Appendix I Analysis of California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) Use of Six Management Units Using Location Data from Global Positioning System Transmitters, Southern California, 2004–2009—Initial Report U.S. Department of the Interior KEN SALAZAR, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Marcia K. McNutt, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2010 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK- USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod To order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Suggested citation: Johnson, Matthew, Kern, Jeffrey, and Haig, S.M., 2010, Analysis of California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) use of six management units using location data from global positioning system transmitters, southern California, 2004–09—Initial report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010-1287, 64 p. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 2 Methods ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Management Units and Ecoregion Data .................................................................................................... 3 Global Positioning System Transmitter Data .............................................................................................. 3 Home Range, Utilization Distribution, and Relative Concentration of Use Estimates ................................. 4 California Condor Use of Management Units and Ecoregions by Year ...................................................... 5 2004–05 ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 2006 ........................................................................................................................................................... 5 2007 ........................................................................................................................................................... 5 2008 ........................................................................................................................................................... 6 2009 ........................................................................................................................................................... 6 Analysis of California Condor Use of Management Units .............................................................................. 7 Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................... 9 References Cited ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Appendix A.—Analysis of California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) Use of Six Management Units Using Location Data from Global Positioning System Transmitters, Southern California, 2004–09—Initial Report .......................................................................................................................................................... 25 Figures Figure 1. Map showing historical range of the California Condor, management units, foraging zones, and Federal lands within the range, and designated Critical Habitat for the species .......................................... 12 Figure 2. Map showing Geographic Information System data for six management units in southern California ..................................................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 3. Illustrative example of methods used to quantify California Condor space use within the southern California population .................................................................................................................................... 14 Figure 4. Map showing ecological subregion Geographic Information System data used to derive ecologically relevant areas of interest for spatial analyses of California Condors in the southern California population .................................................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 5. Map showing final Geographic Information System data layer depicting the six management units and seven ecoregions used in the spatial analyses of California Condors in the southern California population .................................................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 6. Maps showing average relative concentration of use of six management units and seven ecoregions within the annual (2006–09) home range of California Condors in the southern California population .................................................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 7. Bar graphs showing relative concentration of use of six management units and seven ecoregions within the annual home range of California Condors in the southern California population (panel A, 2006) and mean occurrence of each management unit and ecoregion within the home range (panel B) .............. 18 Figure 8. Bar graphs showing relative concentration of use of six management units and seven ecoregions within the annual home range of California Condors in the southern California population (panel A, 2007) and mean occurrence of each management unit and ecoregion within the home range (panel B) .............. 19 iii Figure 9. Bar graphs showing relative concentration of use of six management units and seven ecoregions within the annual home range of California Condors in the southern California population (panel A, 2008) and mean occurrence of each management unit and ecoregion within the home range (panel B) .............. 20 Figure 10. Bar graphs showing relative concentration of use of six management units and seven ecoregions within the annual home range of California Condors in the southern California population (panel A, 2009) and mean occurrence of each management unit and ecoregion within the home range (panel B). ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 Figure 11. Bar graph showing mean difference in relative concentration of use of six management units and seven ecoregions within the annual home range of California Condors in the southern California population .................................................................................................................................................... 22 Table Table 1. Global Positioning System (GPS) location data for 21 California Condors. .................................. 23 Conversion Factors and Datum Conversion Factors SI to Inch/Pound Multiply By To obtain kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile (mi) meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft) kilogram (kg) 2.205 pound avoirdupois (lb) Datum Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) iv Analysis of California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) Use of Six Management Units Using Location Data from Global Positioning System Transmitters, Southern California, 2004–09—Initial Report By Matthew Johnson, Jeffrey Kern, and Susan M. Haig Executive Summary This report provides an analysis of California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) space use of six management units in southern California (Hopper Mountain and Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuges, Wildlands Conservancy—Wind Wolves Preserve, Tejon Mountain Village Specific Plan, California Condor Study Area, and the Tejon Ranch excluding Tejon Mountain Village Specific Plan and California Condor Study Area). Space use was analyzed to address urgent management needs using location data from Global Positioning System transmitters. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided the U.S. Geological Survey with location data (2004– 09) for California Condors from Global Positioning System transmitters and Geographic Information System data for the six management units in southern California. We calculated relative concentration of use estimates for each management unit for each California Condor (n = 21) on an annual basis (n = 39 annual home ranges) and evaluated resource selection for the population each year using the individual as our sampling unit. The most striking result from our analysis was the recolonization of the Tejon Mountain Village Specific Plan, California Condor Study Area, and Tejon Ranch management units during 2008. During 2004–07, the