University of Pittsburgh
OP-10: Biodiversity

The University of Pittsburgh's Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology (PLE) was founded on Sanctuary Lake (a protected waterway) in 1949. Both the Pymatuning Laboratory and its researcher housing are on the shores of Pymatuning Lake surrounded by Pymatuning State Park. The property includes 10 research labs, 276 acres of land owned by the University, thousands of acres of nearby public land, and a diversity of equipment to help any field researcher be productive; PLE is spread out among several properties in the Pymatuning region; 3 of these properties have substantial built resources: Sanctuary Lake Site, Donald S Wood Field Lab and our Housing Site.

Close to PLE, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) owns and manages the 108-acre Tryon-Weber Woods Natural Area (one of the most ecologically important forested areas in the region). Research in the Tryon-Weber Woods is managed by Pitt’s Pymatuning Lab.

Protected since May 1976, the Natural Area consists primarily of upland forest and a small stream valley with hillsides flecked with trillium, violets, bellwort, and wild geranium in Spring. A tributary to the stream enters from the East -- and along the southern border there are some forested wetlands, including vernal pools that provide temporary habitat for some unique plants and animals.

Tryon-Weber Woods Natural Area also contains a 40-acre stand of old-growth American beech-sugar maple forest -- thought to be the last remaining mature stand of beech-sugar maple in Western Pennsylvania and the easternmost stand in the national range. Accordingly, these woods were recently incorporated into the national Old-Growth Forest Network, which recognizes the locations of and organizations from across the country that protect these special forest types. Some of the trees in this forest are around 100 feet tall and at least 90 to 120 years old.

1) Map of PLE and area described above - https://www.ple.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/Maps/property_map.pdf
2) Details on PLE’s built environment - https://www.ple.pitt.edu/research/facilities

PYMATUNING LABORATORY & TRYON-WEBER WOODS SPECIES LIST
Common Name- Scientific name (level of extinction risk)

Common Name- Scientific name (level of extinction risk)

