| Abstract Detail
Historical Section Kelsey, Sarah [1], Eisenman, Sasha [2], Struwe, Lena [3]. The Establishment and Persistence of Plants Introduced to New Jersey by Solid Ballast on Ships. In the nineteenth century, solid ballast on ships may have been a medium for the introduction of non-native, invasive plant species to the flora of New Jersey. Records of plant species found on ballast dumps in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York in the 1860's-1880's were studied in order to determine which non-native species were introduced through this medium and have subsequently persisted in the flora of the region. Records of plant species collected between 1878-1881 in northeastern New Jersey and the New York City area were located in the Rutgers University Chrysler Herbarium in New Brunswick, NJ; the herbarium of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, PA; and the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden in Bronx, NY. Additionally, records of plant species collected on ballast dumps in the Philadelphia area were studied and compared with the 1867 edition of Gray's Manual of Botany to determine which species had not been previously recorded in the area; records of these species were located in the Rutgers University Chrysler Herbarium. The data relating to all species from these local herbaria were analyzed to determine the possibility of occurrence in the region prior to their ballast introduction, or of multiple introductions in addition to their ballast introduction. The data were also used to determine the extent to which these species have spread and maintained a presence in the region. All species of interest were evaluated for ethnobotanical properties to
determine the possibility that humans had intentionally introduced them.
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1 - Rutgers University, Plant Biology, 237 Foran Hall, 59 Dudley Rd, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
2 - Rutgers University, Department Plant Biology & Pathology, 237 Foran Hall, 59 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901, USA
3 - Rutgers University, Plant Biology and Pathology, 237 Foran Hall, 59 Dudley Rd, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
Keywords:
Invasive Species
ballast dump
historical introduction
New Jersey Flora.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Ball Room & Party Room/SUB
Date: Monday, July 28th, 2008
Time: 12:30 PM
Number: PHS002
Abstract ID:756 |
