Cerulean Warbler

University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2008 Cerulean Warbler ( Dendroica cerulea Breeding Ecology and Habitat Selection, Initial Response to Forest Management, and Association with Anthropogenic Disturbances in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee Tiffany Ahren Beachy University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Animal Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Beachy, Tiffany Ahren, "Cerulean Warbler ( Dendroica cerulea Breeding Ecology and Habitat Selection, Initial Response to Forest Management, and Association with Anthropogenic Disturbances in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2008. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/3628 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Tiffany Ahren Beachy entitled "Cerulean Warbler ( Dendroica cerulea Breeding Ecology and Habitat Selection, Initial Response to Forest Management, and Association with Anthropogenic Disturbances in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Wildlife and Fisheries Science. David A. Buehler, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Kathleen E. Franzreb, Patrick D. Keyser, Charles P. Nicholson Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Tiffany-Ahren Beachy entitled “Cerulean Warbler ( Dendroica cerulea) Breeding Ecology and Habitat Selection, Initial Response to Forest Management, and Association with Anthropogenic Disturbances in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Wildlife and Fisheries Science. _______________________________ David A. Buehler, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: __________________________ Kathleen E. Franzreb __________________________ Patrick D. Keyser __________________________ Charles P. Nicholson Acceptance for the Council: ___________________________ Carolyn R. Hodges, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) Cerulean Warbler ( Dendroica cerulea ) Breeding Ecology and Habitat Selection, Initial Response to Forest Management, and Association with Anthropogenic Disturbances in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries Tiffany-Ahren Beachy August 2008 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the beautiful, endearing, and often frustratingly difficult to observe Cerulean Warbler. May your blue ever sparkle, your chicks always fledge, and your journeys be filled with fat caterpillars and tall, green trees. Rejoice in the Lord alw ays. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 4 -7 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank the entities that made this project possible through their financial support: the Nature Conservancy, which provided funding through a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Habitat Conservation Planning grant with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which provided funding through a grant with the National Council on Air and Stream Improvement, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries at the University of Tennessee. I offer a huge thank you to my advisor, Dr. David Buehler, for all of his guidance and support and his encouragement to follow my passions. I am also thankful to him for being supportive of our many bird lab trips to conferences in other states and countries, and of my personal travels, all of which enabled me to grow as an individual. I thank my committee members, Kay Franzreb, Pat Keyser, and Chuck Nicholson for their ideas and suggestions. I thank the CERW cooperative group for their friendship, collaboration, and advice in all aspects of this project. I especially thank Petra Wood for her ideas and patient answers to my many questions regarding the edge chapter. I thank Joe Clark for his wise input and helpful hints in all things MARK. I thank Cindy Thatcher for her many hours of GIS help and her endless patience, sweetness, and hospitality. I thank Ann Reed for her invaluable help with statistics. Thanks to Katie Fallon for writing a book about Cerulean Warblers and promoting public awareness about the importance of avian conservation. I would like to thank Joe Elkins and Stan Stooksbury with TWRA and Eric Dennis and Scott Reaves with Fountain Forestry for assistance with study design and implementation. Billy Minser, Chase Grubb and Greg Julian provided assistance with plot layout during the desperate rush to establish study sites. I extend warmest appreciation to all of my field crew members from 2005- 2007; I couldnt have done it without them. They are, in alphabetical orde r: Brad Alexander (crew leader, 06), Rich Aracil (crew leader, 07), Ju stan Blair, Josh Boadway, Kelly Boadway, Jennifer Bock, Clinton Brantley, Kelly Caruso (crew leader , 05), Ethan Duke, Jorge Felipe Aguilar iii Dzib., Sasha Ewing, Jenny Kapp, Joe Liebrecht, Elizabeth Loomis, Hugh Metcalfe, Mike Nichols, Alex Peña, Casey Pittman, Ana Raymundo, Faustino Hernandez Rodriguez, Josh Sayers, and Brett Tryon. Thanks also to LaVetta Roberston for secretarial support. I would like to thank the bird lab, new and old, for being supportive in so many things: Than Boves, Lesley Bulluck, Kelly Caruso, Jim Giocomo, Dan Hinnebusch, Ana Raymundo, Benny Thatcher, and Dusty Varble. I especially thank Lesley Bulluck and Ana Raymundo for their friendship, advice, and encouragement. I am grateful to my friends, Susan Palmer, Melanie Reese, and Lydia Reese, for their prayers and support. I especially thank my parents and my siblings, Stephanie, Jessamyn, Michael, and Letisha for their lifelong love and encouragement. I wouldnt be here if it werent for their support and motivation. And finally, I thank Jesus Christ for giving me the strength to carry on and for creating such an awesome universe! iv ABSTRACT The objectives of this research were to (1) assess the pre-treatment conditions on Royal Blue and Sundquist Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) in terms of Cerulean Warbler ( Dendroica cerulea) habitat selection, territory density, and nest survival, (2) summarize the initial response of cerulean nest-site habitat selection, territory density, and nest survival to silvicultural treatments, and (3) to examine the relationship between anthropogenic disturbances and cerulean abundance and occurrence in the Cumberland Mountains. Cerulean Warblers consistently selected territories and nest sites that differed from the available habitat in 2005 and 2006. Specifically, ceruleans on Royal Blue tended to choose areas with larger trees that provided more overstory cover with more vines whereas ceruleans on Sundquist selected for more open conditions. This variation may be driven by the current habitat conditions on Royal Blue and Sundquist WMA. There were consistently more cerulean territories on Royal Blue than Sundquist. Cerulean Warbler nest survival during 2005 and 2006 was affected by temporal (year and nest stage) and habitat-related factors. Cerulean micro-site selection within the nest tree appeared to be linked to nest survival. The study plots on Royal Blue and Sundquist WMAs were subjected to either a modified-shelterwood, shelterwood, or single-tree selection treatment; one plot per site was a control. Each treated plot on Sundquist gained at least one territory after the harvest; the treated plots on Royal Blue maintained the same number of territories. Nest success was lower in 2007 than in 2005; nest site selection did not differ between years. Continued study is needed to examine the effect of the silvicultural treatments on cerulean habitat selection, territory density and nest survival over time. Cerulean Warbler abundance and occurrence did not change with distance from the edge of clearcuts, mines, and older successional disturbances. These findings suggest that the current configuration of forest and edge habitat in the Cumberland Mountains may not have a significant effect on cerulean distribution. We do not know whether habitat quality in terms of fecundity differs between edge and interior forests. This is an v important research need as the Cumberland

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