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A Preliminary Study of Riparian Songbirds in Costa Rica, with Emphasis on Wintering Louisiana Waterthrushes1

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A Preliminary Study of Riparian Songbirds in Costa Rica, with Emphasis on Wintering Louisiana Waterthrushes1 A Preliminary Study of Riparian Songbirds in Costa Rica, with Emphasis on Wintering Louisiana Waterthrushes1 Terry L. Master,2 Robert S. Mulvihill,3 Robert C. Leberman,3 Julio Sanchez,4 and Ernesto Carman5 ________________________________________ Abstract We made preliminary observations on the winter Key Words: Costa Rica, habitat selection, Louisiana distribution, ecology and behavior of Louisiana Water- Waterthrush, riparian birds, wintering ecology. thrushes (Seiurus motacilla) in Costa Rica during Jan- uary 1999 and 2000. We visited 24 headwater streams in three of the four principal mountain ranges in the country (Cordilleras Tilarán, Central, and the Talaman- ca) and confirmed the presence of waterthrushes on ten Introduction of these. In all three regions waterthrushes occurred on medium to high gradient streams, averaging 3.5 meters It is estimated that worldwide there are as many as 80 across (range, 1-8m) and at estimated densities of 2-10 species of obligate stream songbirds (i.e., species birds per kilometer of reach length. Individuals of one occurring more or less exclusively in association with to three species of resident obligate riparian songbirds, fast-flowing stream habitats throughout the year), but e.g., Torrent Tyrannulet (Serpophaga cinerea), Ameri- only a few of these have been studied in detail (Master can Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), and Buff-rumped et al. 2000). These include White-throated Dipper Warbler (Basileuterus fulvicauda), were observed (Cinclus cinclus), American Dipper (Cinclus mexi- along with waterthrushes at three sites (all four species canus), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) (Bakus were observed at a single site). Resident riparian pas- 1959a, 1959b; Tyler 1972; Sullivan 1973; Price and serines were observed at three sites where we did not Bock 1983; Ormerod 1985; Ormerod and Tyler 1986, detect any Louisiana Waterthrushes. We observed ago- 1987; Tyler and Ormerod 1994a) and Louisiana Water- nistic interactions (e.g., agitated chipping, aerial thrush (Seiurus motacilla) (Eaton 1958; Craig 1984, chases, and countersinging) among waterthrushes on 1985, 1987; Robinson 1995; Prosser and Brooks 1998; three streams, indicating that the species is territorial in Mulvihill 1999; Master et al. 2000; Mulvihill et al. winter. We observed no behavioral interactions, how- 2002; O’Connell et al. 2003). Guilds or assemblages of ever, among riparian songbird species, including at a riparian songbirds have received even less attention site where multiple individuals of four species were (but see Orenstein 1975, Budris 1981, Round and Moss present. Similar to relationships established for the 1984, Tyler and Ormerod 1994b). waterthrush on its breeding grounds in Pennsylvania, headwater habitat characteristics such as extensive for- On its breeding grounds in the eastern United States, est canopy cover, lack of sedimentation, and abundant the Louisiana Waterthrush is the only obligate riparian aquatic invertebrates, especially within the orders passerine. Recent studies of its reproductive and forag- Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera, appear to support the ing ecology have demonstrated that the waterthrush is a greatest numbers of over-wintering waterthrushes and/ useful bioindicator of stressors on forested headwater or the most diverse riparian songbird communities in streams across Pennsylvania (Mulvihill 1999, Costa Rica. O’Connell et al. 2003). On its wintering grounds, where it retains a close association with headwater stream habitats, it can potentially share this habitat with one or more resident obligate riparian passerines, e.g., __________ Buff-rumped Warbler (Basileuterus fulvicauda), Tor- rent Tyrannulet (Serpophaga cinerea) and American 1A version of this paper was presented at the Third Interna- Dipper (Mulvihill et al. 1999). There are very few tional Partners in Flight Conference, March 20-24, 2002, published studies giving details of the waterthrush’s Asilomar Conference Grounds, California. winter ecology and no studies have explored the spe- 2 Department of Biological Sciences, East Stroudsburg University, cies’ possible usefulness as a bioindicator on its win- 200 Prospect Street, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301. E-mail: tering grounds or examined its distributional co-occur- [email protected] 3Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Powdermill Nature rence and ecological interactions with resident riparian Reserve, 1847, Rt. 381, Rector, PA 15677 USA. songbirds. Therefore, we performed a preliminary 4Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica. reconnaissance of possible study sites, and subse- 5 Apdo. 749-1000, San Jose, Costa Rica. quently more detailed habitat analyses and behavioral USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191. 