[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 42 (Friday, March 1, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8014-8016]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4802]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding
for a Petition To List the Ohlone Tiger Beetle as Endangered
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of 12-month petition finding.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 12-month
finding on a petition to list the Ohlone tiger beetle (Cicindela
ohlone) as endangered pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (Act) of
1973, as amended. The Ohlone tiger beetle was discovered in 1990 and is
currently known only from Santa Cruz County, California. The five known
populations may be threatened by the following factors: habitat
fragmentation and destruction due to urban development, habitat
degradation due to invasion of non-native vegetation, and vulnerability
to stochastic local extirpations. However, the Service finds that the
information presented in the petition, in addition to information in
the Service's files, does not provide conclusive data on biological
vulnerability and threats to the species and/or its habitat. Available
information does not confirm that the species is limited to a specific
habitat type. After review of all available scientific and commercial
information, the Service determines that listing is not warranted for
the Ohlone tiger beetle at this time.
DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on November 9,
1995. Comments and information concerning this finding may be submitted
until further notice.
ADDRESSES: Data, information, comments or questions concerning this
petition finding may be submitted to the Field Supervisor, Ventura
Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite
B, Ventura, California 93003. The petition, finding, supporting data
and comments are available for public inspection, by appointment,
during normal business hours at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl Benz, Assistant Field Supervisor,
Listing and Recovery (See ADDRESSES section) at 805/644-1766.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires that, for any petition to
revise the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants that
contains substantial scientific and commercial information, the Service
make a finding within 12 months of the date of receipt of the petition
whether the petitioned action is (a) not warranted, (b) warranted, or
(3) warranted but precluded from immediate proposal by other pending
proposals. Such 12-month findings are to be published promptly in the
Federal Register.
On February 18, 1993, the Service received a petition from Randall
Morgan of Soquel, California requesting that the Service add the Ohlone
tiger beetle (Cicindela ohlone) to the list of threatened and
endangered species pursuant to the Act. The petition specified
endangered status because of
[[Page 8015]]
the beetle's limited distribution, specialized habitat requirements,
and threats from proposed residential developments and other habitat
disturbances. A 90-day finding was made by the Service that the
petition presented substantial information indicating that the
requested action may be warranted. The 90-day finding was announced in
the Federal Register on January 27, 1994 (59 FR 3830). A status review
was initiated.
The Service has reviewed the petition, the literature cited in the
petition, other available literature and information, and consulted
with biologists and researchers familiar with tiger beetles. On the
basis of the best available scientific and commercial information, the
Service finds that listing the Ohlone tiger beetle (Cicindela ohlone)
as endangered is not warranted.
The Ohlone tiger beetle is a member of the Coleopteran family
Cicindelidae (tiger beetles), which includes more than 2,000 species
worldwide and more than 100 species in the United States (Pearson and
Cassola 1992). Tiger beetles are crepuscular, predatory insects that
prey on small arthropods. Tiger beetle species occur in many different
habitats including riparian habitats, beaches, dunes, woodlands,
grasslands, and other open areas (Pearson 1988, Knisley and Hill 1992).
A common habitat component appears to be open sunny areas that are used
by tiger beetles for hunting and thermoregulation (Knisley et al. 1990,
Knisley and Hill 1992). Individual species are generally highly habitat
specific because of larval sensitivity to soil moisture, composition,
and temperature (Pearson 1988, Pearson and Cassola 1992, Kaulbars and
Freitag 1993).
The Ohlone tiger beetle was first described in 1993 from specimens
collected near Soquel, Santa Cruz County, California in 1990.
Currently, five populations have been found and both male and female
specimens have been collected. The larvae of the Ohlone tiger beetle
have yet to be seen or collected, but are presumed to be similar to
other tiger beetle species. Collection of Ohlone tiger beetles has
occurred only in Santa Cruz County, where populations are known only
from coastal terraces supporting remnant patches of native grassland
habitat on clay and sandy clay soils.
Two principal features distinguishing the Ohlone tiger beetle from
other species of tiger beetles are its early seasonal adult activity
period, and its disjunct distribution. While other tiger beetle
species, such as Cicindela purpurea, are active during spring, summer,
or early fall (Nagano 1980, Freitag et al. 1993), the Ohlone tiger
beetle is active from late January to early April (Freitag et al.
