Salton Sea
Animal Biogeography
Ginger Burns
History
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Accidentally created in 1905, the
Salton Sea is now a stopover for
millions of birds. Lower water levels,
and rising salinity and toxicity, threaten
all life in the lake.
The Salton Sea was created in 1905
when spring flooding breached an
intake canal in Arizona, releasing
water from the Colorado River into the
Salton Sink. The resulting lake
covered 500 square miles. People
stocked the lake with fish and pile
worms and, once the water supply
from the Colorado was cut off again,
water levels were maintained by
runoff. With no outflow, the Salton Sea
has become progressively saltier and
levels of toxic chemicals and
pesticides have risen. Now, California
is drawing water from the lake to
supply water thirsty communities,
especially San Diego. The Salton Sea
is shrinking.
History
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In spite of the lake’s problems, pile
worms continue to do well, feeding
off decaying organic material and
algae. They, and the remaining
fish, draw more than 400 species
of birds every year. In 2005,
National Geographic called it “one
of the most important migratory
bird habitats in the US, if not the
world” (Bourne, Joel K. Salton
Sea. February 2005).
But the Salton Sea is dying.
Shrinking water levels, high
salinity, and high levels of toxins
threaten the whole ecosystem.
California is working toward a
restoration plan, but will it be too
little, too late?
The Reality of The Salton Sea
SAMPLING THE BOTTOM-DWELLING ANIMALS OF
THE SALTON SEA
• Benthic (bottomdwelling) invertebrate
animals form a major
part of the diets of fish
and many types of birds
at the Salton Sea, and
can be extremely
numerous within
different habitats. In
fact, on submerged
rocks, several thousand
invertebrates can be
collected from an area
the size of a slice of
bread!
Benthic invertebrate animals within three
major habitats of the Salton Sea
The offshore environment is sampled by boat using a Ponar
grab.
• The rocky shore-line
is an important habitat
for many benthic
animals.
• Barnacle shell
beaches also harbor
a great abundance of
animals
Animals of the offshore sediments.
• The pileworm Neanthes succinea, the
most abundant animal in the Sea, and
food for fish and birds.
• Streblospio benedicti. (small marine worm)
• S. benedicti (life size), 1/10 the size of the
pileworm.
The amphipod Gammarus
mucronatus
• The amphipod is very
abundant in rocky areas:
3,183 were found within a
10 x 10 cm area in July!
Unlike its relatives the
common "beach hoppers"
or sand fleas, Gammarus
spends its entire life
underwater. It is also an
important food for fish
and shorebirds foraging
at the Sea
Balanus amphitrite
• Barnacle shells
provide an
important habitat
for amphipods
and Neanthes.
Corophium louisianum
• The amphipod
Corophium
louisianum lives in
mud tubes
attached to hard
substrata, in empty
barnacle shells,
and in the silty mud
The pileworm Neanthes
• Most spawning
occurred in March,
when one 10-minute
tow collected 286
worms! These would
have provided a tasty
meal for fish foraging
that night.
Over 380 Species of Birds
LOONS, GREBES, ALBATROSS
Red-throated Loon ,Pacific Loon ,Common
Loon
Pied-billed Grebe, HornedGrebe,
EareGrebe, Western Grebe, Clark’s Grebe
Laysan Albatross
Fulmars, Petrels and Shearwaters
• Cook’s Petrel
• Buller’s Shearwater
• Sooty Shearwater
Storm-Petrels, Boobies, and
Gannets
• Leach’s Storm-Petrel, Black Storm-Petrel
• Least Storm-Petrel
• Blue-footed Booby, Brown Booby
Pelicans and Cormorants
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American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Olivaceous Cormorant
Frigatebirds
• Magnificent Frigatebird
Bitterns, Herons, and Egrets
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American Bittern, Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron
Great Egret, Snowy Egret
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Ibises, Spoonbills and Storks
• White Ibis, White-faced Ibis
• Roseate Spoonbill
• Wood Stork
Flamingos
• Lesser Flamingo
• Chilean Flamingo
Waterfowl
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Fulvous Whistling Duck
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Tundra Swan
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Ross’ Goose
Brant
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Waterfowl
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Green-winged Teal
Baikal Teal
American Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Waterfowl
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Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Tufted Duck
Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup
Oldsquaw
Waterfowl
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Black Scoter, Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Common Goldeneye, Barrow’s Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Vultures
• Turkey Vulture
Osprey, Kites, Eagles and Hawks
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Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk
Harris’ Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Osprey, Kites, Eagles and Hawks
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Zone-tailed Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle
Northern Goshawk
Falcons
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American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Prairie Falcon
Gallinaceous Birds and Rails
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Ring-necked Pheasant
Gambel’s Quail
Black Rail, Clapper Rail
Virginia Rail
Sora
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Cranes
• Sandhill Crane
Plovers
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Black-bellied Plover
American Golden Plover
Snowy Plover
Wilson’s Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Mountain Plover
Oystercatchers
• American Oystercatcher
Stilts and Avocets
• Black-necked Stilt
• American Avocet
Shorebirds
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Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted Redshank