PLANTS

Multiflora rose-Rosa multiflora (Least concern)
American hophornbeam - Ostrya virginiana (Least concern)
Apple - Malus sp. (Least concern)
Arrowhead viola - Viola hastata (Least concern)
Black cohosh - Actaea racemose (Near threatened)
Ash - Fraxinus sp. (Endangered)
American beech - Fagus americana (Least concern)
Perfoliated bellwort - Uvularia perfoliate (Least concern, but endangered in other states)
Bitter Wintercress- Barberea vulgaris (Least Concern)
Blueberry - Vaccinium sp. (Least concern)
Black birch - Betula lenta (Least concern)
Black cherry - Prunus serotina (Least concern)
Black Willow- Salix nigra (Least concern)
Blackgum - Nyssa sylvatica (Least concern)
Buttercup - Ranunculus sp. (Least concern)
Buttonbush- Cephalanthus occidentalis (Least concern)
American cancer-root - Conopholis americana (Least concern but threatened/vulnerable in other states)
Cherry - Prunus sp. (Least concern)
Chokecherry- Prunus virginiana (Least Concern)
Christmas fern - Polystichum acrostichoides (Least concern)
Cinnamon fern Osmunda cinnamomea (Least concern)
Cleaver - Galium sp. (Least concern)
Clubmoss - Huperzia lucidula (Least concern)
Common Yarrow- Achillea millefolium (Least concern)
Gooseberry- Ribes sp. (Least concern)
Flowering dogwood - Cornus florida (Least concern, but vulnerable in other states)
American elm - Ulmus americana (Endangered)
False Nettle- Boeherica cylindrica (Least concern)
False Solomon's seal - Maianthemum racemosum (Least concern)
Garlic mustard - Alliaria petiolate (Least concern)
Grapevine - Vitis sp. (Least concern)
Grass – Poaceae (Least concern)
Hawthorne - Crataegus sp. (Least concern)
Hay-scented fern - Dennstaedtia punctilobula (Least concern)
Hickory Carya sp. (Least concern)
Jewelweed- Impatiens capensis (Least concern)
Jack-in-the-pulpit - Arisaema triphyllum (Least concern)
Japanese barberry - Barberis thunbergia (Least concern)
Common clubmoss - Lycopodium clavatum (Least concern)
Longleaf Pondweed- Potamogeton nodosus (Least Concern)
Mapleleaf viburnum - Viburnum acerifolium (Least concern)
Mayapple - Podophyllum peltatum (Least concern)
Nodding Beggarticks- Bidens cernua (Least concern)
Northern Red Oak- Quercus rubra (least concern)
Norway Spruce- Picea abies (Least concern)
Canada maylilly - Maianthemum canadense (Least concern)
Cucumber magnolia - Magnolia acuminata (Least concern)
New York fern - Thelypteris noveboracensis (Least concern)
New York Aster- Symphyotrichum novi-belgii (Threatened)
Panicled Aster- Symphyotrichum lanceolatum (least concern)
Devil's walkingstick - Aralia spinosa (Least concern)
Partridgeberry - Mitchella repens (Least concern)
Poplar - Populus sp. (Least concern)
Broad-leaved plantain- Plantago rugelii (Least concern)
Poison ivy - Toxicodendron radicans (Least concern)
Red maple - Acer rubrum (Least concern)
Red oak - Quercus rubra (Least concern)
Black Oak- Quercus velutina (Least concern)
Raspberry - Rubus sp. (Least concern)
Sassafras - Sassafras albidum (Least concern)
Sedge- Cyperaceae (Least concern)
Sensitive fern - Onoclea sensibilis (Least concern)
Serviceberry - Amelanchier sp. (Least concern)
Sessile bellwort - Uvularia sessilifolia (Least concern)
Solomon's seal - Polygonatum pubescens (Least concern)
Spicebush - Lindera benzoin (Least concern)
Sugar maple - Acer saccharum (Least concern)
Swamp Goldenrod- Solidago patula (Least Concern)
Swamp Milkweed- Asclepias incarnata (Least concern)
Trillium (at least 3 species)- Trillium spp. (Threatened)
Tulip poplar- Liriodendron tulipifera (Least concern)
Canada white violet - Viola canadensis (Vulnerable)
Roundleaf yellow violet - Viola rotundifolia (Least concern)
Common blue violet - Viola sororia (Least concern)
Virginia creeper - Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Least concern)
White oak - Quercus alba (Least concern)
American witch hazel - Hamamelis virginiana (Least concern)
Wood fern - Dryopteris sp. (Least concern)
Fourleaved yam - Dioscorea quaternate (Least concern)
Thyme-leaved Speedwell- Vernonica serpyllfolia (Least concern)
Black Locust – Robina pseudoacacia (Least concern)
Common Greenshield Lichen- Flavoparmelia caperata (Least Concern)
Halberd-leaved Tearthumb- Persicaria arifolia (Least concern)
European Black Elderberry- Sambucus nigra (Least Concern)
Yellow Iris- Iris pseudoacorus (Least concern)
Common Snowberry- Symphoricarpos albus (Least Concern)
Broadleaf Cattail- Typha latifolia (Least concern)
Yellow Foxtail- Setaria pumila (Least concern)
Eastern Hemlock- Tsuga canadensis (Least concern)
American White Waterlily- Nymphaea odorata (Least concern)
Red Clover- Trifolium pratense (Least concern)
Field Horsetail- Equisetum arvense (Least concern)
Sweet Pepperbush- Clethra alnifolia (Least Concern)
Eastern Skunk Cabbage- Symplocarpus foetidus (Least concern)
Ebony Jewelwing- Calopteryx maculate (Least concern)
Northern Whitecedar- Thuja occidentalis (Least concern)
Pignut Hickory- Carya glabra (Least concern)
Shellbark Hickory- Carya laciniosa (Least concern)
Shagbark Hickory- Carya ovata (Least concern)
Black Tupelo- Nyssa sylvatica (Least concern)
Sweet Crabapple- Malus coronaria (Least concern)
Alder Buckthorn- Frangula alnus (Least concern)
Hedge Bindweed- Calystegia sepium (Least concern)
Tamarack- Larix laricina (Least concern)
Silky Dogwood- Cornus amomum (Least concern)
Straw-colored Flatsedge- Cyperus strigosus (Least concern)
Cursed Crowfoot- Ranunculus sceleratus (Least Concern)
Coontail- Ceratophyllum demersum (Least concern)
Marsh Skullcap- Scutellaria galericulata (Least concern)
Great Blue Lobelia- Lobelia siphilitica (Least concern)
European Water-Horehound- Lycopus europaeus (Least concern)

