Research

The Conservancy posts research and education papers on its web site for public consumption. The purpose of these papers is to promote better understanding of the biological and scientific issues associated with the implementation of the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan (NBHCP) and the Metro Air Park Habitat Conservation Plan (MAPHCP). They seek to serve as a resource for students, educators, the media and those interested in wildlife and the creation of habitat in the Natomas Basin of California, which will be published on a periodic basis.

Giant garter snake

Giant Gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) Exploit Abundant Nonnative Prey While Maintaining Their Appetitie for Native Anurans (.pdf)

Julia S.M. Ersan; Brian J. Halstead; Erica L. Wildy; Michael L. Casazza; Glenn D. Wylie

2020 – Herpetologica
Intrinsic Prey Preference and Selection of the Giant Gartersnake: A Threatened Predator in a Nonnative Prey-Dominated Community (.pdf)

Julia S.M. Ersan; Brian J. Halstead; Erica L. Wildy; Michael L. Casazza; Glenn D. Wylie

2020 – Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management
Conservation reliance of a threatened snake on rice agriculture (.pdf)

Brian J. Halstead, Jonathan P. Rose, Gabriel A. Reyes, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza

2019 – Global Ecology and Conservation
Integrating growth and capture–mark–recapture models reveals size-dependent survival in an elusive species (.pdf)

Jonathan P. Rose, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza, and Brian J. Halstead

August 2018 – Ecosphere
An Evaluation of the Efficacy of Using Environmental DNA (eDNA) to Detect Giant Gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) (.pdf)

Open file report 2017-1123

2017 – U.S. Geological Survey
Giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) Environmental DNA and trapping surveys at the Natomas Basin Conservancy’s Cummings Tract, Sacramento County, CA (.pdf)

Eric C. Hansen

December 15, 2017
Relations between Environmental Attributes and Contemporary Occupancy of Threatened Giant gartersnakes (.pdf)

Eric C. Hansen, Rick D. Scherer, Erica Fleishman, Brett G. Dickson, and Dave Krolick

April 21, 2017 – Journal of Herpetology, 51(2):274-283.
Estimates of Survival Probability from Two Populations of Giant gartersnakes in California’s Great Central Valley (.pdf)

Eric C. Hansen, Rick D. Scherer, Gary C. White, Brett G. Dickson, and Erica Fleishman

December 2015 – Copeia
Defining population structure and genetics signatures of declines in the giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas): implications for conserving threatened species within highly altered landscapes. (.pdf)

Dustin A. Wood, Brian J. Halstead, Michael L. Casazza, Eric C. Hansen, Glenn D. Wylie and Amy G. Vandergast

October 2015 – Conservation Genetics
A Conceptual Model for Site-Level Ecology of the Giant Gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) in the Sacramento Valley, California (.pdf)

Open-File Report 2015-1152

August 2015 – U.S. Geological Survey
Literature Review of Giant Gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) Biology and Conservation (.pdf)

Open-File Report 2015-1150

August 2015 – U.S. Geological Survey
Thamnophis Gigas (Giant Gartersnake) Movement (.pdf)

Brian J. Halstead, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza, Eric C. Hansen, and John R. Roberts III

2013 – Herpetological Review 44(1)
Giant Garter Snake Monitoring Update October 2012 (.pdf)

By Brian Halstead and Michael Casazza, USGS Western Ecological Research Center
Giant Garter Snake Status Report February 2009 (.pdf)

An overview of the status of the Giant Garter Snake in the Natomas Basin, California
By Eric Hansen

Swainson’s hawk

Swainson’s Hawk Status Report November 2011 (.pdf)

An overview of the status of the Swainson’s Hawk in the Natomas Basin, California
By Jim Estep
Swainson’s Hawk Status Report December 2010 (.pdf)

An overview of the status of the Swainson’s Hawk in the Natomas Basin, California
By Jim Estep
Swainson’s Hawk Status Report February 2009 (.pdf)

An overview of the status of the Swainson’s Hawk in the Natomas Basin, California
By Jim Estep
Space Use by Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) in the Natomas Basin, California (.pdf)

E. Fleishman, J. Anderson, B. G. Dickson, D. Krolick, J. A. Estep, R. L. Anderson, C. S. Elphick, D. S. Dobkin and D. A. Bell

April 7, 2016 – Collabra

Other Reports

Evaluation of Wetland Hydrology in Formerly Irrigated Areas (.pdf)

US Army Corps of Engineers® Engineer Research and Development Center
Jackob F. Berkowitz, Jason P. Pietroski, and Steven J. Currie

July 2017
Trees of the Natomas Basin Conservancy June 2011 (.pdf)

An Overview of the Trees in the Natomas Basin Conservancy Lands
By the Sacramento Tree Foundation
Fish Sampling on Constructed Wetland on the Natomas Basin Conservancy’s BKS Tract June 2009 (.pdf)

Wetland Fish Sampling
By Doug Leslie and Marin Greenwood
Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) in the North Basin Reserve April 2008 (.pdf)

Monitoring Avian Productivity
By Julia Camp and Doug Leslie

Research

Giant garter snake

Giant Gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) Exploit Abundant Nonnative Prey While Maintaining Their Appetitie for Native Anurans (.pdf)

Intrinsic Prey Preference and Selection of the Giant Gartersnake: A Threatened Predator in a Nonnative Prey-Dominated Community (.pdf)

Conservation reliance of a threatened snake on rice agriculture (.pdf)

Integrating growth and capture–mark–recapture models reveals size-dependent survival in an elusive species (.pdf)

An Evaluation of the Efficacy of Using Environmental DNA (eDNA) to Detect Giant Gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) (.pdf)

Giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) Environmental DNA and trapping surveys at the Natomas Basin Conservancy’s Cummings Tract, Sacramento County, CA (.pdf)

Relations between Environmental Attributes and Contemporary Occupancy of Threatened Giant gartersnakes (.pdf)

Estimates of Survival Probability from Two Populations of Giant gartersnakes in California’s Great Central Valley (.pdf)

Defining population structure and genetics signatures of declines in the giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas): implications for conserving threatened species within highly altered landscapes. (.pdf)

A Conceptual Model for Site-Level Ecology of the Giant Gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) in the Sacramento Valley, California (.pdf)

Literature Review of Giant Gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) Biology and Conservation (.pdf)

Thamnophis Gigas (Giant Gartersnake) Movement (.pdf)

Giant Garter Snake Monitoring Update October 2012 (.pdf)

Giant Garter Snake Status Report February 2009 (.pdf)

Swainson’s hawk

Swainson’s Hawk Status Report November 2011 (.pdf)

Swainson’s Hawk Status Report December 2010 (.pdf)

Swainson’s Hawk Status Report February 2009 (.pdf)

Space Use by Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) in the Natomas Basin, California (.pdf)

Other Reports

Evaluation of Wetland Hydrology in Formerly Irrigated Areas (.pdf)

Trees of the Natomas Basin Conservancy June 2011 (.pdf)

Fish Sampling on Constructed Wetland on the Natomas Basin Conservancy’s BKS Tract June 2009 (.pdf)

Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) in the North Basin Reserve April 2008 (.pdf)