Conservation Perspectives: Review of New Science and Primary Threats to Golden-Winged Warblers
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Chapter THIRTEEN Conservation Perspectives* REVIEW OF NEW SCIENCE AND PRIMARY tHREAtS tO GOLDEN-wINGED wARbLERS Ronald W. Rohrbaugh, David A. Buehler, Sara Barker Swarthout, David I. King, Jeffery L. Larkin, Kenneth V. Rosenberg, Amber M. Roth, Rachel Vallender, and Tom Will Abstract. In this penultimate chapter, we examine which holds 95% of the global breeding popula- new perspectives on ecology of Golden-winged tion, we recommend protection and improve- Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera), review primary ment of existing habitat, whereas we recommend population-level threats, and offer conservation critically needed habitat creation in the Appalachian recommendations. Adequate forest cover and patch- Mountains breeding-population segment. At the level habitat configuration are important for suc- nonbreeding grounds, we recommend protection cessful reproduction and to buffer against negative of humid forest at 700–1,400 m elevation, estab- interactions with Blue-winged Warblers (V. cyanop- lishment of a system of national forest reserves, and tera). We recommend landscape-scale forest cover of promotion of agroforestry, such as Integrated Open 50%–100% and meso-scale (500-m radius) habitat Canopy Coffee. Given that Golden-winged Warblers designs that provide nesting habitat bounded by a likely use a migration pathway across the Gulf of mosaic of structurally diverse, multiple age-class Mexico, which is similar to many other Neotropical forest or connected to such forest by dispersal cor- migrants, we recommend a general strategy of ridors <200 m in length. The primary threat to protecting coastal Gulf of Mexico stopover loca- breeding and nonbreeding Golden-winged Warbler tions. Last, protection of inland migration pathways populations is land-use change, resulting in forest such as ridge tops and riparian forests along major conversion to human development and agriculture. river systems could also confer benefits to Golden- In the Great Lakes breeding-distribution segment, winged Warblers. INTRODUCTION a remarkable life cycle that includes a latitudinal migration covering thousands of kilometers and Devising conservation strategies for Neotropical separate breeding and nonbreeding distributions migrant landbirds, such as Golden-winged with different ecological conditions and threats. Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera), is complicated by The diverse science presented in this Studies in * Rohrbaugh, R. W., D. A. Buehler, S. B. Swarthout, D. I. King, J. L. Larkin, K. V. Rosenberg, A. M. Roth, R. Vallender, and T. Will. 2016. Conservation perspectives: Review of new science and primary threats to Golden-winged Warblers. Pp. 207–215 in H. M. Streby, D. E. Andersen, and D. A. Buehler (editors). Golden-winged Warbler ecology, conservation, and habitat management. Studies in Avian Biology (no. 49), CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 207 Avian Biology volume, ranging from regional new perspectives on Golden-winged Warbler con- studies of postfledgling survival to broad inqui- servation needs, including suggestions for updating ries about migratory connections that potentially current management prescriptions, and (2) review stretch from Manitoba to Colombia, underscores primary population-level threats and offer strate- the complexities of understanding Golden- gies for ameliorating these in the context of full winged Warbler ecology and conservation, not life-cycle conservation planning. There is growing only at one point in space or time, but across need to better understand the connectivity among all stages of the annual life cycle—breeding, different life-cycle phases. We have organized this migrating, and nonbreeding. chapter around the breeding, nonbreeding, and During the 1990s and early 2000s, Golden- migrating stages, and identify potential linkages winged Warbler conservation efforts were oppor- where possible. We conclude with a discussion of tunistic, site-specific, and largely focused on the the need for quantitative, full life-cycle models to Appalachian Mountains. Researchers and manag- identify spatiotemporal population constraints and ers, often working at local scales, protected and more efficiently direct conservation resources for maintained human-modified (e.g., utility rights- the greatest positive impact on the global Golden- of-way and surface mines) and natural (e.g., for- winged Warbler population. ested wetlands) habitats occupied by breeding Golden-winged Warblers (Canterbury and Stover 1999, Confer and Pascoe 2003, Kubel and Yahner BREEDING 2008). Recently, the first guide to Best Management Practices (Bakermans et al. 2011) and comprehen- New Conservation Perspectives sive conservation plan (A. M. Roth et