Snowy Plover Monitoring Protocol for Golden Gate National Recreation Area Version 2.4
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Snowy Plover Monitoring Protocol for Golden Gate National Recreation Area Version 2.4 Natural Resource Report NPS/SFAN/NRR—2014/896 ON THE COVER Western Snowy Plover feeding at high tide on Crissy Field on January 27, 2005. Photograph by: Will Elder, NPS. Snowy Plover Monitoring Protocol for Golden Gate National Recreation Area Version 2.4 Natural Resource Report NPS/SFAN/NRR—2014/896 Bill Merkle1, David Press2, Rachel Townsend1, Dawn Adams3, Marcus Koenen4 1 National Park Service Golden Gate National Recreation Area Fort Cronkhite, Building 1061 Sausalito, California 94965 2 National Park Service Point Reyes National Seashore One Bear Valley Road Point Reyes Station, California 94956 3 National Park Service San Francisco Bay Area I&M Program Fort Cronkhite, Building 1063 Sausalito, California 94965 4 National Park Service Alcatraz Island Golden Gate National Recreation Area Fort Mason, B201 San Francisco, California 94123 December 2014 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate high-priority, current natural resource management information with managerial application. The series targets a general, diverse audience, and may contain NPS policy considerations or address sensitive issues of management applicability. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received formal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data, and whose background and expertise put them on par technically and scientifically with the authors of the information. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available in digital format from the San Francisco Area Network Inventory and Monitoring website (http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/sfan) the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/nrpm/). To receive this report in a format optimized for screen readers, please email [email protected]. Please cite this publication as: Merkle, B., D. Press, R. Townsend, D. Adams, and M. Koenen. 2014. Snowy plover monitoring protocol for Golden Gate National Recreation Area: Version 2.4. Natural Resource Report NPS/SFAN/NRR—2014/896. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 641/127559, December 2014 ii Contents Page Figures.................................................................................................................................................... v Tables ..................................................................................................................................................... v Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) ............................................................................................... vii Revision History Log ........................................................................................................................... vii Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. ix Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................. xi List of Terms ......................................................................................................................................... xi Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Background..................................................................................................................................... 1 Issue Being Addressed and Rationale for Monitoring Snowy Plovers .......................................... 3 History of Monitoring Snowy Plovers at GOGA ........................................................................... 5 Monitoring Objectives .................................................................................................................. 10 Thresholds for Management ......................................................................................................... 12 Research Questions ...................................................................................................................... 13 Sampling Design .................................................................................................................................. 15 Rationale for Selecting this Sampling Design over Others .......................................................... 15 Site Selection ................................................................................................................................ 16 Population Being Monitored ........................................................................................................ 17 Sampling Frequency and Replication ........................................................................................... 17 Inclement Weather................................................................................................................... 17 Field Methods ...................................................................................................................................... 19 Field Season Preparations............................................................................................................. 19 Field Methods ............................................................................................................................... 19 Field Data Collection .................................................................................................................... 20 Data Management ................................................................................................................................ 21 Database Design ........................................................................................................................... 21 Annual Data Work Flow .............................................................................................................. 21 Quality Assurance and Quality Control ....................................................................................... 22 iii Contents (continued) Page Version Control Guidelines and Database History....................................................................... 22 Metadata Procedures .................................................................................................................... 23 Data Distribution .......................................................................................................................... 23 Analysis and Reporting ........................................................................................................................ 25 Reporting Schedule and Formats .................................................................................................. 25 Annual Reports ........................................................................................................................ 25 Long-term Trend Reports ........................................................................................................ 28 Monthly Natural Resources and Science Updates ................................................................... 29 Operational Requirements ................................................................................................................... 31 Roles and Responsibilities ............................................................................................................ 31 Tasks for the GOGA Snowy Plover Intern .............................................................................. 31 Broad Tasks for GOGA Wildlife Ecologist ............................................................................ 32 Tasks for SFAN Data Manager ............................................................................................... 32 Broad Tasks for SFAN I&M Program Manager ..................................................................... 33 Volunteer Requirements ............................................................................................................... 33 Budget .......................................................................................................................................... 33 Annual Workload and Field Schedule .........................................................................................