Nanaimo's official floral emblem, hosackia pinnata, is the centre of new research by Vancouver Island University.
The flower, also known as bog bird's-foot trefoil, is an endangered species under Canada’s species at risk act with its national population exclusively located in the Nanaimo area. According to the last survey done in 2003, the flower can be found in just five areas of the region including three sites in Harewood Plains, one on Gabriola Island and one on Woodley Range near Ladysmith.
The research project is being spearheaded by Jasmine Janes, an assistant professor in plant ecology and genomics. Working with her are student researchers Bryan Lamprecht, studying plant genetics, and Lizzie Schaffers, examining soil characteristics.
Even though it's Nanaimo's floral emblem, relatively little is actually known about the flower – but researchers' initial surveys show population is declining.
"I reached out to some B.C. government staff to see if they would have interest in the work as we really don’t know a lot about this species in spite of it being Nanaimo’s floral emblem. We need to change that," Janes said. "We must understand more about this species and its community if we hope to maintain it."
The new surveys show that aside from some of the sites at Harewood Plains, the species isn't doing well. On Gabriola Island, the team couldn't find a single sample, and while it doesn't mean they're not there, it does present an alarming outlook.
"They might still be there on private property, but it's really hard to find those," Lamprecht said. "In the locations where there was reports of populations, there were none."
The largest population was found at Harewood Plains where a development proposal is being opposed by Nanaimo and Area Land Trust and Nature Nanaimo. In March, Nanaimo council passed a motion unanimously to ask that the provincial and federal governments work with the city, Regional District of Nanaimo, Snuneymuxw First Nation and NALT to protect the areas within the Harewood Plains.
Janes explained that although the plant is red-listed, there isn't a dedicated threatened species protection act for British Columbia.
"This typically means that the protection of species in B.C. is a little haphazard as protection measures may or may not be able to be applied under various existing acts," Janes said. "We are seeing a situation here where, because of the private ownership of much of this land, none of the other acts are sufficient in fully protecting Harewood Plains. Unfortunately, mechanisms under the national species at risk act, like an emergency order, can be slow and difficult to implement, especially on privately owned land."
Paul Chapman, NALT's executive director, said his group believes the best use for the property is to protect the hosackia pinnata.
"This is a place that's too valuable to lose and we really have a great opportunity to protect a very, very rare place that is one of those things we think of as our home landscape," Chapman said. "Once it's developed it's lost and it's lost forever."
He added that any additional research being done into the plant and the health of its population is welcome.
Lamprecht's role in the data is to study the plant's DNA and find out how diverse the populations are.
"My part is all genetics," Lamprecht said. "You look at a population, you look at its genetics and based on its diversity you see how healthy it is."
The flower has two ways of reproducing. The first is self-pollinated seeds, the second is pollination by an insect, such as a bee carrying pollen from another hosackia pinnata. The second is the more ideal method, since it increases the species biodiversity.
If a plant has low biodiversity, all of the cluster will share similar traits, such as temperature preference. The more diversity it has, the more chances for there to be some variation in the cluster that can endure a hotter summer or a colder winter.
"If there's not a lot of diversity the population probably won't survive very long, but if there is a lot, even a small population can survive for a long time," Lamprecht said
With his research, he is able to model the flower's long-term survival based on the variety of genetics and population size.
"Once we know how inbred they are or if they're not we can say maybe there is good dispersal with seeds, maybe there isn't."
The currently accepted theory is that the seeds are gravity dispersed, where they fall from the flowers and grow from where they land.
"There's going to be testing to see if the seeds are carried on water, because the plant loves water, it will basically grow in water, so if the seeds can be carried away and dispersed that way we want to look at that. From what I saw of the seeds, this is just speculation, but they seem like they might be able to catch on animal fur and be dispersed that way."
His personal hypothesis is that one of the reasons the population is declining is due to semi-permanent sources of water drying up.
"The only thing I can say is they love water and they need water."
Working alongside Lamprecht's genetic research is Schaffers's work on soil characteristics and the germination requirements necessary to sustain a population.
"Being a member of the pea family (fabaceae), this species often forms a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria," Janes explained. "Making sure that the soil … and seedlings can facilitate this relationship may be really important if people want to try and plant elsewhere in order to boost population numbers."
The project's laboratory analysis is anticipated to begin late this summer, with reports expected to be submitted next spring.
