Jonuary l, 1967 A. Storker Leopold

University
of Californio
SAGEHEN CREEK FIELD STATION
Annual Report
Jonuary l, 1967
A. Storker Leopold
Professor
of Toology ond Director of
Sogehen Progrom
A. Starker
January l,
Leopold
1967
Annual Report
SAGEHEN CREEK
This report
summarizes
FIELD STATION
activities
and operations
Field Station during the calendar year
at
Sagehen Creek
1966.
RES EA RCH
Fol lowing plans developed
program
at
during the past two years, the research
Sagehen has bden expanding on
several fronts. Although studies
of the stream and its animal I ife are continuing as before, a number of
new
projects have been initiated that concern terrestrial ecologic problems,
esPecially those associated with ecologic effects of the forest fire of
1960. The fol lowing accounts briefly describe active studies in
during
(l)
progress
1956.
Stonefl ies
gf the Sagehen Basin
Andrew Sheldon
Data have been assembled on seasonal growth patterns, egg counts
and
other I ife history information for a
number
of the
commoner species
of
stonefl ies, particularly those of the genus Arcynoptervx, Four of the
larger sPecies are abundant in Sagehen. Periodic
sampl
ing is providing
information on emergence, growth, mortal ity, substrate preference, food
habits, and genetic I ines in color pattern, A paper entitled t,stonefly
emergence
periods in a Sierra Nevada stream,rrhas been submitted to
Pan-
Pacific Entomologist.
Al ready publ i shed
genus
i
s a taxonomi c
,.paper by Stanley Jewett on another
of stonefly. Materials for this paper
and were col Iected by Sheldon.
,
North Ameri
.rr
"" fPlecopter"J
(,,Some
Wasmann
came I argel
y from
Sagehen Creek,
species of Capnia from western
Jour. Biol. 24(l):l0l-108,
1966).
Sagehen Creek
(2)
"Homi
Field Station, Annual
Report
,
-2-
1966
ng" of di spl aced trout
Ca
rl
Sch reck,_.,Andrew,Shel 4on
Trout were removed from three sections of stream by electric shocking
and transplante.d varying distances up
return to the
home
experimental fish.
pool,
homing behavior, although some
for Transactions of
to
to locate the
to be random with I ittle evidence of
ity. A number of fish
(3) Effect of stream
to test abil ity
of the larger (and older)
aften release, without stopping to
bei ng prepared
down stream
Subsequent samples were shocked
Movement seemed
have some homing abil
or
passed
become reestabl
Ameri can Fi
imprqvement on
their
brown
home
trout
may
pool in travels
ished. A short paper is
sheries
Soci
ety.
trout populations. A. Starker
Leopold,
A stretch of approximately 400 yards of stream was mapped and then
shocked
twice to remove, mark, and return all fish (248 marked). stream improvement
measures were
initiated in five pools. ln
wi I I be shock-censused annual
ly
and
subsequent years
the intensity of pool
increased. Angler recovery of marked fish
wi I
this stretch
improvement
I be recorded. After
several
years, the effect of stream improvement on standing Erop and on angler
yield can be estimated. Cost of
improvements
in
man-hours labor
will
be
reco rded
(4) Drift of_f ish fry
Drift traps
drift
downstream
(S nm1 dri
cont i nue
ft
rew
She I don
also larval sculpins
have shown that
larval rainbow trout
at night for
y a few dqys after hatching. At fi rst I ight
ceases and
to test
And
I
onl
and
arval fi sh burrow into gravel. Trap studies will
hypothes i s
that year-class determination occurs wi thi
n
a few days of hatch, with surplus individuals being removed in the drift.
Sagehen Creek
(5) 0ther
Field Station, Annual Report,
-3-
1966
aquat i c studjss
Andrew Sheldon
ln addition to stonefly. study, alderflies of the Eenus Sialis are
being followed through life history activities. Collections of insects
crustaceans are being made periodical
ly from various springs
covering
considerable range in al titude and temperature. A rivulet in upper
Creek improved
with
impoundments and stocked
and
Sagehen
with transplanted brook trout
by Richard Gard, is being resurveyed to test durabil ity of the improvements.
