Thorough and taxonomically diverse baseline biotic inventory is often overlooked in restoration planning. A “research-implementation gap” is prevalent in restoration practice, and practitioners often lack resources for intensive ecological studies. Opportunistic decision-making, however, is unlikely to yield optimal return on investment. Likewise, a focal species approach based on one or a few species fails to account for tradeoffs inherent in conflicting habitat needs of multiple species of conservation concern present at a site. Restorations based primarily on plant diversity or natural vegetative communities may not provide for the specific needs of species of conservation concern, since natural communities themselves do not serve as adequate surrogates for rare species occurrence.
We completed a restoration plan for 4,500 acres of bayshore habitat at Delaware Wild Lands Taylor’s Bridge Complex on the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain. We calculated mean coefficients of conservatism for vegetation polygons and overlaid point occurrence data for plant, bird, herpetile, odonate, lepidopteran, and native bee species of conservation concern from surveys and incidental observations. From these data, we generated cores of high quality resources based upon both vegetation “intactness” and rare species occurrence. These cores were then buffered and connected in a series of strategic restoration designs.
Results/Conclusions
This case study demonstrates how broad, rapid, baseline inventory across multiple taxa provides critical data to inform restoration and management planning at multiple spatial scales. We documented a surprising number of species of conservation concern within a coastal agricultural landscape, including new populations of several state-listed species. For example, we located only the second known occurrence in the state for a rare skipper that is restricted to the edges of tidal marshes, where commonly-prescribed dormant-season burns are likely to result in local extinction, and where late summer mowing schedules may destroy critical adult nectar sources. Similar data on the co-occurrence of several other species of concern, including marsh birds and rare plants, allowed us to identify synergies and conflicts among the habitat needs of various species and guilds, and incorporate them into the design. In addition to directly influencing more effective restoration designs and management prescriptions, our approach yields a “toolbox” of multiple charismatic taxa that can be used as indicator species for monitoring or as flagship species to help increase stakeholder support and funding availability for restoration efforts.