Salton Sea Animal Biogeography

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Salton Sea Animal Biogeography

• Ginger Burns

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(No Transcript)
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History

• Accidentally created in 1905, the Salton Sea is
  now a stopover for millions of birds. Lower water
  levels, and rising salinity and toxicity,
  threaten all life in the lake.
• The Salton Sea was created in 1905 when spring
  flooding breached an intake canal in Arizona,
  releasing water from the Colorado River into the
  Salton Sink. The resulting lake covered 500
  square miles. People stocked the lake with fish
  and pile worms and, once the water supply from
  the Colorado was cut off again, water levels were
  maintained by runoff. With no outflow, the Salton
  Sea has become progressively saltier and levels
  of toxic chemicals and pesticides have risen.
  Now, California is drawing water from the lake to
  supply water thirsty communities, especially San
  Diego. The Salton Sea is shrinking.

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History

• In spite of the lakes problems, pile worms
  continue to do well, feeding off decaying organic
  material and algae. They, and the remaining fish,
  draw more than 400 species of birds every year.
  In 2005, National Geographic called it one of
  the most important migratory bird habitats in the
  US, if not the world (Bourne, Joel K. Salton
  Sea. February 2005).
• But the Salton Sea is dying. Shrinking water
  levels, high salinity, and high levels of toxins
  threaten the whole ecosystem. California is
  working toward a restoration plan, but will it be
  too little, too late?

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The Reality of The Salton Sea
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SAMPLING THE BOTTOM-DWELLING ANIMALS OF THE
SALTON SEA

• Benthic (bottom-dwelling) invertebrate animals
  form a major part of the diets of fish and many
  types of birds at the Salton Sea, and can be
  extremely numerous within different habitats. In
  fact, on submerged rocks, several thousand
  invertebrates can be collected from an area the
  size of a slice of bread!

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Benthic invertebrate animals within three major
habitats of the Salton Sea
The offshore environment is sampled by boat using
a Ponar grab.
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• The rocky shore-line is an important habitat for
  many benthic animals.
• Barnacle shell beaches also harbor a great
  abundance of animals

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Animals of the offshore sediments.

• The pileworm Neanthes succinea, the most abundant
  animal in the Sea, and food for fish and birds.
• Streblospio benedicti. (small marine worm)
• S. benedicti (life size), 1/10 the size of the
  pileworm.

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The amphipod Gammarus mucronatus

• The amphipod is very abundant in rocky areas
  3,183 were found within a 10 x 10 cm area in
  July! Unlike its relatives the common "beach
  hoppers" or sand fleas, Gammarus spends its
  entire life underwater. It is also an important
  food for fish and shorebirds foraging at the Sea

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Balanus amphitrite

• Barnacle shells provide an important habitat for
  amphipods and Neanthes.

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Corophium louisianum

• The amphipod Corophium louisianum lives in mud
  tubes attached to hard substrata, in empty
  barnacle shells, and in the silty mud

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The pileworm Neanthes

• Most spawning occurred in March, when one
  10-minute tow collected 286 worms! These would
  have provided a tasty meal for fish foraging that
  night.

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Over 380 Species of Birds
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LOONS, GREBES, ALBATROSS

• Red-throated Loon ,Pacific Loon ,Common Loon
• Pied-billed Grebe, HornedGrebe, EareGrebe,
  Western Grebe, Clarks Grebe
• Laysan Albatross

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Fulmars, Petrels and Shearwaters

• Cooks Petrel
• Bullers Shearwater
• Sooty Shearwater

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Storm-Petrels, Boobies, and Gannets

• Leachs Storm-Petrel, Black Storm-Petrel
• Least Storm-Petrel
• Blue-footed Booby, Brown Booby

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Pelicans and Cormorants

• American White Pelican
• Brown Pelican
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Olivaceous Cormorant

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Frigatebirds

• Magnificent Frigatebird

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Bitterns, Herons, and Egrets

• American Bittern, Least Bittern
• Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron
• Great Egret, Snowy Egret
• Tricolored Heron
• Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron
• Black-crowned Night-Heron

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Ibises, Spoonbills and Storks

