplotypes were identical to those of T. obtusus collected in western North America. No matches were found with available Palearctic sequences. Individuals of T. obtusus were collected from caves and forest leaf litter, both habitats used by native trechine species. Sampled Appalachian populations of T. obtusus appear to be small, with the exception of the population in Mebane Saltpeter Cave (Pulaski County, VA), which is large and included teneral individuals. Currently, there is no evidence that the species is displacing or otherwise negatively affecting native trechines. The species should be monitored carefully going forward, and targeted sampling of synanthropic habitats will be the best method for early detection.

ABSTRACT The 24-ha Abrams Creek Wetlands (Winchester City and Frederick County, Virginia) is an array of fen, swamp, and disturbed transitional ecosystems underlain by limestone and dolostone bedrock. Soils of the area are generally characterized by exceptionally high levels of calcium (>10,000 ppm). Floristic data were collected through monthly surveys during the 2012–14 growing seasons and plot sampling in representative locations. We documented 296 vascular plant species during the inventory period; eight species found previously were not relocated. The 304 total species comprised 206 genera in 78 families. Of these, 55 species were graminoids (27 grasses, 21 sedges, 7 rushes). Obligate or facultative wetland species comprised 43% of the list. The 216 native species represented 71% of the total and included 20 listed as rare in Virginia. Plot data revealed that native species represented 72–99% of the total vegetative cover in the communities sampled. Floristic quality of the 12 constituent sites was ...

The introduction of nonnative taxa into areas occupied by conspecifics can lead to local extinction of native taxa via habitat modification and competitive dominance, and be exacerbated by outbreeding depression or the formation of invasive hybrid lineages following intraspecific gene flow. The expansion of Eurasian Phragmites australis into tidal wetlands of North America has been accompanied by a dramatic decline of native P. australis, with few relic populations remaining along the Atlantic coastline of the United States, particularly in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. We sampled populations from the York River and its two major tributaries to determine the pattern of Phragmites invasion and identify remnant native populations that warrant conservation. We used chloroplast DNA haplotypes and nuclear DNA microsatellite profiles to classify individuals as belonging to the native or introduced lineage. Although native Phragmites stands were identified in the brackish upstream reaches of the two York River tributaries, the majority of Phragmites stands surveyed contained the introduced lineage. We also identified a single putative hybrid plant, based on its microsatellite profile. This plant possessed the native cpDNA haplotype and was located in an otherwise native Phragmites stand that is adjacent to an isolated patch of introduced Phragmites. Although evidence of field hybridization between native and introduced lineages of Phragmites in North America is still relatively rare, the continued encroachment of the introduced lineage into native wetlands may increase the likelihood of future hybrid formation. Careful genetic monitoring to identify remnant native and potential hybrid Phragmites is essential for prioritizing ongoing management efforts.

ABSTRACT: As species' geographic ranges and ecosystem functions are altered in response to climate change, there is a need to integrate biodiversity conservation approaches that promote natural adaptation into land use planning. Successful conservation will need to embrace multiple climate adaptation approaches, but to date they have not been conveyed in an integrated way to help support immediate conservation planning and action in the face of inherent spatial uncertainty about future conditions. Instead, these multiple approaches are often conveyed as competing or contradictory alternatives, when in fact, they are complementary. We present a framework that synthesizes six promising spatially explicit adaptation approaches for conserving biodiversity. We provide guidance on implementing these adaptation approaches and include case studies that highlight how biodiversity conservation can be used in planning. We conclude with general guidance on choosing appropriate climate adaptation approaches to amend f...

Effective recreation resource management relies on understanding visitor perceptions and behaviors. Given current and increasing pressures on water resources, understanding crowding evaluations seems important. Beyond crowding, however, variables that possibly relate to or influence crowding are of interest and in particular, place attachment and experience-use history (EUH). As EUH is related to place attachment and likely affects crowding, this study explored the moderating effect of place attachment dimensions on the relationships between EUH and visitor crowding evaluations. Water based recreationists at a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers site were contacted onsite and asked questions related to experience-use history, crowding evaluations, place attachment, and activity participation. Anglers and campers at the site identified similar crowding perceptions and place attachments. Only one of eight models tested revealed a moderating effect. Specifically, place identity moderated the relationship between the total times visited in the past twelve months and expected crowding among anglers. As such, the quest continues to understand the relationship among these important variables.