Land management decisions require rapid surveys of the biodiversity in a region.  “Indicator species” are a subset of the species in an area, presumed to be convenient indicators of the total biodiversity, often because they occur in higher trophic levels (e.g., Linnell et al. 2000).  However, species of higher trophic levels are often generalists and may not be sensitive to biodiversity at lower levels.  The assumptions behind the use of individual species as indicators of the entire biodiversity in an area are rarely tested due to the feasibility of assessing total biodiversity (Carignan and Villard 2002, Fleishman et al. 2005).  We hope to test the general usefulness of indicator species at higher trophic levels (e.g., birds), for capturing biodiversity at lower levels (e.g., plants, insects).
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Mary Jane Epps takes data on plant diversity at one of several taxon-diversity plots at Los Fresnos. Quantitative data on the birds, aquatic invertebrates, ants, and total insects are also collected at each plot.

Selected Literature
Carignan, V., and M-A. Villard. 2002. Selecting indicator species to monitor ecological integrity: a review.
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 78: 45-61.

Fleishman, E., J. R. Thomson, R. MacNally, D. D. Murphy, and J. P. Fay. 2005. Using indicator species to predict
species richness of multiple taxonomic groups. Conservation Biology 19: 1125-1137.

Linnell, J. D. C., J. E. Swenson, and R. Andersen. 2000. Conservation of biodiversity in Scandinavian boreal forests:
large carnivores as flagships, umbrellas, indicators, or keystones? Biodiversity and Conservation 9: 857-868.

Steiner, F., J. Blair, L. McSherry, S. Guhathakurta, J. Marruffo, and M. Holm. 2000. A watershed at a watershed: the
potential for environmentally sensitve area protection in the upper San Pedro Drainage Basin (Mexico and USA). Landscape and Urban Planning 49: 129-148.

Stromberg, J. C. 2001. Restoration of riparian vegetation in the south-western United States: importance of flow
regimes and fluvial dynamism. Journal of Arid Environments 49: 17-34.