North Carolina from the Mountains to the Sea

Transcription

1 North Carolina from the Mountains to the Sea Dr. Jennifer Frick-Ruppert Brevard College Cover of Mountain Nature: A Seasonal Natural History of the Southern Appalachians UNC Press

2 High Biodiversity in the Southern Appalachians Rainfall Water is life! Ancient, stable mountains Time and stability for evolution and speciation Microhabitats Each habitat supports different species Orientation of mountain range Supports migration Absence of glaciation Stable soils support diversity of plants Photographs property of Jennifer Frick-Ruppert except where noted

3 Diversity of What? What do you expect to see in the mountains of NC? Animals? Plants? Other? Great Smoky Mountains National Park: International Biosphere Reserve (Designated by United Nations) Wake Robin Trillium erectum

4 Salamanders! Southern Appalachians have the highest number of salamander species in the world; about 30 Mosses: at least 500 species of mosses and ferns Red Eft Notophthalmus viridescens Black-belly Salamander Desmognathus quadramaculatus Hellbender Cryptobranchus alleganiensis

5 Diverse Mushrooms Over 2300 identified, but thousands more suspected Elegant Stinkhorn Mutinus elegans Bird s Nest Fungi Cyathus striatus Sulfur Shelf Polyporus sulphureus

6 Fungal Parasites Jack-O-Lantern (Omphalotus olearius) & host oak tree (Quercus sp.) Cordyceps melolonthae Bioluminescent Cordyceps & beetle pupa

7 Molluscs and Millipede Diversity Millipede Boraria stricta Published species of land snails Currently being documented by the ATBI (All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory) 230 species identified so far 7

8 Trees and Wildflowers About 100 tree species; common to find 60 different species in a single cove Some only occur in Southern Appalachians Compare to Great Britain: 33 tree species About 1400 different flowering plants But flower diversity highest in the tropics Silverbell Halesia tetraptera Pink Moccasin Flower Cypripedium acaule with Bombus sp.

9 Geography of NC Mountains (west of continental divide) Waters on west run to Mississippi; on east to Atlantic Piedmont (continental divide to fall line) Series of waterfalls that usually end navigation on rivers, but also provided historical power production Coastal Plain (east to current ocean) usgs.gov

10 Piedmont region NC s most developed region Most populous Largest cities For most plants and animals, the piedmont is an area of overlap between mountain species or coastal plain species; few species are unique to the region Some species skip the piedmont but occur in both mountain and coastal plain regions Purple Pitcher Plants Distribution in eastern and western NC and other states In NC, occur in both mountains and coastal plain, but not piedmont Purple Pitcher Plant Distribution

11 Pitcher Plants: Insectivorous Mountain Sweet Pitcher Plant Sarracenia jonesii Purple Pitcher Plant Sarracenia purpurea var. montana with Wyeomyia haynei

12 Black Bears in NC 4000 in 1971 to 15,000 in 2015 Eastern and western populations in mountains and coastal plain Absent in piedmont Range expansion

13 Coastal Plain Fertile agricultural land Wide, slow rivers Low-lying land Dismal Swamp Carolina Bays Lake Waccamaw Huge estuaries Pamlico Sound Albemarle Sound All river mouths, where they meet the sea, are estuarine with both seawater and freshwater influence usgs.gov

14 Carolina Bays Oval depressions All along east coast, but concentrated in NC and SC Oriented NW-SE Sand rim on S edge Some filled completely or partially with water All with bay trees Lake Waccamaw is largest bay, and also largest natural lake in NC Formation? Most likely wind scour UNC-TV usgs.gov

15 Venus Fly Traps Southern coastal plain specialist Rare and over-collected Can be grown in culture NC state carnivorous plant designation Hairs on leaf cause trap to close when they are stimulated Can distinguish between sand and meat (opens back up when sand is placed in the trap) wunc.org credit David Macadoo NCzoo.org wunc.org credit Mark Freeth

16 Where sea meets land Difficult area of transition Animals of the land can t survive the sea because adapted to breathe air and drink fresh water Animals of the sea can t survive on land because no support, no salt, not enough water to prevent dessication Plants of the land can t tolerate excess salt But if successful, then abundant

17 Saltmarshes of the Southeast Few plants can survive salty water but those that can have unlimited resources Spartina excretes salt with special glands Abundant coastal marshes throughout southeastern states

18 Saltmarsh Nurseries Blue crabs Shrimp Oysters Numerous fish Numerous birds Baldwin & Johnsen, 2009 Oriental, NC Harborcam Nurseries for commercial fisheries

19 Biodiversity in the Sea Life originated in the sea Still contains all the major groups of animals More diversity in the sea than anywhere else Water is life Stable environment supports diversity Microhabitats increase diversity

20 Mountains Piedmont Coastal Plain visitraleigh.com