Core Standardized Methods for Rapid Biological Field Assessment
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CORE STANDARDIZED METHODS FOR RAPID BIOLOGICAL FIELD AssESSMENT EDITED BY TROND H. LARSEN CORE STANDARDIZED METHODS FOR RAPID BIOLOGICAL FIELD AssESSMENT Edited by: Trond H. Larsen Any opinions expressed in this book are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect Published by: those of Conservation International or its Conservation International co-publishers. 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22202 USA Suggested citation: Tel : +1 703-341-2400 Larsen, T.H. (ed.). 2016. Core Standardized www.conservation.org Methods for Rapid Biological Field Assessment. Conservation International, Cover photos left to right: Arlington, VA. © Trond H. Larsen, © Phil DeVries, © Trond H. Larsen, © Trond H. Larsen, Acknowledgments: © Trond H. Larsen, © Trond H. Larsen, Conservation International thanks the large © Conservation International/Photo by number of authors and their supporting Russell A. Mittermeier, © Trond H. Larsen, institutions for working so diligently and © Trond H. Larsen, © Trond H. Larsen, cooperatively towards the common goal of © Trond H. Larsen this handbook. We are also indebted to the many peer reviewers who helped to improve Back cover photo: this handbook and the protocols therein. This © Trond H. Larsen publication would not have been possible without the coordination and support provided Conservation International is a private, by Travis Thyberg. non-profit organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501c(3) of the Conservation International expresses their Internal Revenue Code. sincere gratitude to Chevron for their support that made the development and publication of ISBN: 978-1-934151-96-9 this handbook possible. ©2016 Conservation International. All rights reserved. 2 BIODIVERSITY SAMPLING PROTOCOLS TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 5 Vascular Plants (Non-Epiphytes) 9 Vascular Epiphytes 25 Medium and Large-Sized Mammals 37 Camera Traps 49 Bats 59 Small Non-Volant Mammals 83 Birds 93 Herpetofauna 109 Freshwater Fishes 127 Fruit-Feeding Butterflies 139 Dung Beetles 149 Leaf Litter Ants 163 Freshwater Molluscs 185 Photo © Pete Oxford/iLCP BIODIVERSITY SAMPLING PROTOCOLS 3 Photo © Trond H. Larsen 4 BIODIVERSITY SAMPLING PROTOCOLS INTRODUCTION BIODIVERSITY SAMPLING PROTOCOLS 5 INTRODUCTION Trond H. Larsen and Leonardo Viana Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22202, USA Reliable, standardized and replicable methodologies for quickly assessing key ecosystem values in the field are essential for conservation planning and decision-making at the local to regional scale at which most threats occur. Rapid biological assessments are a cost-effective solution to this problem, providing data in a timely manner to address a wide range of conservation needs, and in particular to establish a baseline that can be used to detect changes over time. A great deal of high level methodological guidance exists, but most lack practical details. A few books describe relatively comprehensive sampling methods but do not focus on a core set of standardized methods, making it difficult to decide which protocols to adopt. Other publications are available with lengthy, detailed guidance on sampling individual taxa. We believe this is the first book that focuses exclusively on a concise, practical set of standardized protocols for a wide range of taxa. This is no simple task. Many scientists tend to employ their own individualized, often opportunistic, approaches for finding as many species as possible in a short time, sometimes honed through decades of personal experience. These contributions are invaluable, yet do not address many conservation requirements. While not intended to replace these methods, the identification of a core, at-a-minimum set of standardized methods, including innovative and automated approaches where applicable, is of great importance for making the results of rapid surveys comparable and replicable across sites and over time. New technologies and automated equipment make rapid surveys increasingly more cost-effective and unbiased. These methods also move beyond presence-absence records to record relative or absolute abundance, which is crucial for assessing threat and monitoring change. Typically, rapid assessments require at least one week per site. A critical and often unanswered question in baseline assessments is how to know when sampling effort is sufficient. We have addressed this question with representative species accumulation curves and analyses in each individual chapter. Regional differences in ecosystems, climates, and evolutionary histories also mean that methods for some taxa need to be tailored to particular geographies. The focus of this book is on tropical terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems worldwide, although most methods should be applicable in temperate zones as well. It is not possible to sample all taxonomic groups during a rapid survey. In this book, we describe methods for major taxonomic groups (plants, vertebrates), as well as a select set of invertebrates that represent cost- effective indicator taxa and play important ecological roles. This book represents a consensus of multiple experts for each taxonomic group, including intensive peer review. We expect that a future edition of this book will include methods for marine taxa, various ecosystem services, as well as social assessments. 6 BIODIVERSITY SAMPLING PROTOCOLS INTRODUCTION The adoption of standardized methods provides the following benefits: 1. Methods can be more easily replicated when the same site is sampled at a later date, which is especially important if different researchers are involved, making it possible to understand how biodiversity has changed over time 2. Biodiversity data from a particular site can be placed within a regional or global context because it can be easily compared with data from other sites where the same methods were employed 3. Sampling completeness can be estimated, which allows interpretation of how many species occur at a given site. Estimating sampling completeness relies on statistical approaches to determine the actual number of species occurring at a site based on standardized sampling effort 4. Standardized sampling provides population-level abundance data as opposed to other opportunistic sampling that can yield only presence-absence data; the former is much more powerful for understanding changes in biodiversity over time and for identifying rare species that may be more vulnerable to environmental change 5. Standardized methods allow even amateurs to be trained effectively in many cases, reducing the dependence on only a handful of experts globally. However, this book is still targeted towards professional biologists and is not intended to provide a sufficient level of detail for novices to apply in the field. We do not include a separate chapter on analytical approaches or data management, as these are already well covered in other publications (e.g., Hill et al. 2006; Sutherland 2006; Eymann et al. 2010). Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) is just one example of how rapid surveys can influence conservation. Since the first expedition in 1991, CI’s RAP teams have conducted biodiversity surveys in more than 90 terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments, leading to the discovery of more than 1,500 species new to science and the protection of 21 million hectares (5.2 million acres) of land and seascapes. Other organizations and institutions have used similar rapid assessment approaches to achieve tremendous conservation outcomes. We hope this book will help to unite the broad range of institutions and researchers who continue to advance knowledge building through field assessments. Utility of Standardized Sampling Methods for Mining and Energy The extractive sector is required by government regulations and/or lender requirements such as the IFC Performance Standards to evaluate impacts and risks of their activities. A part of that compliance includes conducting baseline studies of areas to be developed to assess pre-development conditions. However the methodologies used often vary widely and lack minimal best practice standards. This greatly impacts the initial evaluation of a site leading to potential risks to companies that fail to adequately identify critical aspects of the ecosystems in which they work. This also precludes one of the primary purposes of the data which is to track sustainable development goals (e.g., assuring “no net loss” or a return of the area to predevelopment status following project closure). The need for reliable, standardized and replicable methodologies that can quickly assess the key critical components of an area for decision-making purposes is of paramount importance for the sector. INTRODUCTION BIODIVERSITY SAMPLING PROTOCOLS 7 Field assessments of biodiversity provide essential information for decision-making at the local to regional scale for a wide variety of stakeholders, including communities, governments, conservation organizations, and companies. Mining and energy companies are especially in need of robust data from biological assessments as development activities sometimes occur in remote and/or ecologically sensitive areas (Cunningham et al. 2000; Carter 2008; World Bank 2012). Companies are responding by developing environmental management systems to assess and mitigate potential biodiversity impacts. Governments, project financiers, and civil society stakeholders are increasingly providing strong signs that they seek to avoid, mitigate and where