• White Ibis, White-faced Ibis
• Roseate Spoonbill
• Wood Stork

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Flamingos

• Lesser Flamingo
• Chilean Flamingo

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Waterfowl

• Fulvous Whistling Duck
• Black-bellied Whistling Duck
• Tundra Swan
• Greater White-fronted Goose
• Snow Goose
• Ross Goose
• Brant
• Canada Goose
• Wood Duck

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Waterfowl

• Green-winged Teal
• Baikal Teal
• American Black Duck
• Mallard
• Northern Pintail
• Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal
• Northern Shoveler
• Gadwall

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Waterfowl

• Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon
• Canvasback
• Redhead
• Ring-necked Duck
• Tufted Duck
• Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup
• Oldsquaw

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Waterfowl

• Black Scoter, Surf Scoter
• White-winged Scoter
• Common Goldeneye, Barrows Goldeneye
• Bufflehead
• Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser
• Red-breasted Merganser
• Ruddy Duck

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Vultures

• Turkey Vulture

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Osprey, Kites, Eagles and Hawks

• Osprey
• White-tailed Kite
• Bald Eagle
• Northern Harrier
• Sharp-shinned Hawk, Coopers Hawk
• Harris Hawk
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Broad-winged Hawk

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Osprey, Kites, Eagles and Hawks

• Zone-tailed Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk
• Ferruginous Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk
• Golden Eagle
• Northern Goshawk

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Falcons

• American Kestrel
• Merlin
• Peregrine Falcon
• Prairie Falcon

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Gallinaceous Birds and Rails

• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Gambels Quail
• Black Rail, Clapper Rail
• Virginia Rail
• Sora
• Common Moorhen
• American Coot

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Cranes

• Sandhill Crane

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Plovers

• Black-bellied Plover
• American Golden Plover
• Snowy Plover
• Wilsons Plover
• Semipalmated Plover
• Killdeer
• Mountain Plover

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Oystercatchers

• American Oystercatcher

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Stilts and Avocets

• Black-necked Stilt
• American Avocet

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Shorebirds

• Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs
• Spotted Redshank
• Solitary Sandpiper
• Willet
• Wandering Tattler
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Whimbrel
• Long-billed Curlew
• Hudsonian Godwit

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Shorebirds

• Marbled Godwit
• Ruddy Turnstone, BlackTurnstone
• Surfbird, Red Knot, Sanderling
• Semipalmated Sandpiper
• Western Sandpiper
• Little Stint, Least Sandpiper
• White-rumped Sandpiper
• Bairds Sandpiper
• Pectoral Sandpiper

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Shorebirds

• Dunlin
• Curlew Sandpiper
• Stilt Sandpiper
• Ruff
• Short-billed Dowitcher
• Long-billed Dowitcher

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Snipe and Phalaropes

• Common Snipe
• Wilsons Phalarope
• Red-necked Phalarope
• Red Phalarope

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Jaegers

• Pomarine Jaeger
• Parasitic Jaeger
• Long-tailed Jaeger

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Gulls and Terns

• Laughing, Franklins, Little, Bonapartes,
  Heermanns, Mew, Ring-billed, California,
  Herring, Thayers, Lesser Black-backed,
  Yellow-footed, Western, Glaucous-winged,
  Glaucous, and Sabines Gull
• Black-legged Kittiwake
• Gull-billed, Caspian, Elegant, Common, Arctic,
  Fosters, Least, and Black Tern

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Skimmers and Seabirds

• Black Skimmer
• Ancient Murrelet

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Doves

• Rock Dove, Spotted Dove, White-winged Dove,
  Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, and Common Ground-Dove
• Band-tailed Pigeon

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Cuckoos

• Yellow-billed Cuckoo
• Greater Roadrunner
• Groove-billed Ani

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Owls

• Barn, Flammulated, Western Screech, Great Horned,
  Burrowing, Long-eared, Short-eared, and Northern
  Saw-whet Owl

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Goatsuckers and Swifts

• Lesser Nighthawk
• Common Poorwill
• Whip-poor-will
• Black Swift
• Vauxs Swift
• White-throated Swift

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Hummingbirds

• Black-chinned Hummingbird
• Annas Hummingbird
• Costas Hummingbird
• Calliope Hummingbird
• Rufous Humminhbird
• Allens Hummingbird

