Integrated monitoring protocol for cave entrance communities and cave environments in the Klamath Network: Narrative, Version 1.0

Krejca, Jean; Myers, G.; Chung-MacCoubrey, Alice; Dinger, Eric; Mohren, Sean; Riggs, David; Sarr, Daniel; Smith, Katrina; Snyder, Allison; Thomas, Shawn

The National Park Service Klamath Network Inventory and Monitoring Program (KLMN) monitors status and trends of ecosystem components and processes in 7 national park units in northern California and southern Oregon. KLMN monitors ecosystem components and processes (or “vital signs”) within each of 4 domains: terrestrial, subterranean, freshwater, and marine (Sarr et al. 2007). This protocol addresses long-term monitoring of the network’s subterranean vital sign, Cave Environment and Cave Communities, by integrating monitoring of 4 physical (climate, ice, pool water levels, and visitation) and 4 biological (invertebrates, bats, organic inputs, and entrance vegetation) elements of subterranean (cave) ecosystems. This monitoring will occur at 2 KLMN park units with significant cave resources, Lava Beds National Monument (LABE, “Lava Beds”) and Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve (ORCA, “Oregon Caves”). Located near Tulelake, California, Lava Beds contains over 700 documented caves, most ranging from 15 to 500 m in length. In contrast, Oregon Caves (near Cave Junction, Oregon) is 1/10th the size of Lava Beds and contains 1 major cave, named Oregon Caves (“The Cave”). This cave is the park’s prime attraction, has multiple entrances, and contains ~ 5.6 km of mapped passage. The park also contains a handful of smaller caves, such as Blind Leads Cave, which barely have a dark zone. The objectives of this monitoring protocol are to monitor status and trends in physical and biotic parameters within 1) a random sample of deep caves and a nonrandom set of bat and ice caves at Lava Beds, and 2) The Cave and a randomly selected small cave, Blind Leads Cave, at Oregon Caves. Specifically, this protocol is designed to detect changes in cave climate (temperature and humidity), water levels in subterranean pools (Oregon Caves only), elevation and surface area of cave ice (Lava Beds only), invertebrate community composition, hibernating bat populations, and entrance vegetation communities. The presence or absence of scat and other visible organic material will also be noted and quantified, when possible, for management purposes. Where appropriate, parameters are monitored within entrance, middle, and deep zones within each cave. Lastly we also monitor human visitation as a potential covariate to explain any observed variation in the above parameters. In addition to providing status and trend information on individual parameters, the integrated sampling of these abiotic and biotic parameters allows us to explore potential causal relationships. Each park required a different sampling design due to the different number and type of cave resources at each park. At Lava Beds, we will monitor a randomly selected, spatially balanced sample of 30 caves from our deep cave sampling frame, which consists of 114 caves over 91 m (~300 ft.) in length. We will also monitor an additional 3 bat caves and 4 ice caves, selected nonrandomly because they contain significant bat and ice resources, at Lava Beds (judgment sample). At Oregon Caves, we focus on The Cave with intensive sampling, plus 1 randomly selected cave (Blind Leads Cave), which will be sampled similarly to the randomly selected caves at Lava Beds. This protocol consists of a descriptive narrative, including appendices with relevant information, and Standard Operating Procedures for various tasks. These procedures were designed for long-term use by each park so that data could be collected consistently and provide defensible results for management of park resources, public interpretation, and scientific research.

Integrated monitoring protocol for cave entrance communities and cave environments in the Klamath Network: Narrative, Version 1.0

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