2005 528 Louisiana Waterthrush Ecology in Costa Rica - Master et al. observations, in Costa Rica during week-long expedi- Presence of waterthrushes was confirmed by visual and tions in January 1999 and 2000. aural detection, including both call notes and full song, the latter heard on two occasions. Behavioral observa- tions of all riparian birds were conducted opportunisti- cally during systematic searches for waterthrushes on Study Sites and Methods each stream reach. On one stream, the Rio Quirí, which We visited potential study streams in three of the four received the most extensive coverage in both years, major mountain ranges in Costa Rica including the waterthrushes and other riparian birds were color Cordilleras Tilarán (mostly near Monteverde Cloud banded to facilitate recognition of individuals. Forest Biological Reserve on the Pacific Slope), Cen- tral (mostly near Volcán Poas on the Caribbean Slope), Nine streams, including six new sites and return visits and Talamanca (near Tapanti National Park and La to the three most promising 1999 sites, were investi- Amistad National Park on the Caribbean and Pacific gated during January 2000. Field testing of several Slopes, respectively) (fig.1). Our objective in 1999 was protocols for quantitatively assessing riparian habitat to visit and rapidly assess as many streams as possible characteristics, including macroinvertebrate abundance over as wide an area of the country as was feasible. We and composition, was a major emphasis during the visited a total of eighteen streams, spending from 30 2000 expedition. Protocols were tested on four streams, min to several hours at each, and traversing reach based on high known levels of riparian bird activity lengths of 100-1000m, in order to ascertain if and site accessibility, including the Rio Quirí, Rio waterthrushes or other riparian songbirds were present. Mastate, Rio Negro and Rio Bellavista (fig. 1). Two Estimates of riparian bird density were calculated as sites within a 500 m stream reach were randomly the number of individuals of each species observed for chosen for assessing habitat variables on each stream. a given length of stream explored, expressed as number We used the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s of birds/km of stream reach. We assumed similar Rapid Bioassessment protocol which subjectively habitat and dispersion of birds of each species for scores stream channel characteristics including embed- unexplored reach lengths ranging from 0-900 m. dedness of substrate, water velocity, sediment deposi- tion, channel flow, channel impacts, riffle frequency, Cordillera de Tilaran (Pacific) Cordillera Central (Caribbean) Cordillera de Talamanca (Caribbean) Rio Mastate Cordillera de Rio Quirí Talamanca (Pacific) Rio Negro Rio Bellavista Figure 1—Map of Costa Rica depicting general regions (rectangles) where streams were surveyed during January of 1999 and 2000 and the location of the four streams on which habitat data was collected during 2000. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191. 2005 529 Louisiana Waterthrush Ecology in Costa Rica - Master et al. bank stability, bank vegetation cover, and width of ri- reach (table 1). The upper value is identical to what parian vegetation zone (Plafkin et al. 1989). High total Eaton (1953) observed for one stream in Cuba. scores indicated relatively pristine conditions. We also Robinson (1995) observed individual waterthrushes in measured the wetted perimeter at these sites. Values for Panama using 200 and 300 meter reaches (3.3-5.0 birds this index, employed in our breeding ground studies of /km). Several of our observations of waterthrushes sup- the Louisiana Waterthrush, were derived from a ratio port previous observations that the species is highly of the wetted surface of a stream cross section to the territorial on its wintering grounds (Eaton 1953, average stream depth across the same transect. Large Rappole et al. 1992, L. Reitsma pers. comm.). At Rio values indicated stream channels with relatively exten- Mastate, we observed aggressive interactions among sive foraging microhabitat for waterthrushes, i.e., pro- three birds that involved agitated chipping, aerial chas- portionately large areas of accessible water surface due ing, and full volume countersinging. Similar aggressive to shallow water depth and/or abundant exposed sub- interaction (but no singing) between two waterthrushes merged rocks and large woody debris. Canopy height was observed at Quebrada Cuecha. At Rio Quirí, wa- for associated riparian forest was determined using a terthrushes responded weakly (i.e., approached but did range finder and percent canopy cover was calculated not countersing or behave aggressively) to tape play- using a spherical densiometer. Availability of stream back of territorial
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