San Miguel Island

On June 3, I returned from a week-long trip to San Miguel Island, where I assisted a botanist with a vegetation mapping project on the island. San Miguel, a windy, treeless island, is the westernmost of the Channel Islands. Dominant shrubs species on the island include coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis), prostrate coastal goldenbush (Isocoma menziesii var. vernonoides), and silver lupine (Lupinus albifrons var. douglasii, pictured, sand-covered). Giant coreopsis (Leptosyne gigantea), San Miguel Island deerweed (Acmispon dendroideus var. veatchii) and golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum) are abundant in areas on the eastern side of the island, but are largely absent from its western side. While common on the larger islands and on the mainland, toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), black sage (Salvia mellifera) and lemonade berry (Rhus integrifolia) are infrequent on San Miguel. The rare Northern Island tree mallow (Lavatera assurgentiflora subsp. assurgentiflora, pictured) also occurs on the island. Common herbs include San Miguel Island locoweed (Astragalus miguelensis), Greene’s dudleya (Dudleya greenei), Malacothrix species (pictured is the white-flowered M. saxatilis implicata) and the non-native sea-fig (Carprobrotus chilensis).

The seals were another fascinating part of the trip. In some areas on the western side of the island, we were guided by one of the pinniped (seal) researchers. We saw four species of seals over the course of the week: northern fur seals, harbor seals, California sea lions, and elephant seals. Elephant seals breed on the island from December through March. We only saw a few northern fur seals; the males were on the island establishing their territory. The trip was a great opportunity to learn the most common elements of the SMI flora (as well as many less-common species), and to talk to biologists and botanists about their work on the islands.

Mountaintop RD, San Bernardino National Forest, US Forest Service