Protocol for monitoring Dall’s sheep: Arctic (ARCN) and Central Alaska (CAKN) Inventory and Monitoring Networks, version 1.0

Rattenbury, Kumi; Schmidt, Joshua; Miller, Scott

The purpose of this document is to describe the protocol used for long-term monitoring of trends in the abundance, distribution and sex and age composition of Dall’s sheep (Ovis dalli dalli) populations in six National Park Service (NPS) units in Alaska. These parks are Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (GAAR), Noatak National Preserve (NOAT), Kobuk Valley National Park (KOVA), Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR), Denali National Park and Preserve (DENA) and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (WRST). A peer-reviewed journal article discussing the protocol as it was implemented in 2009 and 2010 in GAAR can be found in Schmidt et al. (2012), and another discussing methods for estimating abundance and sex-age composition in park units and smaller areas with fewer numbers of detections (e.g., ≥ 50 detections) can be found in Schmidt and Rattenbury (2013). This document serves as a complementary piece to these articles and provides additional detail for field and data processing procedures in the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The SOPs are published as stand-alone documents and are available on the ARCN (http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/arcn/) and CAKN (http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/cakn/) websites and in the NPS Data Store (see ARCN-CAKN Dall’s Sheep Monitoring project https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2214983). This protocol was developed and will be administered collaboratively by the Arctic Network (ARCN) and Central Alaska Network (CAKN), which are part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. ARCN coordinates inventory and monitoring of natural resources within GAAR, NOAT, KOVA, CAKR and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA). CAKN coordinates inventory and monitoring of natural resources within DENA, WRST and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve (YUCH). These park units comprise 7.8 million hectares (19.3 million acres) in ARCN and 8.8 million hectares (21.7 million acres) in CAKN, and more than 50% of all NPS lands (MacCluskie et al. 2005, Lawler et al. 2009). The I&M Program was established in 2001 as a major component of the National Park Service’s strategy to better understand and manage parklands using scientific information. ARCN and CAKN are two of four I&M networks in Alaska and 32 nationwide. Each network consists of neighboring park units that share geographic similarities, common natural resources and resource protection challenges. The network approach facilitates collaboration, information sharing and economies of scale in monitoring efforts. All I&M networks are responsible for selecting and monitoring key physical, chemical, and biological resources and processes in their park units and to design and implement long-term protocols that can detect changes in network ecosystems. Just as heartbeat and blood pressure are indicators of human health, these "vital signs," such as water quality or species abundance, are indicative of park health. By monitoring vital signs, the networks can improve understanding of park condition and provide a reference point for comparisons with altered environments outside park borders. ARCN and CAKN share several objectives for their Dall’s sheep vital sign. This protocol covers monitoring objectives that are top priority for both networks. These objectives are: 1) Detect park-wide changes in Dall’s sheep abundance and distribution in ARCN (GAAR and WEAR) and CAKN (DENA and WRST). 2) Detect changes in the sex and age composition of Dall’s sheep populations in ARCN and CAKN park units.

Protocol for monitoring Dall’s sheep: Arctic (ARCN) and Central Alaska (CAKN) Inventory and Monitoring Networks, version 1.0

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