Laserfiche WebLink
<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< 1.!,'j'J.ON <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 li.mestone ilnd quart"ite which have been' <br />Lipped up and worn differentially by (Jlacial action. lis a result, <br />tll') topo'.J\""p!1y of f1cxicnn 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 l1ountain. <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 />i1nd yet of\:cn contain dist,i.llctly different fauna and flora. The boU.olilt <br />of some arl~,Garp('tell with I::,:ootes bolnnderi, a prim.l.t,i.vo spore-bCdJ:.lllq <br />trachc,?phyt<;, PQliulnt~()ns'"(j.CTil'c s:-ilalllaillf,:ir, ~~~l!J:,t!..~~I~l.',l. ~~JO,J:.!1U!!!, ..' <br />have l~fe JHst:OI:~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,JCltjon or (he J.al"vdl pO.l'ioc.l and J:'epl"oduc:Li.vu maturity in tho <br />.Larvill morpho '!'hcnl iln~ alGo two major plankt.on community types IIv;d.Ii" <br />tained by a combination of b.i.olQ'JiCil1 and physical Cilctors. 'l'he detili.J.. <br />cd comparisons of these arc facilitated by the c:lc)sc proximity of <br />lJonc1s with differin<) cowmunity type!3 - DC) more 1:11':'11 50 yards apart, <br />'J'hc'iC features havc, uncl continue to, provide lUatel~ial for limnologicill, <br />studi.es. <br /> <br />Studies of tet-restd,al ol"<jani.sms ilrc not as advancod as those of the <br />aqua tic communities, IJowevcr, l1ex:ican Cu t hilS been shown to harbol: <br />"i.solates" of the y",llow-belliod marmot which differs in life history <br />patterns dependont on altitude. Ants of the genun Formica also hav(l <br />apparently c1evolopc<l p'lculiar life history patt(1J:ns'''i;dii"i,i'Ee'd to high <br />altitudes. COlllpl'01wnsive vegetationill analyses havo been undertaken <br />only i.n the v.ic:inily of the ponds Oil the lower lcvuls of the cirque. <br />Further studies w'ill b<;l necessary to characteri:t.o the tundra plant <br />co~nunitius on the upper levels of Mexican Cut. <br />