Meeting Abstract

P3.37  Wednesday, Jan. 6  Moss floristics in Sequoia National Park COLEMAN, L.A.*; WILSON, P.S.; California State University, Northridge lena.coleman.519@csun.edu

California, with its summer droughts, is considered one of the top five centers of endemism worldwide for bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts). Yet in the Sierra Nevada the natural history of even the common species has never been cataloged. We are studying the bryophyte species and their niche characteristics along an elevation gradient in Sequoia National Park. The first stage is to produce a pictorial guide to the species with notes on their microsite characteristics and features of their mesohabitats. We wish to present this at the conference as a virtual poster shown on a computer as a slideshow with captions. The virtual poster shall conclude with a statement on how the patterns of habitat utilization seem to change from low to high elevation and possible explanations why.