1993). The Ohlone tiger beetle is also the southernmost member of its
related group of tiger beetles (Freitag et al. 1993). These unusual
characteristics may, in part account for the lack of historical
collections of the species. Collectors would not expect to find tiger
beetles during late winter or in the Santa Cruz area. However, because
Cicindela is a very popular insect genus to collect (C. Nagano, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, pers. comm. 1993), and because entomologists
commonly collect out of season and out of known ranges in order to find
temporally and spatially outlying specimens, one would expect more
specimens to have been collected if the Ohlone tiger beetle were more
widespread and common. A limited, localized occurrence of the species
may also help explain why the Ohlone tiger beetle was not discovered
until 1990.
Currently, the known adult Ohlone tiger beetle habitat is
characterized by open native grassland, with California oatgrass
(Danthonia californica) and purple needlegrass (Stipa pulchra), on
level or nearly level slopes. Substrate is shallow, pale, poorly
drained clay or sandy clay soil that bakes to a hard crust by summer,
after winter and spring rains cease (Freitag et al. 1993). Habitat for
oviposition by females and subsequent larval development is unknown.
The historic range of the Ohlone tiger beetle cannot be precisely
assessed because the species was only recently discovered, and no
historic specimens or records are available. The earliest specimen
recorded was collected from a site northwest of Santa Cruz in 1987
(Freitag et al. 1993). Based on available information on topography,
substrates, soils, and vegetation, potential suitable habitat for the
Ohlone tiger beetle may have been more extensive and continuous than at
present. If, indeed, the beetle is restricted to coastal terraces of
clay or sandy clay soils, then based on soil maps, it may once have
extended from southwestern San Mateo County to northwestern Monterey
County, California (Freitag et al. 1993). Much of this habitat has been
destroyed, degraded, and fragmented by urban development and invasion
of non-native vegetation. Currently, the extent of habitat that is
potentially suitable for the Ohlone tiger beetle is estimated at 200 to
300 acres in Santa Cruz County, California (Freitag et al. 1993).
However, restriction of the species to these habitat parameters has not
been demonstrated and the occurrence of the Ohlone tiger beetle beyond
this range is not known. Barry Knisley (entomologist, Randolph-Macon
College, pers. comm. 1995) suggests that soil type, rather than plant
community, may define the range and emphasized the need for additional
field work to verify soil relationships. Extensive range-wide surveys
have not been conducted.
The five known populations face threats from habitat fragmentation
and destruction due to urban development, habitat degradation due to
invasion of non-native vegetation, and vulnerability to stochastic
local extirpations. Collection, pesticides, and recreational use of
habitat are recognized as potential threats. However, the Service
concludes that life history information and survey data are currently
inadequate to conclusively determine that the Ohlone tiger beetle is
restricted to the described habitat. Listing the species as either
endangered or threatened is not warranted at this time because
sufficient information is not available indicating that the species is
clearly in danger of extinction or expected to become so in the
foreseeable future. The Ohlone tiger beetle is a species of concern to
the Service and additional information regarding the status, range, and
habitat of adult and larval forms will continue to be solicited.
If additional data become available in the future, the Service may
reassess the candidate status and listing priority for this species or
the need for listing.
References Cited
Freitag, R., D.H. Kavanaugh and R. Morgan. 1993. A new species of
Cicindela (Cicindela) (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelini) from
remnant native grassland in Santa Cruz County, California. The
Coleopterists Bulletin 47:113-120.
[[Page 8016]]
Kaulbars, M.M. and R. Freitag. 1993. Geographical variation,
classification, reconstructed phylogeny, and geographical history of
the Cicindela sexguttata group (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae). The
Canadian Entomologist 125:267-316.
Knisley, C.B. and J.M. Hill. 1992. Effects of habitat change from
ecological succession and human impacts on tiger beetles. Virginia
Journal of Science 43:133-142.
Knisley, C.B., T.D. Schultz and T.H. Hasewinkel. 1990. Seasonal
activity and thermoregulatory behavior of Cicindela patruela
(Coleoptera: Cicindelidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of
America 83:911-915.
Nagano, C.D. 1980. Population status of the tiger beetles of the
genus Cicindela (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) inhabiting the marine
shoreline of southern California. Atala 8:33-42.
Pearson, D.L. 1988. Biology of Tiger Beetles. Annual Review of
Entomology 33:123-147.
Pearson, D.L. and F. Cassola. 1992. World-wide species richness
patterns of tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae): indicator
taxon for biodiversity and conservation studies. Conservation
Biology 6:376-391.
Author: The primary author of this notice is Carl Benz, Ventura
Field Office (see ADDRESSES section) (telephone 805/644-1766).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: November 9, 1995.
John G. Rogers,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 96-4802 Filed 2-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P