Type: journal article

Article abstract: Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) are a mechanism used for conserving land and often have an umbrella species associated with them. We conducted occupancy surveys for an umbrella species, the Coastal California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica), from 2004 to 2009 in San Diego County, California, focusing on preserve lands associated with HCPs. We investigated the effects of habitat quality classification, elevation, distance to coast, and heat load on gnatcatcher occupancy, extinction, and colonization probabilities.