ANIMALS

Bald Eagle- Haliaeetus Leucocephalus (Endangered)
Blue-fronted Dancer- Argia apicalis (Least Concern)
Blue Dasher- Pachydiplax longipennis (Least Concern)
Eastern Amberwing- Perithemis tenera (Least concern)
Eastern Newt - Notophthalmys viridescens (Least concern)
Eastern Chipmunk- Tamias Striatus (Least concern)
Eastern Crayfish- Cambarus bartonii (Least concern)
Eastern Forktail—Ischnura verticalis (Least Concern)
European Mantis- Mantis religiosa (Least concern)
Northern Dusky Salamander - Desmognathus fuscus (Least concern)
Mottled Sculpin- Cottus bairdii (Least Concern)
Mountain Dusky Salamander - Desmognathus ochrophaeum (Least concern)
Northern Two Lined Salamander - Eurycea bislaneata (Least concern)
Redback Salamander - Plethodon cinereus (Least concern)
Slimy Salamander - Plethodon glutinosis (Least concern)
Northern Red Salamander - Pseudotriton ruber (Least concern)
Western Dusky Slug- Arion subfuscus (Least concern)
Wood Frog - Lithobates sylvaticus (Least concern)
Spring peeper - Pseudacris crucifer (Least concern)
American Bullfrog- Lithobates catesbeianus (Least concern)
Green frog - Lithobates clamitans (Least concern)
Gray Treefrog- Hyla versicolor (least concern)
Eastern American Toad - Anaxyrus americanus (Least concern)
Eastern Cottontail -Sylvilagus floridanus (Least concern)
Four-toed Salamander - Hemidactylium scutatum (Near threatened)
Spring Salamander- Gyrinophilus porphyriticus (Least concern)
Spotted Salamander - Ambystoma maculatum (Least concern)
Fowler's Toad - Anaxyrus fowleri (Near threatened)
Gray Treefrog - Dryophytes versicolor (Least concern)
Painted Turtle- Chrysemys picta (least concern)
Snapping Turtle- Chelydra serpentina (Least concern)
Common Water snake- Nerodia sipedon (Least concern)
Monarch- Danaus plexippus (Least concern)
Wood Duck - Aix sponsa (Least concern)
Killdeer- Charadrius (Least concern)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Least concern)
Wild Turkey - Meleagris gallopavo (Least concern)
Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura (Least concern)
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis (Least concern)
Red-shouldered Hawk- Buteo lineatus (Least concern)
Mourning Dove- Zenaida macroura (Least concern)
Purple Martin- Progne subis (Least Concern)
Virginia Opossum- Didelphis virginiana (Least concern)
Deer Mouse- Permyscus maniculatus (Least concern)
American Red Squirrel- Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (Least Concern)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo- Coccyzus americanus (Near threatened)
Black-billed Cuckoo - Coccyzus erythropthalmus (Least concern)
Eastern Screech-Owl - Megascops asio (Least Concern)
Great Horned Owl - Bubo virginianus (Least concern)
Barred Owl - Strix varia (Least concern)
Chimney Swift - Chaetura pelagica (Near threatened)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilocus colubris (Least concern)
Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus (Least concern)
Red-headed Woodpecker-Melanerpes erythrocephalus) (Least Cocnern)
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens (Least concern)
Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus (Least concern)
Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus (Least concern)
Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus (Least concern)
Eastern Wood Pewee - Contopus virens (Least concern)
Meadow Vole- Microtus pennsylvanicus (Leastoncern)
Acadian Flycatcher - Empidonax virescens (Least concern)
Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe (Least concern)
Great Crested Flycatcher - Myiarchus crinitus (Least concern)
Blue-headed Vireo - Vireo solitarius (Least concern)
Red-eyed Vireo - Vireo olivaceus (Least concern)
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata (Least concern)
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos (Least concern)
