RMSA 2017 report - Home - Rio Mesa Center · community at RMC that we can document with mist nets...
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BondermanFieldStationatRioMesa2017BirdBandingReport
ŞekercioğluLabUniversityofUtahDepartmentofBiology257South1400EastSaltLakeCity,UT84112801-587-5661
CoverPhotos,clockwisefromtopleft:AMountainChickadee,Wilson’sWarbler,andCanyonWren.Allcapturedandbandedduringthe2017seasonattheRioMesabandingstation.StationOverviewStatistics StationLifetime
TotalsSpeciesObserved 183SpeciesCaught 125SpeciesBanded 113OverallCaptures 11,173BirdsBanded 8,648BandingDays 655OurMission WeseektounderstandtheecologyandmigratorypatternsofthebirdcommunityattheBondermanFieldStationatRioMesa(RMC)usingmist-nettingandmark-recaptureanalysis.Bycapturingandbandingbirdsweareabletogainvaluableinsightsintopopulationsize,communitystructure,thetimingofmigration,andhowaviangroupsarerespondingtoanthropogenicthreats.Wearealsodedicatedtooutreachandeducation.Birdsareanexceptionalflagshipgrouptohelpinstillinterestinconservationandtheenvironment1andeveryyearwewelcomehundredsofvisitorstoourstationwherepeoplefromallwalksoflifecanreceiveahands-oneducationaboutnature,ecology,ornithologyandconservation.BondermanFieldStationatRioMesa TheRMCrepresentsanideallocationtoconductornithologicalresearch.Riparianzones,liketheRMC’sDoloresRiver,compriseadisproportionatelyimportanthabitatinthearidintermountainwest.Birds,inparticular,dependheavilyonthisdelicateenvironment,andriparianzonesserveascriticalmigratorycorridorsforbirdsmovingthroughanotherwiseharsharea2.Riparianzonesarealsounderseverethreatfromclimatechange3.Withthegrowingthreatofglobalchangewe,morethanever,needadetailedunderstandingoftheecologyofriparianhabitatsandtheorganismsthatdependonthem.
OurResearch OurstationfollowsstandardprotocoldevelopedbytheMonitoringAvianProductivityandSurvivorshipprogram(MAPS)4.Weoperatesixteen12x2.5metermist-netsthatareopened30minutesbeforesunriseandremainopenfor6hours.Netsareopen10outofevery12daysfromApril-JuneandAugust-November.Netsarecheckedevery30minutesandanybirdsareextractedandtakenbacktoacentrallocationforprocessing.EachbirdisoutfittedwithametallegbandissuedbytheUnitedStatesGeologicalSurvey(USGS).Thisallowsustotrackthecapturehistoryforeveryindividualbirdandperformrobustmark-recaptureanalysestoestimatechangesinpopulationandsurvivorship5.Wealsotakeasuiteofmorphologicalanddemographicmeasurementsfrom
eachbirdincludingsex,age,fatcontent,breedingstate,moltstage,winglength,andbodymass.ThesedataallowustodescribethebirdcommunityatRMCaswellasmonitorthehealthofindividualsastheyundergotheiryearlymigration.2017 Wehavenowgathered6½years(13seasons)ofbandingdatafromRMC,makingourstationoneofthelongest-runningbirdbandingoperationsinUtahandoneofonlytwopasserine(songbird)stationscurrentlyoperatinginthestate(theotherstationbeingourbirdbandingstationinRedButteCanyon,nearSaltLakeCity).Thoughthestationhasbeenoperatingforoverhalfadecade,wecontinuetodetectnewspeciesforthearea.Thisyearwebandedfourspeciesthathadpreviouslybeenonlyvisuallyobservedornotdetectedatall:Red-eyedVireo,HairyWoodpecker,SagebrushSparrow,andWilliamson’sSapsucker.Statistics 2017TotalsSpeciesCaught 81SpeciesBanded 79TotalCaptures 2,072BirdsBanded 1,599BandingDays 105Participants Inthespring,ourbandingteamconsistedofleadbanderKylynnClareandvolunteersTravisFarewellandMirandaCastillo.Inthefall,ourbandingteamconsistedofleadbanderMichaelaGustufsonandvolunteersGregBrinkmanandAlexBaseman.ManyofthevolunteerscametotheRMCwithlittleexperienceworkingwithbirds.Ourstationisdedicatedtoprovidingeducationalopportunitiestovolunteersofallskilllevels.Asidefromtheregularbandingteams,ourstationalsohostedmanyindividualorgroupvisitorsincluding:
