BEN # 76

[Adolf Ceska]

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No. 76                               June 24, 1994

aceska at freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
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 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
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RANDY STOLTMANN (1962-1994)

Randy  Stoltmann  died  in  a  skiing accident in mountains near
Kitimat, B.C. on May 22, 1994.

"A native of Vancouver,  Randy  Stoltmann  has  an  unquenchable
thirst  for  exploring, photographing and working to protect the
wilderness areas of the  west  coast.  Combining  his  technical
background with his love for wilderness, Stoltmann has measured,
mapped  and  documented  record-sized  trees and ancient forests
since high school more than a decade ago. Much of his spare time
is spent hiking, bushwhacking and ski-mountaineering through the
backcountry of southwestern B.C." [from "About  Author"  in  the
"Hiking guide to big trees of SW B.C."]

Randy  was  the  first person to bring attention to the Carmanah
Valley and started a pleafor its protection. Randy  was  working
as  a  draftsman  and  decrying  the lack of time in his life to
explore such wilderness places when Paul George, of the  Western
Canada  Wilderness  Committee (WC**2) persuaded him to work full
time for WC**2. After about  3-1/2  to  4  years  WC**2  had  to
downsize  and  Randy  worked  independently  for mountain clubs,
advocacy groups and wilderness organizations as an advocate  for
protection.

Randy  published  three  books  and  contributed  photographs to
numerous other publications and journal articles.

Stoltmann, R. 1987 & 1991. Hiking guide  to  the  big  trees  of
      southwestern  British  Columbia. Western Canada Wilderness
      Committee, Vancouver B.C., 144 p. - Second Edition, 218 p.

Stoltmann, R. 1993. Guide to the record trees of British  Colum-
      bia.  Western Canada Wilderness Committee, Vancouver, B.C.
      58 p.

Stoltmann, R. 1993. Written by the wind. Orca  Book  Publishers,
      Victoria, B.C. & White Rock, WA. 95 p.

I met Randy only once on a field trip to survey near record-size
western  hemlock  (Tsuga  heterophylla) near Port Alberni [BEN #
36]. I was deeply impressed by his intimate  knowledge  of  "big
trees"  and  their  ecology.  He was a giant human being and his
death is a great loss. - AC


LYME DISEASE - BORRELIA BURGDORFERI - IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Sources: Dr. S.N.  Banerjee  (pers.  comm.),  Hospital  Medicine
      (August 1993: 53-64), VERONICA search on "LYME"

Lyme  disease  was first recognized during the 1970s when inves-
tigators analyzed an unusual cluster of  juvenile  arthritis  in
coastal  Connecticut. Erythema migrans (EM) served as a clinical
marker and field studies revealed ixodid ticks to be the vector.
In 1982 Burgdorfer visualized  spirochetes  in  the  midguts  of
these  ticks  and  serum  from  Lyme  disease patients contained
antibodies  to  the  spirochete.  Soon  thereafter,  researchers
recovered  and  cultured  spirochetes from infected humans, then
characterized them morphologically and  biochemically  and  gave
them the name Borrelia burgdorferi.

In  about  60%  of  the  cases,  a characteristic rash or lesion
called erythema migrans develops. It begins a few days to a  few
weeks  after  the  bite  of an infected tick. The rash generally
looks like an expanding red ring with a clear  center,  but  can
vary  from a reddish blotchy appearance to red throughout. Some-
times there are two or more  lesions.  Unfortunately,  in  those
patients  who  never get a rash, the diagnosis can be difficult.
At about the same time that the rash develops, flu-like symptoms
may appear along with headache, stiff neck, fever, muscle  aches
and general malaise.

The  later  complications of Lyme disease are quite severe. Most
common is arthritis, usually of the large joints  (e.g.,  knees,
hips,  shoulders).  Other  complications  include meningitis and
other neurological  problems  such  as  numbness,  tingling  and
burning  sensations  in  the  extremities,  severe pain, loss of
concentration,  memory  loss,  confusion,  loss  of  confidence,
withdrawal,    depression,    fatigue,    (often   extreme   and
incapacitating), and Bell's palsy (loss of control of  one  side
of  the  face).  Cardiac symptoms include heart palpitations and
irregular heart beat. Shortness  of  breath,  dry  mouth,  voice
changes,  and  difficulty  swallowing  can  occur.  Eye symptoms
include conjuctivitis, double vision, and loss of vision. Remem-
ber, some patients do not get the rash and progress directly  to
these  later symptoms. Symptoms, including pain are intermittent
and changing, occurring in any combination and  lasting  from  a
few days to several months and possibly years.

It  is  important  to  seek  medical  attention  if any of these
symptoms appear, especially after being  bitten  by  a  tick  or
visiting  an area where Lyme disease is common. Timely treatment
with antibiotics (within a few days of symptoms appearing)  will
increase  chances of recovery and may lessen the severity of any
later symptoms. If ignored, the early  symptoms  may  disappear,
but  more  serious  problems  can develop months to years later.
Chronic Lyme disease, because of its diverse symptoms,  is  par-
ticularly  difficult  to diagnose. Treatment for later stages is
more difficult and is often less successful, sometimes requiring
several months of intravenous antibiotic therapy.

