Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)

Heath, Shane R.; Dunn, Erica H.; Agro, David J.

doi:10.2173/bow.blkter.01

Cited by 3 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…For example, dabbling ducks like Northern Pintails show a clear affinity for smaller, shallower wetlands, whereas diving birds like Pied-billed Grebe tend to be associated with deeper (and hence larger and more permanent) waterbodies (Muller andStorer 1999, Clark et al 2014). American Bitterns and Black Terns are also typically associated with larger waterbodies (Heath et al 2009, Lowther et al 2009), with American Bittern and Sora occurring where there is dense and tall emergent vegetation (Lowther et al 2009, Melvin andGibbs 2012). Of the six focal species, American Coots exhibit the broadest array of habitat associations (Brisbin and Mowbray 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of the six focal species, American Coots exhibit the broadest array of habitat associations (Brisbin and Mowbray 2002). Black Terns and Northern Pintails attain some of their highest populations in high-density wetland landscapes (Heath et al 2009, Clark et al 2014). Thus, wetter futures that create new waterbodies may boost pintail and tern numbers, whereas conditions that increase waterbody depth and permanence may favor grebes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Simulating the effects of climate variability on waterbodies and wetland‐dependent birds in the Prairie Pothole Region

et al. 2019

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Understanding how bird populations respond to changes in waterbody availability in the climatically variable Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America hinges on being able to couple hydrological and climate modeling to represent potential future landscapes. Model experiments run with the Pothole Complex Hydrologic Model using downscaled climate data (variables relating to precipitation, temperature, and potential evapotranspiration at 1/8° spatial resolution under four general circulation climate models and two gas emissions scenarios) were used to forecast the abundances of six focal wetland‐dependent bird species in the Missouri Coteau portion of the PPR, providing ensemble scenarios at a spatial scale relevant to resource management. Although the projected number of May ponds (waterbodies present during bird breeding season) fluctuated through time with some decadal periodicity (and with the number present in a given year reflecting abundance over the previous three years), the ensemble model average indicated an increase in the average number of waterbodies present by the turn of the next century. Overall, the model experiments conservatively projected an 11.75% increase in the number of waterbodies present by 2090–2099 compared to a baseline period from 1967 to 2005 in the PPR. Wetland‐dependent bird occurrence and abundance were significantly associated with temporal patterns and decadal periodicity in waterbody dynamics. Because of the strong associations between wetland‐dependent bird occurrence and abundance and the number of prairie potholes, projected waterbody increases are forecasted to result in an 11.97% overall increase in occurrence and 8.63% increase in abundance of the six focal species by the end of the 21st century; these results contrast with forecasted drought‐associated declines in waterbodies and birds in the PPR. This integrated hydrological–climatological approach offers a means of assessing how wetland‐dependent bird populations may respond to changes in wetland habitat availability due to a changing climate. Our results provide information that can help managers decide how to mitigate the effects of climate shifts on the distribution of wetland habitat and biota.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulating the effects of climate variability on waterbodies and wetland‐dependent birds in the Prairie Pothole Region

et al. 2019

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“…We conducted the first-ever satellite tracking of Black Terns and discovered that breeding home ranges were extensive (mean 283.7 km 2 ) and distances travelled from nesting locations substantially greater (up to 35 km; mean 8.9 ± 2.3 km) than previously thought Studies of Black Terns have frequently made reference to typical foraging distances of ~2-5 km (Heath et al, 2020;Mosher, 1986) and some have based their selection of spatial scale for habitat association analyses on these values (Steen & Powell, 2012;Wyman & Cuthbert, 2016). But here we show that the species may have much larger area requirements during breeding than was previously thought.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Terns in this region may need to travel large distances to cross agricultural lands between patches of suitable wetland foraging habitat, and many of the smaller 'pothole' wetlands may not contain fish (Heath et al, 2020). In contrast, Mosher (1986) conducted studies within a large (6800 ha) wildlife management area in southeastern British Columbia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To ensure animal welfare guidelines were followed, we restricted tag deployments to individuals weighing more than 62 g. Note that at the time of this study, we were not aware of any satellite‐transmitting tags weighing <2 g, and we required tags to transmit their data (rather than collect and store data, i.e. archival tags such as light‐level geolocators or GPS loggers) due to the low site fidelity of the species (Heath et al., 2020; Shephard, Szczys, et al., 2023). Due to the high cost of tags and the limited availability of heavy‐enough individuals (only ~18% of individuals trapped at our study site weighed more than 62 g; AEM, unpubl.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First‐ever satellite tracking of Black Terns (Chlidonias niger): Insights into home range and habitat selection

