Welcome to my first MANO blog post! My name is Lea Crisostomo. I am a senior at Washington State University getting my undergraduate degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and minoring in Forestry. This summer, the MANO project has made it possible for me to participate in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) 11-week Directorate Fellowship Program (DFP). I am so excited to share with all of you the project that I have been working on as an At-Risk Species Strategy Intern for the Legacy Region 8 Regional office located in Sacramento, California. For my project, I have been helping with the Rapid Species Status Assessment for two species, the Mojave Poppy Bee (Perdita meconis) and the Las Vegas Bear Poopy (Arctomecon californica).

   Both the Mojave Poppy Bee (MPB) and the Las Vegas Bear Poppy (LVBP) are native to areas located within the Mojave Desert. These two species share what ecologists call a symbiotic mutualistic relationship. The MPB is a pollinator specialist that only pollinates flora from the Papaveraceae (poppy) family, and the LVBP which is a member of the Papaveraceae family is one of three species of poppy that the MPB has been known to visit. Sadly, due to a combination of urbanization, livestock grazing, gypsum mining, off-road vehicle recreation, and resource competition from non-native pollinators, the distribution of both species has been on the decline since the 1990s.

   In 2019, the Center of Biodiversity petitioned for both the MPB and LVBP to be listed as endangered species. After reviewing their petitions, the 90-day finding said that the evaluation of these species is warranted. To conduct this evaluation, I am working with the region’s At-Risk Species Team, whose goal is to find the best available science that can help conservation efforts, and the Rapid Species Status Assessments that I am working on serves as the starting point. Once the Rapid Species Status Assessment is complete, the FWS and other stakeholders will have an idea of what research questions still need answering. These questions will then help decision-makers figure out where they should implement funding. If we can pinpoint where or what factors contribute the most to the survival of both the MPB and LVBP, there is a chance that they will not have to be listed as endangered species.

   For the first five weeks of working on this Rapid Species Status Assessment, I have been analyzing scientific literature and spatial data for both species. By going through what information is already out there, I am able to answer specific questions that the Rapid Species Status Assessment asks about such as population distribution, taxonomy, fecundity, current or past threats, etc., and identify where information is lacking. On top of collecting and reviewing information for this assessment, I have also been reaching out to different state, government, and private organizations trying to collect contacts that are interested in contributing to this project. Within the next couple of weeks, I will be sending in the first drafts of the Rapid Species Status Assessments for the MPB and the LVBP for review. All in all, I have been enjoying my time as a MANO and FWS intern. I have learned a lot these past five weeks, and I have met so many cool people within the FWS and the DFP. I am excited to see where this project will take me and who I will meet along the way. Stay safe and remember to bee kind ?.

Until my next blog post,

Lea Crisostomo 3

Picture credit: "Las Vegas Bear Poppy in Bloom." Captured By: Tim Ricks

Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Program: US Fish & Wildlife Service - DFP

Location: Sacramento Regional Office