Mammal Inventory for Navajo National Monument
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Program Center Mammal Inventory for Navajo National Monument Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SCPN/NRTR—2010/377 ON THE COVER The black-tailed jackrabbit was one of the 41 species found during this inventory. Photograph by: Marge Post/NPS Mammal Inventory for Navajo National Monument Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SCPN/NRTR—2010/377 Shauna Haymond Holistic Wildlife Services NM, LLC 112 Hampton Roads Avenue Hampton, VA 23661 Richard E. Sherwin Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science Christopher Newport University 1 University Place Newport News, VA 23606-2998 September 2010 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Program Center Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natu- ral resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Technical Report Series is used to disseminate results of scientific studies in the physical, biological, and social sciences for both the advancement of science and the achievement of the National Park Service mission. The series provides contributors with a forum for displaying comprehensive data that are often deleted from journals because of page limitations. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientif- ically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. 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 project was funded through Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit agreements (CA- 120099009, Tasks NN-02 and NN-04; CA-H1200040002, Task NN-5). This report is available from the Southern Colorado Plateau Network website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/im/units/SCPN) and the Natural Resource Publications Management Web site (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/NRPM) on the Internet. Please cite this publication as: Haymond, S., and R. Sherwin. 2010. Mammal inventory for Navajo National Monument. Natural Resource Tech- nical Report NPS/SCPN/NRTR—2010/377. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 312/105744, September 2010 ii Contents Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................................... vii Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Study Area ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Colorado Plateau ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 Physical description ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Local vegetation ............................................................................................................................................................ 2 Betatakin Canyon ...................................................................................................................................................... 2 Keet Seel ................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Inscription House ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 Methods .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Initial species richness estimation ................................................................................................................................... 3 Field methods ................................................................................................................................................................ 3 Small terrestrial mammal inventories .......................................................................................................................... 3 Bat inventories ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Carnivore inventories ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Opportunistic observations ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Data methods ............................................................................................................................................................... 4 Results ............................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Sampling effort .............................................................................................................................................................. 5 Species richness and abundance .................................................................................................................................... 5 Species of concern ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Discussion ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Species richness estimation ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Species richness and abundance ................................................................................................................................... 9 Species distribution ...................................................................................................................................................... 10 Recommendations ....................................................................................................................................................... 10 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................................................. 13 iii Mammal Inventory for Navajo National Monument Figures Figure 1. At Betatakin Canyon, pinyon-juniper woodlands dominate the mesa tops, while quaking aspen and Douglas fir cluster near the canyon head. ................................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2. Betatakin Canyon site. Diamonds are approximate locations of mammal inventory sampling points (mist nets, beginnings of traplines, acoustic sampling stations, and beginnings of track and scat surveys). .......... 4 Figure 3. Keet Seel site. Diamonds are approximate locations of mammal inventory sampling points (mist nets, beginnings of traplines, acoustic sampling stations, and beginnings of track and scat surveys). ............................. 4 Figure 4. Inscription House site. Diamonds are approximate locations of mammal inventory sampling points (mist nets, beginnings of traplines, acoustic sampling stations, and beginnings of track and scat surveys). .......... 4 Tables Table 1. Sampling effort, schedule, and methods for 2003-2004 mammal inventories at Navajo National Monument. .......................................................................................................................................................................5 Table 2. Number of species documented compared to the number of estimated species for each mammal order at Navajo National Monument. ........................................................................................................................... 6 Table 3. Confirmed and probable mammals at Navajo National Monument. ........................................................... 6 Table 4. Abundance of mammal species captured or observed at Navajo National Monument during 2003 and 2004 inventories. ............................................................................................................................................................