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Coastal Sage Scrub Variations of San Diego County and Their Influence on the Distribution of the California Gnatcatcher

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Coastal Sage Scrub Variations of San Diego County and Their Influence on the Distribution of the California Gnatcatcher COASTAL SAGE SCRUB VARIATIONS OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER KENNETH L. WEAVER, 1113 Senwood Way, Fallbrook, California 92028 The CaliforniaGnatcatcher is widely known to be stronglyassociated with coastalsage scrub, yet it does not occupy all standsof this highly variable vegetation type (Kirkpatrick and Hutchinson 1976, Westmann 1983, O'Leary 1990, Atwood 1993). Bontrager (1991) suggested that scrub dominatedby Salvia mellifera is often not occupiedby gnatcatchers,and that the speciesis similarlyabsent if "a major componentof the area was large woody shrubs such as Rhus integrifolia and/or Malosma laurina." Yet no carefulstudies that objectivelyevaluate the impacts of scrub-species composition on gnatcatcher distribution have been presented. Variations in coastalsage scrub occur in recognizablepatterns. Climate is the major factor influencing distribution of plant species, as seen in the replacement of dominant shrubs with increasing distance from the coast. Soil types also affect scrub vegetation, as indicated by isolated stands of certain shrubs, as well as the local dominance of shrubs with restricted ranges.Slope aspectaffects the densityof the vegetationand may foster the replacementof one scrub type by another. North- and east-facingslopes often support chaparral rather than coastal sage scrub. Chaparral also occurs frequentlyon ridgelinesand mesas, even at low elevations.Coastal sage scrub is often naturallyfragmented by rivers and streams.Scrub stands, then, occur within a mosaicof habitats,assuring a patchy distributionof the California Gnatcatcher. In this paper, I describethe primaryvariations of coastalsage scrub in San Diego County. I show that the occurrenceof the CaliforniaGnatcatcher in the northwesternportion of the county is stronglyinfluenced by the type of scrubcover. I also commenton the suitabilityof scrubtypes elsewherein the county as likely reservesfor the gnatcatcher. METHODS I collected data on the distribution of the California Gnatcatcher while surveyingcoastal sage scrub birds at 84 locationsin northwestem San Diego County. I had no prior knowledge of the presence or absence of the gnatcatcherat the time each site was originallyselected for investigation.I surveyedareas from Camp Pendletonand Fallbrook south to Del Mar and Poway(Figure 1, Table 1). I collectedmost data from 1993 to 1995 but have also drawn on many earlier surveysand a few later surveys.With very few exceptions, I conductedbird surveys in the early morning at least twice during the breeding season. I made multiple visits to the vast majority of locations. I completeda vegetationsurvey of all sites checkedfor gnatcatchers.To obtain a broaderperspective of the distributionallimits of coastalsage scrub 392 WesternBirds 29:392-405, 1998 COASTAL SAGE SCRUB VARIATIONS OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY ß Fallbrook Oceanside ß vista 1-15 Escortdido I-5 •" •' 7',4- •0 Enci, Solana Beach ß Poway Del Mar Figure 1. Location of coastalsage scrub sites surveyedfor gnatcatchersin San Diego County, California.Numbers