0riginal report by
Gard appeared
in Jour. tr/ildlife
Management Z5(4):384-350,
196l,rrCreation of trout habitat by constructing small
(5) Beavg popuIations in
Beaver
in the
David Taylor
watershed above the highway crossing have been trapped,
marked, and followed
animals have shed
Sagehen drainage
dams.rl
for the past six years.
Recovery records
light on home range of established animals
of yearlings. As the
aspen supply
of
marked
and on dispersal
is depleted the total population has
declined, but a residue population remains to live on creekside willow,
which regenerates quickly. Data from this study wi I I be assembled, analyzed,
and presented as a Ph.D.
dissertation during the ensuing year.
Q) Ecology of the coyote in
Sagehen Bas i n
Vernon Hawthorne
Following the forest fire of 1960, there appeared to be a substantial
increase in coyotes, related doubtless to the increase in small rodents.
A program of marking coyotes was initiated April 15, 1966, when seven men
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service arrived to join Sagehen personnel
in
den
and
!
hunting. ln a week only
pups were
Between
one occupied den was discovered; the bitch
ear-tagged. Plan for
1967
is to start
den hunting
later;
July l8 and Sept. 29, 1966, a line of steel traps was run
in
Sagehen Creek
Field Station, Annual Report,
-4-
1966
the lower Sagehen Basin. ln 1,778 trap nights, the following animals were
captured, marked, and released: 39 coyotes, g badgers, Z bobcats. Three
coyotes were recaptured, three were
one was inadverrunrly
killed by hunters and tags reported,
killed in trap.
l3 other
Data were assembled on
and
coyotes
trapped and killed in ihe general region. Stomach contents of four of these
were
obtained. A total of
and skeletons
of l6
mammals
(8) Effect of fi re on
Two, twenty-acre
smal
171 coyote scats were
were prepared
l_Iraqlal
to aid in scat analysis.
popul at ions
Vernon Hawthorne,
SE5?Gr Go;;ld
tu
plots in the burn and in adjoining
have been gridded
with steel fence posts spaced
trapping of small
mammals
in
collected for analysis,
100
unburned forest
feet apart.
Systematic
on these grids started in August, 1965, and was
in August, 1966, (one trap to a station, three nights).
ln 1,488 trap nights (1965), 153 small mammals were captured, most of them
repeated
June and
in the burn. This trapping
program
will be repeated each
Additionally, two calhoun lines of lo0o feet
spasmodically
June and August.
each have been operated
for ten years and will be trapped annuilly from
1966 on.
0n July l, 2, and l, both lines were trapped (three traps per station, three
nights) and yielded 39 smal I mammals. Continuing operation of these
sampling programs
will be a regular feature of research at
Sagehen
mammal
to
monitor
fluctuations and trends in rodent populations.
(9) Effegt of fi re on breeding bi rd populations
Census
was
A.
S
ta rke
r
Leopo
Id
of breeding birds on the same experimental grids described above
initiated in 1966, fol lowing prel iminary observations
made
in 1965.
The
Sagehen Creek
Field Station, Annual Report,
1955 census was conducted by
July ll.
and
had nesting
Carl Bock and William Arvey, between May l4
0n the burned.plot,40 species were detected and l5 pairs
territor,ies in
forest plot,26
case
whole
or in part on the plot. 0n the unburned
repeated annual
census
ly to trace fluctuations
(10) Conifer reproduction on burned
grid
and
pairs shared occupancy. As in
s'pecies occurred and 39
of the small mammal study, the
Seven
-5-
1966
plots each 100 x
100
feet,
of resident birds will
and trends
in
be
numbers.
and unburned plots
were selected
the
at
Jane and Carl Bock
random
on the unburned
all living conifers were tabulated. The records depict a mixed
forest of mature f ir (Abies concolor
and
A. magn!-Iiss),
and pine (Pinus
ieff reyi, P. lambertiana and P. qgl!:ayana), but all seedling regeneration
was
fir.
