[SOS-PCA] SOS Call Notes: June 2

[Haidet, Margaret]

SOS Collectors' Call
June 2, 2014

There were 32 participants on the call.

Scouting and Herbarium Vouchers:

·         Scouting populations, with the help of past year field notes,
expert information, past herbarium data, geological/soils information, and
old collection data, will give you an idea of where to look for your
desired species. This pre-work is very important for making successful
collections.

·         You can partially fill out your data sheet and collect the
herbarium voucher while scouting.

 ·        Be sure you have all necessary supplies for a successful
collection trip.

·         Be sure everyone on your team knows the collection strategy, in
order to reach goal of 10,000-20,000 seed.

Collection:

·         Once you start collecting, do cut test throughout the collection
site to be sure you are getting healthy mature seed with no insect
herbivory.

Data:

·         Complete the data sheet and send it to the National Coordination
Office as soon as its complete. Also send in to Bend with your seed. No
need to send data sheet to Smithsonian – you will be sending them a label
that includes all relevant information.

·        Stay tuned for more information about the launch of the web-based
data entry portal.

Clearance forms:

·         If your office would like seed returned to your office, please
fill out a Clearance Form and send it to me for approval. Be sure to
include intended use of material and allow 30 days processing time.

Bend Update:

·         Not changing any of their prices for this year. The  Many
collections coming in that are not completely mature. 43 collections
submitted, many are not fully developed. Reminder to seal up bags very well
– tape corners and edges. Introduction of Sarah Garvin.

Smithsonian Update:

·        Be sure to include the transmittal notice with all voucher
shipments to the Smithsonian

·         Herbarium sheet is about 11x16”. Keep that in mind when taking
and preparing voucher specimens. The biggest issue is that many of our
specimens are too large. Wide range of how the vouchers are being shipped.
No need to overpack, newspaper and cardboard wrapped in twine is fine.

Discussion on sampling annuals:

The question about collecting the entire plant of small annual species was
raised on the call. We are working on gathering some more informative
information on this topic but I would like to emphasize that the following
are considered when collecting annuals. Always keep in mind the goals and
guidance within the SOS Protocol; 1) Phenology: To capture the greatest
diversity within a population it is best to visit the site multiple times.
If you are pulling up the entire plant it is impossible to revisit those
individual plants, 2) Sustainability: The Protocol advises that no more
than 20% of the population is collected on a single day. If you are
revisiting the site and pulling up more, it than questions how much of the
population is being removed, 3) Ecosystem Services:  Native populations of
annuals provide more than just seed. Also, please consider the cleaning
process at the Bend Seed Extractory. We advise that the inert material is
kept to a minimum so not to damage machine parts or seed, especially if the
roots are very fibrous.

There will be more information on this topic, as well as a separate message
with relevant resources.

The next call will be on Tuesday, July 1st.

Cheers!
Megan
Megan Haidet
Seeds of Success
National Collection Curator
Seeds of Success
202-912-7233

www.blm.gov/sos
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