Migratory connectivity and annual cycle phenology of Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus) revealed through archival GPS tags

Abstract

Understanding spatial and temporal movement patterns of migratory birds throughout the annual cycle can help identify potential population threats. The behavior and habitat use of birds during migration and stopover periods is particularly understudied in many species. In this study, we used high spatial resolution archival GPS tags to track Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus) from one eastern (New Hampshire) and two western (Alaska and Alberta) breeding populations across the annual cycle. We sought to determine: 1) migratory connectivity of the three distinct populations; 2) migratory phenology, behavior, and time spent during each phase of the annual cycle; and 3) habitat use of individuals throughout the nonbreeding period. We retrieved 7 tags from 30 tagged individuals following 1-year deployments. We found that four Alberta individuals overwintered in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, two Alaska individuals overwintered in either the Great Plains or the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, and the single New Hampshire individual overwintered on the Southeastern Coastal Plain. Length of annual cycle stages varied among individuals, with the combined migratory periods occupying between 12% and 48% of the annual cycle. Stopover behavior was also widely variable, as minimum convex polygons of stopovers ranged from < 1 hectare to 505 km² and stopover durations ranged from 1 to 35 days (n = 40 stopovers). Birds predominantly used woody wetlands and emergent marsh during the nonbreeding period, but habitat use differed between roosting and foraging. Marshes were used more for nocturnal roosting, whereas woody wetlands were used for diurnal foraging. Our results can help efforts to conserve this declining species by targeting regions and habitats at specific times of year for management during the nonbreeding period. In particular, the large amount of time spent during migration periods suggests conservation efforts in stopover regions are just as important as those on the wintering grounds. Connectivité migratoire et phénologie du cycle annuel chez le quiscale rouilleux (Euphagus carolinus) révélées par les balises GPS archivéesRÉSUMÉ. La compréhension des habitudes de déplacements spatiaux et temporels des oiseaux migrateurs tout au long du cycle annuel peut permettre d'identifier les menaces potentielles pour ces populations. L'utilisation du comportement et de l'habitat des oiseaux pendant les périodes de migration et d'escales est particulièrement sous-étudiée chez de nombreuses espèces. Dans cette étude, nous avons utilisé des balises GPS d'archivage à haute résolution spatiale pour suivre les quiscales rouilleux (Euphagus carolinus) d'une population de reproduction de l'est du pays (New Hampshire) et de deux populations de l'ouest (Alaska et Alberta) tout au long du cycle annuel. Nous cherchions à déterminer : 1) la connectivité migratoire des trois populations distinctes ; 2) la phénologie migratoire, le comportement et le temps consacré à chaque phase du cycle annuel ; et 3) l'utilisation de l'habitat par les ind...

Species Abundance Modelling of Arctic-Boreal Zone Ducks Informed by Satellite Remote Sensing

“…This spatial data layer identifies several detailed wetland types, covering a sizable portion of the boreal biome and parts of the southern arctic, and as such represents a unique data set for large-scale species modelling. These wetland type maps have been valuable for predicting habitat use by wetland-associated birds to inform conservation decisions [43,44]. But they lack ability to assess temporal variation in wetland abundance and size, factors which are strong predictors of duck abundance and distribution [45], hence offer limited ability to predict impact of climate change on ducks.…”