are keyed to sites listed in Table 1. divisions,I surveyed an additional 148 locations throughout the county. I assignedvalues to coastalsage scrub plants by using a cover-abundancescale devisedby Braun-Blanquet(1932). Each shrub and succulentspecies present was noted as coveringmore than 75% of the area, 50-75% of the area, 25- 50% of the area, 5-25% of the area, or as few or solitary individuals providing little cover. To simplify plant surveys, I considered herbs and grassesas a single category.A "dominant"species has a minimum coverage of 25%. More than one species could, therefore, qualify as a dominant. A "prominent" species is characteristicof a specific type of scrub but has a cover of less than 25%. Plant names follow Dawson (1966) for cacti and 393 COASTAL SAGE SCRUB VARIATIONS OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY l'at•le ! Locations Surveyed for California Gnatcatchers and Vegetation Types in Northwestern San Diego Countya Location Subassociationb No. of pairsc Santa MargaritaRiver 1. Camp PendletonMarine Corps Base, Cliffs of Ysidora 1 8 San Luis Rey River 2. Fallbrook,SW SleepingIndian/Conejo 4 0 3. Fallbrook,SW San JacintoCircle/Brianna 4 0 4. Fallbrook,SW Del Valle/Lemon Grove 4 0 5. Bonsall,NE Hwy. 76/Hollyd 3 e 0 6. Bonsall,NE Hwy. 76/Montellano 3 3 7. Bonsall,NEVia Puerta del Sol/Via Calvillo 3 0 8. Bonsall,SW Hwy. 76/OliveHill ! 3 1 5 2 9. Bonsall,NE Hwy. 76/Mission 5 1 10. FallbrookIXlE Hwy. 76/Gird 5 3 11. FallbrookNW MontserrateHill/Fire d 5 2 12. FallbrookNW Hwy. 76/Star Track 5 1 13. Fallbrook.NW Hwy. 76/Sage 5 1 14. FalibrookNW Hwy. 395/Hwy 76d 5 2 15. FallbrookSW Hwy. 395/Pala Mesa (south) 4 • 1 16. FallbrookSW Hwy. 395/Pala Mesa (north) 4 0 17. Fallbrook NW Wilt/Foxglove 4 0 18. Fallbrook NW Wilt/Citrus 4 0 19. FallbrookSE Hwy. 395/Canonita 5 1 20. FallbrookNW Hwy. 395/Canonita 5 4 21. FallbrookSE StewartCanyon/Pala Mesa Heights 5 4 22. Fallbrook NW Mission/Las Vistas 3 0 23. Vista, SW Hwy. 76/E Vista Way 4 1 24. Vista,SE Old River/GopherCanyon • 4 1 25. Bonsall,SW Old River/Dentrode Lomas 4 0 26. Vista, SE GopherCanyon/Sagewood 4 0 27. Bonsall,SE Old River/Dentrode Lomas 4 0 28. Bonsall,SW Old River/Lake Vista 3 1 29. Bonsall,NE Caminodel Rey/W Lilac 4 3 30. Bonsall,NW W Lilac/Caminodel Cieio 4 2 31. Bonsall,NEW Lilac/Caminodel Cielo 5 3 32. Bonsall,NE Caminodel Rey/EaglesPerch 5 0 33. Bonsall,NE Caminodel Rey/La Reina 4 0 34• Vista, SE GopherCanyon/Twin Oaks Valley 4 0 35. Escondido,NE Circle R/El Camino del Pinos 4 0 Buena Vista Creek 36. Carlsbad,NW Seabury/Stockton 3 0 37. Carlsbad,SW Tamarack/Milford 2 0 38. Carlsbad,NE Tamarack/Elm 6g 1 Agua Hedionda Creek 39. Carlsbad,SW Adams/Highland 1 e 0 40. Carlsbad,NW Park/Adams 2 0 41. Carlsbad,NE Park/ Adams 1 1 42. Carlsbad,NW Neblina/Horizon 2 0 43. Carlsbad,SE Park/Valencia 1 e 0 44. Carslbad,SE El Camino Real/Tamarack 2 0 45. Carlsbad,IXlE Harwich/Elm 3 2 46. Vista, NW Estrellita/Esplendido 5 0 (continued) 394 Table 1 (continued). Location Subassociationb No. of pairsc San Marcos Creek 47. Carlsbad,SW Batiquitos/Poinsettia! 