Landbird Monitoring Protocol and Standard Operating Procedures for the Chihuahuan Desert, Northern Great Plains, Sonoran Desert, and Southern Plains Networks Version 1.00.

摘要

The NPS initiated the Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program to detect long-term changes in biological resources (NPS 1992). Parks with significant natural resources were assigned to one of 32 monitoring networks, each based on ecological similarity and geographic proximity. The Chihuahuan Desert I&M Network (CHDN) includes seven parks in southern New Mexico and western Texas; the Northern Great Plains Network (NGPN) includes 13 park units in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and eastern Wyoming; the Sonoran Desert Network (SODN) includes 11 parks in southern Arizona and New Mexico; and the Southern Plains Network (SOPN) includes 11 park units in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Monitoring changes in landbird population and community parameters is an important element of a comprehensive, long-term monitoring program. Together, these four networks developed a landbird monitoring program in collaboration with Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO). This protocol describes the monitoring program.