Landbird Monitoring Protocol and Standard Operating Procedures for the Sonoran Desert Network

Monitoring changes in landbird population and community parameters can be an important element of a comprehensive, long-term monitoring program, such as that being imple- mented for the SODN parks. Landbirds are a conspicuous component of many ecosystems and have high body temperatures, rapid metabolisms, and occupy high trophic levels. As such, changes in landbird populations may be indicators of changes in the biotic or abiotic components of the environment upon which they depend (Canterbury et al. 2000, Bryce et al. 2002). Relative to other vertebrates, landbirds are also highly detectable and can be efficiently surveyed with the use of numerous standardized methods (Bibby et al. 2000, Buckland et al. 2001).

Birds select habitat based on the presence of behavioral cues triggered by the environment (Hutto 1985a; Alcock 2005). In some environments, however, especially those that vary unpredictably, habitat may not be saturated and changes in resources may not always be tracked by changes in animal populations (Wiens 1985). In these situations, relating changes in bird populations to environmental features can be complex, especially when confounded by time lags that are characteristic of site-tenacious bird species. Additional complications occur if birds respond more sensitively to environmental change than we can detect and when cyclical environmental changes result in erratic changes in population size that are ultimately inconsequential. However, the utility of monitoring landbirds is strengthened by concurrent monitoring of a broad suite of environmental parameters (Dale and Beyeler 2001) that may assist with elucidating changes in the bird community to other environmental factors. Such a broad-based approach is now being undertaken by the SODN I&M program (Mau-Crimmins et al. 2005) and other broad-based monitoring approaches (e.g., Ringold et al. 1996; Stevens and Gold 2003; Barrows et al. 2005).

Perhaps the most compelling reason to monitor landbird communities in SODN parks is that birds themselves are inherently valuable. The high aesthetic and spiritual values that humans place on native wildlife is acknowledged in the agency’s Organic Act: “to conserve ... the wild life therein ... unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” Birdwatching, in particular, is a popular, longstanding recreational pastime in the U.S., and forms the basis of a large and sustainable industry (Sekercioglu 2002). This is especially evident in southern Arizona, where the high diversity of birds creates some of the best birdwatching opportunities in the U.S.