predominant. In cases of more than one flower per plant, the 

 flowers reach anthesis at different times, which further promotes 

 outcrossing. 



b. POLLINATION BIOLOGY: The nectary glands in the Ranunculus genus 

 are adaptations for attracting insect pollinators. The pollen 

 vector is unknown but would be an insect that is active early in 

 the season, such as flies (Diptera) or bees (Hymenoptera) . 



c. SEED DISPERSAL AND BIOLOGY: The seeds readily fall to the ground 

 when they have matured, close to the parent plant. 

 Stratification and treatment conditions required for germination 

 are not known. 



G. POPULATION ECOLOGY 



1. BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS 



a. COMPETITION: Ranunculus pedatif idus has been competitively 

 displaced in its Sweetgrass Hills wetland site by tall 

 tamegrasses that appear to have been seeded, including Bromus 

 inermis, Agropyron repens and Phleum pratense . It is restricted 

 to a segment of wetland margin where native bunchgrasses still 

 dominate, including Deschampsia cespitosa and Festuca scabrella . 



b. HERBIVORY: The juice of Ranunculus species is characterized as 

 acrid, and the species are generally unpalatable (Hitchcock et 

 al. 1964). No signs of grazing or browsing were observed. 



H. LAND OWNERSHIP 



EO no. Location 



001 Flathead Co., Columbia Falls; unknown 



002 Glacier Co.; Glacier National Park 



003 Toole Co., Sweetgrass Hills; Bureau of Land Management 



III. ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS 

 A. THREATS TO CURRENTLY KHOWH POPULATIONS 



1. GRAZING: It appears that the Sweetgrass Hills site is in a 

 pasture that is not grazed until after Ranunculus pedatifidus has 

 finished flowering and maturing its fruits. While there may be 

 no direct grazing impacts on the species, the seeding of 

 tamegrasses for livestock forage across most of the tiny wetland 

 basin representing its potential habitat may have reduced its 

 numbers locally. 



2. MINING: There is no mining activity in proximity to the one 

 known Ranunculus pedatifidus sites in the Sweetgrass Hills. 



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