heinäkuu 6, 2020

Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy is always good!

For any of the Texas Nature Trackers projects, accuracy is a very important parameter that determines the usefulness of an observation for inclusion in the Texas Natural Diversity Database. We encourage you to make sure you assign an accuracy of less than 500 meters when uploading observations. This is as easy as selecting on "location" and pinpointing your observation on the map and then selecting "update observation."

Julkaistu heinäkuu 6, 2020 08:19 IP. käyttäjältä craighensley craighensley | 1 kommentti | Jätä kommentti

Curation Call for 2021 Data Pull

Greetings,

Texas Nature Trackers Biologist Craig Hensley has begun curating observations for this project. if you are a Curator/Manager for this project, you are encouraged to spend time curating over the next few months. Species of special interest to begin focusing on include Texas milkweed (A. texana), Emory milkweed (A. emoryi), slim milkweed (A. linearis), velvet-leaf milkweed (A. tomentosa), wheel milkweed (A. uncialis), Engelmann's milkweed (A. engelmannii), and slimleaf milkweed (A. stenophylla). Once these are curated, we can turn our attention to other species -- that said, any curation will be helpful.

Julkaistu heinäkuu 6, 2020 08:15 IP. käyttäjältä craighensley craighensley | 0 kommenttia | Jätä kommentti

huhtikuu 23, 2017

Five more first of year species observations

Some species just emerge later than others. Five more have been reported since the last update.

  1. Butterfly Milkweed (A. tuberosa) observed by @mustardlypig on March 29 in Wise County
  2. Clasping Milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis) observed by kimag94 on April 12 in Marshall.
  3. Red Milkweed (Asclepias rubra) observed by eric_keith April 14 in Tyler County
  4. Fewflower Milkweed (Asclepias lanceolata) observed by anewman April 15 in Chambers County
  5. Slim Milkweed (Asclepias linearis) observed by lauramorganclark April 15 in Brazoria County

Based on previous years’ observations, five more species could appear by the end of May.

Over all years, including historical observations, twenty-eight species have reported to this project.

Julkaistu huhtikuu 23, 2017 09:43 IP. käyttäjältä gregglee gregglee | 0 kommenttia | Jätä kommentti

huhtikuu 22, 2017

Identification of Milkweeds in Texas - Revision

Identification of Milkweeds in Texas has been revised. The only change in content from the previous revision is the photos in the description of Asclepias emoryi. The previous photos were incorrect. It also has minor layout changes. There have been other revisions and corrections over the last two years. Revision numbers are not marked on the document so if you downloaded a copy it will not be clear which revision you have, except by comparing content.

The document location is https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_rp_w7000_1803.pdf

Unfortunately TPWD Creative & Interactive Services was, in my opinion, too aggressive with file size reduction by reducing the resolution and increasing the compression level of the photos. As a result the photo and map quality is well below that of earlier versions. I'm keeping my downloaded previous version for now.

The URL above should now be the only location for the document. Until recently at least one other location was active and contained a different revision. If you run across another URL location for this document on the TPWD web site or see a different URL given in a TPWD Publication, please report it to TPWD Creative Services. Or tell me and I will pass it along.

Staff List: http://tpwd.texas.gov/about/administration-divisions/communications. Email addresses are not stated. However TPWD email addresses are structured as Firstname.Lastname@tpwd.texas.gov

Julkaistu huhtikuu 22, 2017 02:46 IP. käyttäjältä gregglee gregglee | 1 kommentti | Jätä kommentti

huhtikuu 14, 2017

13th species reported so far this year

Engelmann's Milkweed (Asclepias engelmanniana) Observed by nathantaylor7583 April 7, 2017 in Andrews County.

Species 1 through 12 are listed in the previous post.

To see a year to date species list use this link

http://www.inaturalist.org/observations?captive=false&d1=2017-01-01&d2=2017-04-14&place_id=any&project_id=texas-milkweeds-and-monarchs&subview=table&view=species

This link goes to April 14. After today, click "filters" then in date range edit the end date to the current date.

Julkaistu huhtikuu 14, 2017 07:34 IP. käyttäjältä gregglee gregglee | 0 kommenttia | Jätä kommentti

huhtikuu 1, 2017

Texas Milkweeds Challenge Update - 12 species now reported this year.

12 species now reported for 2017
In 2016 25 species were reported here.
In all years 28 species have been reported here.
Biota of North America Program (BONAP) lists 36 species in Texas

  1. Broadleaf Milkweed (A. latifolia) by @jeandotson on March 30., in Abilene.

12a. Green Comet Milkweed (A. viridiflora) by @gregglee on April 1. at 09:26, In south Somervell County, a few miles from Glen Rose.

