Saxifragaceae of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: a contribution to a DELTA database for interactive identification and illustrated information retrieval

Abstract

A re-assessment of members of the family Saxifragaceae in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago is presented as a traditional key and annotated checklist that recognizes 17 taxa. The information on which this paper is based is recorded in a developing DELTA database that aims to collect the following data: place of valid publication; synonymy, usually limited to names that have been associated with the Canadian Arctic; common name(s), if applicable; vegetative and floral morphological characters; data on the distribution, including information about the northernmost record of the taxon; habitat preferences of each species; notes on the species as an environmental indicator; indigenous knowledge; and expanded notes conveying additional information. The database also contains maps, illustrations of characters useful for identification, and colour photographs and line drawings of the taxa. Appendices list characters recorded in the database, brief taxonomic notes, and a sample species description. The data are available on the Internet at http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta/ as natural-language descriptions and as an INTKEY interactive identification and information-retrieval package for Windows.Résumé : Les auteurs présentent une ré-évaluation des membres de la famille des Saxifragaceae de l'archipelle Arctique Canadien, sous forme d'une clé traditionnelle et d'une liste annotée reconnaissant 17 taxons. L'information sur laquelle ce travail est basé est enregistrée dans une banque de données DELTA, en développement, qui vise à réunir les informations suivantes : localisation de publications valides, synonymie habituellement limitée aux noms qui ont été associés avec l'Arctique Canadien, nom(s) commun(s) si approprié, caractères morphologiques végétatifs et floraux, données sur la distribution, incluant de l'information sur la mention la plus nordique pour le taxon, habitats préférés de chaque espèce, notes sur l'espèce comme indicateur environnemental, connaissance par les indigènes, et un ensemble de notes sur des informations additionnelles. La banque de données comporte également des cartes, des illustrations de caractères utiles pour l'identification, des photographies en couleurs ainsi que des dessins de ces taxons. Les appendices présentent les caractères enregistrés dans la banque de données, de courtes notes taxonomiques et un échantillon de description de l'espèce. Les données sont disponibles par Internet à http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta/ sous forme de descriptions en langage naturel et sous forme d'un fichier transférable INTKEY pour identification interactive et retrait d'informations sur MS-Windows. Mots clés : Arctique, Canada, DELTA, Internet, Saxifragaceae, taxonomie. [Traduit par la Rédaction] Aiken et al. 2036 Porsild (1957Porsild ( , 1964 and incorporated relevant information published since the latter date. The Poaceae was chosen as the first family to be revised, for reasons that were documented. The DELTA format (Description Language for Tax-Can.

Variability of polar scurvygrass Cochlearia groenlandica individual traits along a seabird influenced gradient across Spitsbergen tundra

“…In our study area, the species was very abundant adjacent to the colony (where it constituted more than half of the total plant cover), almost completely predominated at 15-45 m from the colony, and then decreased towards the coast. Leaf width of specimens found along the study transect covered the full range of this plant's leaf size described for Svalbard (Rønning 1996) and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (Aiken et al 2007). Along this gradient, from the colony to the sea, C. groenlandica leaf size diminished almost tenfold and individual biomass decreased by around two orders of magnitude N number of samples * P \ 0.05, *** P \ 0.001, ns non-significant (P [ 0.05) (Table 1).…”

“…What is more, lower water content and better aeration of soil close to the colony might promote more intensive nitrification and thus further loss of ammonium (Lindeboom 1984;Staunton Smith and Johnson 1995;Ligeza and Smal 2003). Notably, while C. groenlandica is recognised to be a plant that is characteristic of wetter habitats (Aiken et al 2007), in the current study its individual biomass and leaf size strongly decreased with higher soil water content, i.e., down the slope (however, a part of the water might be enclosed in bulk undecomposed plant material which means unavailable for C. groenlandica there). This observation indicates that nutrient availability was much more limiting for its growth than water content in this location.…”

“…It may occur in habitats including wet meadows, hummocks, around the margin of ponds, depressions of low-centred polygons, along streams, river terraces, ridges and seashores. In these habitats, it is found growing on substrata including rocks, gravel, till, moss, soils with low organic content and acidic, nitrophilous or non-calcareous characteristics (Rønning 1996;Aiken et al 2007;Elven et al 2011). Individual plants live 2-5 years.…”

“…Individual plants live 2-5 years. Individual leaf rosettes develop during the first 2 years, with flowering in the subsequent year, after which the leaf rosette dies (Rønning 1996;Aiken et al 2007). Maessen et al (1983) reported that, in a mesic habitat on gravelly soil, its aboveground production comprised 71 % of the total biomass.…”

The hybrid origin of Calamagrostis ×gracilescens (Poaceae) in Poland inferred from morphology and AFLP data

“…(panicle with long branches) and f. interrupta Prahl (panicle branches very short and panicle interrupted) without, however, giving actual numerical values. According to many authors (Matuszkiewicz 1948;Falkowski 1982;Szafer et al 1988;Conert 1989;Hubbard 1968;Cracles 1994;Aiken et al 1999;Marr et al 2007) who describe the variation of C. stricta s. stricto, its height is nearly always delimited up to 100 cm, length of panicle up to 15 cm, seldom up to 20 cm, and length of basal lateral branches of panicle up to 4 cm. However, the height of 53% of individuals of C. stricta collected in Zbijów Ma³y is greater than 100 cm.…”