Wright State University CORE Scholar Biological Sciences Faculty Publications Biological Sciences 4-1998 Habitat Requirements and Habitat Suitability Index for the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) as a Management Target Species in the Ursus Valley, British Columbia. Volker Bahn Wright State University - Main Campus, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/biology Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Repository Citation Bahn, V. (1998). Habitat Requirements and Habitat Suitability Index for the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) as a Management Target Species in the Ursus Valley, British Columbia.. https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/biology/27 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Biological Sciences at CORE Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Biological Sciences Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of CORE Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Habitat Requirements and Habitat Suitability Index for the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) as a Management Target Species in the Ursus Valley, British Columbia. Diplomarbeit am Fachbereich Biologie der Philipps-Universität Marburg von Volker Bahn Marburg, April 1998 “How do you know but ev’ry Bird that cuts the airy way, Is an immense world of delight, clos’d by your senses five?” William Blake, Prophetic Books: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, A Memorable Fancy (in Blake 1996) Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 BACKGROUND ON MARBLED MURRELETS ............................................................................................ 7 1.1.1 Distribution...................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1.2 Physical Description........................................................................................................................ 9 1.1.3 Ecology and Behaviour ................................................................................................................. 10 1.1.3.1 Feeding ................................................................................................................................................ 10 1.1.3.2 Breeding............................................................................................................................................... 11 1.1.4 Population Status and Threats of the Marbled Murrelet in North America.................................. 13 1.1.5 Conservation of the Marbled Murrelet.......................................................................................... 17 1.2 BACKGROUND ON THE COASTAL TEMPERATE RAINFOREST OF NORTH AMERICA ............................... 19 1.3 STUDY AREA....................................................................................................................................... 23 1.3.1 Land-Shaping Processes................................................................................................................ 24 1.3.2 Geology and Soils.......................................................................................................................... 26 1.3.3 Biogeoclimatic Classification........................................................................................................ 27 1.4 THE CLAYOQUOT SOUND PLANNING PROCESS AND THE INVOLVED DECISIONS AND INSTITUTIONS .... 28 1.4.1 Clayoquot Land Use Decision, April 1993.................................................................................... 29 1.4.2 Interim Measures Agreement, March 19, 1994 (IMA, 1994)......................................................... 29 1.4.3 Scientific Panel for Sustainable Forest Practices in Clayoquot Sound......................................... 30 1.4.4 Forest Practices Code (FPC) ........................................................................................................ 33 1.4.5 Ursus Valley Terms of Reference................................................................................................... 33 1.4.6 Ursus Valley Planning Process ..................................................................................................... 34 1.5 FIRST NATIONS.................................................................................................................................... 35 2. METHODS................................................................................................................................................. 37 2.1 RESEARCH PROGRAM.......................................................................................................................... 37 2.2 FIELD WORK ........................................................................................................................................ 38 2.2.1 Stations .......................................................................................................................................... 38 2.2.2 Audio-Visual Surveys..................................................................................................................... 38 2.2.3 Vegetation Plots............................................................................................................................. 40 2.3 DATA ANALYSIS.................................................................................................................................. 42 2.3.1 General.......................................................................................................................................... 42 2.3.2 Measures of Activity ...................................................................................................................... 43 2.3.3 Vegetation Characteristics ............................................................................................................ 44 2.3.4 Other Station Characteristics........................................................................................................ 47 2.3.5 Correlation Analyses for Habitat Requirements of Marbled Murrelets ........................................ 47 2.3.6 Site Specific Analysis (SSA)........................................................................................................... 49 i 2.3.7 Sources of Within-Subject Variation .............................................................................................50 2.3.7.1 Seasonal trends .................................................................................................................................... 50 2.3.7.2 Weather................................................................................................................................................ 51 2.3.7.3 Canopy Closure ................................................................................................................................... 52 2.3.7.4 Years.................................................................................................................................................... 52 2.3.7.5 Direction Faced by the Observer ......................................................................................................... 52 3. RESULTS ................................................................................................................................................... 54 3.1 SOURCES OF WITHIN-SUBJECT VARIATION ......................................................................................... 54 3.1.1 Inter-annual Variation................................................................................................................... 54 3.1.2 Season............................................................................................................................................ 54 3.1.3 Weather.......................................................................................................................................... 55 3.1.4 Canopy Opening............................................................................................................................ 56 3.1.5 Direction Faced by Observer ........................................................................................................ 57 3.2 HABITAT REQUIREMENTS.................................................................................................................... 58 3.2.1 Site Series and Other Vegetation Units ......................................................................................... 58 3.2.2 Location in the Valley.................................................................................................................... 61 3.2.3 Principal Component and Cluster Analyses.................................................................................. 62 3.2.4 Habitat Characteristics ................................................................................................................. 65 3.2.4.1 Correlation Analyses............................................................................................................................ 65 3.2.4.2 Regression Analyses ............................................................................................................................ 66 3.2.5 Site Specific Analysis (SSA)..........................................................................................................