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapilla (Least concern)
Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor (Least concern)
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis (Least concern)
Brown Creeper - Certhia americana (Least concern)
House Wren - Troglodytes aedon (Least concern)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Polioptila caerulea (Least concern)
Wood Thrush - Hylocichla mustelina (Near threatened)
Veery - Catharus fuscescens (Least concern)
Swainson’s Thrush - Catharus ustulatus (Least concern)
American Robin - Turdus migratorius (Least concern)
Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis (Least concern)
Brown Thrasher - Toxostoma rufum (Least concern)
European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris (Least concern)
Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum (Least concern)
Ovenbird - Seiurus aurocapillus (Least concern)
Louisiana Waterthrush - Parkesia motacilla (Least concern)
Black-and-white Warbler - Mniotilta varia (Least concern)
Blue-winged Warbler - Vermivora pinus (Least concern)
Tennessee Warbler - Oreothlypis peregrina (Least concern)
Nashville Warbler - Oreothlypis ruficapilla (Least concern)
Hooded Warbler - Setophaga citrina (Least concern)
American Redstart - Setophaga ruticilla (Least concern)
Black-throated Blue Warbler - Setophaga caerulescens (Least concern)
Magnolia Warbler - Setophaga magnolia (Least concern)
Blackburnian Warbler - Setophaga fusca (Least concern)
Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechia (Least concern)
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Setophaga coronate (Least concern)
Chestnut-sided Warbler - Setophaga pensylvanica (Least concern)
Black-throated Green Warbler - Setophaga virens (Low concern)
Blackpoll Warbler - Setophaga striata (Near threatened)
Eastern Towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalmus (Least concern)
Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerine (Least concern)
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia (Least concern)
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis (Least concern)
Scarlet Tanager - Piranga olivacea (Least concern)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Pheucticus ludovicianus (Least concern)
Indigo Bunting - Passerina cyanea (Least concern)
Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscala (Least concern)
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus (Least concern)
Brown-headed Cowbird - Molothrus ater (Least concern)
Bank Swallow- Riparia riparia (Least concern)
Baltimore Oriole - Icterus galbula (Least concern)
House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus (Least concern)
American Goldfinch - Carduelis tristis (Least concern)
House Sparrow - Passer domesticus (Least concern)
Helmeted Guineafowl- Numida meleagris (Least concern)
Ring-billed Gull- Larus delawarensis (Least concern)
Muscovy Duck-Cairina moschata (Least concern)
Eastern Kingbird- Tyrannus tyrannus (Least concern)
Spotted Sandpiper- Actitis macularius (Least concern)
Osprey- Pandion haliaetus (Least concern)

Tryon-Weber Woods Natural Area also contains a 40-acre stand of old-growth American beech-sugar maple forest, thought to be the last remaining mature stand of beech-sugar maple in Western Pennsylvania and the easternmost stand in the national range. Accordingly, these woods are part of the national Old-Growth Forest Network, which recognizes the locations of and organizations from across the country that protect these special forest types. Some of the trees in this forest are ~100 feet tall and at least 90 to 120 years old. Western Pennsylvania Conservancy owns and manages the 108-acre Tryon-Weber Woods Natural Area, but research in the Tryon-Weber Woods is managed by Pitt’s Pymatuning Lab.

