2020 Annual Meeting

2020 Annual Meeting - September 12, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Annual Meeting this year was a Zoom Webinar.

We hope you all enjoyed the presentations. In case you missed it or want to see the presentations again, we recorded the program
Click Here to view.

Featured Speakers and Topics

Margaret Brittingham -Ph.D., Professor of Wildlife Resources, Extension Wildlife Specialist
Margaret is a Professor of Wildlife Resources in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at Penn State University where she teaches ornithology and is a Wildlife Extension Specialist for Pennsylvania. She has developed an extension fact sheet series on Landscaping for wildlife available at http://extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/wildlife/landscaping-for-wildlife

Landscaping for wildlife: Creating a backyard oasis – Are you ready to reduce the size of your lawn and attract native birds, butterflies and other wildlife to your yard? Native plants are the way to provide quality habitat no matter the size or location of your home space. This talk will cover the basics of wildlife habitat; how to landscape yards to provide food, cover, water and places to raise young; and will provide examples of some of the important and attractive native plants that provide the food and cover our native wildlife need.
Presented by

Jonathan Hayes: Undergraduate Student at Bucknell University
Genetic diversity & connectivity of Chasmanthium latifolium (Poaceae) in Pennsylvania & the effect on conservation status

Chasmanthium latifolium (Poaceae) is a rhizomatous perennial plant species that lives in riparian habitats, making it fittingly referred to as river oats. C. latifolium reaches the northeastern edge of its range in Pennsylvania. Due to the limited and isolated distribution of the species within the state, as well as declining populations, C. latifolium is considered a critically imperiled (S1) plant in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PHNP) but is ranked as tentatively undetermined by the state. My study aims to achieve two main objectives: 1) survey populations and investigate the genetic diversity and connectivity of the two metapopulations, and 2) revise the conservation status and develop policies to better conserve this species that are scientifically informed. plant survey protocols with the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program and genetic work at Bucknell University to address broad conservation questions.

Cheyanne Moore: PhD Student University of Pittsburgh
Baptisia australis var. australis in Pennsylvania: using natural history and population genomics to assess a state-threatened taxon

The perennial wildflower, Baptisia australis var. australis (L.) R. Br. is found along only four waterways in Pennsylvania: the Allegheny River, Youghiogheny River, Clarion River, and Red Bank Creek. Because of its limited distribution and small number of extant populations, B. australis var. australis is considered state-threatened in Pennsylvania. In addition, the riparian prairie habitat that Pennsylvania Baptisia australis var. australis is restricted to is also in decline and considered vulnerable in the state. Because of conservation concerns for Baptisia australis var. australis in Pennsylvania, gaining insights into the natural history and genetics of the taxon is useful for conservation practitioners. This project seeks to determine the genetic structure and health of known native populations through field surveys and population genomics tools.

Angela J. McDonnell, Postdoctoral Fellow Chicago Botanic Garden
Population genomics and conservation of Erigenia bulbosa (Apiaceae), an edge-of-range species in Pennsylvania
Erigenia bulbosa, the harbinger of spring, is one of the earliest blooming wildflowers in eastern North America. As a spring ephemeral of forests and woodlands, it is a common species throughout the Midwest. In Pennsylvania, E. bulbosa exhibits an east-west disjunct distribution where widespread western populations are contiguous with the midwestern range and a handful of smaller populations in the eastern part of the state are restricted to the lower Susquehanna River Valley. The relative isolation of the eastern populations suggests a possible conservation concern; the smaller, less connected populations may be threatened by fluctuations in size and the potential for low genetic diversity. As a consequence, establishing regulatory measures in Pennsylvania has been problematic due to disagreement regarding how to treat E. bulbosa during the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA DCNR) environmental review process.