9 



known to be pollinated by Bombus sp. (bumble bee) , 

 and it is likely that there are other pollinators. 

 Whether self-pollination occurs is not known. 



c. SEED DISPERSAL AND BIOLOGY: Numerous seeds are 

 produced that are mostly wind dispersed by the 

 prominent pappus that is about 3 times the length 

 of the small achene. The heads of some plants in 

 the Little Belt Mountains have been attacked by a 

 weevil, Rhinocvllus conicus , which was introduced 

 to North America from Europe as a biological 

 control agent for Carduus nutans (Rees 1982, 

 1987) . Weevil infestation rates, and the likely 

 effect on seed production and population viability 

 are unknown, although preliminary studies have 

 begun. 



G. DEMOGRAPHIC MONITORING TRANSECTS 



During 1990, three permanent monitoring transects were 

 established in populations of C. loncristylum on the 

 Lewis and Clark National Forest. The purpose of these 

 transects is to provide more detailed data on the life 

 history and population dynamics of C. longistvlum . 

 Data on survivorship and reproduction are important for 

 understanding the biology of plants with limited 

 distributions, especially when attempting to ensure 

 their long-term preservation (Massey and Whitson 1980) . 

 Data may also indicate whether population sizes are 

 declining, which may be the result of infestation by 

 the weevil Rhinocvllus conicus . 



STUDY SITES: The locations and the geographic details 

 for each of the three transect locations, are as 

 follows: 



1. Russian Creek: Little Belt Mountains, South Fork 

 of the Judith River drainage, just west of lower 

 Russian Creek, Judith Basin County. Take Forest 

 Rd. # 487 (South Fork of Judith River) ca. 22 

 miles southwest of Utica, Montana. From Forest 

 Rd. # 487, travel 0.15 mile south on Forest Rd. # 

 2013; site is just east of road before reaching a 

 small drainage in meadow; TUN, R10E, Section 11, 

 SE^NW^NW^. The plot location is provided on a 

 map, Figure 2, p. 12. 



From plot center: 



63° and 84 paces to the first tall tree in 

 gully. 



