Sagehen Creek Field Station

26 May, 05 AM - 27 May, 09 AM

Neotropical Migrants and Sierra Nevada Montane Meadows Establishing a Demographic Baseline through Constant-Effort Mist Netting at Sagehen Creek, Tahoe National Forest Background Montane riparian and wet meadow habitats of the Sierra Nevada are some of the most productive and important habitats for breeding birds in western North America (SNEP 1996, Seigel and DeSante 1999). The ecotones between montane riparian, other forest habitats, and wet meadows, are often densely populated with transient, breeding, post-breeding and migratory populations of birds attracted to the combination of cover, habitat structure and water. Because montane riparian and wet meadow habitats stay relatively wet into mid- and late-summer, they may be the most critical habitats for all Sierran birds, including those that breed in other habitats (DeSante 1995, SNEP 1996, Siegel and DeSante 1999). Recent studies by the US Forest Service and California Partners-in-Flight and others have ranked montane meadows as the highest conservation priority for birds of the Sierra Nevada and a focus of USFS monitoring (Manley 1993a, 1993b, Siegel and DeSante 1999). These habitats are also essential for breeding of the Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax trailli adastus and E. t. brewster), a species listed as endangered by the State of California (Stephani et al. 2000). Montane meadows in the Sierra Nevada are threatened by water diversion, historic and current effects of road construction and incompatible livestock grazing, development, and global change (SNEP 1996; TNC Sierra Nevada Ecoregional Plan 1999). Developing effective conservation strategies to abate these threats depends in large part on our understanding of ecological function of the few relatively pristine mountain meadows, like those at Sagehen Creek (description of habitat and vertebrate diversity: Morrison et al. 1982). Comparisons among replicated areas with known differences in management practices and histories are essential to adaptive management of these ecosystems (Bock et al. 1993). Demographic monitoring My team and I have collected over 10 years of monitoring information on bird populations from montane riparian and wet meadow habitats in the Sagehen Basin and elsewhere on the Tahoe National Forest, including species diversity and relative abundance, habitat data, and survivorship and productivity obtained through banding birds at constant-effort mist-netting stations using the MAPS protocol (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship; Ralph et al. 1993; DeSante et al. 2005). Demographic data on survivorship and productivity reveal not only whether species are present, but also whether they are surviving and reproducing and ultimately whether their populations are viable. At Sagehen Creek, we began banding neotropical migrants in 1991 and monitoring has continued at one to three MAPS stations every year since. Each MAPS station consists of ten 12m mist-nets in a 20 ha array which are sampled for 6 hours beginning at dawn once during each of 10 ten-day periods from 1 May to 8 August (DeSante et al. 2005). These data provide a unique baseline on bird populations and community dynamics in ungrazed montane riparian and wet meadow habitats which may be compared with other meadows with different management, condition and trend. The Sagehen MAPS stations have helped verify species survivorship patterns, years of high productivity, and previously unknown upslope migration and use of Sierra meadows by foothill breeding neotropical migrants (Reynolds ? USFS-PIF reports to Tahoe NF). 2006 Sampling at Sagehen Creek We propose to continue sampling at the Sagehen Creek MAPS station in 2006. In addition to continuing this valuable long-term data set, the Sagehen Creek MAPS also provide training opportunities for US Forest Service staff and the general public. Handling and banding birds, under professional supervision of a federally licensed Master Bird Bander, allows trainees to learn key species, sex, and age identification characteristics first hand. Each year since 1991, we have hosted USFS district, forest, and regional staff for mornings of banding at Sagehen Creek.

Visit #10090 @Sagehen Creek Field Station

Approved

Under Project # 4016 | Research

Monitoring Mountain Meadows

professional - The Nature Conservancy

Reservation Members(s)

Group of 4 Research Scientist/Post Doc May 26 - 27, 2006 (2 days)

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East Cabin (Lower Camp) 4 May 26 - 27, 2006