Yosemite Transect Survey
2004 Report
This report is divided into four sections, one each for the three terrestrial vertebrate groups that were the focus on the resurveys of the original 22 "Grinnell" sites within Yosemite National Park, as well as outside the park within the transect: mammals, birds, and reptiles and amphibians. Last, we include some of our historic photograph retakes of select sites from 2003 and 2004. From April until October we visited 9 of the original sites. Like last year, most trips lasted approximately 10 days at each site. Our goals this year were the same as last: (1) to determine faunal changes that have occurred at specific sites in the 80+ years since the original surveys were completed; (2) to document as best as possible the current status of certain rare species; and (3), for some groups, to develop an understanding of the historical uniqueness of target species or lineages present in Yosemite National Park and along the transect in comparison to other regions within the ranges of those species. The latter goal is based on DNA sequence data gathered from sampled specimens obtained during the present surveys and from skins preserved during the original Grinnell surveys and maintained within the collections of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.
Pending approval by the NPS, we intend to revisit Yosemite National Park in 2005 to revisit several sites to assess year-to-year change in fauna for mammals, reptiles and amphibians. We also intend to survey parts of the park not yet inventoried, to help build a baseline for future studies of the park's fauna. A more complete report of all of our activities (survey work, photo retakes, bird censusing) will be finished after the 2005 field season.
Below are PDF files for a more in-depth view of each taxonomic group.