2 0 1 1 48. Carlsbad,SE Gabbiano/Batiquitosd 1 3 49. Encinitas,SW Saxony/LaCosta 2 0 50. Encinitas,SE Saxony/LaCosta 1 3 51. San Marcos, NE Santa Fe/Flores 1 e 0 52. San Marcos,Palomar College, N of CometCircle 3 2 53. San Marcos, SW Mission/Knoll 3 0 54. San Marcos, San Marcos Mountains, W of Twin OaksValley 3 0 55. San Marcos,NE Mission/Vineyard 3 0 56. San Marcos,• Richland/CarmenCourt 3 0 Escondido Creek 57. Encinitas,SW Manchester/ElCamino Real 1 6 58. Escondido,NW N Broadway/JackRabbit Acres 3 e 0 San DieguitoRiver 59. San Diego,NW San Andres/FlowerHill d 1 2 60. San Diego,NE Via de la Valle/SanAndres 1 3 61. RanchoSanta Fe, SW Via de la Valle/LasPlanideras 1e 0 62. Escondido,Bernardo Mountain 5 19 63. Escondido,N of Lake Hodges,W of 1-15 5 6 64. Escondido,NW Via Rancho/l-15a 5 12 65. Escondido,W of Kit CarsonPark 5 4 66. Escondido,NE Bear Valley/El Dorado 5 4 67. Escondido,N of LakeHodges, S of Beethoven 5 15 68. Escondido,NE San Pasqual/SunsetHills • 5 1 69. Escondido,SW San Pasqual/OldPasqual 5 3 70. San Diego,• Hwy. 78/Cloverdale• 5 3 71. San Diego, SW Cloverdale/Cloveridge 5 2 72. Escondido,SE Cloverdale/Rockwood 5 • 0 73. Escondido,NE Cloverdale/Rockwood• 5 • 0 74. San Diego,San PasqualBattlefield State Historic Park/San Diego Wild AnimalPark 5 28 75. San Diego,NW W. Bernardo/Aguamiel 5 7 76. San Diego,S of LakeHodges, W of W. Bernardo 5 20 77. San Diego,NEW. Bernardo/Andanza 5 1 78. San Diego,Battle Mountain d 3• 1 79. SanDiego, S of Escala/Eof Colonnades 6h 2 80. San Diego, SE HighlandValley/Sycamore Creek, approx.1 km E 6 • 0 81. San Diego,SE BandyCanyon/Isabel Creek • 5 5 Los PefiasquitosCreek 82. San Diego,Torrey Pines State Park, So. 2 0 83. Poway,NW Caminodel Norte/Pomerado• 5 3 84. Poway,E of La Manda,W of Pomeratio 5 4 aLocationsare listed by watershed, coast to inland, north to south. Subassociationnumbers are keyed to Figure 1. bl, Enceliascrub; 2, Lemonadeberryscrub; 3, BlackSage scrub; 4, Sagebrush-WhiteSage scrub; 5, Buckwheatscrub; 6, assemblageof vegetationunique. CMaximumnumber of males or pairs recorded at site. •Seriouslydegraded or lostas coastalsage scrub as of 1998. eA disturbed site (herb/grass cover •25%) in which the vegetation is most similar to the subassociation indicated. •Two subassociationsoccur at this site, thusthe doublelisting. •ominated by Salvia mellifera, the subshrubsEncelia californica and Artemisia californica are prominent. Area appears to be intermediatebetween subassociations1 and 3. bDominatedby Artemisiacalifornica; Keckiella antirrhinoides is prominenton slopes. •Dominatedby Eriogonum fasciculatum; Keckiella antirrhinoidesis prominent;high cover of herbs/grasses. 3 9 5 COASTAL SAGE SCRUB VARIATIONS OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY Beauchamp (1986) for all other species, although I refer to Artemisia californica as Califomia sagebrushrather than as coastalsagebrush. Methods of classifyingcoastal sage scrub are quite diverse. Westman (1983), for example, identified two "associations"for the entire county. Each associationincorporates a wide variety of scrub types. Others, such as Kirkpatrick and Hutchinson (1976), recognizedscrub types based on the presence of certain key species. Similarly, the San Diego Associationof Governments(SANDAG 1992) devised a listing agreed upon by biological consultantsthat uses the presence of characteristicbut not necesssarily dominant plants (H. Wier pers. comm.). I classifiedcoastal sage scrub by which shrubsprovide the primary cover at a site. My namesfor the variousdivisions have been selectedaccordingly. Becauseof the pervasivenessof California sagebrushin nearly all stands, however, I have used the term "sagebrush"only with those divisionsin which it is generally the only dominant.
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