hkibak's Journal

National Weather Service Water Year Oct. 1, 2024 - Sep. 30, 2025
Using precipitation record at MONTEREY AIRPORT (MTY) Elevation: 217'
https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/QueryDaily?s=MTY&end=2024-10-01&span=30days
As proxy for Ft Ord

During the 2024 rainy season (water year) there were two events where more than one inch of rain fell in a single 24 hour period https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/hkibak/86783-fort-ord-national-monument-precipitation-water-year-2024 The total rainfall that season was 17.42"

                   Total   >1" days   1st 0.5"+   Last 0.5"+
================   =====   ========   =========   ==========
Water Year 22-23   23.88          7    11/08/22     03/22/23   Wet for four months, dry for eight months
Water Year 23-24   17.45          2    12/20/23     05/04/24   Wet for five months, dry for ...
Water Year 24-25 

Summary of 1"+ events so far this year:
1)

             Today
Date         Inches Y-T-D

10/01/2024   0.00   0.00   Soil very dry, but shrubs and trees look in good shape.

(1)

Two manzanitas on Fort Ord that appeared to be quite different were growing side by side, branches intertwined. The iNat AI named the one on the right that was past its bloom and beginning to fruit, Arctostaphylos crustacea. And it named the one on its left that was in full bloom, A. tomentosa.
It was a bit hard to photograph the two that day because the clouds were moving quickly and one moment the scene was in deep shade and the next brilliant sunlight, but the manzanita on the right that was past its bloom also appeared to be far greener than the one on the left. Looking at the twigs, both were short haired, but the one on the left was far hairier. Neither appeared to have glandular hairs in my opinion. Looking next at the leaves, the upper surfaces on both plants were shiny and smooth. The undersides were both hairy, but the one on the right was less dense with longer bristly hairs that were bent, tangled, and almost appeared to be branched or frayed. The undersurface of the leaves on the left were much more densely covered with hairs but they appeared shorter, not bristly, and more uniform with less fraying. Both had reddish-grey persistent shredding bark, and appeared to have burls though I would have needed a long handled rake to be sure.

Both plants key to Arctostaphylos tomentosa tomentosa per The Jepson Manual online despite looking quite different to me, both from a distance in color and bloom, and up close in the type and quality of hairyness (Indumentum for those who don't understand English).

• Burls at base of main stem, also above or not; plant sprouting after fire
• Leaves with stomata generally only abaxially, surfaces generally differing in color and/or hairiness
• Old stem bark persistent, gray, shredding
• Twig without glands
• Twig short-tomentose or short-nonglandular-hairy
• Leaves tomentose abaxially

The California Coastal Bush Lupine Lupinus arboreus is subject to some major aphid infestations ( https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/80203682 ) primarily of Macrosiphum albifrons (the Lupine Aphid) and the local Lady Bird Beetles seem to "know" this. If I want to see a variety of Lady Bird Beetles this time of year I just head over to a patch of Coastal Bush Lupines and begin looking for orange. I didn't find any aphids this time, but the Lady Bird Beetles were there anyway, searching.

Introduction

Garrya elliptica (Coast Silk Tassel) is a dioecious wind-pollinated shrub to small tree locally common in Maritime Chaparral and Oak Woodland along the coast of California and Oregon (1,2). Successful seed production requires that dioecious plants, as well as plants that need to cross-pollinate, flower at the same time when pollen is being shed and stigmata are receptive. Because exposing delicate reproductive organs such as stigmata and anthers to desiccation can be stressful in times of drought, deferring flowering until conditions are better could be adaptive. No pollinator is needed in the case of Garrya elliptica, so flowering is not constrained to times when a pollinator is present. Flowering could hypothetically vary according to soil moisture in an individual plants root zone.

Most Fort Ord soils are Loamy Sands with a plant available water capacity of about one inch per foot of soil profile. Since most plants get most of their water from the upper 18" of soil and some evaporation and runnoff could be expected, I chose two inches of precipitation as the threshold for soil moist enough to trigger normal growth activity in shrubs and trees in the Fort Ord area. In practice, this threshold seems to work (me checking with a shovel and observing new growth in chamise, coffeeberry, manzanita, oak, and silk tassel).

Hypothesis: Flowering in Garrya elliptica is sensitive to soil moisture.

