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<br /> <br />" <br /> <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />EXHIBIT n <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />SCIEN'l'H'IC T.Nl-'OW1NrTON <br /> <br />MEXJC^N CUT / GM,ENA M()UN'J',~ IN HgSgM~CJ1 PLU~SgHVI;; <br /> <br />ECOLOGICAl, llESCI< U"j'JON <br />..---.---.--.---.-.-..-.-..--- <br /> <br />Nexican Cut is a hanging valley (cirque) on the eastern side of <br />Galena Mountain. Galena Mountain is composed of alternating layers <br />of I"\rtiallly motamorpl1os(!u limestone ilnd quart"ite which have been' <br />Lipped up and worn differentially by (Jlacial action. lis a result, <br />tll') tOPOI.J\""p!1y of f1<.'xicun Cut resembles a series of shelvcl:> of in- <br />creasing altitude Oll each of which lies a string of interconnected <br />ponds or tarns. At the top of the cirque lies Galena Lake nestled <br />between the two peaks of Galena 110untain. <br /> <br />'rhe v(~getation of Nexican Cut is characterized as a forest-tundra <br />ecotone - a transitional plant community with an open, subalpine forest <br />of Englemann spruce and alpine fir (Pice~ enSLell~~l_!., l\bi7~ <br />lasiocilrp~) at the lower levels; sparse, dwarf0d spruce-f~r or <br />"'krumilo-lz' at the middle level; and sedgc-dominnted tundra at the <br />upper luvels around Galena l,ake and along the ridges. <br /> <br />~rhe most important component of the ecosystem at MCldcan Cut currently <br />under investigation is the pond complex. 'l'he lincmr arrays of ponds <br />at different levels oaeh have their own independent drainage patterns <br />ancl form it unique experimental series. 1\11 arc fed by snowmelt ilnd <br />riJ infi'lll f ilre CX(.lubed I sceJl1in~fly, to -the same c I.irna ti.c pressurCB, <br />i'lnd yet of\:cn conl.n:i,n distinctly different fauna and flora. The boU.olilt <br />of some arl~,Garp('tell with I::.:ootes bolnnderi, a prinLi.t,ivo spore-bCdJ:.lllq <br />trachc,?phyt<;. PQliulut~()ns'-(j'CTil'c s:11alllaillf,:ir, ~~~l'>J:"t!..~~I~l.',l. ~:!5!E,J:.!:"U!!!, ,,' <br />have l~fe JHstOI:~es wInch v,'ry from pond t,o pond. N')lu.C<ln Cut hm:boJ."f,: <br />aL l'".:wt two typIC'; of life history not cOlOmonly found in thilJ sp('ci,()f.; - <br />il l'l."l)lPJl,J"tion or (he J.al"vdl periotl and J:"epl"oduc:Li,vu maturity in tho <br />.Larval morpho '!'hcnl ilre alGo two major plankt.on community typos IIv;d,Ii"' <br />tained by a combination of b.i.olQCjicil1 and physical factors. 'l'he detai.l' <br />ed comparisons of these arc facilitated by the c:lc)sc proximity of <br />lJonc1s with differing cowmunity type!3 - DC) more 1:11.:,n 50 yards apart. <br />'J'l1C'iC features havc, uncl continue to, provide lUatel~ial for limnologicill. <br />studi.es. <br /> <br />Studies of tet-restd,al ol"<janisms arc not as advancod as those of the <br />aqua tic communities. IJowevcr, l1ex:ican Cu t has been shown to harbo): <br />"isolates" of the y",llow-belliod marmot which differs in life history <br />patterns dependent on altitude. Ants of the genun Formica also havCl <br />apparently c1evolo[>ccl p'lculiar li[o history patt(1J:ns..'it"(ji"ii,i'Ee'd to high <br />altitudes. COlllpr01wnsive vegetationill analyses havo been undertaken <br />on.1y i.n the vicinily of the ponds Oil tbe lower levels of the cirque. <br />Further studies w"ill b<;l necessary to characteri:t.c the tundra plant <br />co~nunitius on the upper levels of Mexican Cut. <br />