Rare Species Find Reaffirms Importance of Long-Term Research

This article was originally published in The Midden – Great Basin National Park: Vol. 17, No. 1, Summer 2017.

Recently found Ringneck snake.

NPS Photo

By Kathleen Slocum, Biological Science Technician

A seemingly small but important victory for long-term ecological research was accomplished when the presence of a ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus) was documented for the first time within a 100-mile stretch of this region. It is a vital piece of the natural history of these highly cryptic snakes that would likely have stayed missing longer if not for someone visiting the same spot in the desert every year, 10 times a year, for 18 years.

A study in the March edition of BioScience found long-term ecological research (LTER) studies had significantly larger impacts on environmental policy and ecologic advancement than shorter-term ecological research. This supports recent ecological literature reviews, including a November review of almost 20 years of NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division-based research in the journal Ecosphere.

While there are many definitions, “long-term” here means five to ten years or more of continuous data. LTER investigates foundational ecological processes and the relationships between them, and helps document rare events or unanticipated ecological surprises. Comprehensive datasets are necessary for assessing complex problems, such as changes in land-use, species invasions, and climate change. For managers, LTER informs how to create and prioritize conservation strategies, and helps assess the effects of previous strategies. LTER is necessary for discerning if changes are the result of anomalous short-term events or large-scale pattern shifts. As LTER yields site-specific ecological trends, these findings can then be used to test hypothesis-driven short-term studies, which ideally are translated into effective place-based management decisions. Quality LTER is applicable to outside of its own discipline; large, comprehensive studies promote interdisciplinary research, such as understanding how rodent population changes affect disease vectors to humans (e.g., Hanta virus), or providing background data for relating ground water pumping to upland stream ecosystem health.

Long-term research needs to be statistically credible, cost-effective, and address the needs of stakeholders. However, it is generally difficult to start LTER programs because of high start-up costs, the inherent time delay in obtaining results, and difficulty in recognizing or quantifying benefits (e.g., the monetary value of documenting a rare species). LTER requires careful planning of all study aspects from data collection to interpretation, particularly in situations with interagency cooperation, frequent staff turnover, and shifting budgets. Having data be easily discoverable is an increasingly important aspect of LTER efforts; for Great Basin N.P. and other federal projects, government transparency and archival regulations ensure data is publicly accessible.

Great Basin N.P. participates in and manages multiple long-term data sets. Annual snake and small mammal surveys are in their 18th year. Continuous precipitation data has been recorded at Lehman Caves Visitor Center since 1937; GRBA has participated in several widespread, long-term climate and air quality monitoring efforts, and currently collects data for the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments program (IMPROVE), started in 1985. Snow surveys, as part of the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service effort started in 1939, have taken place in Baker Creek drainage since the 1942, and the Wheeler Peak SNOWTEL site was installed in 2010. Great Basin N.P. coordinates volunteers to participate in National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, which started in 1900.

Ringneck snake in the wild.

Great Basin N.P. is also adopting long-term monitoring protocols for sagebrush and five-needle pines that have multi-park footprints, which will give greater context to the unique findings at each park. NPS-generated information is available to the public through online agency portals such as the Integrated Resource Management Applications (IRMA).

Great Basin N.P. also is part of the larger Mojave Inventory and Monitoring Network. The NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division (IMD) was started in 1998 by congressional mandate to provide park managers with broad-based information on the status and trends of their entrusted ecosystem and resources. The IMD was purposively structured to be top-down and wide-reaching, in order to bridge program, activity, and funding boundaries inherent to the independent structure of park resource programs. The Vital Signs Monitoring program, in place for almost 20 years, uses standardized practices of resources assessment across and between their networks to scale-up and contextualize information gathered on air quality, water quality, and other vital resources at individual park units. Great Basin N.P.’s vegetation, soil, and geologic resource maps have been produced from this work.

Direct action and planning can take effect on the basis of comprehensive, long-term data. Model Cave was closed to recreation after comprehensive surveying revealed its rich and sensitive biodiversity. As we come into fire season, long-term trends of climate patterns paired with accurate vegetation data allows the park to better anticipate fire behavior and potential suppression needs before fires occurs.

Having quality long-view data is crucial to all park operations, not only natural resources. Visitor-use data informs administrative policies and allocation of interpretation, law enforcement, and maintenance resources. It also affects volunteer opportunities for the public. Park visitation data has been collected since 1933, and GRBA visitor use report cards have been collected since 1998. The Visitor Services Program, through the University of Idaho, assesses the economic impacts of visitation to park units by region, state, and nationally using visitor information collected since 1982.

At Great Basin N.P. and in other park units, LTER helps us fulfill the mission to preserve unimpaired the resources for future generations by making the necessary investments for sound and scientific management.

Sources:
Brumbaugh D.R. et al. 2107. Long-term studies contribute disproportionately to ecology and policy. BioScience 67:271-281.

Caughlan L. and K.L. Oakley. 2001. Cost considerations for long-term ecological monitoring. Ecological Indicators 1:123–134.

Lindenmayer D.B. et al. 2012. Value of long-term ecological studies. Austral Ecology 37:745–757.

Rodhouse T.R, et al. 2016. Ecological monitoring and evidence-based decision-making in America’s National Parks: highlights of the Special Feature. Ecosphere 7:e01608.