SUMMARY 



Howell ia aquatilis Gray (Campanulaceae) is currently included on 

 the sensitive (Montana) and watch (Idaho) species lists in Region 

 1 of the U.S. Forest Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture 

 1988; Reel et al. 1989), and the sensitive list in Region 5 

 (Shelly and Moseley 1988) . It was recently recognized (1990) as 

 a Category 1 (candidate) species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, and is being considered for listing under the Federal 

 Endangered Species Act of 1973. Survey work for this species has 

 been ongoing in Montana since 1987, resulting in a total of 59 

 occurrences, clustered into 9 pond groups. Two of the 59 

 populations were located in 1990. Thirty-eight populations (50% 

 of those known globally) occur wholly or partially on Flathead 

 National Forest lands. Also, six ponds were surveyed which did 

 not contain H. aquatilis , bringing the total number of ponds 

 surveyed in Montana to 4 28. Results of population size estimates 

 (1987, 1989, 1990) and data obtained from transects utilizing 

 line-intercept (1987, 1989, 1990) and frequency measures (1989, 

 1990) show that the population sizes of this annual species 

 fluctuate from year to year. Population size fluctuations 

 correlate well to climate factors of precipitation and 

 temperature; these factors affect the drying time of ponds in 

 fall when germination occurs. Seeds of H. aquatilis do not 

 germinate under water, thus it is hypothesized that in years when 

 precipitation is above normal and temperatures are below normal 

 (such as in 1988 and in 1989) , ponds do not dry out or dry out 

 late in the year. The result may be a reduction in population 

 size the following year (as was observed in 1989 and 1990) . The 

 transplant experiments were partially successful. A small number 

 of plants were established in two of the transplant ponds in 1990 

 (Pond A: 32 plants, and Pond B: 5 plants) . Both ponds 

 contained plants that were reproductive. Two other ponds (C and 

 D) contained no plants; these ponds had water in them when the 

 transplants were done in September, and probably did not dry out 

 much more prior to freezing. This appears to confirm the fact 

 that H. aquatilis seeds do not germinate under water. While the 

 transplants to ponds A and B could be considered a success in 

 1990, it remains to be seen whether or not these small H. 

 aquatilis populations are present next year or thereafter. 

 Recommendations are made for continuing studies. 



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