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At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS2023

Protocol for the reintroduction of California red-legged frogs to Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

Once common and widespread in Southern California, California red-legged frogs ( Rana draytonii ) began declining sometime in the middle of the 20th century. They were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1996. Three small and isolated populations remained in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties by the start of the 21st century. The nearest population of California red-legged frogs to Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is critically small, located 15 km to the north, yet there is evidence of persistence, including successful reproduction each year it has been measured. A potential solution to alleviate small population size and isolation is to reintroduce a species back to habitable historical locations nearby. In 2011, we initiated a project to reintroduce California red-legged frogs back to the Santa Monica Mountains, where historical records showed they were once widespread. We developed a procedure to transfer partial egg masses into tadpole rearing pens located within streams determined to be suitable for the species. This translocation protocol outlines our procedure and results for the first five years of the project. It is our hope that this protocol will guide and inform similar conservation efforts for California red-legged frogs in other parts of their range as well as other amphibian conservation efforts throughout the world.

California↗
USGS2020

Resist-accept-direct (RAD)-A framework for the 21st-century natural resource manager

An assumption of stationarity—i.e. “the idea that natural systems fluctuate within an unchanging envelope of variability” (Milly et al. 2008)—underlies traditional conservation and natural resource management, as evidenced by widespread reliance on ecological baselines to guide protection, restoration, and other management. Although ecological change certainly occurred under the relatively stable conditions of the recent past, the nature of change under intensifying global change is different; it is unidirectional, and rapidly pushing beyond the bounds of historical variability. In the past, a manager could plausibly work to reverse or mitigate many stressors or their impacts to approximate pre-disturbance ecological conditions, but now accelerated warming, changing disturbance regimes, and extreme events associated with climate change reduce that potential. Indeed, even ‘holding the line’ in the face of inexorable human-caused change is ever more difficult and costly. Thus, the convention of using baseline conditions to define goals for today’s resource management is increasingly untenable, presenting practical and philosophical challenges for managers. As formerly familiar ecological conditions continue to change, bringing novelty, surprise, and uncertainty, natural resource managers require a new, shared approach to make conservation decisions. How, for example, should a manager respond to projections of loss of the Joshua tree from much of its current range, or to the emergence of new and different vegetation communities after a large fire event? The RAD (Resist-Accept-Direct) decision framework has emerged over the past decade as a simple tool that captures the entire decision space for responding to ecosystems facing the potential for rapid, irreversible ecological change. It assists managers in making informed, purposeful choices about how to respond to the trajectory of change, and moreover, provides a straightforward approach to support resource managers in collaborating at larger scales across jurisdictions, which today is more urgent than ever.

Natural Resource Report↗
USGS2021

Population density, distribution, and trends of landbirds in the National Park of American Samoa, Ta‘ū and Tutuila Units (2011–2018)

The National Park of American Samoa (NPSA) was surveyed for landbirds from June through July, 2018. Surveys were conducted using point-transect distance sampling methods to estimate bird densities. This information provides the second datum in the time-series of landbird monitoring for long-term trends in landbird distribution, density, and abundance within NPSA. The Ta‘ū Unit and Tutuila Unit, each on separate islands, were first surveyed in 2011 and we tested for changes in densities between each survey year.

American Samoa↗
USGS2021

Effectiveness of a distance sampling from roads program for white-tailed deer in the National Capital Region parks

