Fire effects on tinajas and amphibian habitat at Saguaro National Park

Don Swann, Kara O’Brien, and Chuck Perger Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Arizona Thanks to:

Mike Sredl (Arizona Game and Fish) Ann Youberg (Arizona Geological Survey) Adam Springer (Chiricahua National Monument) Eric Wallace, Erin Zylstra, Kris Ratzlaff (UA) Cecil Schwalbe, John Parker (USGS) Dennis Caldwell (Tucson Herpetological Society) Josh Taiz, Tom Skinner (USNFS) Mike Ward, Perry Grissom (Saguaro National Park)

Outline Saguaro National Park – east and west Saguaro National Park – east – Rincon Mountain District Saguaro NP – Rincon Mountain District

Sky Island ecological zones Fire in Rincon Mountains and other Sky Islands

• Historic fire return interval ~ 10 years

• Periodic fire stimulates Ponderosa pine (7000-8700 feet) regeneration, promotes nutrient recycling, protects forests from catastrophic fire

• Increase in very large wildfires during past few decades

Mixed Conifer (7500-9500 feet) Surface water - intermittent streams

Springs and tanks Tinajas – “earthenware jar” in Spanish Major source of water in Rincons during dry season Value for people, past and present Essential for wildlife Canyon treefrog

Bobcats

Dragonfly Mallard

Single-celled algae

Gary Slaten photo Lowland leopard frog (Lithobates [Rana] yavapaiensis)

tadpoles ~ 9 months in water

webbed feet Jumps! Declining amphibians – globally and locally

Tarahumara frog (extirpated in US) Local declines of the lowland leopard frog

Major known populations of Lowland Leopard Frogs extirpated since 1940s near Tucson Crayfish (non-native) American bullfrog (non-native)

Disease

Habitat loss Lowland leopard frog habitat in Saguaro National Park Saguaro National Park National Park Service Arizona U.S. Department of the Interior Tamarisk:Leopard Follow-Up frog monitoring Surveys in Saguaro, 1996-present Tanque Verde/Joaquin ^_ ^_ Rock Spring ^_ ^_ ^_^_ ^_ ^_^_^_^_ ^_ Turkey ^_^_ ^_ ^_ Wildhorse ^_ ^_ ^_ ^_ ^_ ^_^_^_ ^_ Loma Verde ^_ ^_ ^_ L. Verde South ^_ ^_ Madrona !@ ^_ ^_ Chimenea Rincon North Box ^_ ^_^_ ^_^_ ^_ ^_ ^_ ^_ ^_ ^_ ^_ ^_ ^_ ^_^_ ^_ ^_ ^_ ^_ Rincon Legend Lower Rincon ^_ Undergoing Treatment Features ^_ Drainages Surveyed Drainages 5000ft elevation ^_ 6000ft elevation State Trust Land PrivatePark-wide, Inholding biannual surveys RMD Boundary Forest Service Land ² 0 0.5 1 2 3 4 Private Land Miles Produced by Justin Kolb, Biological Technician Data Source: Saguaro National Park July 2011

FILE:Follow_Up_Surveys.mxd Visual encounter surveys for leopard frogs and other aquatic species

Photograph and record water status of each tinaja (>240) Results 1996-2011 (Zylstra et al. 2015)

40 35 30

25 20 Adults 15

Per Survey Per 10 5 0

Average # Lowland Leopard Frogs Frogs Leopard Lowland # Average Fall 96 Fall 97 Fall 98 Fall 99 Fall 00 Fall 01 Fall 02 Fall 03 Fall 04 Fall 05 Fall 06 Fall 07 Fall 08 Fall 09 Fall 10 Fall 11 Fall Spring 96 Spring 97 Spring 98 Spring 99 Spring 00 Spring 01 Spring 02 Spring 03 Spring 04 Spring 05 Spring 06 Spring 07 Spring 08 Spring 09 Spring 10 Spring 11 Spring

Mean frog counts per biannual survey, 1996-2012 Pools where frogs observed, 1996-2011 (green); pools where frogs always observed (red) More water = more frogs Juveniles surviving

Figure 1. Predicted number of recruits (a) and monthly survival (b) of adult lowland leopard frogs (with 95% confidence intervals) as a function of surface water availability, with other model variables held constant. Zylstra et al. 2015. Adults surviving Water available to frogs in tinajas is related to rain, but not always

Before 1999 Box Canyon fire 2001 – Post Fire Example: Box Canyon Fire - 6,500 acres June 16 1999

NPS photo NPS photos

Large areas of moderate- high severity March 12 1997 – Loma Verde Pool 10, below fire perimeter July 7 1997 – ash in water, water temps 35-360 C (95-970 F), tadpole mortality October 14 1999 (filled after rain of 1.2 - 2.7” on July 15 1999) July 12 1999 Nov. 30 1999 March 15 2001