A similar census of ten plots on the burned grid showed
young
pines exclusively (1. jeffrevi and P. murrayana), and no fir regeneration.
This suggests a natural succession following a burn, from pine to fir
forest. 0n the burn, l0!
mortal
ity.
young pines were tagged
of conifer needles on germination
ll)
WeasslJredation on
The
seeding, and artificiat
B. Michael Fitzge_rald
meadow mice
short-tailed weasel is a primary predator of
in
mouse
establ ished
density,
appl ications
and seedl ing survival.
depredations undoubtedly influence the level
changes
of
mouse
meadow
populations. To trace
permanent one-acre I ive-trapping
in two meadows;
137 Microtus were marked
mice, and its
grids were
with ear tags.
trapping provided information on population size, age structure,
r
and
Additional plots were manipulated in 0ctober, 1965, to test
the effects of clearing artiflcial
(
to record growth
and
Repeat
Field Station, Annual Report,
Sagehen Creek
survival rates. Additional
Calhoun I ines
-6-
1966
in several meadows gave further
information about the mouse population. Three weasels were caught and marked,
and two
came
of these were recaptured.
to light
when
of Microtus losses to
Evidence
winter snows receded, exposing the grass nests of
to inspection. Approxi,mately l5 per cent of vole nests
by weasels and the occupants killed.
intensified in
( I 2)
Natural
weasels
mice
had been raided
All facets of this study will
be
1967.
hi
storv of vel lgw-bel I i ed marmot
Fifty-three m6rmots in
James Nee
Sagehen basin were trapped and marked
with plastic
ribbons sewed to nape, Recurrent observations of these marked animal s yielded
data on movements and social interactions. An additional 4l marmots were
collected by shooting, from other areas. lt appears that breeding occurs
immediately
after the animals emerge from hibernation in early
young are born
in
May and appear on
Apri
l,
the surface in June. By August the
marmots
are fattened up for hibernation and they disappear for another year--adults
first, juveniles last. Contents of 37 stomachs and 158 fecal pellets have
been analyzed for food habits data. A Masterls thesis incorporating this
information will be filed in March, 1967. Study will be extended through
summer
of
1967 before publ
ication of resul ts.
(13) 0ther research activities
ln July, 1965, Dr. Fritz
of
Nevada, parked
to
measure
of the Desert
his mobile laboratories in
air purity
George Wheeler,
Went
and gases produced by
Research Laboratory, University
Sagehen
basin for several
plant respiration. Dr.
weeks
and Mrs.
University of North Dakota, col lected ants for taxonomic
Sagehen Creek
Field Station, Annual Report,
-7-
1966
and zoogeographic studies and made ecological observations on variousrrrarerl
ants found abundantly at Sagehen. Dr. Glenn Wiggins, Royal 0ntario
collected caddis flies and_their larvae for taxonomic study. Mr.
Fitzgerald collected prey remains from vicinity of a
young were reared and .fledged during
pri nci pal food)
the
summer
goshawk
Museum,
Michael
nest where three
(ft ickers constituted
the
.
PUBLICATIONS
ln addition to the above I ist of on-going research projects, the following
titles represent projects
last full report of
completed during the past three years, since the
Sagehen
activities
Bibl iography: (eapers based upon
was
filed:
field research done whol ly or in part
at the Sagehen Project)
Gard,
Ri
chard and
Donal
d W. Seegri st
1965 Persistence of the native rainbow trout type fol lowing introduction
of hatchery trout.
Copeia
(2): t8Z-t85.
Hopkirk, John D. and Robert J. Behnke
1966 Additions to the known native fish fauna of Nevada. Copeia
(I
):
134-136.