12b. Green Comet Milkweed (A. viridiflora) by @squaylei2000 on April 1 at 11:24, in Arlington

Previously reported

  1. Zizotes Milkweed by @jsinghurst on January 15th
  2. Tropical Milkweed by @mcm on February 15th
  3. Aquatic Milkweed by @mcm on February 15th
  4. Antelopehorns by @centratex on February 25th
  5. Green Angelopehorns by @quintank on March 2nd
  6. Horsetail Milkweed by @ellen5 on March 17th
  7. Longleaf Milkweed by @japearce on March 19th
  8. Pineland Milkweed by @japearce on March 19th
  9. Whorled Milkweed by @bobromero and @japearce on March 19th
  10. Redring Milkweed by @lauramorganclark on March 21st
Julkaistu huhtikuu 1, 2017 04:43 IP. käyttäjältä gregglee gregglee | 0 kommenttia | Jätä kommentti

maaliskuu 30, 2017

March 30, 2017 Texas Milkweeds Challenge: 10 down, 27 to go!

It is finally spring in Texas. Now is the time to get out and search for new species of milkweeds. Will you be the first to find a species not yet on this list?

So far we have documented 10 species. Here they are:

  1. Zizotes Milkweed by @jsinghurst on January 15th
  2. Tropical Milkweed by @mcm on February 15th
  3. Aquatic Milkweed by @mcm on February 15th
  4. Antelopehorns by @centratex on February 25th
  5. Green Angelopehorns by @quintank on March 2nd
  6. Horsetail Milkweed by @ellen5 on March 17th
  7. Longleaf Milkweed by @japearce on March 19th
  8. Pineland Milkweed by @japearce on March 19th
  9. Whorled Milkweed by @bobromero and @japearce on March 19th
  10. Redring Milkweed by @lauramorganclark on March 21st

Who will find the next species?

Julkaistu maaliskuu 30, 2017 10:31 IP. käyttäjältä texasnaturetrackers texasnaturetrackers | 0 kommenttia | Jätä kommentti

helmikuu 14, 2017

Texas Milkweeds Challenge: 1 down, 36 to go!

So far we have only documented one species, the Zizotes Milkweed. Kudos to @jsinghurst for being the first observer, and for @quintank and @skipkip for being early observers!

  1. Zizotes Milkweed by @jsinghurst on January 15th.
    2.......?

So 1 down and 36 to go! Can you be the first observer for a species of milkweed in 2017? Here is a live link to see the species that we have documented so far:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?captive=any&d1=2017-01-01&d2=2017-02-14&place_id=any&project_id=2990&subview=grid&verifiable=any&view=species

Remember that seasonality is really important, so early observations are really helpful. Here is the original post about the challenge:

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/texas-milkweeds-and-monarchs/journal/8335-can-you-be-the-first-2017-milkweed-challenge

Julkaistu helmikuu 14, 2017 06:23 IP. käyttäjältä cullen cullen | 0 kommenttia | Jätä kommentti

tammikuu 19, 2017

Can you be the first? 2017 Milkweed Challenge!

Let's focus on phenology: "the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life."

With Milkweeds, a big question is when and where they are available for Monarchs. To focus on phenology, we challenge you to be the first person to document a milkweed species in Texas in 2017. To get credit:

  • The plant must at least be vegetative, dead stalks don't count.
  • They observations must be added to the project.
    -The plant must be wild, pampered garden plants don't count.

So far no species had been documented! There are 37 species of Asclepias in Texas, so you have 37 ways to win!!

Here is a guide that might help: https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/nongame/publications/media/tpwd-texas-milkweed-identification.pdf

Julkaistu tammikuu 19, 2017 06:36 IP. käyttäjältä cullen cullen | 3 kommenttia | Jätä kommentti

joulukuu 9, 2016

Zizotes milkweed (Asclepias oenotheroides) still flourishing in south Texas

Zizotes milkweed (Asclepias oenotheroides) is still flourishing in south Texas on South Padre Island. Earlier this week while I was conducting botanical and plant ecology surveys at Brazos Island State Park in Cameron County, I encountered robust plants of zizotes in late flower, fruit, and seed dispersal. There were lots of Monarch’s visiting this milkweed and the many members of the sunflower family blooming along the lower cost of Texas. Although old man winter has arrived in the northern half of Texas, there are lots of native plants still flowering in the Coastal Bend and southern Texas. So if you happen to be along the middle or lower coast over the next month, keep and eye out for zizotes and make a milkweed observation or two. Happy Holidays!

Julkaistu joulukuu 9, 2016 06:08 IP. käyttäjältä jsinghurst jsinghurst | 0 kommenttia | Jätä kommentti