Monitoring terrestrial reptiles and amphibians in the Mediterranean Coast Network, 2012-2017 project report: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Delaney KS and Riley SP. 2019. Monitoring terrestrial reptiles and amphibians in the Mediterranean Coast Network, 2012-2017 project report: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Natural Resource Report. NPS/MEDN/NRR—2019/2016. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SAMO), a highly fragmented urban national park, is home to a large diversity of terrestrial reptiles and amphibians. Through pitfall trap sampling, we collected species data to determine the status and trend in: (1) annual occupancy, (2) community dynamics (species richness, evenness, and extinction and colonization rates), and (3) capture rates for herpetofaunal species in selected vegetation communities. Species richness has been suggested as a good indicator of ecosystem quality and integrity for reptiles because of the group’s broad diversity, habitat requirements, and diet specificity. Distribution and abundance information is critical for the design of restoration strategies and land management programs to protect or recover reptile and amphibian populations from decline. This report summarizes the monitoring of terrestrial reptiles and amphibians conducted from October 2012 to September 2017. Here we provide mainly simple summary statistics and for selected species, an analysis of abundance with habitat type.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Delaney, Katy; Riley, Seth
- Date of Issue
- 2019-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- MEDN , NRSS , SAMO
- Keywords
- Terrestrial Herpetofauna Monitor