A Rapid Data Assessment for the Species Status Assessment What do we know? A Rapid Data Assessment for the Species Status Assessment

The rapid assessment background SSAs are completed under tight timelines Need to avoid getting caught late in the SSA process without essential data

The Rapid Assessment is a set of check-boxes to resolve what information exists, what information may need to be developed, and what analyses are needed to complete an SSA

The rapid assessment who does it? SSA Core Team completes the Rapid Assessment The Core Team consists of Staff-level species experts from state wildlife agencies, academia, FWS, and others The Core team is the group that conducts the SSA analysis and writes the SSA Report Core Team may range from 3 to many people depending on complexity

The rapid assessment what’s it for? Help set expectations for the SSA Communication tool Get SSA Core Team focused Establishes what we know and what we don’t know Early awareness of where more work is needed Avoids “crisis mode” during SSA

The rapid assessment How’s it work? A series of questions about your species and data Work through the questions as a group (SSA core team) Best accomplished with biologists who are intimately familiar with the species’ biology Avoid getting bogged down in the details Don’t write everything out, do we know “it” or not is the question, not what “it” is

The rapid assessment what do you get? The product is flexible, but could include: A written accounting of information you have and information you need to get No written record, just an understanding among the core team about what the needs are Puts the core team on an even footing: everyone knows what’s needed

The rapid assessment setting the stage Taxon 1. Is the taxonomic nomenclature for the species well accepted? Range and Distribution 2. Is the historic range/distribution well established/documented? 3. Is the current range/distribution well established/documented?

The rapid assessment species needs Individual Needs 4. Do we know the life stages and understand the needs of the various life stages (e.g., life cycle, food needs, shelter needs, migratory, max age, microhabitat needs, feeding habitat, and home range)? 5. Do we understand the reproductive process and the needs for this to be successful (e.g., reproductive age, environmental or biological cues, specific habitat, specific resources needed, season, duration)? 6. Of these individual needs, what things are most important to ensure persistence/survival of individuals?

The rapid assessment species needs Population Needs 7. Do we know the natural population functions (e.g., sex ratio, fecundity, survival rate, recruitment, genetic structure, mortality rate, minimum viable population)? 8. Do we know the habitat needs of a population (e.g., patch size, connectivity, minimum habitat size, wintering, migratory, breeding)? 9. Of these population needs, what things are most important to ensure persistence/survival of populations?

The rapid assessment current condition Current Condition of Populations 10. Do we have an understanding of what constitutes a population or metapopulation (e.g., the species is one population, multiple individual populations, meta-population, source vs. sink, core vs. non-core)? 11. Do we have survey or monitoring data available for the populations (population sizes, abundance, or density)? Are there any populations with long-term monitoring data? Has this data been analyzed? 12. Do we know if the populations are functioning as needed (e.g., sex ratio, fecundity, survival rate, recruitment, genetic structure, mortality rate, minimum viable population)? 13. Do we know if the habitat needs of a population are present (e.g., patch size, connectivity, minimum habitat size)? 14. Are the populations distributed in a way that parts of the distribution or some populations are likely to be independently impacted by catastrophic events? 15. Do we know if there are genetic or ecological variations across the species’ range?

The rapid assessment future condition Threats or Risks 16. Do we know the past threats to the species? Do we know if these threats are still impacting the species? 17. Do we know the current threat to the species? Do we know which of these threats will continue into the future? 18. Do we know the likelihood of these threats occurring? 19. Do we understand the impacts to the species from these threats? 20. What are the stochastic events that could put populations at risk and how likely are they to occur? 21. How is climate change affecting the species or exacerbating the impacts to the species (e.g., increased temps, increased evaporation, change in timing and amount of precipitation, increase drought)?

The rapid assessment future condition Conservation Actions 22. Are there conservation actions being implemented? Are these actions addressing the threats? 23. Are there proposed future conservation actions? Do we have confidence that these will be implemented and address threats? 24. Are there existing regulatory protections for this species? Are they effective?

The rapid assessment viability Analysis 25. Are there existing modeling efforts for this species (e.g., PVA, persistence probabilities) or existing status assessments? If so, what is our confidence in these? 26. Is survey data, current and historic range and distribution, or other spatial information about the species in GIS format?

The rapid assessment communication External Communication and Cooperation 27. What is the level of interest for this species from our state and Federal partners, private stakeholders, NGOs, etc.? What level of coordination or involvement do we think is warranted? 28. Who are the primary experts related to this species and its ecology?

The rapid assessment Questions?