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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Cumulative number of species Cumulative number of species 100 80 60 40 20 0 0 10 20 30 100 80 60 40 20 Powell (2004) compared the bird community along Rincon Creek to adjacent upland sites and, partially using data contained in this report, found the riparian area to have more than twice as many species. Studies elsewhere in the Southwest have found similar patterns (Carothers et al. 1974, Whitmore 1975). Even among riparian areas of the district, the Lower Rincon Creek transect stands out as the most species-rich area of the district for both VCP (Appendix G) and line-transect surveys (Table 5.6). We found four species that were restricted to riparian areas in the Southwest (Rosenberg et al. 1991) and that Sample period Sample period 64 Sonoran Desert Upland Oak Savanna Pine-oak Woodland Conifer Forest Riparian 0 0 20 40 60 80 Figure 5.5. Species accumulation curves for repeat-visit VCP transects from the five communities, Saguaro National Park, Rincon Mountain District, 2001 and 2002. Each sample period is a randomized combination of approximately 50 observations. Data include all observations from VCP surveys including flyovers and bird observed within 300 m of stations. Note difference in scale for sampling period. were consistent members of the bird community along Rincon Creek: Bell’s vireo, Abert’s towhee, summer tanager, and yellow warbler (Table 5.4). Other riparian species that we observed along Rincon Creek included the mallard, gray hawk, belted kingfisher, and northern beardless- tyrannulet. Although riparian areas in the Southwest, such as Rincon Creek, are home to a disproportionate number of bird species, these areas are decreasing in both size and habitat quality (Rosenberg et al 1991, Russell and Monson 1998). This is evident along Rincon
Cumulative number of species 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 5 10 15 20 Creek where many of the large riparian trees are in poor condition (Powell 2004); some loss of riparian bird species may have already occurred. For example, the yellow-billed cuckoo and song sparrow, both riparian obligate birds are common in nearby Cienega Creek (Corman and Magill 2000), and there is no reason to believe that with healthier riparian vegetation these species would not be found along Rincon Creek as well. The current drought has certainly affected the health of the riparian system. The decline in the amount and timing of surface water availability is also likely affected by the recent increase in groundwater pumping supplying the explosive growth of housing and commercial development in the Rincon Valley (see Chapter 2). Because birds are so closely tied to vegetation characteristics, the loss and degradation of large riparian trees will mean a reduction in the number of species and abundance of some riparianobligate birds along the creek. The threat of losing groundwater and (by extension) surface water to development, recently prompted the park to file in-stream flow water rights in an effort to ensure the long-term viability of the riparian area. They have also initiated studies of the plant and Sample period Figure 5.6. Species accumulation curve for line-transects for birds, Saguaro National Park, Rincon Mountain District, 2002-2003. Each sample period is a randomized combination of approximately 50 observations. 65 vertebrate communities of the area (e.g., Powell 2004). Housing developments in the Rincon Valley, in particular, will also likely affect the bird community through an increase in nonnative (rock pigeon, European starling, and house sparrow) and human-adapted species (e.g., the great-tailed grackle, mourning dove, house finch, and brown-headed cowbird). The increase in density of human-adapted species invariably follows housing developments and these changes usually lead to the decline in densities of nonhuman-adapted species, especially in the areas immediately adjacent to development (Mills et al. 1989, Germaine et al. 1998). Mannan and Bibles (1989) suggest a number of ways to reduce the impact of non-native bird species on the district’s wildlife including (1) limiting density of housing near the district boundary, (2) reducing the number of horses, (3) limiting sources of open water, and (4) limiting landscaping with nonnative plants, especially lawns. Many of these measures are effective in reducing native, humanadapted species as well. An increase in nearby housing may facilitate the spread of non-native plants, which
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
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 74 and 75: Riparian Sonoran Desertscrub Oak Pi
Page 76 and 77: Table 5.5. Mean relative abundance
Page 80 and 81: Nest Adults carrying objects Other
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
Page 118 and 119: 100 Family Scientific name Common n
Page 132 and 133:
114 Family Scientific name Common n
Page 134 and 135:
Page 136 and 137:
Page 138 and 139:
Page 140 and 141:
Page 142 and 143:
Page 144 and 145:
Page 146 and 147:
Page 148 and 149:
130 Order Voucher Specimen (S), Fam
Page 150 and 151:
132 UA survey type Survey or specie
Page 152 and 153:
Page 154 and 155:
Page 156 and 157:
138 Survey type Documentation type
Page 158 and 159:
Voucher Collection type Taxon Speci
Page 160 and 161:
Appendix F. List of existing vouche
Page 162 and 163:
Taxon Common name Collectiona Colle
Page 164 and 165:
Appendix G. Mean frequency of detec
Page 166 and 167:
Species Total transects observed Lo
Page 168 and 169:
Oak Savannah Pine-oak Woodland Coni
Page 170 and 171:
Appendix I. Details of small-mammal
Page 172 and 173:
Random or Camera Number of Number o
Page 174:
156
show all

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

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?