Garry oak ecosystem stand history in Southwest British Columbia, Canada: implications of environmental change and indigenous land use for ecological restoration and population recovery

In the Pacific Northwest of North America, endangered Garry oak ecosystems have a complex history that integrates effects of Holocene climate change, Indigenous land management, and colonial settlement during the Anthropocene. In western Canada, Garry oak and Douglas fir recruitment corresponds with the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA; ca. 1870), after the collapse of Indigenous populations but in some cases prior to European settlement. We examined establishment patterns at three sites in southwest British Columbia, each with different edaphic characteristics based on slope, exposure, and drainage. At our Somenos Marsh site on Vancouver Island, we see a clear relationship between Indigenous occupation, subsequent European settlement, and development of an oak woodland, indicating that Indigenous land management was important for development of many Garry oak ecosystems. However, at the Tumbo Cliff site (Tumbo Island, BC), shallow soil xeric conditions, regional climate, and periodic fire were likely drivers of stand and ecosystem development. Finally, at the deep soil Tumbo Marsh site, Garry oak established and grew quickly when conditions were favorable, following the early twentieth century conversion of a saltwater tidal flat into a freshwater marsh. Combining site level historical records, site characteristics, and dendrochronological data provides a greater understanding of the local and regional factors that shape the unique structures of Garry oak ecosystems at each site. This information can be integrated into restoration and fire management strategies for Garry oak ecosystems as well as elucidate the timing of European settler and climate change impacts on these ecosystems.

Garry Oak Ecosystem Stand History in Southwest British Columbia, Canada: Implications of environmental change and Indigenous land use for Ecological Restoration and Population Recovery

In the Pacific Northwest of North America, endangered Garry oak ecosystems have a complex history that integrates effects of Holocene climate change, Indigenous land management, and colonial settlement during the Anthropocene. In western Canada, Garry oak and Douglas fir recruitment corresponds with the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA; ca. 1870), after the collapse of Indigenous populations but in some cases prior to European settlement. We examined establishment patterns at three sites in southwest British Columbia, each with different edaphic characteristics based on slope, exposure, and drainage. At our Somenos Marsh site on Vancouver Island, we see a clear relationship between Indigenous occupation, subsequent European settlement, and development of an oak woodland, indicating that Indigenous land management was important for development of many Garry oak ecosystems. However, at the Tumbo Cliff site (Tumbo Island, BC), shallow soil xeric conditions, regional climate, and periodic fire were likely drivers of stand and ecosystem development. Finally, at the deep soil Tumbo Marsh site, Garry oak established and grew quickly when conditions were favorable, following the early 19th century conversion of a saltwater tidal flat into a freshwater marsh. Combining site level historical records, site characteristics, and dendrochronological data provides a greater understanding of the local and regional factors that shape the unique structures of Garry oak ecosystems at each site. This information can be integrated into restoration and fire management strategies for Garry oak ecosystems as well as elucidate the timing of European settler and climate change impacts on these ecosystems.

Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) from Flores Island, Lesser Sunda Archipelago: New occurrences in extreme environments and an island-level checklist of this group

Although the Odonata are common inhabitants of various extreme environments such as geothermal springs, brackish wetlands, mangroves, and volcanic lakes, the assemblages of this group associated with extreme habitats in Australasia are rather poorly known. Here, we combine museum collection data and published reports on Odonata from extreme habitats on Flores Island, Lesser Sunda Archipelago. The highly acidic Sano Nggoang Crater Lake (mean pH = 3.17) on Flores houses seven species as follows: Agriocnemis pygmaea, Xiphiagrion cyanomelas (Coenagrionidae), Neurothemis ramburii, Orthetrum pruinosum pruinosum, O. sabina, O. testaceum soembanum (Libellulidae), and Anax gibbosulus (Aeshnidae). A coastal marsh site with slightly brackish water on Flores harbors at least five dragonfly species as follows: Diplacodes trivialis, Neurothemis intermedia excelsa, N. terminata, Pantala flavescens, and Rhyothemis phyllis ixias (Libellulidae). The migratory dragonfly Pantala flavescens was a single species recorded on the waterless Kanawa Island near the western edge of Flores. Our findings suggest that extreme habitats in eastern Indonesia primarily colonized by widespread generalist Odonata species. Finally, an updated checklist of Odonata species recorded from Flores Island was compiled. Our survey of museum specimens recovered two species not found on existing species lists for Flores: Neurothemis intermedia excelsa and Pantala flavescens.

The Ceramic Sherd Assemblage from the C. D. Marsh Site (41HS269) in Harrison County, Texas

The C. D. Marsh site (41HS269) is an ancestral Caddo settlement and cemetery on Eight Mile Creek, a southwestward–flowing tributary to the Sabine River in southeastern Harrison County, Texas. It is on an alluvial terrace about 1.6 km from the confluence of Eight Mile Creek and the Sabine River. Buddy Calvin Jones discovered the site in January 1958, and he estimated that the habitation area covered ca. 1–2 acres, with substantial midden deposits. Jones collected a substantial sample of plain and decorated ceramic vessel sherds (n=1736) from the habitation deposits (Jones 1968:96), in addition to a number of ceramic vessels and other funerary offerings from Caddo burial features. A subset of this reported sherd assemblage has been identified in the collections of the Gregg County Historical Museum, and the 2015 analysis of that sherd sample is the subject of this article.

Documentation of Ceramic Vessels and Projectile Points from the C. D. Marsh Site (41HS269) in the Sabine River Basin

A total of at least eight Caddo burials were excavated at the C. D. Marsh site on Eight Mile Creek, a southward-flowing tributary to the Sabine River, by Buddy C. Jones in 1959-1960. This includes Burial 1, an historic (dating after ca. A.D. 1685) Nadaco Caddo burial; European trade goods found with this burial include two small silver disks. The other burials (Burials 2-8) are part of an earlier Caddo cemetery that is thought to be associated with the ca. A.D. 1350-17th century Pine Tree Mound community along the Sabine River and its tributaries. Jones suggests that these latter burials are from a ca. A.D. 1200-1500 Caddo cemetery. According to Jones and notes on file at the museum, Burials 2-8 are located ca. 120 m east-southeast from the one Historic Caddo burial at the site. The burials were placed in extended supine position in north-south oriented pits in rows, with the head of the deceased at the southern end of the burial and facing north. Funerary offerings included ceramic vessels and mussel shells. In this article, we describe eight ceramic vessels in the Gregg County Historical Museum collections from Burials 1, 4, and 7, as well as projectile points from habitation contexts at the C. D. Marsh site; the location of Burial 7 relative to Burial 4 is not known. There are also six other ceramic vessels from the ca. A.D. 1200-1500 burials at the site that are unassociated funerary objects in the Gregg County Historical Museum collections. This includes one vessel each from Burials 5 and 8; the provenience of the other vessels at the site is unknown. One of the unassociated funerary object ceramic vessels at the C. D. Marsh site is a Ripley Engraved, var. McKinney carinated bowl. Such vessels would not be expected in a ca. A.D. 1200-1500 Caddo cemetery, and although this type of fine ware is commonly seen on post-A.D. 1600 Titus phase sites in the region, it is rarely found in association with European trade goods. Therefore, it may represent a burial from a third temporal component (ca. A.D. 1600-1685) at the site.