Monitoring protocols, population trends, and habitat trends of California Black Rails

California black rails are threatened in California and endangered in Arizona, yet no estimates of population trends are available and distribution in the southwestern US is poorly known. This project sought to document breeding distribution of California Black Rails in the lower Colorado River region. A primary objective was to determine whether Black Rail populations have increased or decreased over the past 25 years by replicating previous population surveys. We recommended monitoring protocols for surveying Black Rails, and Black Rail habitat, for future surveys. During surveys, we also measured vegetation features at each survey point so that future work will be able to determine whether Black Rail population trends are correlated with changes in vegetation along the lower Colorado River corridor.

Publications:

• Conway, C. J., and C. Sulzman.  2007.  Status and habitat use of the California black rail in the southwestern U.S.A.  Wetlands 27:987-998.

• Conway, C. J., C. Sulzman, and B. A. Raulston.  2004.  Factors affecting detection probability of California Black Rails.  Journal of Wildlife Management 68:360-370.