Chapter 3 Maryland's Wildlife and Species of Greatest Conservation
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Chapter 3 Maryland’s Wildlife and Species of Greatest Conservation Need MARYLAND’S WILDLIFE AND SPECIES OF GREATEST CONSERVATION NEED Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1 Distribution of Maryland’s Wildlife ................................................................................................1 Conservation Status of Maryland’s Wildlife ...................................................................................2 Maryland’s Extinct and Extirpated Species .............................................................................2 Endangered, Threatened, and In Need of Conservation Species .............................................3 Declining Species (and our opportunity to reverse that trend) ........................................................5 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN).............................................................................7 SGCN Selection: Conservation Ranks...........................................................................................11 Conservation Status Groups ...................................................................................................14 Regional Context for Species of Greatest Conservation Need ......................................................16 Mammals of Maryland ...................................................................................................................18 SGCN Mammals of Maryland ...............................................................................................19 SGCN Montane Mammals .....................................................................................................19 SGCN Bats .............................................................................................................................21 SGCN Marine Mammals .......................................................................................................22 Threats to SGCN Mammals ...................................................................................................24 Conservation Actions and Information Needs for SGCN Mammals.....................................25 Birds of Maryland ..........................................................................................................................28 SGCN Birds of Maryland ......................................................................................................29 SGCN Montane Birds ............................................................................................................30 SGCN Birds of the Piedmont .................................................................................................31 SGCN Birds of the Coastal Plain ...........................................................................................32 SGCN Marine Birds ...............................................................................................................34 Threats to SGCN Birds ..........................................................................................................35 Conservation Actions and Information Needs for SGCN Birds ............................................37 Reptiles and Amphibians of Maryland ..........................................................................................45 Reptiles ..................................................................................................................................45 Amphibians ............................................................................................................................46 SGCN Reptiles and Amphibians of Maryland.......................................................................47 SGCN Marine and Estuarine Reptiles ...................................................................................47 SGCN Freshwater Reptiles and Amphibians .........................................................................48 SGCN Reptiles of Upland Habitats .......................................................................................49 i MARYLAND’S WILDLIFE AND SPECIES OF GREATEST CONSERVATION NEED Threats to SGCN Reptiles and Amphibians ..........................................................................49 Conservation Actions and Information Needs for SGCN Reptiles and Amphibians ............51 Case Study: Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas (MARA) ..............................................52 Fishes of Maryland ........................................................................................................................56 Freshwater Fishes...................................................................................................................57 Marine and Estuarine Fishes ..................................................................................................58 SGCN Fishes of Maryland .....................................................................................................59 Threats to SGCN Fishes.........................................................................................................60 Conservation Actions and Information Needs for SGCN Fishes ..........................................61 Invertebrates of Maryland ..............................................................................................................64 SGCN Insects of Maryland ....................................................................................................66 SGCN Aquatic Insects (Odonates and Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera) .................66 Case Study: SGCN Pollinators ..............................................................................................67 Other SGCN Invertebrates of Maryland ................................................................................69 SGCN Subterranean and Groundwater Species .....................................................................69 SGCN Freshwater Mussels ....................................................................................................70 SGCN Land Snails .................................................................................................................71 Other SGCN Invertebrates, Including Other Insects .............................................................71 Threats to SGCN Invertebrates ..............................................................................................72 Conservation Actions and Information Needs for SGCN Invertebrates ................................73 Maryland’s Plants ..........................................................................................................................91 Citations and Sources .....................................................................................................................94 ii MARYLAND’S WILDLIFE AND SPECIES OF GREATEST CONSERVATION NEED List of Figures Figure 3.1 Matrix used to categorize species into five conservation status categories. .......... 14 Figure 3.2 Percentages of species by taxa groups in each conservation status group. ........... 16 Figure 3.3 Regional importance of fall migration stopover sites for birds from the analysis of weather surveillance radar data ............................................................................................... 36 Figure 3.4 New Jersey chorus frog distribution map comparison .......................................... 53 List of Tables Table 3.1 Summary of federal and state-listed species.. ........................................................... 5 Table 3.2 Categories considered for inclusion on Maryland's list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) ..................................................................................................... 7 Table 3.3 Comparison of 2005 and 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need lists ........... 9 Table 3.4 Wildlife diversity of Maryland ............................................................................... 10 Table 3.5 Definitions of global and state conservation ranks and rank qualifiers .................. 11 Table 3.6 Cross-reference of Conservation Status Ranks and their use in SGCN listing ...... 13 Table 3.7 Definitions of the five conservation status categories from Figure 3.1 based on grouping global and state conservation status ranks. .............................................................. 15 Table 3.8 RSGCN by major taxonomic group........................................................................ 18 Table 3.9 Existing federal recovery plans for SGCN mammal species. ................................. 26 Table 3.10 Mammal Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Maryland ............................ 26 Table 3.11 Existing federal recovery plans for SGCN birds. ................................................. 38 Table 3.12 Bird Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Maryland. .................................. 38 Table 3.13 Existing federal recovery plans for SGCN reptiles. ............................................. 54 Table 3.14 Reptile and Amphibian Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Maryland. .... 54 Table 3.15 Existing federal recovery plans for SGCN fishes. ................................................ 62 Table 3.16 Fish Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Maryland. .................................. 63 Table 3.17 Existing federal recovery plans for SGCN invertebrates. ..................................... 75 Table