− HighschoolstudentsfromtheSaltLakeCenterforScienceandMathEducation− MultipleclassesfromtheUniversityofUtah− NaturaleducationworkshopsforUtaheducators− Localschoolgroups− SeveralUniversityofUtahgraduatestudents− Manylocalcitizensinterestedingettinghands-onexperiencebird-banding
Whilemanygroupswerenotcountedcompletely,weestimatethatover450peoplehavebeenexposedtoavianconservationandecologyresearchatourstation.PreliminaryAnalyses Bird-bandingdatahasgreatvalueinitsabilitytoelucidatelong-termtrendsinpopulationsorcommunitydemographics6,7.Whileourprojectisstillinitsearlystages,wearenonethelessabletobeginpreliminarycommunityandmark-recaptureanalyses.Itisimportanttonotethatthesepatternscurrentlyrepresentmoreofa“snap-shot”intime
ratherthanlong-termcontinuingtrends.However,theresultspresentedherestillgiveusanideaofwhatfactorsneedadditionalmonitoringintheyearstocome. SpeciesAccumulation:Foranareathathasreceivedlimitedornithologicalinterest,liketheRMC,oneofthefirstavenuesofresearchistosimplydescribethebirdcommunity,therelativeabundanceofdifferentspeciesandtheirphenologythroughouttheyear.Allspeciesencounteredoverthecourseofourresearcharelistedintheappendix,alongwithcapturerates.Wealsoperformedspecies-accumulationanalysestopredictthespeciesrichnessoftheoverallbird
communityatRMCthatwecandocumentwithmistnets(Figure1).Whenwestartedthisprojectin2011,theRioMesabirdlisthad44species.OurmodelpredictsthatthebirdcommunityatRMCthatcanbesampledwithbandingisapproximately185speciesthoughthisfigurecouldvaryby10speciesineitherdirection(175-195species).Itisimportanttokeepinmindthatthisanalysisisbasedonbandingdataandthuscannotincorporatespeciesunlikelytobecaughtinmist-netssuchasheronsorlargeraptors.Becauseofthis,185speciesislikelyanunderestimateofthebirdspeciesrichnessattheRMC.However,thetotalnumberofspeciesobservedattheRMC,bandedorotherwise,currentlystandsat183.ThereforewecanbereasonablysurethattherearestillahandfulofspeciesthatoccasionallymakeuseofthehabitatatRMCandhaveyettoberecordedinmistnets.Atotalof188specieshavebeenrecordedinthenearbytownofMoab,furthersuggestingtherearespeciesusingtheRMCthathaveyettobedocumented.WerecordnewspecieseveryyearandatthisrateweexpectthattheRMCbirdlistwillexceed200specieswithinadecade.AgreaterunderstandingofthenumberofspeciesthatregularlyoroccasionallyusetheRMC’sriparianhabitatwillbecriticaltoensuresuccessfulconservationaction. Survivorship:Weperformedsomebasicmark-recapturemodelingtoestimatethesurvivorshipprobabilityforcommonlycapturedspeciesatRMC.Theseestimatesarebasedontrackingthecapturehistoryofindividualbirdsovermanyyears.Thus,ourabilitytoestimatesurvivorshipandotherdemographicinformationwillimprovesubstantiallywitheachadditionalyearofdatagathered.However,theseearlyanalysesallowustoidentifyspeciesthatmaybedeclining.Wehadsufficientdatatoestimate
Rio Mesa Species Accumulation
Year
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f Spe
cies
'11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '170
20
40
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Speciesaccumula,onanalysisoverthecourseof6½yearsofbandingatRMC.Totalpredictedspeciescapableofbeingsampledbymist-ne@ngis185(s.e.10).
