UTAH THE I I DESERT TORTOISE COUNCIL ARIZONA NEVADA I I / I I • ~ g • I • • ' + • 5 vzAlvl % CALIFORNIA PROCEEDINGS OF 1992-1998 SYMPOSIA DESERT TORTOISE COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS OF THE 1997 8K 1998 SYMPOSIA A compilation of reports and papers presented at the twenty-second and twenty­ third annual symposia of the Desert Tortoise Council April 4-7, 1997 in Las Vegas, Nevada and April 3 — S, 1998 in Tucson, Arizona PUBLICATIONS OF THE DESERT TORTOISE COUNCIL, INC. 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Foreign address add $3.00 per copy for surface mail; U.S. drafts only. Available from: Desert Tortoise Council, Inc. P.O. Box 3141 Wrightwood, CA 92397 U.S.A. These proceedings record the papers presented at the annual symposium of the Desert Tortoise Council. The Council, how­ ever, does not necessarily endorse the conclusions reached in the papers, nor can it attest to the validity or accuracy of the data Copyright © 1999 Desert Tortoise Council, Inc. ISSN 0191-3875 Desert Tortoise Council 1996-97 OFFIcERs 1997 — 98 OFHCERs Senior Co-Chair Ed LaRue Katherine Zander Junior Co-Chair Katherine Zander Daniel Patterson Co-Chair-elect vacant Tim Duck Recording Secretary Ed LaRue Ed LaRue Corresponding Secretary Lisa Kegarice Ed LaRue Treasurer Mare Sazaki Mare Sazaki 1996 — 97BDARD MEMBERs 1997-98 BQARD ME MBERs Kristin Berry Ted C o rdery Kristin Berry Ted C o rdery T im Duck M are Gra f f Tim Duck Mare Graff Bob Keeran Dani e l Patterson Bob Keeran Ann McLuckie Glenn Stewart Robe r t Turner Glenn Stewart Rob e r t Turner 1997 Awards: 1998 Awards Ken Nagy, Annual Award Allan Muth, Annual Award Ed LaRue, Special Award Ed Lorentzen, Special Award Mare Sazaki, Special Award Van essa Dickinson, Certificate of Acheivement Editor 8z Layout Design Bre c k Bartholomew Cover Design Suzanne Allan Desert Tortoise Council Proceedings of the 19978c 1998 Symposia CONTENTS Articles . 1&9 Monitoring Tortoise Populations in the Sonoran Desert: A Power Analysis. RoY C. AVERILL-MURRAY.. 1 A Spatially Dynamic Model of a Desert Tortoise Population in the Mojave Desert, California. JOCELYN L. AYcRIGG,STEvEN J. HARPER,AND JAMEs D. WEsI'ERvELT . ........................................,. 10 Competition between Bromus rubens and Native Desert Annuals in the Northern Mojave Desert. RICHARD B. HUNTER . 22 The Role of Tortoises in the Thicket Biome, South Africa: Important Meso-Herbivores in a Mega­ Herbivore Dominated Ecosystem? GRAHAM I. H. KERLEY, MERvYx C. ~x , CRAIG A. WEATHERYEY, AND WILLIAM R. BRANCH 34 The Functional Ecology of Creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) a Community Dominant in Desert Tortoise Habitat: A Review. WALTER G. WmrPORD . .... ................................... 41 Preliminary Stratocladistic Analysis of the Genus Gopherus.. RoEERTD. McCoRD, II ......................,.. 46 Notes 50-62 The Arizona Interagency Desert Tortoise Team: Progress Report. JAMEs C. RORAEAUGH,RoY C. AVERILL-MURRAY, AND JEPPREY M. HowLAND. .. ................. 50 Federal Biological Opinion Analysis for the Proposed Eagle Mountain Landfill Project. ED LARUE AND SHARON DOUGHERTY 52 Reproduction in Sonoran Desert Tortoises: A Progress Report. CHRIsTDPHER M. KLUGAND RoY AVERILL-MURRAY 1997 Abstracts 63-98 Ecosystem Wide Scientific Database. STEvE Axx E. BowLEs, Jox K. FRANCINE,JosEPH AHMANN, . ..63 MATESIC,JR., AND HEIDI STINSON ..................... 68 A Six-Year Review of Accomplishments of the Population Density and Ecology of Desert Health and Disease Research Program for Tortoise in Mountainous Habitats. EDMUND Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii): A D. BRODIE,JR., TY J. GARDNER AND WILLIAM S. Consensus Statement. KRIsTIN H. BERRY.....63 FIsHER . ...,..........,................................69 Assessing Gender in Free-ranging Desert Relationships Between Habitat Factors and the Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) Using Dominance of Alien Annual Plants at the External Morphology. JAMEs L. BooxE ........64 Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area. I. Effects of Recreational Noise on Wildlife: An Soil Measurements. MATTHEw BRooKs .......69 Update. Axx E. BowI.Es ..65 Relationships Between Habitat Factors and the Effects of Simulated Sonic Booms and Low­ Dominance of Alien Annual Plants at the Altitude Aircraft Noise on the Behavior and Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area. II. Heart Rate of the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus Annual Plant Biomass Measurements. agassizii). Axx E. BowLEs, ScoTT A. ECKERT, MATTHEw BRooKs 70 AND LISA STARKE 66 Comparing Hectare Plots and Line Transects to Effects of Simulated Sonic Booms and Low­ Estimate Abundance of Desert Tortoises. Altitude Aircraft Noise on the Hearing of PAUL STEPHENCoax, AND PHILIP A. MEDIcA .. 