:trusutJ.p4.ftA_.; 'Waucoba GJVews Sponsored by The Bishop Museum & Historical Society, Bishop, Ca. 93514 VOLUME II I No. 1 Winter - - 1979 Founded and Edited by Enid A. Larson, Box 265, Big Pine, Ca. 93513 4 issues per year WAUCOBA: il. Paiute word for "pine tree ll - also, highest peak in Inyo Mts., 11,027 f t . WAUCOBA NEWS Subscription: Send 4 st amped, s elf -a ddr ess ed envelopes, Box 265, Big Pine. Ca. COYOTE RIDGE (between B shop & Baker creeks ) Photo by EAL Ze iss Con t j f I ex Subalpine association where albjcaulis is low-growing; from I t s mat either a white bark or a lodgepole has become the central tree WHITE-BARK and PINES Comments from Dr. Diana F. Tomback, Biology Dept. U.C. Riverside l'The Clark's Nutcracker i s t h e p r l - r Y { b e ~ r . s , l · .WClII .. . ~ . - s e e d s _ - - D 1 . nutcracker stores q ~ t h t . s .of • ..-dof slopes and throughout th e forest floor. During winter and spring t when little other natural food is available, the nutcracker lives o f f i t s seed stores. When th e bird breeds in February o r March, t he young a r e fed primarily on pine seed recovered from stores. Each year, a portion of these seed stores germinates in spri ng before the nutcracker can g et to I t • . A small percent o f th e germinated seed produces mature trees. Cons equentlYt the nurcracker Is a n extremely I . . ortant part o f sUbalpine ecology; i t l'plantsll both whltebark and I im be r pine seed In sites very favorable to germination and el iminates much o f t he "chance" Involved in wind-dispersal o f seeds. Dispersal by nutcrackers i s probably th e primary reason why both whiteback and limber . seeds "lost" their wings. Wings became unnecessary and were costly to produce by th e tree." * ~ . * t t t t t 1 ~ • • t t • • tttt •••• t t t ~ * t . * * * * * * * INTERIOR LIVE OAK in southern Inyo-Kern I N S E C T S The Interior Live Oak (Quercus Wislizenij) Research and field collections continue Is a zerophytic shrub which also tends to be throughout the Inyo-Mona-Great Basin with arboreal. I came upon this oak growing in emphasis on Sand Dune Habitats. Sand Canyon in Oct. 1977, and sent specimens DEEP SPRINGS.--The sandy area near the lake to th e Call f. Academy o f s.cSences. The many has proved to be the only place so fa r where 2 branched 14-15 f t tall shrubs tended to grow morphologically distinct popUlations o f one in groups o f 8 o r 10 strung o u t a t least 0.5 ml species-group o f CLICK BEETlE have been found parallel to and 60-80 f t above th e creek living in the same area; at th e 17 Great Basin (3600-4000 f t el). Digger Pine, Purshja and sand dunes where this species-group has been Artemisia ttjdentata grow in th e same sandy, found each has yielded but a single popUlation. rocky habitat o f Sand Canyon. The shrubby oaks P i t traps s e t and visited regularly have given In Sand Canyon grade into trees 30-50 f t high a wide variety o f Coleoptera. At Buckhorn in this steep canyon, their feet in th e water. Spring a t least 40 species o f Staphylinidae Sho rt C anyon, sou th of Sand Canyon also has have been collected and identified. These Interior Live Oak. One shrub was found and be3tles ar e in association with th e Black Toad collected In Sept. 1978 by this author. I I habitat where water remains a t constant tempera Mary Ann Henry, China Lake t Ca. ture even when the ground i s blanketed with snow. Ed. Note: We are grateful to Mary Ann for Dr. J . Powell, U.C. Berkeley, was in Deep calling attention to this location o f th e Springs recently and collected 2 more specimens