Test: If flowering in Garrya elliptica is sensitive to soil moisture then flowering should begin later in years where significant rains come later.

Based on experience, the soil profile at Fort Ord is not moist in the Fall until 2" of rain has accumulated (A).

Q1: When did the soil profile become moist in the Fall each study year?(A)
During the Water Year 2022-2023 Fort Ord had accumulated 2 inches of rain by November 9, 2022 (A)
During the Water Year 2023-2024 Fort Ord had accumulated 2 inches of rain by December 20, 2023 (B)
In the Fall of 2022 Fort Ord soil was moist 41 days earlier than in the Fall of 2023.

Q2: How much later will flowering begin in 2024 because water came 41 days late?

Tools

Fort Ord Garrya elliptica https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=163575&taxon_id=53399
Fort Ord known females https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=163575&taxon_id=53399&term_id=9&term_value_id=10
Fort Ord known males https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=163575&taxon_id=53399&term_id=9&term_value_id=11

iNaturalist observations of the same *Garrya elliptica* over time: (incomplete. Will continue as spreadsheet)

@asauble Jan 3, 2023 Male Fully flowering https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/145778755
@fredwatson Jan 8, 2023 Male Fully flowering https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/146171533
@hkibak Jan 13, 2024 Male Incipient flowering https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196636265

@fredwatson Jan 9, 2023 Male Fully flowering https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/146243108
@hkibak Jan 12, 2024 Male (presumed) Budding https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196477795

@hkibak Apr 11, 2020 Male fully flowering https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41975327
@hkibak Jan 13, 2024 Male flower budding https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196789187

@yerbasanta Feb 18, 2023 flowering https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/149279041
@hkibak Jan 16, 2024 female flowering https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196996047

References (#) and Footnotes:

(A)
(B) https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/hkibak/86783-fort-ord-national-monument-precipitation-water-year-2024
(1)Thomas F. Daniel 2012, Garrya elliptica, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=26460, accessed on January 14, 2024.
(2) Jepson Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFVGFzBwczw
(3) Kemal Kazan, Rebecca Lyons, The link between flowering time and stress tolerance, Journal of Experimental Botany, Volume 67, Issue 1, January 2016, Pages 47–60, https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erv441
(4) Fiona Tooke, Nicholas H. Battey, Temperate flowering phenology, Journal of Experimental Botany, Volume 61, Issue 11, June 2010, Pages 2853–2862, https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erq165
(5) Freeman, D. C., McArthur, E. D., & Harper, K. T. (1984). The Adaptive Significance of Sexual Lability in Plants; Atriplex canescens as a Principal Example. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 71(1), 265–277. https://doi.org/10.2307/2399070

National Weather Service Water Year Oct. 1, 2023 - Sep. 30, 2024
Using precipitation record at MONTEREY AIRPORT (MTY) Elevation: 217' as proxy for Ft Ord
https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/QueryDaily?s=MTY&end=2023-10-01&span=30days

During the previous rainy season (water year) there were seven events where more than one inch of rain fell in a single 24 hour period: https://www.inaturalist.org/posts/74888-fort-ord-national-monument-precipitation-water-year-2023 The total rainfall that season was 23.88"
This water year the total rainfall was 17.42" and there were two days with more than 1" of rain. For next years precipitation see https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/hkibak/99655-fort-ord-national-monument-precipitation-water-year-2025

Summary of 1"+ events so far this year:

1) 1.26 on 12/30/2023
2) 1.15 on 2/1/2024

             Today
Date         Inches Y-T-D

10/01/2023   0.00   0.00

10/22/2023   0.01   0.01    
10/23/2023   0.08   0.09
                          Based on Salinas River level at Spreckels, irrigation season seems to be over.
10/31/2023   0.00   0.09  NPS October Summary: https://met.nps.edu/~ldm/renard_wx/oct23wx.pdf

11/06/2023   0.05   0.14
11/16/2023   0.01   0.15    
11/17/2023   0.01   0.16    
11/18/2023   0.43   0.59

11/29/2023   0.01   0.60  Soil is still very dry. All plants seem to remain stressed. 
11/30/2023   0.00   0.60  NPS November Summary: https://met.nps.edu/~ldm/renard_wx/nov23wx.pdf
                          By this time last year (12/1/22)  we had 2.29" accumulated rainfall.
12/06/2023   0.01   0.61
12/07/2023   0.14   0.75
12/08/2023   0.05   0.80  Soil is still very dry. All plants seem to remain stressed. 

