A REVIEW OF MARBLED MURRELET RESEARCH RELATED TO NESTING HABITAT USE AND NEST SUCCESS Prepared for: Oregon Department of Forestry Salem, Oregon Submitted by: Jonathan H. Plissner Brian A. Cooper Robert H. Day Peter M Sanzenbacher ABR, Inc.—Environmental Research & Services Forest Grove, Oregon Alan E. Burger Alan Burger Consulting Merritt, British Columbia Martin G. Raphael Raphael Ecological Consulting, LLC Olympia, Washington A Review of Marbled Murrelet Research Related to Nesting Habitat Use and Nest Success Final Report Prepared for Oregon Department of Forestry 2600 State Street, Bldg. C Salem, OR 97310 Prepared by Jonathan H. Plissner, Brian A. Cooper, Robert H. Day, Peter M. Sanzenbacher ABR. Inc.—Environmental Research & Services P.O. Box 249 Forest Grove, OR 97116 Alan E. Burger Alan Burger Consulting P.O. Box 2539 Merritt, BC, Canada, V1K1B8 Martin G. Raphael Raphael Ecological Consulting, LLC 2422 44th Ave. NW Olympia, WA 98502 September 2015 ii Contents Tables ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................v Figures .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................vi Appendices ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................vi Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................1 Background ....................................................................................................................................................................................................1 Systematic Review Protocol .....................................................................................................................................................................1 Review Partners ............................................................................................................................................................................................2 Review Questions ........................................................................................................................................................................................2 Methods ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................4 Search Strategy ............................................................................................................................................................................................4 Publication Databases and Search Engines .............................................................................................................................4 Specialist Websites ............................................................................................................................................................................4 Masters and PhD Theses ..................................................................................................................................................................5 Search Terms and Exclusions .........................................................................................................................................................5 Study Inclusion Criteria .............................................................................................................................................................................6 Data-extraction Strategy ..........................................................................................................................................................................7 Critical Appraisal of Studies .....................................................................................................................................................................7 Data Synthesis ..............................................................................................................................................................................................8 Results and Discussion .....................................................................................................................................................................................10 Question 1. How are individual behaviors (subcanopy flight, circling, landing, vocalizations) of Marbled Murrelets indicative of nesting in the forest stand where those behaviors occur? .........................................................10 Papers Reviewed ...............................................................................................................................................................................10 Murrelet Behavior at Inland Sites ................................................................................................................................................10 Behavior as an Indicator of Nesting ...................................................................................................................................14 Variation Among Studies ................................................................................................................................................................17 Effects Modifiers ................................................................................................................................................................................17 Comparison with Other Studies ..................................................................................................................................................18 Conclusions and Data Gaps ...........................................................................................................................................................19 Question 2. To what extent do Marbled Murrelets exhibit nest-site fidelity at various spatial scales (i.e., at the scale of a watershed, forest stand, tree, branch, and platform), and how does the spatial extent of continuous potential habitat affect nest-site fidelity? ................................................................................................................19 Papers Reviewed ...............................................................................................................................................................................20 Site Fidelity ..........................................................................................................................................................................................20 iii Marbled Murrelet Review Fidelity at Scale of Watershed ...............................................................................................................................................23 Fidelity at Scale of Stand.........................................................................................................................................................23 Fidelity at Scale of Tree ............................................................................................................................................................24 Fidelity at Scale of Branch/Nest-Platform/Nest-Cup ....................................................................................................24 Renesting and Fidelity ....................................................................................................................................................................24 Effect of Extent of Habitat Continuity on Fidelity .................................................................................................................25 Variation Among Studies ...............................................................................................................................................................25 Effects Modifiers ................................................................................................................................................................................26 Comparison to Non-systematic Reviews .................................................................................................................................26 Conclusions and Data Gaps ..........................................................................................................................................................28 Question 3. How does the spatial extent of continuous potential habitat relate to the co-occurrence (i.e., nesting by multiple pairs) of murrelets in a forest stand and at other spatial scales? ......................................................29 Papers Reviewed ...............................................................................................................................................................................29 Co-occurrence of Nesting Murrelets .........................................................................................................................................30