In  British  Columbia  Borrelia  burgdorferi  was  detected   in
juvenile  ticks  Ixodes  angustus and adults of Ixodes pacificus
collected from Bowen Island, Cultus Lake, Galiano  Island,  Har-
rison,  Hope,  Lasqueti Island, Langley, Metchosin, Nanoose Bay,
Sechelt, and Squamish. According to  Dr.  Banerjee  (pers.  com-
munication)  there  are  about  30 patients with Lyme disease in
British Columbia, 10 of them were most probably infected here in
British Columbia.

Dr. Satyen N. Banerjee studies Lyme disease in British  Columbia
and  is  interested in receiving LIVE ticks and he would like to
scan them for Borrelia spirochete. Ticks  could  be  sent  in  a
small  screw-top  vial  in  which one should add a small ball of
cotton wetted in water. The address to send the ticks is:

   Tick-borne Diseases Research Laboratory
   Provincial Laboratory, B.C. Centre for Disease Control
   828 West 10th Avenue
   Vancouver, B.C.  V5Z 1L8
   (Phone: 604-660-6070)


MYOSURUS APETALUS = MYOSURUS ARISTATUS
From: Novon 4 (1994): 77-79.

In  his  article  on  "New  names  in  North  American  Myosurus
(Ranunculaceae)," A.T. Whittemore is treating Myosurus aristatus
as  conspecific  with  the Chilean species M. apetalus Gay. B.C.
plants belong to a new variety, M. apetalus var. borealis  Whit-
temore  characterized  by  1-nerved  sepals. Another variety, M.
apetalus var. montanus (G.R. Campbell)  Whittemore  (transferred
from  M.  minimus)  occurs in Canada (Saskatchewan), and US (AZ,
MT, CO, NV, ND, OR, UT, WY) and has sepals 3(-5)-nerved.


CAREX SYLVATICA NATURALIZED ON PENDER ISLAND AND SATURNA ISLAND
From: A. & O. Ceska and Jan Kirkby

In the 1970's and 1980's Harvey Janszen made several collections
of a sedge which he identified as Carex sprengelii  from  Pender
and  Saturna  Islands  (part of Gulf Islands, British Columbia).
T.M.C. Taylor, A. Ceska, and others confirmed Harvey's  original
identification.

During a field trip of the Pender Island Naturalists on June 12,
1994,  we  revisited the locality of the sedge in the "Enchanted
Forest" on South Pender Island and realized that  the  sedge  is
NOT  Carex  sprengelii,  but  naturalized European forest sedge,
Carex sylvatica. Consequent examination of the specimens in  the
Royal  British  Columbia  Museum, Victoria, B.C. [V] showed that
all the specimens of "Carex sprengelii" collected  on  Gulf  Is-
lands belong in fact to Carex sylvatica.

Carex  sylvatica  Huds.  is  a  European sedge of mesic alluvial
forests. In North America it is occasionally planted in  gardens
as  an  ornamental  "grass" and was reported naturalized on Long
Island, NY (Mackenzie, K.K. 1940. North American Cariceae,  Vol.
II.).  C.  sylvatica is indeed very similar to C. sprengelii. C.
sylvatica is "aphyllopodic" - it has several short bracts at the
base of the plant, not fully developed leaves  as  "phyllopodic"
C.  sprengelii.  C.  sprengelii  has  a rhizome with conspicuous
fibrous remnants of old leaves.

Two other collections of Carex sprengelii from British  Columbia
in  the  Royal  BC Museum (from Williams Lake and Prince George)
were correctly identified and are C. sprengelii.

Carex sylvatica is the second sedge recently  found  naturalized
in  British  Columbia.  Several  years  ago Richard Martin found
Carex pallescens on Hornby Island. C. pallescens grows there  in
open meadows, along the roads, and in ditches.


BIODIVERSITY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA - OUR CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

Harding, L.E. & E. McCullum [eds.] 1994. Biodiversity in British
Columbia: Our changing environment. Environment Canada, Canadian
Wildlife  Service, Ottawa. 426 p. ISBN 0-662-20671-1 [paperback]
Cost: CDN $29.95 Available from: Crown  Publications  Inc.,  546
Yates  Str.,  Victoria,  B.C.  V8W 1K8 (604) 386-4636 Fax.:(604)
386-0221

This is a valuable collection of papers on  various  aspects  of
biodiversity  in  British  Columbia. Thirty chapters are grouped
into four sections:  1)  Introducing  biodiversity,  2)  Species
diversity,  3)  Ecosystem  diversity  , and 4) Prospects for the
future. Botanical topics are well covered  and  the  book  gives
good  discussions on rare algae (M. Hawkes), fungi (S. Redhead),
lichens (T. Goward), bryophytes (W.B. Schofield),  and  vascular
plants  (H. Roemer, G.B. Straley, and G.W. Douglas). Native rare
vascular plants  species  are  listed,  grouped  by  the  status
categories established by the British Columbia Conservation Data
Centre.  Exotic species of animals and plants are discussed as a
threat to biodiversity. (The list of introduced plants is unfor-
tunately restricted to "Introduced Flowers" - no grasses, sedges
or rushes - and even lists as introduced some species  that  are
on   the  Rare  Native  Vascular  Plants  List  -  e.g.  Lupinus
densiflorus.) Chapters on Ecosystem diversity deal with  forests
and  grasslands,  with  urban  ecosystems  and  (mostly  marine)
ecosystems of the Strait of Georgia. British Columbia Ecological
Reserves are listed in the "Prospects for the  future"  together
with an outline of the B.C. Protected Areas Strategy etc.