Seasonal fecundity is not related to geographic position across a species’ global range despite a central peak in abundance

Ruskin, Katharine J.; Etterson, Matthew A.; Hodgman, Thomas P.; Borowske, Alyssa C.; Cohen, Jonathan B.; Elphick, Chris S.; Field, Christopher R.; Kern, Rebecca A.; King, Erin; Kocek, Alison R.; Kovach, Adrienne I.; O’Brien, Kathleen; Pau, Nancy; Shriver, W. Gregory; Walsh, Jennifer; Olsen, Brian J.

doi:10.1007/s00442-016-3745-8

Cited by 23 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…(), and Ruskin et al. (). After censoring the nest‐monitoring data, we used 511 Seaside Sparrow nests (115 at the unditched site and 396 at ditched sites) and 314 Saltmarsh Sparrow nests (154 at the unditched site and 160 at ditched sites) for subsequent analyses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors that influence vital rates of Seaside and Saltmarsh sparrows in coastal New Jersey, USA

et al. 2017

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As saltmarsh habitat continues to disappear, understanding the factors that influence saltmarsh breeding bird population dynamics is an important step for the conservation of these declining species. Using five years (2011 - 2015) of demographic data, we evaluated and compared Seaside () and Saltmarsh () sparrow apparent adult survival and nest survival at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey, USA. We determined the effect of site management history (unditched vs. ditched marsh) on adult and nest survival to aid in prioritizing future management or restoration actions. Seaside Sparrow apparent adult survival (61.6%, 95% CI: 52.5 - 70.0%) averaged >1.5 times greater than Saltmarsh Sparrow apparent adult survival (39.9%, 95% CI: 34.0 - 46.2%). Nest survival and predation and flooding rates did not differ between species, and predation was the primary cause of failure for both species. Apparent adult survival and nest survival did not differ between unditched and ditched marshes for either species, indicating that marsh ditching history may not affect breeding habitat quality for these species. With predation as the primary cause of nest failure for both species in New Jersey, we suggest that future research should focus on identification of predator communities in salt marshes and the potential for implementing predator-control programs to limit population declines.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors that influence vital rates of Seaside and Saltmarsh sparrows in coastal New Jersey, USA

et al. 2017

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“…Nests were assigned one of three ultimate nest fates: fledged, failure due to flooding, or failure due to depredation, following Ruskin et al. (,b). Nests were considered fledged if one individual from the nest reached fledging age (i.e., nests could experience partial failure prior to fledging).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasticity in nesting adaptations of a tidal marsh endemic bird

Benvenuti

Walsh

O’Brien

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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If individuals can perceive and manage risks, they may alter their behaviors based on prior experience. This expectation may apply to nest site selection of breeding birds, for which adaptive behavioral responses may enhance fitness. Birds that nest in tidal marshes have adapted to the challenges posed primarily by periodic, monthly tidal flooding and secondarily by predation. We investigated adaptive responses in nesting behavior of the saltmarsh sparrow (Ammospiza caudacutus), an obligate tidal‐marsh‐breeding bird, using 536 nests monitored across 5 years. Using linear mixed effects models, we tested whether nest characteristics differed among nests that were successful, depredated, or flooded, and we investigated whether females made changes in nest structure and placement according to outcome of their previous nesting attempt. Nest characteristics differed among females with different nest fates. Fledged and depredated nests were built higher in the vegetation and in higher elevation areas of the marsh than those that flooded. Successful nests had more canopy cover and were comprised of a lower proportion of high marsh vegetation (Spartina patens) than those that were flooded or depredated. Females with nests that failed due to flooding constructed subsequent nests higher in the vegetation and at higher elevation than those that were successful in their prior attempt, consistent with a response to previous experience. Eighty‐five percent of females renested within the average home range core area distance (77 m), indicating a high degree of nest placement fidelity. Females for which nests were depredated in their prior nesting attempt renested at a greater distance than females for which the previous nesting attempts were successful. Our findings suggest saltmarsh sparrows exhibit plasticity in nesting behavior, which may be important for balancing selective pressures in a dynamic environment. This plasticity, however, is insufficient to enable them to adapt to the increased flooding predicted with sea‐level rise.

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“…(), Ruskin et al . (), and Field (). We used estimates of annual survival for females from Field (): The value for a typical site was 0.44 (0.37–0.52), and the (logit‐transformed) standard deviation of variation across sites was 0.61 (0.56–0.67).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…For nests included in the analysis, we determined fate at each visit using evidence for flooding or depredation using the protocols in Ruskin et al . (). These protocols allow for uncertain nest assignments, which were recorded as NA and explicitly incorporated as missing data in the nest survival model (see code in Appendix S1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

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High‐resolution tide projections reveal extinction threshold in response to sea‐level rise

Field

Bayard

Gjerdrum

et al. 2016

Global Change Biology

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Sea-level rise will affect coastal species worldwide, but models that aim to predict these effects are typically based on simple measures of sea level that do not capture its inherent complexity, especially variation over timescales shorter than 1 year. Coastal species might be most affected, however, by floods that exceed a critical threshold. The frequency and duration of such floods may be more important to population dynamics than mean measures of sea level. In particular, the potential for changes in the frequency and duration of flooding events to result in nonlinear population responses or biological thresholds merits further research, but may require that models incorporate greater resolution in sea level than is typically used. We created population simulations for a threatened songbird, the saltmarsh sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus), in a region where sea level is predictable with high accuracy and precision. We show that incorporating the timing of semidiurnal high tide events throughout the breeding season, including how this timing is affected by mean sea-level rise, predicts a reproductive threshold that is likely to cause a rapid demographic shift. This shift is likely to threaten the persistence of saltmarsh sparrows beyond 2060 and could cause extinction as soon as 2035. Neither extinction date nor the population trajectory was sensitive to the emissions scenarios underlying sea-level projections, as most of the population decline occurred before scenarios diverge. Our results suggest that the variation and complexity of climate-driven variables could be important for understanding the potential responses of coastal species to sea-level rise, especially for species that rely on coastal areas for reproduction.

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Seasonal fecundity is not related to geographic position across a species’ global range despite a central peak in abundance

Cited by 23 publications

References 49 publications

Factors that influence vital rates of Seaside and Saltmarsh sparrows in coastal New Jersey, USA

Factors that influence vital rates of Seaside and Saltmarsh sparrows in coastal New Jersey, USA

Plasticity in nesting adaptations of a tidal marsh endemic bird

High‐resolution tide projections reveal extinction threshold in response to sea‐level rise

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