Removal of two high-head dams on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, WA will expose 276 ha of barren soil in the de-watered reservoirs. Preventing the establishment of invasive exotic plants is the highest management priority for the reservoirs. We propose to facilitate achieving this goal by updating a past survey for exotic plants then spatially modeling the spread from known sources and identifying unexplored potential sources of priority species using gravity models. MORE 
Managers at CHIS require a sampling protocol to track population abundance as numbers of both deer and elk approach zero as mandated by a court-sanctioned settlement agreement. We propose to stratify Santa Rosa Island on the basis of vegetative features likely to influence the detectability of deer and elk and to identify sampling units (SUs) within each stratum covering the entire island. We will conduct aerial counts from a helicopter and road-based line-transect counts of each species within each count unit in December 2007 and 2008. MORE 
The federally endangered Nene (Branta sandvicensis), or Hawaiian Goose, once present on most of the Hawaiian Islands, was found only on Hawai’i Island by 1900. Nene have been restored to a few places like Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park (HAVO). As their slow recovery has progressed, Nene have begun to reestablish some natural movement patterns and routes that connect their isolated small subpopulations on Hawai’i Island. The objectives of this research are to understand long distance movements of HAVO Nene that travel between distant populations on Hawai’I Island and to determine habitat use patterns of Nene in the Kahuku Unit. MORE 
The current population status of the federally Threatened Haleakala silversword is unclear, with compelling but inconclusive evidence suggesting that its population may be on the decline after decades of recovery. We propose to develop and conduct an accurate baseline map and census of silversword subpopulations in Haleakala National Park, and develop a monitoring protocol for tracking annual population trends. We also propose to research the spatial dynamics and effects of the invasive Argentine ant on insect pollinators and rates of seed set in the Haleakala silversword. MORE 
Island loggerhead shrikes are an endemic, genetically distinct subspecies of loggerhead shrike on California’s Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands - part of Channel Islands National Park - that are listed as a Species of Special Concern by the California Department of Fish and Game and a formal request has been submitted for federal listing under the Endangered Species Act. Statistically rigorous sampling methods will be used to survey shrikes on the islands, toward the goal of estimating abundance and determining locations of birds. MORE 
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.fort.usgs.gov/brdscience/pobs1.aspx?region=Pacific West
Page Contact Information: Paul_Geissler@usgs.gov
