Finding plant species lists

Many of the explanatory variables you can calculate directly from the Refuge Data from the online survey.  In some cases, you’ll also be able to find the list of problem invasive species here.  However, for species richness of native plants, richness of all exotic plants (as opposed to just problem invasives), and richness of exotic plants in the county (the invasive pool), you’ll need to do some snooping.  Below is a rundown of the best data sources for the species lists you will need to find.

1. Number of problem invasives

In some cases, this can be calculated from the lists that are attached to the online survey.  If you don’t have a list, or you have a list that is obviously incomplete, you’ll have to get these by e-mailing the contact person for the refuge.  See e-mail templates for instructions on how to do this.

2. Total number of exotic plants in the refuge and/or Total number of native plant species

A.  In some cases, plant lists are available through the refuge’s website.  You can find each refuge’s website by just googling the refuge name, or by using the official list at http://www.fws.gov/refuges/

      Either way, you should end up with a URL that looks something like this:  http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/arizona/kofa/index.html        

Additional points about using the websites: 

• Don't stop at a site with a URL like:  http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=22570  because here you have one more link to click to get to the official refuge website.
• Also, make sure you’re not on some outside website that is not a fws.gov site, like  http://www.friendsofbitterlake.com ; these kinds of sites will not have the official information that you’ll need.
• Most refuges do have an official website, but not all of them.  If there’s no link for the refuge through http://www.fws.gov/refuges/ then there’s probably not a website for that refuge.
• Different refuges attach species lists in different places, so you’ll have to look around the site to see what’s available. 

          For example, if you’re looking at Cabeza Prieta in Arizona, http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/arizona/cabeza/index.htm, you’ll see a link for section with Species Lists about ¾ of the way down the main index page.

          If you had Washita NWR in Oklahoma, the index page http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/arizona/cabeza/index.html has a tab for species lists on the left.  If you click on that and then “Plants”, you’ll hit a dead end, but it will give you a contact person (Dr. Bill Seibert) who could be e-mailed for further information.

          For Rocky Mountain Arsenal http://www.fws.gov/rockymountainarsenal/ , if you click on “habitat” you’ll find counts of native and invasive species on the right and some partial lists on the left.

B.  Biota of North America (Bonap) has data that are not available on their website – they have a backlog of plant lists to be entered, including some from National Wildlife Refuges.  If you can’t find the refuge data online, e-mail me: marsh@nceas.ucsb.edu and I’ll see if I can get the refuge list from the people at Bonap (FYI there are only 2 people there, which is why there’s a backlog).  Here are the internal directions for using Bonap. 

C.  If you can't get the lists online, you should request a list from the refuge contact, using one of the e-mail templates provided. 

3. Total number of exotic plants in the county (invasive pool).

A.  First you’ll have to find the county in which the refuge is located.  You can google the refuge name, along with County, or you can look up the refuge website (see above), and then find the county for the town listed for the refuge.  You can use the census bureau website to find the county for any town.  Try to confirm whatever you find by looking up the county along with the refuge name. 

Once, you’ve found the county, use Bonap to get the exotic plant list.  Type in the county name, check the box for exotic, and see what you get for number of species. 

If the refuge includes 2 or more counties, just e-mail me: marsh@nceas.ucsb.edu  and let me know the counties.  I have some more advanced software that can combine the lists automatically.