Sierra Nevada Network
Monitoring: Vital Signs
Thirteen Vital Signs: Birds
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Pygmy Nuthatch feeding nestlings in an Aspen tree. © Raleigh Patterson |
Below is more detailed information on the thirteen vital signs that the Sierra Nevada Network will pursue for protocol development. Several Vital Signs are grouped according to the wider ecosystem being studied. Current sampling designs and protocols are found in the Sierra Nevada Network: Vital Signs Monitoring Plan (2007).
Birds
Justification: Increasingly, birds are perceived as appropriate
indicator species of local and regional change in terrestrial ecosystems.
Sierra Nevada Network parks together provide over 1,600,000 acres of
habitat for over 200 species of birds, including many neotropical migrants.
SEKI, YOSE and a few other large habitat areas in the Sierra Nevada
have been designated by the American Bird Conservancy as Globally Important
Bird Areas (IBA). The aim of the IBA Program is to identify and conserve
key sites for birds. Analysis of North American Breeding Bird
Survey data indicates that numerous bird species exhibit declining
long-term population trends in the Sierra Nevada region.
Parks: DEPO, SEKI, YOSE
Monitoring Objectives:
The landbird workgroup will be meeting during Spring 2007 to refine
its monitoring objectives and review funding alternatives.
- Determine status or trends in abundance (density) and frequency of occurrence in birds in SIEN parks during the breeding season.
- Make park-level inference on changes in density and frequency of occurrence of widely distributed species in the Sierra Nevada to describe SIEN patterns, variation, and differences between parks.
If funding for landbirds is limited due to other vital sign priorities, the Network may instead:
- Make SIEN-level inference in density and frequency of occurrence for subalpine, riparian, wetland, and other habitat-specialist species.
Current planning status is found in the
Sierra Nevada Network: Vital Signs Monitoring Plan (2007).
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