Variables associated with nest survival of Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) among vegetation communities commonly used for nesting

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Among shrubland-and young forest-nesting bird species in North America, Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) are one of the most rapidly declining partly because of limited nesting habitat. Creation and management of high quality vegetation communities used for nesting are needed to reduce declines. Thus, we examined whether common characteristics could be managed across much of the Golden-winged Warbler's breeding range to increase daily survival rate (DSR) of nests. We monitored 388 nests on 62 sites throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. We evaluated competing DSR models in spatial-temporal (dominant vegetation type, population segment, state, and year), intraseasonal (nest stage and time-within-season), and vegetation model suites. The best-supported DSR models among the three model suites suggested potential associations between daily survival rate of nests and state, time-within-season, percent grass and Rubus cover within 1 m of the nest, and distance to later successional forest edge. Overall, grass cover (negative association with DSR above 50%) and Rubus cover (DSR lowest at about 30%) within 1 m of the nest and distance to later successional forest edge (negative association with DSR) may represent common management targets across our states for increasing Golden-winged Warbler DSR, particularly in the Appalachian Mountains population segment. Context-specific adjustments to management strategies, such as in wetlands or areas of overlap with Blue-winged Warblers (Vermivora cyanoptera), may be necessary to increase DSR for Golden-winged Warblers. Variables associées à la survie des nids de Paruline à ailes dorées (Vermivora chrysoptera) parmi les communautés végétales fréquemment utilisées pour nicherRÉSUMÉ. Parmi les espèces d'oiseaux d'Amérique du Nord qui nichent dans les milieux arbustifs et les jeunes forêts, la Paruline à ailes dorées (Vermivora chrysoptera) est l'une de celles dont les populations diminuent le plus rapidement en raison du peu de milieux de nidification. Afin de freiner cette baisse, la création et l'aménagement de communautés végétales de qualité sont nécessaires pour la nidification de l'espèce. Nous avons examiné s'il était possible d'aménager sur la base de caractéristiques communes dans une grande partie de l'aire de reproduction de cette paruline pour augmenter le taux de survie quotidien des nids (TSQ). Nous avons suivi 388 nids dans 62 stations réparties au Minnesota, au Wisconsin, dans l'État de New York, en Caroline du Nord, en Pennsylvanie, au Tennessee et en Virginie occidentale. Nous avons évalué trois séries de modèles de TSQ fondés sur les caractéristiques spatio-temporelles (type de végétation dominante, segment de la population, État et année), intrasaisonnières (stade du nid et moment durant la saison) et végétales. Parmi tous les modèles, les meilleurs montraient une association potentielle du taux de survie quotidien des nids avec l'État, le moment durant la saison, le pourcent...

Stand and within-stand factors influencing Golden-winged Warbler use of regenerating stands in the central Appalachian Mountains

“…Herbaceous cover is an important habitat component for Golden-winged Warblers, a groundnesting species, because nests are typically placed on the ground at the base of a cluster of herbaceous vegetation (Confer et al 2011). However, Aldinger et al (2015) found a curvilinear relationship between Golden-winged Warbler daily nest survival and grass cover, in which nest survival declined when grass cover exceeded 50%.…”

Using a natural reference system to evaluate songbird habitat restoration

“…Recent work by Rohrbaugh et al (2016) and Rosenberg et al (2016) highlight the importance of increased breeding grounds conservation for the long-term stability of Golden-winged Warbler populations. Although it has been demonstrated that nesting success for this species is similar across a variety of community types (Confer et al 2003, Bulluck and Buehler 2008, Kubel and Yahner 2007, Aldinger et al 2015, no study before ours has compared territory density between managed habitat and a natural reference system. This may be because wetlands are the only remaining naturally occurring community type available to nesting Golden-winged Warbler (Confer et al 2011) because of the ubiquitous suppression of naturally occurring disturbance sources across forests of eastern North America (Hunter et al 2001).…”

“…To address this issue, a large-scale study was conducted to generate habitat management guidelines for the Golden-winged Warbler (Aldinger et al 2015, Terhune et al 2016. The products of this extensive effort included species-specific habitat management guidelines and a breeding grounds conservation plan (Bakermans et al 2011, Roth et al 2012.…”

Factors associated with nest survival of Black‐throated Sparrows, desert‐breeding nest‐site generalists

“…, Aldinger et al. , although Smith et al. , also found higher nest survival for less‐concealed nests).…”

“…, Aldinger et al. ). We centered and scaled all continuous covariates to have a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one: coverage, total shrubs, and nest height for the nest level and ordinal date for the visit level.…”