McKellar,

Clements

2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Understanding animal movement across the annual cycle is critical for developing appropriate conservation plans, but the large size and high cost of tracking devices can limit the spatial and temporal resolution at which movement data can be collected, especially for small avian species. Furthermore, for species with low breeding site fidelity, the ability to obtain tracking data from small, archival tags is hindered by low recapture rates. We deployed satellite tracking devices on four adult Black Terns (Chlidonias niger), a declining waterbird with low site fidelity, to examine space use and selection of resources within individual breeding home ranges. We also provide a preliminary assessment of habitat use during fall stopover. We found that home ranges were extensive (mean 283.7 km2) and distances travelled from the nest substantially larger (up to 35 km) than previously thought (~2.5 km). Terns showed selection for wetlands and open water on the breeding grounds, but also showed selection for developed areas. This may reflect humans selecting similar landscape features for recreation and development as terns, and suggests that terns can tolerate the light degree of development (e.g. cottages, boat launches, etc.) within our study area. Despite a small sample size, this is the first study to track individual Black Terns at a high resolution with implications for conservation and wetland management practices relevant to the spatial scales at which habitat is used by the species.

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Weak genetic structure, shared nonbreeding areas, and extensive movement in a declining waterbird

Shephard

Szczys

Moore

et al. 2022

Ornithological Applications

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Understanding population mixing, movements, and connectivity of populations is an important first step towards effective conservation, particularly for long distance migrants that are suffering the greatest population declines, as this allows researchers to recognize how populations may face different risks throughout the annual cycle. We combined population genetic and individual tracking data to quantify the genetic structure and full-cycle movements of the declining North American Black Tern (Chlidonias niger surinamensis). A total of 147 genetic samples were collected from 9 breeding colonies across the range (Maine, Ontario, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Saskatchewan, and Oregon), and 19 light-level geolocators were recovered from 3 colonies (Ontario, Michigan, and Saskatchewan). Our results demonstrated weak genetic structure, and tracking data demonstrated the use of shared nonbreeding areas between central (Saskatchewan) and eastern (Ontario and Michigan) breeding populations. Our tracking data also provide novel evidence of long-distance breeding dispersal (~1,400 km between breeding locations across years) based on an individual tracked across multiple years, as well as short distance dispersal (~2.5–57 km) based on new recovery locations of 6 tracked individuals. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the shared use of nonbreeding areas influences physical condition, timing of departure, and subsequent reproductive timing in such a way as to facilitate dispersal across the breeding range and contribute to weak genetic structure among breeding populations. This study is the first to explore population genetics and migration of North American Black Terns. Extensive movement of individuals may pose a challenge from a conservation perspective as important areas and habitats throughout the annual cycle may be difficult to predict, and future studies should build on our work via extensive mark-resight effort using color bands, tracking individuals from more breeding sites, and examining carry-over effects to further investigate when in the annual cycle populations are most limited.

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Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Simulating the effects of climate variability on waterbodies and wetland‐dependent birds in the Prairie Pothole Region

Simulating the effects of climate variability on waterbodies and wetland‐dependent birds in the Prairie Pothole Region

First‐ever satellite tracking of Black Terns (Chlidonias niger): Insights into home range and habitat selection

Weak genetic structure, shared nonbreeding areas, and extensive movement in a declining waterbird

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