Johnson, C. M. and P.R.
1966
I
oni
c
compos i
Needham
tion of
adjacent f ire.
Sagehen Creek, Cal i forni
Ecology , 47(4): 86-639.
a, fol lowi ng an
Jewett, Stanley G. Jr.
1966 Some species of Capnia from western North America (Plecoptera)
!,/asmann Jour. Biol . , 24(1): l0l-108
st, Donal d W.
1965 The trout fishery of Sagehen Creek, Nevada County,
1952-1961. Ph.D. thesis, 100 pp., unpublished.
Seegri
ln
Cal
ifornia -
press:
Butler, Robert L.
1967 fSocial heirarchy of trout as related to occupancy of cover niches]
(in process of revision of Animal Behavior.)
Lea, Robert N.
1967 Ecology of the Lahontan cutthroat trout, Salmo clarki i henshawi,
i n I ndependence Lake, Cal i forn i a (M thes i s) .
Sheldon, Andrew S. and Stanley G. Jewett, Jr.
1967 Stonefly emergence periods in a Sierra Nevada stream. Pan-Pacific
Entomologist.
Sagehen Creek
Field Station, Annual Report,
-8-
1966
TEACH I NG
As in the past, two courses have been offered each
during the first
of the
summer
summer
summer
at
Sagehen,
session (or in the future, during the first half
quarter).
These are:
l9 (8) Field studies on the native flora
Given annual ly
Toology 1JJ (B) Field course in wildlife and fisheries Given alternate
Botany
I
(odd) years
Entomology 109 (5?) Entomology
Courses
field practice course
Given alternate
(even) years
are limited to approximately lO students each, since facilities
will not serve more than about 20 students plus teaching staffs. ln 1966
the old I'fish hatchery'r building was stripped of tanks and furnished to
serve as the Botany teaching lab. Late that summer a lab of similar size
was constructed
to
house
future teaching functions in
lEntomol ogy/Zoology.
Current teaching facilities are considered quite adequate.
VISITING
GROUPS
During periods other than scheduled teaching times, the fol lowing
classes or organized groups used the Sagehen facil ities in 1966 for
one
to three days at a time:
Dr.
Bensonrs mammalogy
Dr. Hall's
Dr.
mammalogy
class,
Goldmanrs I imnology
Lawrence Hal
Soi
class, UC, Berkeley
ls
I of
and Plant
San Francisco State College
class,
UC, Davis
Science biology teachers, Berkeley
Nutrition Field Trip, Dr. Delwiche,
grouPs and conferences are scheduled ahead as
I
Cong
ress
,
Seatt I e)
UC, Davis
of I ike nature are welcome. Various visitors
These groups and others
Botan i ca
campus
.
far as
1969 (Eleventh lnternational
Sagehen Creek
'9-
Field Station, Annual Report, 1966
PHYS I
CAL FACI LI TI
ES
0f primary importance to the operation is the bringing in of commercial
power in September, 1966. This was facilitated by a grant from the National
Science Foundation.
As stated above, the fish hatchery has been remodeled and extended into
two teaching
added
laboratories. A residence cabin
for the
of the Director.
use
dining
room
in the
main building
to hold two more tables.
has been extended
l,lo
The
and cooking faci I ity have been
additional
new
buildings are contemplated, but
some
of the older
structures, like the shop.and tool shed, will require maintenance and a
foundat
ion i n
1967
new
.
SUMMARY
The Sagehen Creek
headquarters
and as
Station is serving the University as a functional
for ecological field research by staff
a teaching site for certain types of field
The present
and graduate students
courses.
intent is to intensify the research program, to
broaden
Projects in botany, soi ls, hydrology and
other discipl ines, and to improve the teaching program without enlarging it.
it in the
sense
of bringing in
The physical
enlargement
is
new
facility is approaching its
contemPlated.
optimum
size and no substantial