Rangewide Occupancy and Post-Fire Recovery of California Gnatcatchers in Southern California

This project has two goals:
Goal 1: The goal of this project is to conduct a statistically rigorous study of occupancy to determine the post-fire recovery of gnatcatchers and coastal sage scrub vegetation with the goal of informing management before, during, and after fire.
Goal 2: The goal of this project is to conduct rangewide surveys to determine California Gnatcatcher occupancy at a regional scale. Because California Gnatcatchers will be managed through management of coastal sage scrub rather than through species-specific actions, it is necessary to determine the current status of gnatcatchers on protected lands in southern California to understand how gnatcatcher occupancy is related to coastal sage scrub plant composition, cover, and structure. This in turn will provide information on where and how coastal sage scrub could be managed and restored to benefit California Gnatcatchers and other inhabitants.

These data support the following publication:
Kus, B.E., Houston, A., and Preston, K.L., 2024, Occupancy dynamics of the Coastal California Gnatcatcher in southern California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1015, 34 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241015.