Vascular Plant and Vertebrate Inventory of Saguaro ... - USGS

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Road Surveys Road surveys involve driving slowly along a road, typically after sunset, and watching for animals. Such surveys are a common method for estimating distribution and abundance of herpetofauna and are recommended for augmenting species lists (Shaffer and Juterbock 1994). Field Methods We focused mainly on the Cactus Forest Loop Drive and also drove Speedway Boulevard from Douglas Spring Trailhead to the intersection with Tanque Verde Loop Road and Camino Loma Alta from the trailhead to Old Spanish Trail. We recorded each individual detected by species and whether animals were alive or dead. We surveyed 29 April – 18 August 2001 and 9 – 14 July 2002 during nights and occasionally during evenings. Effort We conducted 55 road surveys totaling 46.3 hours of effort (Table 4.2). Analysis Because survey routes varied in length and included a number of different segments surveyed in various orders, we combined results from all routes and road segments. Total mileage for each route was not recorded so we scaled estimates of relative abundance by time. We calculated relative abundance as the number of individuals detected for each species (or all species combined) per hour of effort. We also compared relative abundance of species groups across months using ANOVA and linear contrasts. We log (x + 1) transformed relative abundance to improve normality. Incidental Observations We noted sightings of rare or important species by sex and age/size class (if known) and recorded time of observations and UTM coordinates for all detections. These incidental detections were often recorded before or after more formal surveys and we use these sightings to determine 32 species presence and richness. We also used incidental sightings from other field crews (e.g., birds). Species Identification Challenges Whiptail lizards (Cnemidophorus [Aspidoscelus by some sources] spp.) are notoriously difficult to identify in the field because of the similarity in appearance for several sympatric species (Stebbins 2003). Many parthenogenetic (nonsexually reproducing) whiptails may have arisen as hybrids from the same diploid, sexually reproducing parent species (Degenhardt et al. 1996). Several undescribed “parthenospecies” may exist in the desert Southwest (Wright and Vitt 1993, Cole and Dessauer 1994). Some individuals we identified as western (C. tigris) or Sonoran spotted (C. sonorae) whiptails may be undescribed “species” related to these recognized species. In the district we saw “classic” Sonoran spotted whiptails (adults with six longitudinal dorsal stripes, light spots in dark and occasionally light dorsal areas; dorsal stripes more yellow anteriorly; overall color brown dorsally and unmarked white-cream ventrally; tail more brownish-orange than bluish as seen in Gila spotted whiptails; Degenhardt et al. 1996, Phil Rosen pers. obs.). We also observed a variation of this classic appearance that superficially resembled Gila spotted whiptails, with some captured individuals keying out to be this species based on characteristics noted in field guides, including number of pre-anal scales, location of spots in light stripes, and greenish tail (Stebbins 2003). Although the Rincon Mountains are considered outside the range of the Gila spotted whiptail, in this document we report these individuals as this species, and report the “classic” Sonoran whiptails described above as Sonoran spotted whiptails. Results We detected 46 species of herpetofauna; seven amphibians and 39 reptile species (Appendix
B). Reptilian species included two turtle, 19 lizard, and 18 snake species. Species richness was highest for incidental (n = 43) and extensive surveys (n = 39) and lowest for intensive (n = 25) and road surveys (n = 22). We found seven species with only a single survey method, but all other species were found with two or more methods. Road and extensive surveys each yielded detection of one species that was not detected by using other methods (Great Plains toad, and Great Plains skink, respectively) and incidental surveys yielded detection of five species not detected by using other methods (Mexican spadefoot, canyon spotted whiptail, ring-necked snake, western ground snake, and Mojave rattlesnake). All 25 species that we detected during intensive surveys were detected using other methods, although Madrean alligator lizard was detected only during intensive and extensive surveys. We detected 4,292 individuals during this study – 3,066 during intensive, extensive, and road surveys combined, and 1,225 incidental observations (Appendix B). Most individuals (1,909) were detected during extensive surveys and fewest (469) were detected during road surveys (Table 4.4). The number of individuals detected per unit time was greatest for road surveys (mean = 14.9 individuals/hr) markedly higher than for extensive (4.1 individuals/hr) or intensive (3.6 individuals/hr) surveys. The species with the most detections (all methods combined) was the ornate tree lizard (n = 750). We recorded 11 species
Page 1: Powell, Halvorson, Schmidt Vascular
Page 4 and 5: U.S. Department of the Interior DIR
Page 7 and 8: Table of Contents Report Dedication
Page 9 and 10: Table 5.8. Number of breeding behav
Page 11 and 12: Figure 6.5. Locations of non-random
Page 13 and 14: Report Dedication Eric Wells Albrec
Page 15 and 16: Acknowledgements Thanks to Saguaro
Page 17 and 18: Executive Summary This report summa
Page 19 and 20: Chapter 1: Introduction to the Inve
Page 21 and 22: them out. This information, in conj
Page 23 and 24: communities and is especially usefu
Page 25 and 26: Chapter 2: Park Overview Brian F. P
Page 27 and 28: Figure 2.2. Aerial photograph showi
Page 29 and 30: Figure 2.4. Diagram of the major ve
Page 31: Non-native Species and Changes to V
Page 34 and 35: General Botanizing Methods We colle
Page 36 and 37: Figure 3.3. Locations of modified-W
Page 38 and 39: Focal-points: General Patterns We f
Page 40 and 41: Percent 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Plant
Page 42 and 43: well (Swantek et al. 1999). The mos
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Page 47 and 48: Figure 4.2. Locations of intensive
Page 49: features. We based extensive survey
Page 53 and 54: Table 4.6. Relative abundance (mean
Page 57 and 58: Cumulative number of species 50 40
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Page 61: in recent years due to sedimentatio
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Page 82 and 83: Cumulative number of species Cumula
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Cumulative number of species Cumula
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point out that the pond at Manning
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There is some suggestion that popul
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Chapter 7: Literature Cited Albrech
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Davis, R., and C. Dunford. 1987. An
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Kirkpatrick, C., C. J. Conway, and
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Rice, J., B. W. Anderson, and R. D.
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orderlands. Pp. 15-16. In effects o
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132 UA survey type Survey or specie
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138 Survey type Documentation type
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Voucher Collection type Taxon Speci
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Appendix F. List of existing vouche
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Taxon Common name Collectiona Colle
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Appendix G. Mean frequency of detec
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Species Total transects observed Lo
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Oak Savannah Pine-oak Woodland Coni
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Appendix I. Details of small-mammal
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Random or Camera Number of Number o
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