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

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can impact other native plant and vertebrate communities through alteration of vegetation structure and ecosystem function. Also associated with housing developments are increases in the number of free-roaming feral pets, which kill and harass native wildlife (Clarke and Pacin 2002). Finally, with development come roads, which act as barriers to movement of wildlife because of direct mortality and modification of behavior (e.g., Kline and Swann 1998, Trombulak and Frissell 2000, Clark et al. 2001, Cain et al. 2003). Wildland fire has always played a major role in shaping pine-oak woodlands and conifer forests of western North America. At the Rincon Mountain District, the forests have experienced low- to moderate-intensity burns approximately every decade since the 15 th century (Swetnam and Baisan 1996). Recently (last 100 years) active fire suppression has reduced the frequency of these low- and moderate-intensity burns, and increased the occurrence of high-intensity burns (Allen 1996, Pyne 1996, Swetnam et al. 1999) that radically alter forest structure (Swetnam and Baisan 1996). Using data (in part) from surveys in the district, Kirkpatrick and Conway (2006) found a number of bird species to be positively associated with the occurrence of fire in pine-oak woodlands. In particular, they found the hairy woodpecker, greater pewee, western wood pewee, white-breasted nuthatch, Virginia’s warbler, house wren, spotted towhee, and yellow-eyed junco to be positively associated with moderate- to high- intensity fires. These species were common in the Conifer Forest community (Table 5.4) and may reflect the recent fire history of these areas. Short (2002) studied the effects of prescribed fire on the high-elevation bird community of the district. She found inconsistent results with regard to population changes of the most common species, but nest success of the groundnesting yellow-eyed junco declined dramatically the year following fires. Recent large standreplacing fires in the nearby Santa Catalina Mountains should reinforce to park managers the vital role of an active prescribed-burning program and a fire management program that allows for some natural fires to burn their course. The park has both of these programs and they should be 66 commended for using fire to restore the district’s high-elevation communities. We encourage managers to include bird monitoring in these programs (see below). The district’s bird community has undoubtedly undergone significant changes in the recent past. In addition to a changed fire regime in the high-elevation areas of the district, the low-elevation and semi-desert grassland areas have experienced an increase in shrubs and cacti. Unfortunately, there are no baseline data to which we can compare our results. There are a number of species that probably occurred in the district and that have undergone range-wide population declines. Based on its distribution in the nearby mountain ranges, the thick-billed parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) was probably resident in the Rincon Mountains at the turn of the 20 th century (Phillips et al. 1964). Similarly the Aplomado falcon (Falco femoralis) was considered common in the semi-desert grasslands of southeastern Arizona in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, but no longer occurs in the region. The district lies within the historical range for this species (Keddy-Hector 1998), and based on its habitat requirements, it would have been likely to occur on the north side of the district near Douglas Springs. The eastern bluebird probably bred in the district; it bred in Happy Valley (just east of the park boundary) and in the nearby Santa Catalina Mountains in the 1970s (Corman and Wise-Gervais 2005) but no longer nests in these areas. There were a few incidental records of the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) in the sky island region in the 1880s (Phillips et al. 1964). Additional Research Needed The bird community along Rincon Creek is likely to change more than any other community in the district if the drought and groundwater pumping continue. The inclusion of birds in the I&M program is encouraging and we suggest that emphasis be put on important areas such as Rincon Creek. Courtney Conway (University of Arizona) is preparing to determine reproductive success of riparian birds along Rincon Creek and similar nearby areas to investigate the impacts of
surface water availability on habitat quality (i.e., reproduction). Additional monitoring should be focused in the middle- and high-elevation areas of district and it may be possible to combine some of this monitoring with the fire-effects monitoring program. Because birds are highly mobile, we expect new species will be added to the district list for years to come. Surveys in areas that are 67 difficult to access (e.g., Douglas Springs area) will be most likely to yield new species. Also, surveys during the fall, winter, and early spring will likely add species to the list. We also encourage the breeding-status clarification of a number of species that we expect breed in the district, but that we were not able to confirm (see Inventory Completeness).
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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
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communities and is especially usefu
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Chapter 2: Park Overview Brian F. P
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Figure 2.2. Aerial photograph showi
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Figure 2.4. Diagram of the major ve
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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 82 and 83: Cumulative number of species Cumula
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
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116 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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Vascular Plant and Vertebrate Inventory of Saguaro ... - USGS

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