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

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Riparian Sonoran Desertscrub Oak Pine-oak Conifer Forest (n = 4) (n = 6) Savannah (n = 4) Woodland (n = 6) (n = 3) Species Mean SD CV Mean SD CV Mean SD CV Mean SD CV Mean SD CV white-breasted nuthatch 0.02 0.03 2.0 0.08 0.11 1.3 0.33 0.29 0.9 pygmy nuthatch 0.17 0.23 1.4 brown creeper 0.14 0.07 0.5 cactus wren 0.57 0.26 0.5 0.75 0.39 0.5 0.21 0.24 1.2 rock wren 0.12 0.15 1.3 0.14 0.10 0.7 0.06 0.08 1.3 canyon wren 0.04 0.05 1.3 0.06 0.07 1.1 0.08 0.06 0.8 0.11 0.08 0.7 0.03 0.03 0.9 Bewick’s wren 0.48 0.22 0.4 0.01 0.02 2.4 0.77 0.09 0.1 1.29 0.26 0.2 0.04 0.08 1.7 house wren
surveys (yellow-breasted chat and house sparrow; Table 5.5). We observed only four species (brown-crested flycatcher, mourning and whitewinged doves, and western tanager) at > 50 of the transects. This is in contrast to the repeat-visit VCP surveys (Appendix G) and is likely because by visiting a station only once, we missed species that would probably be recorded on subsequent surveys. Line-transect Surveys We found 63 species during line-transect surveys in the winter of 2002 and 2003 including six species that we did not record during VCP surveys (Appendix C). We found the most species along the Lower Rincon Creek transect (n = 45) and fewest along the Douglas Springs transect (n = 31; Table 5.6). The chipping sparrow was the most abundant species on two transects. All three of the most abundant species on the Upper Loma Verde transect (chipping sparrow, green-tailed towhee, and Brewer’s sparrow) did not breed in the Sonoran Desert region, whereas the three most abundant species along the Lower Rincon Creek transect (blackthroated sparrow, cactus wren, and Gambel’s quail) did breed in the district. Two of the three most abundant species along the Douglas Springs transect (chipping sparrow and western bluebird) did not breed in the district. Nocturnal Surveys We recorded nine species during nocturnal surveys of nine transects (Table 5.7). We found the most species along the Rincon Creek and low-elevation transects combined, though survey effort was greatest there (Table 5.2). The most abundant species within a stratum was the elf owl in the low-elevation stratum (Table 5.7). Only two species were found only in a single stratum and no species were found in all three. The great-horned owl was found in the low- and high- elevation strata and was certainly missed in the middle-elevation stratum. 57 Incidental and Breeding Observations We observed 154 species during incidental observations, including 13 species that we did not record during other surveys (Appendix C). We made 288 observations of 78 species that confirmed breeding in or near the district (Table 5.8). Of these we found 104 nests of 48 species including a nest of the sulphur-bellied flycatcher near Happy Valley Saddle. We found two instances of brown-headed cowbird parasitism: one blue-gray gnatcatcher feeding a fledgling cowbird and one Bell’s vireo nest with a cowbird egg. Inventory Completeness The bird survey effort at the Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park was the most comprehensive of the eight park units surveyed by the UA inventory group. We made over 15,000 observations and found 85% (n = 173) of the species that had been found previously in the district (Appendix C), and found 10 new species. These results are unprecedented in the Sonoran Desert Network, and are especially important given the large size and diversity of communities and difficult access issues in the district. Considering all of the other research and site-specific inventory efforts in the district (see review at the beginning of the chapter), we are confident in concluding that at least 90% of the species that regularly occur in the district have been recorded. The species accumulation curve for our research (from all surveys combined; Fig. 5.4) shows the number of new species dropping off significantly at approximately halfway through the inventory. After the first half of the surveys, we found only an additional 8% (n = 14 species) of the species found in the entire effort. A closer look at the species accumulation curve for repeatvisit VCP surveys reveals that the Riparian community had the most complete inventory, though the other communities show signs of reaching an asymptote, particularly the Conifer Forest community (Fig. 5.5). There is a similar pattern for the line-transect surveys (Figure 5.6).
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Powell, Halvorson, Schmidt Vascular
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U.S. Department of the Interior DIR
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Table of Contents Report Dedication
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Table 5.8. Number of breeding behav
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Figure 6.5. Locations of non-random
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Report Dedication Eric Wells Albrec
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Acknowledgements Thanks to Saguaro
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Executive Summary This report summa
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Chapter 1: Introduction to the Inve
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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
Page 45 and 46: Chapter 4: Amphibian and Reptile In
Page 47 and 48: Figure 4.2. Locations of intensive
Page 49 and 50: features. We based extensive survey
Page 51 and 52: B). Reptilian species included two
Page 53 and 54: Table 4.6. Relative abundance (mean
Page 57 and 58: Cumulative number of species 50 40
Page 59 and 60: elevation range of the district all
Page 61: in recent years due to sedimentatio
Page 64 and 65: Spatial Sampling Designs We establi
Page 66 and 67: Figure 5.2. Location of section bre
Page 68 and 69: the relative abundance by repeat-vi
Page 70 and 71: Analysis We report relative abundan
Page 72 and 73: with some pine trees, mostly pinyon
Page 76 and 77: Table 5.5. Mean relative abundance
Page 80 and 81: Nest Adults carrying objects Other
Page 82 and 83: Cumulative number of species Cumula
Page 84 and 85: can impact other native plant and v
Page 87 and 88: Chapter 6: Mammal Inventory Don E.
Page 89 and 90: Figure 6.3. Locations of random (fo
Page 91 and 92: calculated relative abundance by pl
Page 93 and 94: Figure 6.5. Locations of non-random
Page 95 and 96: (2) Receiver triggers camera to tak
Page 97 and 98: Excluding the results for the white
Page 99 and 100: Table 6.5. Number of photographs of
Page 101 and 102: Cumulative number of species Cumula
Page 103 and 104: point out that the pond at Manning
Page 105 and 106: There is some suggestion that popul
Page 107 and 108: Chapter 7: Literature Cited Albrech
Page 109 and 110: Davis, R., and C. Dunford. 1987. An
Page 111 and 112: Kirkpatrick, C., C. J. Conway, and
Page 113 and 114: Rice, J., B. W. Anderson, and R. D.
Page 115: orderlands. Pp. 15-16. In effects o
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106 Family Scientific name Common n
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130 Order Voucher Specimen (S), Fam
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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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