2008 Annual Monitoring Report (pdf 10.9MB) - Bolsa Chica ...
2008 Annual Monitoring Report (pdf 10.9MB) - Bolsa Chica ...
2008 Annual Monitoring Report (pdf 10.9MB) - Bolsa Chica ...
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<strong>Bolsa</strong> <strong>Chica</strong> Lowlands Restoration <strong>Monitoring</strong><br />
<strong>2008</strong> <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong><br />
Recommendations<br />
No changes to the water quality monitoring program are recommended at this time. The <strong>Monitoring</strong><br />
Plan calls for water quality monitoring to occur again in Year 5.<br />
1.6. AVIAN MONITORING<br />
General Avian <strong>Monitoring</strong><br />
Introduction<br />
The general avian monitoring program for the <strong>Bolsa</strong> <strong>Chica</strong> Lowlands Restoration Project was designed<br />
to employ similar methodologies and survey units as those used in pre-restoration biological survey<br />
work. The <strong>Monitoring</strong> Plan calls for avian monitoring to be conducted once per month in monitoring<br />
Year 2, with no monitoring in Years 1 and 3. Review of other long-term avian monitoring program<br />
data, such as the Batiquitos Lagoon Restoration Long-Term <strong>Monitoring</strong> Program and the Port of Los<br />
Angeles/Port of Long Beach Biological Baseline Study, suggested that such closely spaced monitoring<br />
events may not provide significantly more useful information on avian site-usage than quarterly or bimonthly<br />
surveys.<br />
With review and concurrence by the <strong>Bolsa</strong> <strong>Chica</strong> Steering Committee and the California Coastal<br />
Commission, a revised monitoring schedule was adopted to conduct the surveys every other month,<br />
over a period of two years (monitoring Years 2 and 3), for the same total of 12 surveys. This approach<br />
is more likely to detect annual anomalies, capture natural inter-annual variations in avian usage, and<br />
better document changes in distribution and site use patterns as the restored site matures.<br />
Merkel & Associates biologists conducted the avian surveys with assistance from a team of birders<br />
from Chambers Group, Inc.<br />
Methodology<br />
Study Area<br />
The study site at <strong>Bolsa</strong> <strong>Chica</strong> was divided into "zones" (differing from "stations" for the fish and<br />
benthic studies) for the general avian surveys (Figure 1-16). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<br />
provided the initial zone boundaries and numbering. The term zone is interchangeable with the term<br />
cell, often used at <strong>Bolsa</strong> <strong>Chica</strong> when numbering the marsh units bounded by service roads throughout<br />
the site. The created Full Tidal Basin (FTB) was divided up into new zones as described below.<br />
The Seasonal Ponds at the southeastern side of <strong>Bolsa</strong> <strong>Chica</strong> are divided into Zones 2 through 13.<br />
These zones consist mainly of salt panne with small to extensive expanses of pickleweed, primarily<br />
along the slightly elevated zone boundaries. Portions are seasonally inundated with fresh to brackish<br />
water that becomes highly saline later as evaporation concentrates the remaining water over the salt<br />
panne.<br />
Zones 14 through 40 and Zone 63 (Future Full Tidal Basin) occur between the Seasonal Ponds and the<br />
Muted Tidal Basin (MTB) and include Freeman Creek. These zones are very similar to the Seasonal<br />
Ponds and consist mainly of salt panne and pickleweed, although there are some areas that retain water<br />
year-round. Zone 36 is primarily a freshwater marsh.<br />
Merkel & Associates, Inc. 72