PLE BIODIVERSITY CHALLENGE
Starting in 2019, Pitt’s PLE began a concerted effort to curate biodiversity data collected through research, class, and outreach activities. The first mechanism for achieving this goal was to create an iNaturalist project: The Pymatuning Lab of Ecology Biodiversity Challenge. Through the PLE Biodiversity Challenge, all PLE users and local citizen scientists are invited to contribute their observations of organisms using iNaturalist. Any observations are automatically entered into the project if they occur on a PLE property.

+ PLE Biodiversity Challenge in iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/pymatuning-lab-of-ecology-biodiversity-challenge

+ Species observed in the PLE Biodiversity Challenge: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/pymatuning-lab-of-ecology-biodiversity-challenge?tab=species

PLE PUBLICATIONS
Information on species is also collected from publications that result from research conducted at PLE. Complete list of PLE publications here - https://www.ple.pitt.edu/research/publications

FROGWATCH
Data is also collected on frog species from citizen science programs conducted on PLE land. Starting in 2016, PLE began training citizen scientists in western Pennsylvania to be FrogWatch USA volunteers. FrogWatch USA is a nationwide, chapter-based, citizen-scientist program where volunteers help monitor frog and toad populations by recording and reporting information on their calling activity.

+ PLE’s FrogWatch activities - https://www.ple.pitt.edu/community-programming/citizen-science/frogwatch-usa
+ 2019 story highlighting PLE FrogWatch training (updated in 2021) - https://www.alleghenyfront.org/volunteers-help-scientists-save-frogs/

The assessments mentioned above are ongoing and conducted on PLE land, which totals 267 acres. PLE provides researchers access to a diverse set of habitats and species and supports their work with well-equipped, modern laboratory facilities.

As a result, PLE attracts researchers from across the country working on an array of topics. The topics of ongoing studies include animal behavior, disease ecology, plant community ecology, plant-animal interactions, and rapid evolution. PLE lands are located within a matrix of rural residential, agricultural, and state lands, which exhibit varying degrees of human impact (and make them an ideal location for research on cross-cutting topics such as environmental degradation and sustainability in the Mid-Atlantic region).

The University’s Pittsburgh campus was excluded from this credit due to its urban environment with no protected areas of significant biological importance. The Pittsburgh campus strives to protect urban nature by implementing ecological friendly landcare practices that are outlined in detail in credit OP-9, Landscape Management and IN-20, Grounds Certification.

PLE’s mission statement is “to foster the establishment of a sustainable culture through environmental education, field research in the natural and environmental science, and community involvement.” PLE embodies its mission by facilitating research of impact that uses resources at the station and its surroundings to address questions focused on the environment and sustainability. PLE cultivates long-term environmental data set to aid this mission through its iNaturalist project and by collecting meteorological data at its weather station year-round.

PLE is also committed to developing a Facilities Master Plan by 2025, which involves creating a formal land stewardship plan and establishing sustainability goals. To create its 2020 Strategic Master Plan, PLE collaborated with the University’s Office of Facilities Management; for the 2025 Facilities Master Plan, PLE will collaborate with Pitt Planning, Design, & Construction; Facilities Management; and Sustainability (along with many other University entities).

Tyron-Weber Woods is also a designated Network Forest by the Old-Growth Forest Network for having a formal protection in place that ensures that this ecosystem is protected from commercial logging. https://www.oldgrowthforest.net/pa-tryon-weber-woods

PLE has had no additional programmatic changes since the original reporting. It has maintained its status quo operationally.

PLE website - https://www.ple.pitt.edu/
PLE website #2 - http://www.biology.pitt.edu/facilities/pymatuning
Old-Growth Forest Network Designation - https://www.oldgrowthforest.net/pa-tryon-weber-woods