{"id":25651,"date":"2025-10-19T16:39:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T20:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=25651"},"modified":"2025-10-19T16:39:02","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T20:39:02","slug":"pitchers-thistle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/pitchers-thistle\/","title":{"rendered":"Pitcher’s Thistle Protectors Collaborate on Beaver Island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Three
By the end of the summer, Caleb Jenkins ’26, Willow Hayner ’27 and Mairin Boshoven ’25 had recorded data on nearly a thousand Pitcher’s thistle seedlings, some barely a half-centimeter tall, on Beaver Island.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"A
Pollinators such as bees, monarchs and hummingbirds rely on Pitcher\u2019s thistle for food in the early spring before much else blooms.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Surrounded by the waters of Lake Michigan, between the state\u2019s Upper and Lower Peninsulas, three Kalamazoo College students spent their summer with Professor of Biology<\/a> Binney Girdler, studying a small species of plant that fulfills big roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caleb Jenkins \u201926, Willow Hayner \u201927 and Mairin Boshoven \u201925 devoted their days to researching and protecting Pitcher\u2019s thistle, a rare and threatened yet important plant on Beaver Island, where the students spent a couple of months at a remote hub for scientific activity: Central Michigan University\u2019s Biological Station<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pitcher\u2019s thistle grows only on the shores of the western Great Lakes, Jenkins said, where it began to spread thousands of years ago as a huge glacier traveled northward, depositing minerals and sand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs the glacier melted, it gave us our Great Lakes,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cFrom that, Pitcher\u2019s thistle established roots deep within the Earth. As it grows, it collects more and more sand as the sand drifts and storms wash up deposits, assisting dune grasses in building dunes. Those dunes have developed into areas like the Sleeping Bear Dunes and Wilderness State Park.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies in Wisconsin have shown that entire swaths of Pitcher\u2019s thistle have been wiped out by an invasive weevil called Larinus planus, which destroys the plant\u2019s seeds. Beaver Island is unique because researchers have yet to find any evidence of the weevils there. Their absence helps make the island an ideal spot for the pollinators that rely on Pitcher\u2019s thistle for food in the early spring before much else blooms. It also provided Jenkins, Hayner and Boshoven with a perfect environment for their research, conducting tests and measurements that contribute to the plant\u2019s conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the deer on Beaver Island, whose growing numbers are hurting populations of other plants, seem to be having less impact on Pitcher\u2019s thistle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe seedlings of the Pitcher\u2019s thistle tend to be the most vulnerable,\u201d Boshoven said. \u201cThe deer might step on a few or bite them, but the plants tend to be very resilient. Humans would be much more of a threat to the plant\u2019s population than deer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CMU\u2019s Biological Station is a nucleus for scientists and students from across the country. Hayner said K\u2019s representatives were collecting data during the day while evenings brought talks from visiting researchers from organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Michigan Natural Features Inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese groups often gave lectures on their research, and it was amazing to meet them and learn about their work,\u201d Hayner said. \u201cWe also got to work in Binney\u2019s lab, right next to the shores of Lake Michigan. As an added bonus, we were able to participate in the end-of-summer open house and poster show to present our research to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the team\u2019s daily work involved close observation\u2014very close observation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was a lot of crawling involved,\u201d Jenkins recalled with a laugh. \u201cWe\u2019d be hunched over the plants in the sand, and when people walked by asking what we were doing, we\u2019d pop our heads up like groundhogs and say, \u2018We\u2019re measuring plants!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the summer, the group had recorded data on nearly a thousand seedlings, some barely a half-centimeter tall. Beyond the data, the project connected the students with the island community, whose residents deeply value Beaver Island\u2019s natural plant and animal systems and appreciate research on species vital to the island\u2019s ecology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to convince anyone there why conservation matters,\u201d Boshoven said. \u201cThey already know. One of my favorite moments was sharing our findings at the open house and seeing how excited people were about the research. It felt like conservation was happening in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All three students credit Girdler for fostering an environment that balances challenges with encouragement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBinney never pressured us just to produce results,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cI could lay out what I\u2019d learned and what I understood and say, \u2018Here’s where I am.\u2019 She was more than happy to meet us in the middle. That level of understanding is an extra bit of humanity you usually don\u2019t get in academic settings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe met us where we were and encouraged us to keep going, even when things went wrong.\u201d Hayner added. \u201cShe\u2019s an outstanding mentor. I learned so much just being part of her lab and hope to continue working with her on data analysis this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Boshoven, the experience has been transformative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy first summer there opened my eyes to what fieldwork could be,\u201d she said. \u201cNow I know I want to go to grad school not just for the degree, but for the process of doing the research. It really taught me how and why I want to structure my work in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boshoven expects such enthusiasm to spread to the next generations of K students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe program Dr. Girdler has built is so well thought out,\u201d Boshoven said. \u201cAcademically, it\u2019s a great experience; she will follow it through with you all the way to publishing research, which is impressive for undergraduates. It has made me an exponentially better researcher. On the other hand, it was also just a great time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenkins said the experience solidified his own dream of becoming a conservation biologist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnyone who knows me knows I\u2019m a plant guy,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I can spend the rest of my life studying plants and teaching people about them, I absolutely will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hayner, too, found the project has influenced her long-term goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not totally sure where I\u2019ll end up, but I know I want to keep doing fieldwork,\u201d she said. \u201cThis showed me how passionate I am about plant ecology.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Three
Jenkins, Hayner and Boshoven joined Professor of Biology Binney Girdler this summer on Beaver Island to research Pitcher’s thistle, a threatened species of plant. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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\"Three
The remote location of Beaver Island required the research team to take a ferry from Charlevoix, Michigan, to their summer home.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Professor Proud of Students, Beaver Island Research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

Professor of Biology Binney Girdler said she\u2019s proud of all of her students who perform research, especially Jenkins, Hayner and Boshoven, who did so in such a remote place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom Kalamazoo, it’s a three-and-a-half-hour road trip followed by a two-hour ferry ride,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is one small grocery store on the island, one gas station where gas is $6 a gallon and four restaurants. But on the plus side, the students had 300 feet of sugar sand Lake Michigan beach at their disposal, and the lake to go jump in whenever they wanted. I was incredibly proud of each of them for their creativity and dedication. Each student had their own piece of the puzzle. I was really impressed with what a great team these three scholars made. Even though they each had ownership of a different part of the project, they coordinated their work well so that they traded jobs and supported each other through challenges, especially when I was off-island. My students were professional and engaging, and community members told me what a great job they did presenting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is Pitcher’s Thistle?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Named after:<\/strong> Zina Pitcher, a U.S. Army surgeon at Fort Brady and an amateur naturalist. He discovered the plant in the 1820s along Lake Superior.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Scientific name:<\/strong> Cirsium pitcheri or CIPI for short.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Range:<\/strong> Native only to the dunes of Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Status: <\/strong>Federally threatened in the U.S., federally endangered in Canada.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Ecological role:<\/strong> Stabilizes sand dunes with deep roots; blooms early to feed pollinators such as bees, monarchs and hummingbirds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Biggest threat:<\/strong> Shoreline development and a seed-eating invasive weevil, Larinus planus.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Why Beaver Island matters:<\/strong> It\u2019s one of the few places with no reports of weevil damage, offering a refuge for healthy populations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Kalamazoo College connection:<\/strong> Professor of Biology Binney Girdler and her students have studied the species for years, contributing to its conservation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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