Solitary Sandpiper
Willet
Wandering Tattler
Spotted Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Long-billed Curlew
Hudsonian Godwit
Shorebirds
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Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone, BlackTurnstone
Surfbird, Red Knot, Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Little Stint, Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Baird’s Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Shorebirds
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Dunlin
Curlew Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Ruff
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Snipe and Phalaropes
• Common Snipe
• Wilson’s Phalarope
• Red-necked Phalarope
• Red Phalarope
Jaegers
• Pomarine Jaeger
• Parasitic Jaeger
• Long-tailed Jaeger
Gulls and Terns
• Laughing, Franklin’s, Little, Bonaparte’s,
Heermann’s, Mew, Ring-billed, California,
Herring, Thayer’s, Lesser Black-backed,
Yellow-footed, Western, Glaucous-winged,
Glaucous, and Sabine’s Gull
• Black-legged Kittiwake
• Gull-billed, Caspian, Elegant, Common,
Arctic, Foster’s, Least, and Black Tern
Skimmers and Seabirds
• Black Skimmer
• Ancient Murrelet
Doves
• Rock Dove, Spotted Dove, White-winged
Dove, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, and
Common Ground-Dove
• Band-tailed Pigeon
Cuckoos
• Yellow-billed Cuckoo
• Greater Roadrunner
• Groove-billed Ani
Owls
• Barn, Flammulated, Western Screech,
Great Horned, Burrowing, Long-eared,
Short-eared, and Northern Saw-whet Owl
Goatsuckers and Swifts
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Lesser Nighthawk
Common Poorwill
Whip-poor-will
Black Swift
Vaux’s Swift
White-throated Swift
Hummingbirds
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Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Costa’s Hummingbird
Calliope Hummingbird
Rufous Humminhbird
Allen’s Hummingbird
Kingfishers
• Belted Kingfisher
Woodpeckers
• Lewis’, Red-headed, Acorn, Gila, Yellowbellied, Red-naped, Red-breasted,
Ladder-backed,and Nuttall’s Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
Flycatchers
• Olive-sided Flycatcher, Greater Pewee, Western
Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Least
Flycatcher, Hammond’s Flycatcher, Dusky
Flycatcher, Gray Flycatcher, Western
Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Eastern Phoebe,
Say’s Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Duskycapped Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher,
Brown-crested Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird,
Cassin’s Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Eastern
Kingbird, Scissor-tailed flycatcher
Larks and Swallows
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Horned Lark
Purple Martin,
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Jays, Magpies, and Crows
• Scrub Jay
• American Crow
• Common Raven
Chickadees, Titmice and
Verdins
• Mountain Chickadee
• Verdins
Nuthatches, Creepers and
Wrens
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Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Cactus, Rock, Canyon, Bewick’s, House,
Winter, and Marsh Wren
Kinglets, Bluebirds, and
Thrushes
• Golden-crowned, and Ruby-crowned
Kinglet
• Blue-gray, and Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
• Western, and Mountain Bluebird
• Townsend’s Solitaire
• Swainson’s Thrush
• Hermit Thrush
• American Robin, Varied Thrush
Mockingbirds and Thrashers
• Northern Mockingbird
• Sage, Brown, Bendire’s, Curve-billed,
Crissal, and Le Conte’s Thrashers
Wagtails, Pipits, Waxwings, and
Phainopepla
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American Pipit
Sprague’s Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Phainopepla
Shrikes, Starlings and Mynas
• Northern Shrike
• Loggerhead Shrike
• European Starling
Vireos
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Bell’s Vireo
Solitary Vireo
Hutton’s Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Warblers
• Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Nashville,
Virginia’s, Lucy’s, Yellow, Chestnut-sided,
Magnolia, Cape May, Black-throated Blue,
Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray,
Townsend’s, Hermit, Prairie, Palm, Baybreasted, Cerulean, Black-and- white,
MacGillivray’s, and Wilson’s Warbler
• Northern Parula
Warblers
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American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat, Painted Redstart
Yellow-breasted Chat
Tanagers, Grosebeaks, and
Buntings
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Summer and Western Tanager
Pyrrhuloxia
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Blue Bunting
Lazuli Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
Towhees and Sparrows
• Green-tailed, Rufous-sided, and Abert’s
Towhee
• American Tree, Chipping, Brewer’s, Blackchinned, Vesper, Lark, Black-throated,
Grasshopper, Fox, Song,
Lincoln’s,Golden-crowned, Whitecrowned, Harris’, Swamp, White-throated,
Sage, and Savannah Sparrow
• Lark Bunting
Towhees and Sparrows
• Dark-eyed Junco
• McCown’s, Lapland, and Chestnutcollared Longspur
Blackbirds and Orioels
• Bobolink
• Red-winged , Tricolored, Yellow-headed,
and Brewer’s Blackbird
• Western Meadowlark
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Bronzed Cowbird
• Brown-headed
• Cowbird
• Orchard Oriole
Blackbirds and Orioels
• Hooded Oriole
• Bullock’s Oriole
• Scott’s Oriole
Finches
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Purple Finch
Cassin’s Finch
House Finch
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
Lawrence’s Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Evening Grosbeak
Weaver Finches
• House Sparrow
Birds in trouble
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Human activities created the
Salton Sea as it currently exists,
but human activities have
destroyed natural habitats for
migratory birds," says Pryde, who
is an emeritus professor of
geography at San Diego State
University and chair of Audubon
California's Salton Sea Task
Force. "The sea is more crucial
for these birds now than ever
before--and more troubled."
