Changes in Water-Associated Bird Abundance on Budd Inlet and Capitol Lake, WA from 1987 to 2017
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CHANGES IN WATER-ASSOCIATED BIRD ABUNDANCE ON BUDD INLET AND CAPITOL LAKE, WA FROM 1987 TO 2017 by Tara Newman A Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Environmental Studies The Evergreen State College June 2018 ©2018 by Tara Newman. All rights reserved. This Thesis for the Master of Environmental Studies Degree by Tara Newman has been approved for The Evergreen State College by ________________________ John Withey, Ph. D. Member of the Faculty ________________________ Date ABSTRACT Changes in water-associated bird abundance on Budd Inlet and Capitol Lake, WA from 1987 to 2017 Tara Newman The abundance of water-associated birds has been changing around the world in recent decades. Population trends vary by species and by location, and likely contributing factors are changes in food source availability and environmental contamination. While some studies have been done in the Puget Sound region, research has not yet investigated population trends locally on Budd Inlet and Capitol Lake in Olympia, Washington. Capitol Lake is an artificial reservoir that was created by constructing a dam preventing flow of the Deschutes River into Budd Inlet, and because of the unique characteristics and history of these sites, there may be factors that influence bird populations locally in ways that are not observed at the regional scale. This analysis seeks to fill the knowledge gap about this local ecosystem by using generalized linear models to determine the direction and significance of changes in water-associated bird abundance on Budd Inlet and Capitol Lake from 1987 to 2017, focusing on surface-feeding ducks, freshwater diving ducks, sea ducks, loons, and grebes. Many species that utilize Budd Inlet have experienced population declines over this period, while many species that utilize Capitol Lake have seen their populations increase. These trends are strongest for species that have a high degree of specificity for one habitat type or the other. On Capitol Lake, surface-feeding ducks and diving ducks that feed on aquatic vegetation have generally increased, and some benthic feeding species have declined. On Budd Inlet, many sea duck and loon species have declined, especially those that strongly prefer the saltwater habitat in Budd Inlet and consume primarily benthic organisms. Further research is needed to examine the reasons for these population changes, determine whether similar population changes have occurred elsewhere, and continue monitoring population trends in the future. Table of Contents INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................... 5 Overview and History of Budd Inlet and Capitol Lake .................................................. 6 Figure 1. Map of southern Budd Inlet in Olympia, WA.............................................. 8 Figure 2. Map of Capitol Lake in Olympia, WA......................................................... 9 Budd Inlet Ecosystems and Biodiversity ...................................................................... 10 Capitol Lake Ecosystems and Biodiversity ................................................................... 13 Potential Changes under the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Plan ................................ 16 Foraging Behaviors and Food Sources of Capitol Lake and Budd Inlet Species ......... 17 Surface-feeding Ducks .............................................................................................. 18 Freshwater Diving Ducks .......................................................................................... 19 Sea Ducks .................................................................................................................. 20 Loons and Grebes ...................................................................................................... 22 Potential Causes of Changes in Waterbird Abundance ................................................. 23 Previous Research on Waterbird Population Trends in the Puget Sound Region ......... 29 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 36 METHODS ....................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 3. Map of the survey area boundaries ................................................................ 43 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................... 44 General Trends .............................................................................................................. 44 Habitat-based Trends..................................................................................................... 45 Surface-feeding Ducks .................................................................................................. 46 Freshwater Diving Ducks .............................................................................................. 47 Sea Ducks ...................................................................................................................... 48 Loons ............................................................................................................................. 49 Grebes............................................................................................................................ 49 Potential Biases ............................................................................................................. 50 iv Trends in Abundance by Habitat Specialization and Feeding Guild ............................ 51 Table 1. Results for general trends in species richness and all species abundance using a GLM based on the Poisson or quasi-Poisson distribution. ......................................... 53 Table 2. Results for species that utilize and/or specialize in habitat found in Capitol Lake using a GLM based on the Poisson or quasi-Poisson distribution. ...................... 53 Table 3. Results for species that utilize and/or specialize in habitat found in Budd Inlet using a GLM based on the Poisson or quasi-Poisson distribution. ............................... 54 Table 4. Results for surface-feeding duck species using a GLM based on the Poisson or quasi-Poisson distribution. ............................................................................................ 55 Table 5. Results for freshwater diving duck species using a GLM based on the Poisson or quasi-Poisson distribution. ........................................................................................ 56 Table 6. Results for sea duck species using a GLM based on the Poisson or quasi- Poisson distribution. ...................................................................................................... 57 Table 7. Results for loon species using a GLM based on the Poisson or quasi-Poisson distribution. ................................................................................................................... 58 Table 8. Results for grebe species using a GLM based on the Poisson or quasi-Poisson distribution. ................................................................................................................... 59 Table 9. Results for change in each survey variable over time, using simple linear regression. ..................................................................................................................... 60 Figure 4. General trends in total bird species richness, total water-associated bird species richness, and total water-associated bird abundance in each survey year. ....... 61 Figure 5. Abundance and species richness trends for Capitol Lake users and Capitol Lake specialists. ............................................................................................................ 62 Figure 6. Abundance and species richness trends for Budd Inlet users and Budd Inlet specialists. ..................................................................................................................... 63 Figure 7. Abundance of the surface-feeding duck species in each survey year. ........... 64 Figure 8. Abundance of the freshwater diving duck species in each survey year. ........ 66 Figure 9. Abundance of the sea duck species in each survey year................................ 68 Figure 10. Abundance of the loon species in each survey year. ................................... 71 Figure 11. Abundance of the grebe species in each survey year. .................................. 72 Figure 12. Counts of species by their trend in abundance and habitat specialization. .. 74 Figure 13. Counts of species by their trend in abundance and preferred feeding guild. 75 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................... 76 Surface-feeding Ducks .................................................................................................. 77 Freshwater Diving Ducks .............................................................................................. 80 v Sea Ducks ...................................................................................................................... 83 Loons and Grebes .........................................................................................................