Pacific Southwest

Title: California Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus) Distribution and Abundance in Relation to Habitat and Landscape Features in the San Francisco Bay Estuary

Author: Spautz, Hildie; Nur, Nadav; Stralberg, Diana

Date: 2005

Source: In: Ralph, C. John; Rich, Terrell D., editors 2005. Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration in the Americas: Proceedings of the Third International Partners in Flight Conference. 2002 March 20-24; Asilomar, California, Volume 1 Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191. Albany, CA: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: p. 465-468

Station ID: GTR-PSW-191

Description: The majority of California Black Rails (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus; >90 percent) are found in the tidal salt marshes of the northern San Francisco Bay region, primarily in San Pablo and Suisun Bays (Manolis 1978, Evens et al. 1991). Smaller populations occur in San Francisco Bay, the Outer Coast of Marin County, freshwater marshes in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and in the Colorado River Area (Trulio and Evens 2000). Loss of more than 80 percent of historic tidal marsh habitat, as well as habitat fragmentation and degradation have directly and indirectly impacted this and other tidal marsh breeding species (Goals Project 1999). Although there are few historic records of Black Rail presence and abundance in the Bay, recent survey efforts indicate that the species is absent from some marshes in the northern Bay region and that population sizes may be low enough to cause concern (Evens et al. 1991, Nur et al. 1997, Evens and Nur 2002). Due to its small population sizes, the California Black Rail has been listed as a State of California Threatened Species and a Federal Species of Management Concern.

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Citation

Spautz, Hildie; Nur, Nadav; Stralberg, Diana  2005.  California Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus) Distribution and Abundance in Relation to Habitat and Landscape Features in the San Francisco Bay Estuary .   In: Ralph, C. John; Rich, Terrell D., editors 2005. Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration in the Americas: Proceedings of the Third International Partners in Flight Conference. 2002 March 20-24; Asilomar, California, Volume 1 Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191. Albany, CA: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: p. 465-468.