71 the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). Status of the Northern 8r. Eastern Colorado v Desert Coordinated Management Plan. Growth of Desert Tortoises at Yucca Mountain. RICHARD E. CRowE 72 PATRICK E. LEDERLE .86 Home Range, Burrow Use, and Activity Pat­ Recreation Management And Endangered terns of the Desert Tortoise in the Southern Species Conservation In a Coastal Beach Mojave Desert: A Comparison Between a And Dune Ecosystem. ScoTT M. MELvrN ....87 Military Installation and a National Park. Coexistence of Outdoor Recreation and Wild­ JEEFREvJ. DUDA, ANTHONvJ. KRzvsrK, AND life:A Natural-Lands Manager's Perspec­ JERoMEE. FRErucH ... ..... 72 tive. CuNTON K. Mrr.r.ER .................................89 Effects of Jet Aircraft Flight Noise on Heart Motorized Recreation and Effects on Wildlife. Rate and Metabolic Rate of the Desert ScoTr G. MILLER 90 Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). ScoTT A. Nutritional Value of Native and Introduced ECKERT, ANN E. BowLES, LrsA STARKE .............. 73 Plants Consumed by Desert Tortoises. Desert Tortoise Hatchling T-Maze Spatial KENNEI'H A. NAGY, BRIAN T. HENEN, AND Performance in Locating and Remembering DEvEsH B. VTAS 91 Artificial Burrow Sites. M. L. EuKER..........74 Effects of Diet and Hibernation on Growth and Use of Spatial Reference Cues by Gopherus Maturation of Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii . M. L. EuKER ............ 74 agassizii). F. HARvET PoUGH ANO ELLEN M. The Reliability of Tortoise Density Estimates: SMrrH 92 Multi-year Tests Using Corroborative Desert Tortoise Relocation at Yucca Mountain, Methods. JERrrx FRErucH, CHRISTOPHER COLuNS, Nevada. DANNY L. RAKESTRAw ...................,.. 93 AND ANN GARRv .75 Differences in Burrow Use Between Adult Male Recreation Causes Extinction of Human­ and Female Desext Tortoises. KURT R. Sensitive Organisms.STEvEN D. GARBER, RAUTENSTRAVCH 93 CHARLES GREEN, ANDJOANNA BURGER ............. 75 Comparison of Diagnostic Tests for Tortoise The West Mojave Coordinated Management Upper Respiratory Tract Disease. ISABELLA Plan. WILuAM S. HAIGH 79 M. SCHUMACHER, GRAcE S. MCLAUGHuN, Long-term Monitoring of Density Changes for ELUQTT R.JAcoBsoN, MARY B. BRQWN, PAULA. Desert Tortoise Populations in Recovery Kt.EtN, AND DANIEL R. BRowN ............,............94 Units. JEEE HowLAND, .80 Survivorship and Growth Rates of Neonate and Factoxs Affecting Reproduction of Desert Juvenile Desert Tortoises at Ft. Irwin Study Tortoises and Resultant Implications for Site. E. KAREN SPANGENBERG ...........................94 Management. AucE E. KARL ........................80 Population Estimation of Desert Tortoises. C. Effects of Outdoor Recreation on Wildlife. RICHARD TRAcv . ...95 RICHARDL. KNIGHT. .. ....... ..82 A Framework for Visitor Management and Concluding Remarks: Effects of Outdoor Resource Protection.GEoRGE N. WALLAcE . 95 Recreation on Wildlife. RICHARD L. KNIGHT84 The Role of the Burrow in Juvenile Tortoise Can Burrows and Seats be Used as Robust Life History. DAwN S. WILsoN ............,......... 97 Estimators for the Distribution and Density A Review of Reptilian Keratins. BRUcE L. Patterns of Desert Tortoise Populations on HoMER, CHEN Lr, KRISTIN H. BERRY, AND Et.uoTr Landscape Scales? ANTHONv J. KRzvsrK ......85 R. JAcoBsoN ...... .............................. 97 1998 Abstracts ... 99-121 Rainfall on the Nutrition and Survivorship Cattle, Dung and Tortoises: Symbiosis? MART E. of Desert Tortoises in the Mojave National ALLEN 99 Preserve. HAROLD W. AVERY AND PHtLtx A. Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee: