Restoring habitat for coastal California Gnatcatchers (Polioptila californica californica)

The condor

¹ 

关键词: California Gnatcatcher;    coastal sage scrub;    colonization;    extinction;    restoration;    habitat;   

DOI  :  10.1650/CONDOR-17-221.1

学科分类：动物科学

来源: Central Ornithology Publication Office

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT One goal of Habitat Conservation Plans is to protect viable populations of animal species. Management actions included in such plans often focus on vegetation restoration to benefit the target animal species. Yet, such restoration activities are often uninformed by fine-scale animal survey data. Using the California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica), we demonstrate how survey data can guide restoration toward the goal of improving gnatcatcher viability by identifying habitat conditions most favorable for gnatcatcher occupancy. We found that gnatcatcher presence and colonization probabilities tripled as the coverage of coastal sagebrush (Artemisia californica) increased from 10% to 40%. Coastal sagebrush was more likely to be present at low elevations, and was most closely associated with soil texture of 5%–20% clay, 40%–70% sand, and 20%–40% silt. Higher gnatcatcher extinction probabilities were associated with closed, dense habitat; optimal conditions were between 30% and 40% open...

【 授权许可】

CC BY