Pool 1 (about 1 mile downstream of Pool 10) filled with ash on July 12, 1999 but did not receive sediment until winter rains of 2000. June 2002 – all pools in Loma Verde dry due to 1-2 meters of sediment – last leopard frogs died Number of frogs observed, Loma Verde Canyon, 1996-2013

Loma Verde Lowland Leopard Frog Survey Data: 1996-2013 450

400 Box Canyon Fire

350 July 1999

300

250 Total Adults

200 Juveniles Tadpoles All pools dry; 150 Frogs disappear Frogs re-appear fall 2007

100 Spring 2002 Disappear early 2012 50

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Example: 2003 Helen’s 2 Fire – 3,600 acres

NPS photo 2003 Helen’s 2 Fire – Joaquin Canyon

Parker 2006 Course, poorly-sorted overbank deposits, Joaquin Canyon

Erosion pillars created by sheetwash From Parker (2006) Repeat photos – Joaquin Canyon (2003 Helen’s 2 Fire)

July 4 2003 July 19 2003

November 2, 2005 Number of adult and juvenile frogs observed on surveys in Joaquin Canyon following 2003 Helen’s 2 Fire

12 Helen’s 2 Fire, June 2003 10

8 Summer 2005, no 2007-2009; frogs returned, frogs detected then disappeared again 6

4

2

0 01-Sep-02 14-Jan-04 28-May-05 10-Oct-06 22-Feb-08 06-Jul-09 18-Nov-10 01-Apr-12 14-Aug-13 How long does sediment persist in tinajas?

Sediment surveys at SNP, 2005-present Sediment surveys

Bedrock contours, Madrona #2 Sediment surveys

42%

Bedrock contours, Madrona #2 Sediment contours 2005

79% 33%

Sediment contours 2007 Sediment contours 2010

How long does sediment persist?

Shorter duration – high energy areas, larger watersheds

2001 2006 2008 2013

Repeat photos – Loma Verde Canyon (1999 fire) Longer duration – pools in smaller, less steep watersheds

2001 2006

2008 2011

Repeat photos – Loma Verde Canyon (1999 fire) Longer duration – pools in low energy areas

1988 2007

2012 Repeat photos –Wildhorse Canyon (1989 Chiva Fire) Mean sediment volume/pool by stream, 2005-2013

1.00

0.90

0.80 Loma Verde – 68% burned (1999 fire) 0.70

0.60

0.50

Rincon – 73% (1994 fire) 0.40

0.30

0.20 Wildhorse – 31% 1989 fire)

0.10 Chimenea – 11.8% (misc. small fires)

0.00 2005/2006 2007 2010 2013 Changes in tinaja sediment volume, all combined 2005-2013

Percent Sediment Volume Average for All Pools (+/- one standard error) 50

45

40 41.0

36.9 35 34.8

30 28.3 25

20

Percent SedimentVolume Percent(%) 15

10

5

0 2005-2006 2007 2010 2013 Year of Survey Fire, floods, and sediment good for frogs – issue of scale Fire effects on other frogs in Arizona

Chiricahua leopard frog - threatened Tarahumara frog – extirpated/reintroduced Photo by J. Rorabaugh AGFD photo. Management – what can we do as land, fire, and wildlife managers? a. Measures to prevent post-fire erosion

Staw bale erosion barrier

**Wood strand mulch

Robichaud (2009) Robichaud et al. (2012) Log erosion barrier b. Habitat restoration

Miller Canyon frog habitat restoration (AGFD photo). b. Habitat restoration

Pool 1 being excavated partially (left) and fully (right) in 2005 Pool 1 on July 8, 2006

Pool 1 – dry on June 6, 2013

Lowland Leopard Frog in Loma Verde on October 15, 2006 c. Salvage and re-introduction

Chiricahua leopard frog salvage and release, Miller Canyon. Glendale Community College photos. Backyard pond project near Saguaro National Park d. Pre-fire actions Letting natural fires burn

Deer Head Fire, 2014 General concepts for conservation/management

How great is the risk?

How important is the population?

Consider the “no-action” alternative where ever possible

Erik Enderson photo Long-term view – ecological change and “management”

• Time’s circle: What are the natural patterns over time? • Time’s arrow: What are the long-term trends? – Potential threats – When to respond

Time’s arrow, time’s circle Healthy forests, healthy frogs “Stand on Tanque Verde Ridge in Saguaro National Park and see, in one compelling panorama, all that makes fire management in the western U.S. problematic…Saguaro will have to be lucky as well as good.” --Steve Pyne, A Fire History of America (2012)