Associations between Breeding Marsh Bird Abundances and Great Lakes Hydrology

Timmermans, Steven T. A.; Badzinski, Shannon S.; Ingram, Joel W.

doi:10.3394/0380-1330(2008)34[351:abbmba]2.0.co;2

Cited by 46 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Simple isolation and management of colony sites will not achieve conservation (Kingsford 2001, Kingsford and Thomas 2004). Breeding waterbirds depend on the large extents of flooding (Stolen et al 2005, Timmermans et al 2008) and access to abundant food resources, although little is known of factors determining such dependencies. Related to this, duration and timing are also critical for ensuring long‐term breeding success of colonial waterbirds (Kingsford and Auld 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maximizing colonial waterbirds' breeding events using identified ecological thresholds and environmental flow management

Bino¹,

Steinfeld²

2014

Ecological Applications

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Global wetland biodiversity loss continues unabated, driven by increased demand for freshwater. A key strategy for conservation management of freshwater systems is to maintain the quantity and quality of the natural water regimes, including the frequency and timing of flows. Formalizing an ecological model depicting the key ecological components and the underlying processes of cause and effect is required for successful conservation management. Models linking hydrology with ecological responses can prove to be an invaluable tool for robust decision-making of environmental flows. Here, we explored alternative water management strategies and identified maximal strategies for successful long-term management of colonial waterbirds in the Macquarie Marshes, Australia. We modeled fluctuations in breeding abundances of 10 colonial waterbird species over the past quarter century (1986-2010). Clear relationships existed between flows and breeding, both in frequencies and total abundances, with a strong linear relationship for flows > 200 GL. Thresholds emerged for triggering breeding events in all 10 species, but these varied among species. Three species displayed a sharp threshold response between 100 GL and 250 GL. These had a breeding probability of 0.5 when flows were > 180 GL and a 0.9 probability of breeding with flows > 350 GL. The remaining species had a probability greater than 0.5 of breeding with flows > 400 GL. Using developed models, we examined the effects of five environmental flow management strategies on the variability of flows and subsequent likelihood of breeding. Management to different target volumes of environmental flows affected overall and specific breeding probabilities. The likelihood of breeding for all 10 colonial waterbirds increased from a regulated historical mean (+/-SD) of 0.36 +/- 0.09 to 0.53 +/- 0.14, an improvement of 47.5% +/- 18.7%. Management of complex ecosystems depends on good understanding of the responses of organisms to the main drivers of change. Considerable opportunity exists for implementing similar frameworks for other ecosystem attributes, following understanding of their responses to the flow regime, achieving a more complete model of the entire ecosystem.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maximizing colonial waterbirds' breeding events using identified ecological thresholds and environmental flow management

Bino¹,

Steinfeld²

2014

Ecological Applications

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“…For most species we lack basic information on population size, distribution, breeding and foraging ecology, migration patterns, and habitat requirements (Eddleman et al 1988). Evidence suggests that many SMB species have suffered drastic population declines in recent decades (Eddleman et al 1988;Timmermans et al 2008), which may be primarily attributable to wetland loss (Eddleman et al 1988;Conway et al 1994). Indeed, the emergent palustrine and riverine wetlands utilized by SMBs continue to be among the most threatened (Eddleman et al 1988, Dahl 2006, and there is no indication that population sizes of SMB species have benefitted from increased wetland restoration and conservation efforts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Distribution and Habitat Associations of Breeding Secretive Marsh Birds in Louisiana’s Mississippi Alluvial Valley

2011

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Populations of many North American secretive marsh birds (SMBs) have declined in recent decades, partially as a function of wetland loss. Protecting and restoring appropriate habitat for these species is contingent upon understanding the habitat features they utilize. We investigated breeding distributions of SMBs in northeast Louisiana at 118 wetlands in 2007 and 2008 and modeled species occupancy (ψ) as a function of habitat variables measured at local (≤100 m) and landscape (≤1 km) scales. Common Moorhens (Gallinula chloropus), Least Bitterns (Ixobrychus exilis), and Purple Gallinules (Porphyrula martinica) were the most commonly detected species, whereas breeding King Rails (Rallus elegans) and American Coots (Fulica americana) were rare. Local habitat features consistently played a greater role in predicting ψ than landscape features for the three most common species. The proportion of local wetland area dominated by robust emergent vegetation (i.e., Typha spp. and Zizaniopsis miliacea) positively influenced ψ for all species, while other wetland vegetation types tended to have a minimal or negative effect. Our results suggest the habitat characteristics preferred by breeding SMBs differ from those used by migrating shorebirds and wintering waterfowl and management and restoration objectives for those species may be inadequate for enhancing SMB habitat.

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“…This suggests that changes to the frequency and timing of snowmelt events could substantially change the timing of run‐off into the basin and seasonal lake‐water levels. Such water level changes impact a variety of environmental and ecological factors in the Great Lakes basin including fish habitats, sediment‐water nutrients, aquatic vegetation, and marsh bird breeding abundance (Barry, Bowers, & De Szalay, ; Fracz & Chow‐Fraser, ; Steinman et al, ; Timmermans, Badzinski, & Ingram, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio‐temporal variability of Great Lakes basin snow cover ablation events

Suriano

Leathers

2017

Hydrological Processes

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In the Great Lakes basin of North America, annual run‐off is dominated by snowmelt. This snowmelt‐induced run‐off plays an important role within the hydrologic cycle of the basin, influencing soil moisture availability and driving the seasonal cycle of spring and summer lake levels. Despite this, relatively little is understood about the patterns and trends of snow ablation event frequency and magnitude within the Great Lakes basin. This study uses a gridded dataset of Canadian and United States surface snow depth observations to develop a regional climatology of snow ablation events from 1960 to 2009. An ablation event is defined as an interdiurnal snow depth decrease within an individual grid cell. A clear seasonal cycle in ablation event frequency exists within the basin and peak ablation event probability is latitudinally dependent. Most of the basin experiences peak ablation frequency in March, while the northern and southern regions of the basin experience respective peaks in April and February. An investigation into the interannual frequency of ablation events reveals ablation events significantly decrease within the northeastern and northwestern Lake Superior drainage basins and significantly increase within the eastern Lake Huron and Georgian Bay drainage basins. In the eastern Lake Huron and Georgian Bay drainage basins, larger ablation events are occurring more frequently, and a larger impact to the hydrology can be expected. Trends in ablation events are attributed primarily to changes in snowfall and snow depth across the region.

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Associations between Breeding Marsh Bird Abundances and Great Lakes Hydrology

Cited by 46 publications

References 2 publications

Maximizing colonial waterbirds' breeding events using identified ecological thresholds and environmental flow management

Maximizing colonial waterbirds' breeding events using identified ecological thresholds and environmental flow management

Distribution and Habitat Associations of Breeding Secretive Marsh Birds in Louisiana’s Mississippi Alluvial Valley

Spatio‐temporal variability of Great Lakes basin snow cover ablation events

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