al., unpubl. Status and Distribution plan) have taken a more systematic, distribution- wide approach to Golden-winged Warbler conser- Effective conservation planning requires detailed vation. A. M. Roth et al. (unpubl. plan) provided knowledge about the distribution and abundance a strategic, spatially explicit approach to setting of target organisms on the landscape, especially population and habitat goals, identifying threats, as populations rapidly decline or undergo geo- delineating high-priority focal areas, and making graphic shifts in response to environmental habitat management recommendations. Guidance changes (Faaborg et al. 2010). Rosenberg et al. provided by these publications has been used (Chapter 1, this volume) point out the inadequacy across the breeding distribution to improve and of available monitoring programs to track current create habitat. For example, the Golden-winged population trends and distribution shifts in patch- Warbler is one of seven species targeted for con- ily distributed Golden-winged Warbler popula- servation via the U.S. Department of Agriculture, tions. The North American Breeding Bird Survey Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Working is now ineffective at monitoring Golden-winged Lands for Wildlife program. In the Appalachian Warbler population trends and distribution in Mountains during 2012–2015, the working lands the Appalachian Mountains breeding-distribution program created 3,700 ha of Golden-winged segment because birds are detected on too few Warbler habitat on private lands by using science- survey routes. The same issue is a concern in por- based habitat management prescriptions based on tions of the Great Lakes breeding-distribution seg- Bakermans et al. (2011, 2015) and A. M. Roth et al. ment, and the problem will likely become more (unpubl. plan). systemic in coming years as fewer Golden-winged The new science in this volume provides fresh Warblers are available to be detected on each route. viewpoints on the challenges facing Golden- A related issue is the lack of knowledge about what winged Warbler populations and the strategies is driving population dynamics and shifts in dis- required to implement effective conservation prac- tribution of Blue-winged Warblers (V. cyanoptera). tices. Continued steep population declines in the Hybridization and competitive exclusion by Appalachian Mountains breeding-distribution seg- Blue-winged Warblers may be drivers of Golden- ment and broadening declines in the Great Lakes winged Warbler population declines (Buehler breeding-distribution segment emphasize the et al. 2007). However, few research projects and urgency in addressing known threats. In this chapter, no targeted monitoring projects for Blue-winged we (1) examine results from this volume that yield Warblers have been undertaken in the past decade. 208 STUDIES IN AVIAN BIOLOGY NO. 49 Streby, Andersen, and Buehler This basic lack of data is an obstacle to under- at 75%, as occupancy has not been shown to standing Golden-winged Warbler ecology and decline above this percentage (Thogmartin 2010; population dynamics at a distribution-wide scale Chapter 3, this volume). Moreover, a recent study where it is difficult to compare the relative influ- that examined Golden-winged Warbler habitat ence of habitat loss, nonbreeding-season survival, use in New York and Pennsylvania suggests work- and climate change against the influence of inter- ing in landscapes with >70% forest cover (Wood actions with Blue-winged Warblers. et al. 2016). Also, in light of a positive correlation Rohrbaugh et al. (2011) developed a spatially between Blue-winged Warblers and agricultural balanced, occupancy-based monitoring program and human-developed landscapes, conservation for Golden-winged Warblers in the Appalachian projects in landscapes (2.5-km scale) with >25% Mountains breeding-distribution segment. We combined agricultural and urban cover should be recommend establishment of a similar standard- considered lower priority relative to those in land- ized, distribution-wide program capable of track- scapes with <25% of these cover types. One excep- ing Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warbler tion to this recommendation would be projects breeding populations at multiple spatial scales. A focused on reforesting large portions of open land- standardized protocol will allow biologists, man- use types, such as reclaimed surface mines that are agers, and ultimately policy makers to measure widespread in some portions of the Appalachian population response to management actions and Mountains breeding-distribution segment. refine conservation strategies. Forest that is more mature than that used for primary nesting sites is essential, not only in the larger landscape, but also adjacent to Golden- Habitat Requirements and Reproduction winged Warbler breeding territories, where it has Emerging