National Park Service Grant for Bird Monitoring in the Southern Plains, Sonoran Desert, and Chihuahuan Desert Networks

Overview:
Through a task agreement against the Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Cooperative Agreement, the National Park Service (NPS) and the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory will continue in a cooperative effort to monitor birds at 29 NPS units in the Southwest; specifically the Southern Plains, Sonoran Desert, and Chihuahuan Desert Inventory and Monitoring Networks.

Statement of Joint Objectives/Project Management Plan:
The overall goal of the landbird monitoring program is to detect biologically significant changes that are occurring within the national parks and country using comprehensive assessment approach.

Recipient Involvement:
Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) agrees to:
a) Estimate occupancy – estimate the proportion of sites occupied for most species in most parks. Occupancy is a measure of presence or absence of a species in space that, when evaluated across time, indicates changes in the distribution of a species.

b) Estimate bird species richness and composition – estimate parameters related to community dynamics, particularly species richness and species composition. Monitoring the richness and composition of native communities of concern and the changes occurring within and among these communities provides a valuable compliment to population-based parameters. Species richness is an essential component of understanding the effects of changing landscapes on native biodiversity. Species composition helps us to understand the effects of management and other changes by assessing which species are or are not responding to changes in the environment.

c) Estimate density when feasible. Will monitor density of the most common species for which there are sufficient detections. Will estimate density with the use of the point-transect distance-sampling method at fixed points and subsequent analyses using the Distance program (Thomas et al. 2005). Provided that assumptions are reasonably met, distance-sampling methods allow researchers to model a detection function that adjusts for imperfect detectability.

d) Make information collected available to other agencies and the public through the RMBO Avian Data Center.

National Park Service Involvement:
National Park Service agrees to:

a) Provide financial support for this project

b) Assign the NPS Agreement Technical Representative (ATR)

c) Provide the Bird Monitoring Protocol and Standard Operating Procedures that enable park managers to incorporate bird monitoring results into their management planning.

d) Assist with the external reviews of the study to ensure scientific reliability.

e) Work with RMBO to produce and publish reports as part of the Natural Resource Report Series as well as scientific journals for public dissemination.

f) Provide background information of other park resources to be integrated into the interpretation of bird monitoring results nationwide. This can be used to better understand how changes in such things as climate and vegetation can influence and be interpreted as part of the changes in bird communities.

g) Incorporate bird monitoring into broader synthesis and interpretation of natural resource condition that can be used for both interpretation and management. The park service will share the results of this monitoring with interpreters and managers both within NPS as well as with non-government organizations and the public. For example, a cooperative effort with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is already being planned that will use the information and planning from this project as part of a broader cooperative effort that will include wildlife refuges.