We evaluated the effectiveness of a distance sampling from roads program for estimating population sizes of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from 2001 to 2015 in parks of the National Capital Region (NCR), National Parks Service. Distance sampling is a method for estimating the density of organisms using a distribution of distances to observed individuals. Re-analysis of survey data for 9 of 11 NCR parks found that although the original park analyses likely estimated deer densities correctly, the uncertainties (coefficients of variation or CV) of the original estimates were likely underestimated. Power analyses based on the current analysis methods showed that survey effort at some parks was likely insufficient to reach the NCR target of a 20% CV. We simulated 7 different types of deer populations and 3 survey designs to assess how violations of the assumptions of distance sampling might have impacted population estimates. A significant interaction between survey type and population type explained most of the variation in population estimates across simulations. Simulation results suggested that (1) non-road surveys were more robust to bias in seven deer population distributions than were road surveys, (2) effectiveness of each of 3 survey types was dependent on the way deer were distributed across the landscape, and (3) non-road surveys produced unbiased estimates of populations affected by roads, whereas, road surveys did not. Based on this study, we recommend revisions of the NCR distance sampling program, including additional sampling effort for some parks and suggest alternative survey strategies to ameliorate potential assumption violations of distance sampling.

Maryland, Virginia↗
USGS2021

Monitoring the status and trends of the Shenandoah salamander in Shenandoah National Park

The Shenandoah salamander ( Plethodon shenandoah ) is a federally endangered salamander whose distribution is restricted to high-elevation habitats in Shenandoah National Park (SHEN). During the ranking of vital signs monitoring priorities for this park, “Federal Threatened and Endangered Species” received the 2nd highest ranking for terrestrial vital signs because of ecological, management, and policy criteria. The following protocol narrative describes the objectives and methods for monitoring the Shenandoah salamander. Because the range size and habitat occupancy are of principle interest, this protocol generates data suitable for estimating the annual proportion of occupied habitat across the species range. Objectives focus on describing the status and trends of the species distribution (i.e., spatial extent) and the proportion of the range that is occupied (i.e., density of occupied sites). To do so, monitoring sites in the core and the edge of the known range are surveyed for salamanders multiple times during both the spring and fall. The resulting data not only allow for an assessment of the status and trends of the species but also provide supporting data to assist in understanding causal drivers of population change. This monitoring protocol consists of a protocol narrative and eight standard operating procedures (SOPs) which are listed below in the Background and Objectives and are available as separate documents at irma.nps.gov.

Natural Resource Report↗
USGS2010

Protocol for statistical analysis of vegetation changes at Catoctin Mountain Park

Vegetation data collected at Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland, in a split-panel rotation design during 2004-2009 were analyzed for differences among three regions within the park and among years. Six plots were paired with plots fenced to exclude white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and differences between open and exclosed plots were also investigated. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test for differences in the following variables: percentage of twigs browsed, percentage of canopy cover, and number of tree and shrub seedlings in each of five height classes. Except for some differences in numbers of tree and shrub seedlings among height classes among the regions, no differences (P > 0.05) were found among the regions or over time in the variables measured. Recommendations for future sampling and analysis are discussed.

Natural Resource Report↗
USGS2013

Phenology monitoring protocol: Northeast Temperate Network

Phenology is critical to many aspects of human life and nearly all ecological relationships and processes. Recent climate change has already led to widespread changes in phenological patterns across the globe, and more change is inevitable. This protocol has been developed to provide standardized methods for monitoring phenology within the National Park Service (NPS) Northeast Temperate Network (NETN), as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program (I&M). NETN encompasses the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (APPA), Acadia National Park (ACAD), the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (BOHA), and 10 national historical parks and national historic sites in the northeastern US. This protocol was developed in collaboration with and relies upon the procedures and infrastructure of the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN), including Nature’s Notebook , USA-NPN’s online plant and animal phenology observation program (www.nn.usanpn.org). Organized in 2007, USA-NPN is a nation-wide partnership among federal agencies, schools and universities, citizen volunteers, and others to monitor and understand the influence of seasonal cycles on the nation’s biological resources. The overall goal of NETN’s phenology monitoring program is to determine trends in the phenology of key species in order to assist park managers with the detection and mitigation of the effects of climate change on park resources. An additional programmatic goal is to interest and educate park visitors and staff, as well as a cadre of volunteer monitors.

National Park Service Natural Resource Report↗