Status and trends of landbird populations in the Northern Colorado Plateau Network: 2021 field season
Roberts S, Tymkiw E, Ladin ZS, Shriver G. 2022. Status and trends of landbird populations in the Northern Colorado Plateau Network: 2021 field season. Natural Resource Report. NPS/NCPN/NRR—2022/2216. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2293805
In 2021, the University of Delaware, in cooperation with the National Park Service (NPS), completed the sixteenth year of a habitat-based landbird monitoring program in park units of the Northern Colorado Plateau Network. This program is designed to provide rigorous pop-ulation trend data for most diurnal, regularly occurring breeding landbird species throughout the network. This population information is useful for land managers and supports the Na-tional Park Service’s goal of long-term monitoring of biological indicators for network parks. In 2021, university biologists surveyed 44 (of 45) survey locations within 11 NPS units. Fifteen transects were located in each of the three habitats of interest: low-elevation ripar-ian, pinyon-juniper, and sage shrubland. Each location was surveyed once. In addition to the habitat-based surveys, four point counts and an area search were conducted at Pipe Spring National Monument using a modified monitoring design. Over 16 years of data collection, 15,139 point-count surveys have been conducted in 11 NCPN units, detecting 178 unique species. During the 2021 field season, 656 point-count surveys were conducted, detecting 105 unique species. Using data from 2005 to 2021, 117 population-density trends were estimated across the three habitats. Eight of the estimated density trends were significant (p-value < 0.05), including six negative trends (mourning dove [Zenaida macroura] in low-elevation riparian and pinyon-juniper, white-throated swift [Aeronautes saxatalis] in low-elevation riparian and pinyon-juniper, rock wren [Salpinctes obsoletus] in low-elevation riparian and sagebrush shrubland) and two positive trends (vesper sparrow [Pooecetes gramineus] in pinyon-juniper and lark sparrow [Chondestes grammacus] in sagebrush shrubland). There were sufficient sample sizes to estimate the densities of 61 species in at least one of the three habitats surveyed.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Roberts, Samuel; Tymkiw, Elizabeth; Ladin, Zachary; Shriver, Greg
- Date of Issue
- 2022-06
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2293805
- Units
- ARCH , BLCA , BRCA , CANY , CARE , COLM , CURE , DINO , FOBU , NABR , NCPN , NRSS , PISP , ZION
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Birds, Monitoring, NCPN Landbird Monitoring
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Birds