Atlas of breeding colonial waterbirds in the interior western United States

Publication Type:

Report

Authors:

Cavitt, John F.; Jones, Stephanie L.; Wilson, Nacole M.; J. Scott Dieni; Zimmerman, Tara S.; Doster, Robert H.; Howe, William H.

Source:

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver, CO, p.26 (2014)

Call Number:

U14CAV01IDUS

URL:

http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/migbirds/species/birds/western_colonial/Atlas_WCWS_interior_1-23-2014_FINAL.pdf

Keywords:

black tern, black-crowned night-heron, Caspian tern, cattle egret, Clark's grebe, common tern, double-crested cormorant, eared grebe, Forster's tern, Franklin's gull, Great Blue Heron, great egret, snowy egret, SWAP, Western Grebe, white-faced Ibis

Abstract:

From 2009 through 2011, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regions 1 (Pacific), 2 (Southwest), 6 (Mountain-Prairie), 8 (Pacific-Southwest), and 9 (National Headquarters), together with biologists from the interior western states designed and implemented a survey to inventory and document the status of these species (Seto 2008). The Western Colonial Waterbird Survey (WCWS) and resulting Atlas of Breeding Colonial Waterbirds in the Interior Western United States (Atlas) were designed primarily to provide biologists, resource managers, regulatory agencies, and researchers with the best available data on the size and location of inland western waterbird colonies, in a standardized format. This Atlas presents summary results of surveys conducted in the eight participating interior western states (Figure 1). A summary atlas of WCWS survey results for the three participating Pacific Coastal states is currently in preparation (M. McDowell and N. Seto, pers. comm.). The information compiled here serves as a baseline of recent and available historical distribution and abundance. Finally, future surveys and monitoring can be planned using these data as a comprehensive baseline inventory and atlas of these colonies. The objectives of the WCWS were to conduct a comprehensive inventory of waterbird breeding sites and populations in the western United States. Specific objectives included the following: 1) Document the species composition, size, and location of breeding colonies from 2009 through 2011. 2) Produce an atlas of western colonial waterbird breeding colonies. This included an inventory and mapping of current (2009-2011) colonies, compiling existing information on historical sites (where available) and locating and mapping new colonies. 3) Establish a baseline for the development of a long-term monitoring program for colonial waterbirds in the west. 4) Estimate the minimum regional population size of breeding waterbirds.

Notes:

ELECTRONIC FILE - Zoology: Birds

Suggested citation: Cavitt, J. F., S. L. Jones, N. M. Wilson, J. S Dieni, T. S. Zimmerman, R. H. Doster, and W. H. Howe. 2014. Atlas of breeding colonial waterbirds in the interior western United States. Research Report, U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver, Colorado. [26 pp.]

SWAP (2/19/2016) citation:
Cavitt JF, Jones SL, Wilson NM, Dieni JS, Zimmerman TS, Doster RH, Howe WH. 2014. Atlas of breeding colonial waterbirds in the interior western United States. Denver (CO): US Fish and Wildlife Service. 12 p. Research report. [accessed 2016 Feb 1]. http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/migbirds/species/birds/western_colon....