Mammals
of the Salton Sea
• All mammals listed
are considered
resident species with
the exception of the
bats which migrate on
a seasonal basis like
many of the birds.
Shews and Cats
• Desert Shrew
• Bobcat
Dogs and Raccons
• Coyote
• Desert Kit Fox
• Gray Fox
• Raccoon
Leafnose Bats and Plainnose
Bats
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California Leafnose Bat
Long-tongued Bat
Pallid Bat
California Myotis
Western Pipistrel
Big Brown Bat
Spotted Bat
Hoary Bat
Western Yellow Bat
Freetail Bats
• Mexican Freetail Bat
• Pocketed Freetail Bat
• Big Freetail Bat
Rabbits/HaresSquirrels/Chipmunks
• Desert Cottontail
• Blacktail Jackrabbit
• Round-tailed Ground Squirrel
• Antelope Ground Squirrel
Weasels, Skunks, Badgers
• Striped Skunk
• Spotted Skunk
• Badger
Pocket Gophers and White
Footed Mice
• Valley Pocket Gopher
• Cactus Mouse
• Deer Mouse
Pocket/Kangaroo Mice and
Kangaroo Rats
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Desert Pocket Mouse
Little Pocket Mouse
Desert Kangaroo Rat
Spiny Pocket Mouse
Merriam Kangaroo Rat
Long-tailed Pocket Mouse
Cotton Rats and Woodrat
• Hispid Cotton Rat
• Desert Woodrat
• White-throated Woodrat
Voles and Muskrats and Old
World Rats and Mice
• Muskrat
• House Mouse
• Black Rat
• Norway Rat
Amphibians and Reptiles of the
Salton Sea
Amphibians
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Woodhouse’s Toad
Red-spotted Toad
Lowland Leopard Frog
Bullfrog
Turtles and Lizards
• Spiny Softshell Turtle
• Side-blotched Lizard
• Flat –tailed Horned
Lizard
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Leopard Lizard
Long-tailed Brush Lizard
Desert Horned Lizard
Desert Spiny Lizard
Western Whiptail Lizard
Snakes
• Gopher Snake
• Common Kingsnake
Fish of the Salton Sea
Fishes
• Very few fish can tolerate
the high salinity of the
Salton Sea. In 1950
attempts were made to
introduce several marine
fish. These attempts
resulted in the largest
inland fishery in
California.
Introduced Saltwater Fish
Species
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Orange Corvina
Sargo
Gulf Croaker
Longjaw Mudsucker
Species of fish in the Salton Sea
That are found in saltwater and
freshwater
• Tilapia
Fish found in the Salton Sea that
are endangered or threatened
• Desert Pupfish
Other Fish of the Salton Sea
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Threadfin Shad
Sailfin Molly
Mosquitofish
Red Shiner
California Killifish
Largemouth Bass
White Catfish, Channel Catfish
Carp
Habitats of the Salton Sea
Habitat
o - open water - restricted to the open
water of the Salton Sea and larger lakes in
the Imperial Valley.
b - beach and mudflat - basically the shore
line of the Salton Sea, but expanded to
include flooded fields and other such areas
of shallow water and mud.
Habitats
m - marshes - cattail marshes and other
such areas found at various locations aroun
the Salton Sea, along the rivers and canals
and at shallow lakes.
f - farmland - agricultural land found
extensively throughout the Imperial Valley
south of the Salton Sea, including planted
and unplanted fields alike.
Habitats
- shrubland - mesquite thickets and other
brushy areas. Some shrubland contains
scattered trees.
- riparian vegetation - limited to areas of
salt cedar and willows along waterways,
and at some points along the shore of the
Salton Sea.
- aerial - use limited to those strong flying
species most often seen in the air.
Habitats
h - houses and towns - immediate
area of ranch houses and the
residential areas of such towns as
Niland and Calipatria. It is in these
areas that most of the larger trees
can be found and where
ornamental planting supports a
variety of landbirds.