Science Report
11/21/2014
Paul Sokoloff
Biologist’s Report 1121 by Paul Sokoloff
No biology EVA today, however the geology EVA team collected plant and lichen samples on their EVA to add to my study. These add at least one new species to the growing collection. Re-identification of a few collections from earlier in the trip reveal that the vascular plant flora around MDRS is consistent with the Salt Desert Shrub Zone described in Harris’ 1983 Flora of the San Rafael Swell. I plan to continue sampling over the next three EVA days, in compare the plants of MDRS to those known from the entirety of the San Rafael swell – differences in the ecology at MDRS and that of the region in general could be useful for future analog biological fieldwork.