Effects of Prescribed Burning on Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) Habitat and Populations in the Cumberland Mountains

Transcription

1 Effects of Prescribed Burning on Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) Habitat and Populations in the Cumberland Mountains

2 Confer (1992)

3 North American Breeding Bird Survey -3.36%/yr in U.S. (N=239) 2011 population = ~20% of 1966 population -7.3%/yr in TN (N=5) >95% population decline since 1966 (Sauer et al. 2008)

4 1. Hybridization with Blue-winged Warbler 2. Nest parasitism 3. Stop-over and wintering habitat 4. Loss of breeding habitat Golden-wing Hybrid Blue-wing (Confer 1992, Hunter and Buehler 2001, Vallender et al. 2007, Buehler et al. 2007)

5 Forest Edge Shrub/Sapling Layer Grass/Forb Layer (Confer 1992) N. Klaus photo

6

7

8 Reclaimed years ago Reclamation procedures involved planting of non-native, invasive species: cool season grasses (Festuca spp.) Sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) Also established since reclamation: black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) thickets of blackberry (Rubus spp.)

9 Prescribed Burning

10 1) Evaluate the effects of prescribed burning on reclaimed mine lands on Golden-winged Warbler abundance and reproductive success

11 1) Evaluate the effects of prescribed burning on reclaimed mine lands and on forest management areas on Golden-winged Warbler abundance and reproductive success 2) Evaluate the effectiveness of prescribed burning on clearcut land at creating Golden-winged Warbler habitat (Klaus and Buehler 2001)

12 75,000 ha of stateowned contiguous forest 600 ha managed for GWWA

13 Mountain Sites 1. Massengale 2. Ashlog 3. Fork 4. Burge 5. Bootjack 6. McNew Gap 7. Brushy 8. Anderson 9. Hatfield Knob 10. Red Oak

14 Presence absence surveys 8 sites May June 15 th Playback every 200 meters (Klaus and Buehler 2001, Kubel and Yahner 2007, Rosenberg and Blancher 2005)

15 Nest searching Monitor every 2 3 days Mark-resight Color bands (Dinsmore et al. 2002, Battin 2004)

16 Vegetation Territory transects Nested-plot

17

18 1-m Radius Plots % cover of: Grasses Forbs Ferns Rubus spp. Solidago spp. Surface Water Bare Ground Shrubs < 1 m Shrubs > 1 m Saplings < 10 cm dbh Canopy cover contributed by trees >10 cm dbh Distance (m) to micro-edge

19 11.3-m Radius Plots Basal area Number of snags 5-m Radius Plots Number of shrubs 1-2 m tall Number of shrubs > 2 m tall Number of saplings > 1 cm and < 10 cm dbh, > 0.5 m tall

20 GWWA territory boundary 11.3m radius circles N N R Nest height Plant species nest built in Height of plant(s) in which the nest was built Plot center (1m 2 ): Litter depth Percent cover Litter bare ground Grasses Forbs woody species vines

21 GWWA territory boundary 11.3m radius circles N N R 11.3m radius Basal area No. snags Average sapling height Average height of shrub layer Density board Percent cover

22 ANOVA, logistic regression and PCA used vs. unused territories x burn history used vs. available nesting x burn history Program MARK model the relationship of daily nest survival rates habitat covariates group by burn history return rate x burn history (Dinsmore et al. 2002,Shaffer 2004, Anderson 2008)

23 Habitat factors influencing: Male territory selection Female nest site selection Reproductive success Develop management prescription Unexplained variance Predatory community

24 University of Tennessee National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources The Garden Club of America Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency Committee members Dr. David A. Buehler Dr. Craig A. Harper Dr. Joseph D. Clark U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tennessee Ornithological Society The Nature Conservancy

25 Anderson, D. R Model based inferences in the life sciences: A primer on evidence. Springer Science + Business Media, LLC. New York, NY. Battin, J When good animals love bad habitats: Ecological traps and the conservation of animal populations. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 18, no. 6 (December): Buehler,D. A.,A. M. Roth,R. Vallender,T. C. Will,J. L. Confer,R. A. Canterbury,S. B. Swarthout,K. V. Rosenberg,and L. P. Bulluck Status and conservation priorities of Golden-wingedWarbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) in North America. Auk 124: Bulluck, L. P Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) demographics and habitat use and the potential effects of land use change on Golden-winged and Cerulean Warblers (Dendroica cerulean) in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. Dissertation.University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee. Bulluck, Lesley P., and David A. Buehler Avian use of early successional habitats: Are regenerating forests, utility right-of-ways and reclaimed surface mines the same? Forest Ecology and Management 236, no. 1 (November 15): Confer, J. L Golden-winged Warbler. in Poole, A., P. Stettenheim and F. Gill, eds. The birds of North America, No. 20. The Birds of North America, Inc. Philadelphia, PA. Dinsmore,S. J.,G. C. White,and F. L. Knopf Advanced techniques for modeling avian nest survival. Ecology 83: Hunter, W. C., D. A. Buehler, R. A. Canterbury, J. L. Confer, and P. B. Hamel Conservation of disturbance-dependent birds in eastern North America. Wildlife Society Bulletin 29: Klaus,N. A.,and D. A. Buehler Golden-winged Warbler breeding habitat characteristics and nest success in clearcuts in the southern Appalachian Mountains. WilsonBulletin113: Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon The North American breeding bird survey, results and analysis U.S. Geological Service, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Maryland, USA.