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Kingfishers

• Belted Kingfisher

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Woodpeckers

• Lewis, Red-headed, Acorn, Gila, Yellow-bellied,
  Red-naped, Red-breasted, Ladder-backed,and
  Nuttalls Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker

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Flycatchers

• Olive-sided Flycatcher, Greater Pewee, Western
  Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher,
  Hammonds Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, Gray
  Flycatcher, Western Flycatcher, Black Phoebe,
  Eastern Phoebe, Says Phoebe, Vermilion
  Flycatcher, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Ash-throated
  Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Tropical
  Kingbird, Cassins Kingbird, Western Kingbird,
  Eastern Kingbird, Scissor-tailed flycatcher

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Larks and Swallows

• Horned Lark
• Purple Martin,
• Tree Swallow
• Violet-green Swallow
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Bank Swallow
• Cliff Swallow
• Barn Swallow

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Jays, Magpies, and Crows

• Scrub Jay
• American Crow
• Common Raven

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Chickadees, Titmice and Verdins

• Mountain Chickadee
• Verdins

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Nuthatches, Creepers and Wrens

• Red-breasted Nuthatch
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• Brown Creeper
• Cactus, Rock, Canyon, Bewicks, House, Winter,
  and Marsh Wren

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Kinglets, Bluebirds, and Thrushes

• Golden-crowned, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet
• Blue-gray, and Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
• Western, and Mountain Bluebird
• Townsends Solitaire
• Swainsons Thrush
• Hermit Thrush
• American Robin, Varied Thrush

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Mockingbirds and Thrashers

• Northern Mockingbird
• Sage, Brown, Bendires, Curve-billed, Crissal,
  and Le Contes Thrashers

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Wagtails, Pipits, Waxwings, and Phainopepla

• American Pipit
• Spragues Pipit
• Cedar Waxwing
• Phainopepla

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Shrikes, Starlings and Mynas

• Northern Shrike
• Loggerhead Shrike
• European Starling

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Vireos

• Bells Vireo
• Solitary Vireo
• Huttons Vireo
• Warbling Vireo
• Red-eyed Vireo

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Warblers

• Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Virginias,
  Lucys, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape
  May, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped,
  Black-throated Gray, Townsends, Hermit, Prairie,
  Palm, Bay-breasted, Cerulean, Black-and- white,
  MacGillivrays, and Wilsons Warbler
• Northern Parula

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Warblers

• American Redstart
• Ovenbird
• Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart
• Yellow-breasted Chat

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Tanagers, Grosebeaks, and Buntings

• Summer and Western Tanager
• Pyrrhuloxia
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• Black-headed Grosbeak
• Blue Grosbeak
• Blue Bunting
• Lazuli Bunting
• Indigo Bunting
• Dickcissel

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Towhees and Sparrows

• Green-tailed, Rufous-sided, and Aberts Towhee
• American Tree, Chipping, Brewers, Black-chinned,
  Vesper, Lark, Black-throated, Grasshopper, Fox,
  Song, Lincolns,Golden-crowned, White-crowned,
  Harris, Swamp, White-throated, Sage, and
  Savannah Sparrow
• Lark Bunting

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Towhees and Sparrows

• Dark-eyed Junco
• McCowns, Lapland, and Chestnut-collared Longspur

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Blackbirds and Orioels

• Bobolink
• Red-winged , Tricolored, Yellow-headed, and
  Brewers Blackbird
• Western Meadowlark
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Bronzed Cowbird
• Brown-headed
• Cowbird
• Orchard Oriole

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Blackbirds and Orioels

• Hooded Oriole
• Bullocks Oriole
• Scotts Oriole

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Finches

• Purple Finch
• Cassins Finch
• House Finch
• Red Crossbill
• Pine Siskin
• Lesser Goldfinch
• Lawrences Goldfinch
• American Goldfinch
• Evening Grosbeak

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Weaver Finches

• House Sparrow

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Birds in trouble

• Human activities created the Salton Sea as it
  currently exists, but human activities have
  destroyed natural habitats for migratory birds,"
  says Pryde, who is an emeritus professor of
  geography at San Diego State University and chair
  of Audubon California's Salton Sea Task Force.
  "The sea is more crucial for these birds now than
  ever before--and more troubled."