12/17/2023   0.18   0.98  Powder dry two inches down
12/18/2023   0.32   1.30  Still dry three to four inches down
12/19/2023   0.40   1.70  Still dry four to five inches down
12/20/2023   0.79   2.49  Ground finally seems wetted most places. Still not water-logged.

12/28/2023   0.55   3.04
12/29/2023   0.02   3.06
12/30/2023   1.26   4.32  Now ground seems wet. By this time last year we had 8.10 inches of rain.
12/31/2023   0.09   4.41  NPS December Summary: https://met.nps.edu/~ldm/renard_wx/dec23wx.pdf   
                          By this time last year (1/1/23)  we had 9.24" accumulated rainfall.
01/03/2024   0.51   4.92

01/06/2024   0.01   4.93    
01/07/2024   0.35   5.28    

01/10/2024   0.10   5.38    
01/11/2024   0.08   5.46    

01/14/2024   0.04   5.50    

01/17/2024   0.20   5.70

01/20/2024   0.03   5.73    
01/21/2024   0.32   6.05
01/22/2024   0.37   6.42
01/23/2024   0.02   6.44
01/24/2024   0.42   6.86
01/25/2024   0.04   6.90
                           01/28/2024 Salinas River at Spreckels begins to rise(2).
01/31/2024   0.01   6.91   NPS January Summary:  https://met.nps.edu/~ldm/renard_wx/jan24wx.pdf

02/01/2024   1.15   8.06   By this time last year (2/1/23)  we had 14.12" accumulated rainfall.
02/02/2024   0.59   8.65
02/03/2024   0.07   8.72
02/04/2024   0.80   9.52
02/05/2024   0.91  10.43    
02/06/2024   0.01  10.44
02/07/2024   0.50  10.94    
02/08/2024   0.06  11.00

02/15/2024   0.08  11.08    

02/17/2024   0.10  11.18
02/18/2024   0.01  11.19
02/19/2024   0.26  11.45
02/20/2024   0.14  11.59    
02/21/2024   0.05  11.64    

02/27/2024   0.01  11.65    

********** On February 29, 2024 I installed two WATERMARK Soil Moisture Sensors (200SS), one at 8" and the other at 20" soil depth, 
and I will begin to provide soil moisture readings from a very typical (average) Fort Ord site (oak woodland margin). **********

03/01/2024   0.43   12.08   By this time last year (03/01/2023)  we had  17.38" accumulated rainfall.
03/02/2024   0.39   12.47   
03/03/2024   0.20   12.67   
03/04/2024   0.04   12.71   

03/06/2024   0.20   12.91

03/11/2024   0.12   13.03   
03/12/2024   0.01   13.04

03/23/2024   0.79   13.83
03/24/2024   0.30   14.13

03/26/2024   0.03   14.16

03/28/2024   0.10   14.26
03/29/2024   0.40   14.66   
03/30/2024   0.39   15.05   
03/31/2024   0.07   15.12     By this time last year (03/31/2023)  we had  22.99" accumulated rainfall.

04/04/2024   0.46   15.58   
04/05/2024   0.39   15.97   

04/13/2024   0.37   16.34   
04/14/2024   0.15   16.49

04/25/2024   0.02   16.51   
04/26/2024   0.06   16.57   

05/04/2024   0.70   17.27   
05/05/2024   0.05   17.32

05/25/2024   0.03   17.35

08/03/2024   0.01   17.36

09/16/2024   0.05   17.41

09/20/2024   0.01   17.42

09/30/2024   0.00   17.42

(1)
(2) Using river rise as a proxy for area soil saturation. Water from the Arroyo Seco watershed in Big Sur/Ventana seems to take 48-72 hours to reach Spreckels.

There are five dominant trees and shrubs in this part of the Central Oregon Juniper Woodland: Juniper, Big Sagebrush, Bitterbrush, and the two Rabbitbrushes: Rubber Rabbitbrush and Yellow (or Green) Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus).

The 5th photos in the observations below are of a disturbed area that was recently burned area where the two Rabbitbrushes are now dominant and Sagebrush is just beginning to creep in. No Junipers or Bitterbrush are apparent yet. The distribution of the Rabbitbrushes is not random though, Yellow Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) is most abundant in the depressions and flats between the basalt rises and Rubber Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) is more abundant up the slopes and on the top of the rises. These two plants are fairly closely related (they used to be in the same genus) and support many gall-forming insects, some undescribed.

