Regional habitat needs of a nationally listed species, Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis), in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Understanding factors that affect the distribution and abundance of species is critical to developing effective management plans for conservation. Our goal was to quantify the distribution and abundance of Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis), a threatened old-forest associate in Alberta, Canada. The Canada Warbler has declined across its range, including in Alberta where habitat loss and alteration from urban expansion, forestry, and energy development are changing the forest landscape. We used 110,427 point count survey visits from 32,287 unique survey stations to model local-level (150-m radius circular buffers) and stand-level (564-m radius circular buffers) habitat associations of the Canada Warbler. We found that habitat supporting higher densities of Canada Warblers was locally concentrated yet broadly distributed across Alberta's boreal forest region. Canada Warblers were most commonly associated with older deciduous forest at the local scale, particularly near small, incised streams, and greater amounts of deciduous forest at the stand scale. Predicted density was lower in other forest types and younger age classes measured at the local scale. There was little evidence that local-scale fragmentation (i.e., edges created by linear features) influenced Canada Warbler abundance. However, current forestry practices in the province likely will reduce the availability of Canada Warbler habitat over time by cutting old deciduous forest stands. Our results suggest that conservation efforts aimed at Canada Warbler focus on retaining large stands of old deciduous forest, specifically stands adjacent to streams, by increasing the width of deciduous retention buffers along streams during harvest and increasing the size and number of old forest residual patches in harvested stands.Besoins régionaux en matière d'habitat d'une espèce inscrite sur la liste nationale d'espèces en péril, la Paruline du Canada (Cardellina canadensis), en Alberta, Canada RÉSUMÉ. La compréhension des facteurs qui influent sur la répartition et l'abondance d'une espèce est importante si l'on veut élaborer des plans de gestion efficaces pour sa conservation. L'objectif de notre étude était de quantifier la répartition et l'abondance de la Paruline du Canada (Cardellina canadensis), une espèce menacée associée aux forêts âgées en Alberta, Canada. Les effectifs de la Paruline du Canada ont diminué dans l'ensemble de son aire, y compris en Alberta où la perte et la modification d'habitat attribuables à l'étalement urbain, aux pratiques forestières et aux activités de développement énergétique modifient le paysage forestier. Nous avons utilisé 110 427 dénombrements à partir de 32 287 stations d'écoute afin de modéliser l'association de la Paruline du Canada avec l'habitat à l'échelle locale (rayon de 150 m autour de la station) et à celle du peuplement (rayon de 564 m autour de la station). Nous avons trouvé que les milieux qui hébergeaient les densités les plus élevées de Paruline du Canada étaient concentrés localement, mais aussi t...

Estimating the conservation value of protected areas in Maritime Canada for two species at risk: the Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) and Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis)

“…For these species in Canada, there are two national-scale SDMs that predict population density at a resolution of 1 km x 1 km (Haché et al 2014, Stralberg et al 2015a). There are two regional scale SDMs, with one predicting population density in Alberta at 1 km x 1 km resolution (Canada Warbler only;Ball et al 2016) and one predicting species occurrence in Nova Scotia at 150 m x 150 m resolution (Bale 2017). Although these are valuable for understanding provincial and national habitat associations and distributions, they are either (1) too coarse for management planning within national parks, or (2) lack complete coverage of maritime parks.…”

“…Specifically, avian data are standardized to control for the effects of survey protocols on detectability of each species, based on time of day, time of year, duration and radius of survey, and surrounding landcover types (Matsuoka et al 2012, Sólymos et al 2013. These standardized avian population density data have been used to predict range dynamics of passerines (Stralberg et al 2017), climate change impacts on passerines (Stralberg et al 2015a, b), regional population trends for species occurring in spruce-fir forests (Ralston et al 2015), and Canada Warbler habitat needs in Alberta (Ball et al 2016). In our study area, the BAM project included 15,021 locations in which point counts were conducted between 1996 and 2013.…”

“…The impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on populations of these species is not fully known (EC 2015(EC , 2016. Although both species will breed in postharvest areas, their population density seems to be related to the type of forest management applied, with higher density and productivity in partial and patch cuts than in clearcuts (Preston and Harestad 2007, Robertson and Hutto 2007, Spies et al 2007, Hallworth et al 2008a, Ball et al 2016, Hunt et al 2017. There is also some evidence of detrimental effects of road networks on density of these species (Miller 1999, Matsuoka et al 2011, Haché et al 2014.…”

Our use, misuse, and abandonment of a concept: Whither habitat?

“…Inevitably, different researchers will understand and model the ecology of species differently. Further, one should be acutely aware that the habitat of a given species may vary geographically and, to some extent, through time, especially given climate change (e.g., Ball et al., ; Wiens, Rotenberry, & Van Horne, ); thus findings from different years or different areas may provide different (but equally valid) results. According to Mathewson and Morrison (), to accurately denote a species’ habitat, one must obtain demographic information on vital rates and long‐term persistence in space and time to determine habitat quality.…”

Differential habitat selection in boreal songbirds influences estimates of population size and distribution

“…Sustainable forest management planning requires predictive models of species' responses to these changes (Rudd et al, 2011;Vernier, Schmiegelow, Hannon, & Cumming, 2008). Such models have been developed independently for regions within boreal Canada (e.g., Ball et al, 2016;Rempel et al, 2007;Vernier et al, 2008). However, population-level management requires more spatially extensive models.…”