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Mammals of the Salton Sea

• All mammals listed are considered resident
  species with the exception of the bats which
  migrate on a seasonal basis like many of the
  birds.

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Shews and Cats

• Desert Shrew
• Bobcat

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Dogs and Raccons

• Coyote
• Desert Kit Fox
• Gray Fox
• Raccoon

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Leafnose Bats and Plainnose Bats

• California Leafnose Bat
• Long-tongued Bat
• Pallid Bat
• California Myotis
• Western Pipistrel
• Big Brown Bat
• Spotted Bat
• Hoary Bat
• Western Yellow Bat

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Freetail Bats

• Mexican Freetail Bat
• Pocketed Freetail Bat
• Big Freetail Bat

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Rabbits/Hares-Squirrels/Chipmunks

• Desert Cottontail
• Blacktail Jackrabbit
• Round-tailed Ground Squirrel
• Antelope Ground Squirrel

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Weasels, Skunks, Badgers

• Striped Skunk
• Spotted Skunk
• Badger

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Pocket Gophers and White Footed Mice

• Valley Pocket Gopher
• Cactus Mouse
• Deer Mouse

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Pocket/Kangaroo Mice and Kangaroo Rats

• Desert Pocket Mouse
• Little Pocket Mouse
• Desert Kangaroo Rat
• Spiny Pocket Mouse
• Merriam Kangaroo Rat
• Long-tailed Pocket Mouse

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Cotton Rats and Woodrat

• Hispid Cotton Rat
• Desert Woodrat
• White-throated Woodrat

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Voles and Muskrats and Old World Rats and Mice

• Muskrat
• House Mouse
• Black Rat
• Norway Rat

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Amphibians and Reptiles of the Salton Sea
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Amphibians

• Woodhouses Toad
• Red-spotted Toad
• Lowland Leopard Frog
• Bullfrog

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Turtles and Lizards

• Spiny Softshell Turtle
• Side-blotched Lizard
• Flat tailed Horned

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Lizard

• Leopard Lizard
• Long-tailed Brush Lizard
• Desert Horned Lizard
• Desert Spiny Lizard
• Western Whiptail Lizard

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Snakes

• Gopher Snake
• Common Kingsnake

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Fish of the Salton Sea

• Fishes

• Very few fish can tolerate the high salinity of
  the Salton Sea. In 1950 attempts were made to
  introduce several marine fish. These attempts
  resulted in the largest inland fishery in
  California.

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Introduced Saltwater Fish Species

• Orange Corvina
• Sargo
• Gulf Croaker
• Longjaw Mudsucker

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Species of fish in the Salton SeaThat are found
in saltwater and freshwater

• Tilapia

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Fish found in the Salton Sea that are endangered
or threatened

• Desert Pupfish

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Other Fish of the Salton Sea

• Threadfin Shad
• Sailfin Molly
• Mosquitofish
• Red Shiner
• California Killifish
• Largemouth Bass
• White Catfish, Channel Catfish
• Carp

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Habitats of the Salton Sea
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Habitat

o - open water - restricted to the open water of
the Salton Sea and larger lakes in the Imperial
Valley.b - beach and mudflat - basically the
shore line of the Salton Sea, but expanded to
include flooded fields and other such areas of
shallow water and mud.

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Habitats
m - marshes - cattail marshes and other such
areas found at various locations around the
Salton Sea, along the rivers and canals, and at
shallow lakes.f - farmland - agricultural land
found extensively throughout the Imperial Valley
south of the Salton Sea, including planted and
unplanted fields alike.
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Habitats

• - shrubland - mesquite thickets and other brushy
  areas. Some shrubland contains scattered trees.-
  riparian vegetation - limited to areas of salt
  cedar and willows along waterways, and at some
  points along the shore of the Salton Sea.-
  aerial - use limited to those strong flying
  species most often seen in the air.

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Habitats
h - houses and towns - immediate area of ranch
houses and the residential areas of such towns as
Niland and Calipatria. It is in these areas that
most of the larger trees can be found and where
ornamental planting supports a variety of
landbirds.