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Outline General Objectives Multi-state tidal marsh bird monitoring Outline throughout the northeast and mid-Atlantic • Overall Project Objectives • History Power of Partnerships: Bird Conservation in the Northeast • Field data collection 19 – 21 October 2010 • Sampling Frame Plymouth, MA Greg Shriver University of Delaware Tidal Marsh Birds of BCR30 General Objectives 1) Fill gaps in current surveys 2) Produce population estimates and identify regional population centers 3) Repeat historic surveys 4) Model geographic variation in productivity and survival 5) Provide a detailed description of states regional responsibility 6) Identify the most critical areas for the long-term preservation of the tidal marsh bird community within each state Surveys and monitoring efforts for tidal marsh birds in BCR 30 Study Areas – Salt Marsh Integrity Study Scale of Monitoring Effort Organization(s) or Regional Program Involved National Wildlife Survey Points Marsh Management State Agencies and/or NGO partners State Various State-level Marsh Bird Surveys (#) Types (CT, ME, MA, MD, NH, NJ, NY, VA) Refuge National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Bird Monitoring US Fish and Wildlife Service Rachel Carson ME 22 Ditched New Hampshire Salt Marsh Bird Monitoring Audubon Society of New Hampshire Ditch Plugged Parker River MA 29 Rachel Carson NWR Salt Marsh Bird Monitoring US Fish and Wildlife Service OMWM/Ditched University of Rhode Island & Rhode Island Complex RI 8 Galilee Bird Sanctuary Monitoring RI Department of Natural Resources OMWM Stewart B. McKinney CT 16 Connecticut Saltmarsh Sparrow Research University of Connecticut Inactive OMWM Delmarva Ornithological Society & 32 Delaware Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow Surveys Wertheim NY Tidal Restricted Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center 26 Reference Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources and Edwin B. Forsythe NJ Delaware Black Rail Broadcast Surveys Environmental Conservation Bombay Hook DE 11 Bombay Hook NWR Salt Marsh Bird Surveys US Fish and Wildlife Service Salt Marsh Integrity Monitoring Protocol Development USGS / US Fish and Wildlife Service Prime Hook DE 19 Eastern Shore VA Complex VA 21 TOTAL 184 Protocol Protocol Salt Marsh Birds • Conduct 3 call-broadcast surveys at each survey point Salt Marsh Obligates using Conway’s Standardized North American Marsh • Seaside Sparrow ( Ammodramus maritimus ) • Saltmarsh Sparrow ( A. caudacutus ) Bird Monitoring Protocols (2009). • Nelson’s Sparrow( A. nelsoni ) • Clapper Rail ( Rallus longirostris ) • Bird species are recorded during a 5-minute passive • Willet ( Tringa semipalmata ) period followed by a broadcasting sequence. Calls are Secretive Marsh Birds broadcast for 30 seconds followed by 30 seconds of • Black Rail ( Laterallus jamaicensis ) • King Rail ( R. elegans ) silence for each species in the sequence. • Virginia Rail ( R. limicola ) • Sora ( Porzana carolina ) • Purple Gallinule ( Porphyrula martinica ) • Common Moorhen ( Gallinula chloropus ) • American Coot ( Fulica americana ) • Pied-Billed Grebe ( Podilymbus podiceps ) • American Bittern ( Botaurus lentiginosus ) • Least Bittern ( Ixobrychus exilis ) Black Rail. Photo by George Kearns. Clapper Rail. Photo by Howard Eskin. Monitoring Goal 1: To measure the annual population status of target species in terms of distribution, abundance/density, and occupancy Monitoring Goal 2: To measure changes in the population status of Cape Code / target species over time Casco Bay Monitoring Goal 3: To relate population status and trend information to biotic and abiotic variables that may affect the target species Monitoring Goal 4. To use the information from the broad-scale monitoring to inform landscape conservation strategies (e.g., conservation design) at the state and local levels by identifying which Southern New habitats (or habitat patches) warrant conservation or regulatory England protection. Long Island Coastal New Jersey Delaware Bay Chesapeake Coastal Bay DelMarVa Cape Code / Casco Bay Monitoring Goal 5. To determine the distribution, intensity, and additive nature of hunting pressure on secretive marsh bird occupancy and abundance by species and state 113 sites surveyed Monitoring Goal 6. To estimate the global population of Saltmarsh Sparrow. SSTS = 29 @ 9 sites Monitoring Goal 7. To provide additional tools and data to support SESP = 148 @ 34 sites conservation decision-making in tidal marsh bird habitat. Southern New England CLRA = 91 @ 42 sites Long Island BLRA = 1 @ 1 site Coastal New Jersey Delaware Bay Chesapeake Coastal Bay DelMarVa Design Example of Design Example of Design 1,084 PSU’s Edwin Forsyth NWR Selected PSU Selected SSU (n = 10 / PSU) Number of Relative Strata Species Std. Deviation CV Visits Abundance I. State II. Protected lands (Wildlife Refuges, Parks, Wildlife 2 1.53 1.69 1.10 3 1.70 1.60 0.94 Clapper Rail Mgt. Areas) 4 1.86 1.50 0.81 III. Private lands 8 2.37 1.71 0.72 IV. Salinity? 2 3.14 2.89 0.92 3 2.54 2.15 0.85 Willet V. Breeding Bird Atlas Blocks? 4 3.24 2.25 0.69 8 4.17 2.63 0.63 NEXT STEPS….. 2 1.36 1.47 1.08 Saltmarsh 3 2.05 2.06 1.01 Sparrow 4 2.20 2.03 0.92 I. Determine # PSU’s / stratum 7 2.48 1.54 0.62 II. Draw draft sample 2 7.70 3.42 0.44 3 8.53 4.11 0.48 III.Coordinate with partners Seaside Sparrow IV.Generate maps 4 8.85 4.16 0.47 6 8.93 3.50 0.39 http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/point/mb/ R. Kern.
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