Search String:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&field:re-visited%20observation%20spot=

Enter Unique Identifier such as: LowerBridge_0001_Ponderosa

Like this: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=any&field:re-visited%20observation%20spot=LowerBridge_0001_Ponderosa

References:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observation_fields/13312
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/leipzig-riverside-forest/journal/47842-observation-field-re-visited-observation-spot

Shasta Reservoir Water Levels and Storage

DATE       WATER LEVEL   ACRE FEET   NOTES
10/01/2018     979.14    2,399,264   Beginning of 2018-2019 Water Year
06/01/2019   1,064.42    4,475,648   General snow melt/irrigation balance date

10/01/2019   1,025.49    3,420,766   Beginning of 19/20 Water Year
06/01/2020   1,029.53    3,521,627   General snow melt/irrigation balance date

10/01/2020     968.46    2,197,814   Beginning of 20/21 Water Year
06/01/2021     955.63    1,971,357   General snow melt/irrigation balance date

10/01/2021     891.58    1,069,512   Beginning of 21/22 Water Year
10/21/2021     882.24      967,370   Before the major storms
06/01/2022     946.24    1,815,774   General snow melt/irrigation balance date

10/01/2022     926.30    1,512,814   Beginning of 22/23 Water Year
11/16/2022     917.82    1,395,027   Lowest level I could find between beginning of WY and onset of first significant rains
12/26/2022     921.23    1,441,684   Before the major storms (see Ft Ord Precipitation for details)
03/10/2023   1,000.88    2,847,720   After several major storms
05/03/2023   1,063.69    4,454,176   Late season Omega Block traps low pressure off Northern & Central California
06/01/2023   1,063.78    4,456,816
07/01/2023   1,057.08    4,262,534
08/01/2023   1,043.14    3,876,150
09/01/2023   1,029.80    3,528,435

10/01/2023   1,021.57    3,324,835   Beginning of 23/24 Water Year
11/01/2023   1,013.85    3,140,865
12/01/2023   1,010.86    3,071,507
01/01/2024   1,012.91    3,118,941
02/01/2024   1,035.05    3,662,741          
03/01/2024   1,038.11    3,742,643
04/01/2024   1,055.32    4,212,351
05/01/2024   1,060.75    4,368,423
05/19/2024   1,061.59    4,392,809   Peak?
06/01/2024   1,058.05    4,290,375

*Data Source: https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/QueryDaily?s=SHA&end=2023-03-11&span=130days
Compare to 05/2019 4,476,827 acre feet of stored water
3/11/2023 = 63.7% of the May 2019 level (which was the max I could find since 2015)

Newbies
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?place_id=1921&user_after=3w
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?iconic_taxa=Plantae&user_after=3w&place_id=829

High Schools
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?project_id=shs-biodiversity-project-2022

Lower Division
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/csumb-bio-211l-04-spring-23
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/2023-fall-bio211-03
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/2023-fall-bio211-04

Upper Division
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/csumb-envs342-spr-23

Monterey Annotations
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?taxon_id=211194&place_id=1921&without_term_id=12

This post is devoted to accumulating methods for rearing local gallformers I am interested in.

POWELL and POVOLNY: Gnorimoschemine Moths from California (2001)
in Holarctic Lepidoptera, Sep 1, 2001, v. 8, suppl. 1
Gnorimoschemine Moths of Coastal Dune and Scrub Habitats in California (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)
[I have pdf]

Larval rearing.- In the lab, larvae were confined with clippings of the host plants in 7 x 5" (ca. 17.5 x 12.5cm) plastic boxes or 12 x 18" (30 x 45cm) polyethylene bags, lined with paper toweling. Each collection (single date, site, and plant species) was given a date-based lot number (e.g., 77F2 was the 2nd collection in June 1977). In total, we report larval food records for Gnorimoschemini from about 170 collections representing 25 of the 35 species discussed here. About 35 of these collections were made by J. A. De Benedictis and others at San Bruno Mountain, and were previously reported (De Benedictiset al., 1990), some with only generic or tentative species identifications,which are clarified in our synonymies.