Mammal Inventory of the Mojave Network Parks

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Mammal Inventory of the Mojave Network Parks
Charles Drost and Jan Hart USGS Southwest
Biological Science Center Colorado Plateau
Research Station
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Mojave Network Parks
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ObjectivesFor each area, determine or provide
data on

• mammal species composition
• distribution and abundance
• biological natural history information
• spatial data on sampling
• museum voucher specimens, as appropriate

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Targeted Areas
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Targeted Habitats
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• Death Valley National Park
• Greenwater Range and Greenwater Valley
• Owlshead Mountains
• Inyo Range
• Ibex Hills
• Argus Range / Darwin Plateau
• Springs (Cottonwood and Panamint Mountains)
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Little San Bernardino Mountains
• Pinto Wash/Pinto Dunes
• Coxcomb / Eagle Mountains
• Quail Springs Watershed
• Fan Palm Oases
• Lost Horse and Hidden Valleys

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• Lake Mead National Recreation Area
• Shivwits Plateau
• Newberry Mountains
• Black Mountains
• Gold Butte
• Springs
• Sandy benches near water
• Manzanar National Historic Site
• Riparian Community
• Cottonwood Grove
• Blackbrush Scrub
• Mojave National Preserve
• Springs and Seeps
• Piute Range
• Limestone Substrates and Sand Dunes
• High elevation areas

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MethodsLiterature and Museum Specimens

• Published Accounts
• Museum specimens
• NPS Record cards
• Other Local Data and Resources

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Museum Specimen Review
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Museum Specimen Review
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Field Methods

• Live Traps
• Sherman (rodents)
• Tomahawk (medium-sized mammals)
• Visual Surveys
• Automatic Cameras
• Methods for Bats
• Mist Netting
• Ultrasonic Surveys

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Small Mammal Trapping
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Medium-size Mammals
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Mist Netting
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Anabat
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Mammal Sampling Effort

• of Visits Person-days Trap-nights
• DEVA 10 112 2,397
• JOTR 10 92 1,492
• LAME 5 71 1,313
• MANZ 6 28 604
• MOJA 10 93 1,538
• Total 41 396 7,344

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Rainfall Pattern
Death Valley
Joshua Tree
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Total Mammal Species at Each Park
Documented Probable Death Valley 59 1 Joshu
a Tree 50 4 Lake Mead 59 8 Manzanar 19
11 Mojave 50 3
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Probable Species Mostly Edge-of-Range
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General Species Abundance

• Cumulative Captures, All Parks
• Cactus Mouse 229
• Merriams Kangaroo Rat 170
• Canyon Mouse 166
• Desert Woodrat 159
• Deer Mouse 130
• Desert Pocket Mouse 74
• Pallid Bat 55
• Western Pipistrelle 35

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Some Other Results New Species
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Rare / Special Concern Species
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Non-native Species
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Final Report and Data

• Draft Reviewed by Parks
• Suggest Adding Annotated Species Section
• Taxonomic Changes
• Documentation
• Distribution and Abundance
• Known Population Trends
• Other Notes

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Monitoring Considerations

• Small Mammals as Monitoring Subjects
• Response to Expected Change
• Possible Focus on Edge-of-Range Species
• Potential Repeat Inventory Approach
• Monitoring Habitat vs. Monitoring
  Organisms within Habitat

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Acknowledgments

• Special thanks to NPS staff, including Linda
  Greene, Linda Manning, and Dana York (Death
  Valley National Park), Hank McCutchen, Harold De
  Lisle, Amy Fesnock, and Jane Rodgers (Joshua Tree
  National Park), Kent Turner, Ross Haley, and
  Libby Powell (Lake Mead National Recreation
  Area), Frank Hays (Manzanar National Historic
  Site), and Larry Whalon, Debra Hughson, and Kitty
  Jensen (Mojave National Preserve). Darla Sidles
  (Parashant National Monument) assisted with
  access to the Shivwits Plateau area of Lake Mead
  NRA and the adjacent Parashant NM. Jim Andre
  (University of California Granite Mountains
  Reserve) aided us in our sampling of the Granite
  Mountains area of Mojave NP.