survivorshipfor10species(Figure2).Eightofthesespeciesallproducedsurvivorshipestimatesoflessthan0.5,meaningthatadultindividualsinthesespecieshavelessthana50%chanceofsurvivingfromoneyeartothenext.Itislikelythattheselowvaluesmaybeareflectionoftherelativelyfewyearsofdataincludedintheanalysis.Indeedmostofthespeciesanalyzeddisplaysubstantialerrorintheirsurvivorshipestimates.However,fourofthesefivespecies(White-crownedSparrow,Yellow-breastedChat,SongSparrow,andYellowWarbler)havealsobeennotedassufferinglong-termdeclinesbytheUnitedStatesGeologicalSurvey,themostcomprehensivebirdmonitoringprojectinthecountry8.Thesedata,thoughstillpreliminary,helptocorroborateobservednationaltrendsandprovideuswithvaluableinsightsintohowthesespeciesarefaringatamorelocalscale.FutureDirections ThenextfewyearspromisetobeanexcitingtimeforourornithologicalresearchattheRMC.Withadditionalyearsofdata,ourabilitytoaccuratelymonitorthechangesinbirdpopulationsandcommunitycompositionwillimprovegreatly.Thisdataisespeciallyimportantnowgiventheacceleratingpaceofclimatechangeandtheramificationsforriparianecosystems9.OurworkattheRMCwillcontinuetobeoneoftheonlylocationsinUtahproducingthiskindofvaluabledataandwillbeintegralindevelopingconservationregulationsinthenearfuture.Wealsoplantogreatlyexpandouroutreachprogramincludingtravellingtonearbypopulationcenterstoreachabroaderaudience.Theseeffortswillhelpmorepeopleunderstandthenecessityofconservationbiology,ecologyandornithologyresearchandtheimportanceofensuringhealthyecosystems.LiteratureCited1. Şekercioĝlu,Ç.H.Promotingcommunity-basedbirdmonitoringinthetropics:
Conservation,research,environmentaleducation,capacity-building,andlocalincomes.Biol.Conserv.151,69–73(2012).
2. Parrish,J.R.,Norvell,R.E.,Roberts,D.,White,H.&Howe,F.P.PopulationMonitoringofNeotropicalMigratoryBirdsinRiparianHabitatsofUtah.(2007).
Yearlysurvivorshipes/matesand95%confidenceintervalsfor10commonlycapturedspeciesatRMC:White-crownedSparrow(WCSP),Yellow-breastedChat(YBCH),SongSparrow(SOSP),Blue-grayGnatcatcher(BGGN),Dark-eyedJunco(DEJU),SpoTedTowhee(SPTO),YellowWarbler(YEWA),Bullock’sOriole(BUOR),BlueGrosbeak(BLGR),andAmericanRobin(AMRO).
Year−to−year Survivorship for CommonlyCaptured Species at Rio Mesa
Survivorship
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3. Seavy,N.E.etal.Whyclimatechangemakesriparianrestorationmoreimportantthanever:Recommendationsforpracticeandresearch.Ecol.Restor.27,330–338(2009).
4. Desante,D.F.etal.MAPSManual2016Protocol.(2016).5. Ralph,C.J.,Geupel,G.R.,Pyle,P.,Martin,T.E.&DeSante,D.F.HandbookofField
MethodsforMonitoringLandbirds.Director144,1–41(1993).6. Sodhi,N.S.,Butler,R.,Laurance,W.F.&Gibson,L.Conservationsuccessesatmicro-,
meso-andmacroscales.TrendsEcol.Evol.26,585–594(2011).7. Newmark,W.D.A16-yearstudyofforestdisturbanceandunderstorybird
communitystructureandcompositioninTanzania.Conserv.Biol.20,122–134(2006).
8. Sauer,J.R.etal.TheNorthAmericanBreedingBirdSurvey,ResultsandAnalysis1966-2013.Version01.30.2015.(2014).
9. Niman,R.J.,Decamps,H.&Pollock,M.TheRoleofRiparianCorridorsinMaintainingRegionalBiodiversity.Ecol.Appl.3,209–212(1993).
Appendix:CaptureratesforallspeciescaughtatRMC.Specieswithnocapturerecordshaveonlybeenobserved
SpeciesName Totals
NumberBanded
NumberRecaught
NumberUnbanded
Waterfowl CanadaGoose Mallard Blue-wingedTeal CinnamonTeal NorthernShoveler Green-wingedTeal CommonMerganser Duckspp.
Grouse,Quails,andAllies Chukar WildTurkey 4
Herons,Ibis,andAllies GreatBlueHeron White-facedIbis
Vultures,Hawks,andAllies TurkeyVulture Osprey GoldenEagle NorthernHarrier Sharp-shinnedHawk 4 Cooper'sHawk 1 NorthernGoshawk BaldEagle Swainson'sHawk Red-tailedHawk Rough-leggedHawk
Rails,Gallinules,andAllies Sora 1
Shorebirds Killdeer Wilson'sSnipe SpottedSandpiper 1
PigeonsandDoves RockPigeon Band-tailedPigeon Eurasian-collaredDove White-wingedDove MourningDove 16 4
Owls WesternScreech-Owl 2 GreatHornedOwl NorthernSaw-whetOwl 2
Nightjars CommonNightawk CommonPoorwill 2
Swifts Vaux'sSwift White-throatedSwift 4 4
Hummingbirds Costa'sHummingbird
1
Black-chinnedHummingbird
160Broad-tailedHummingbird
24
CalliopeHummingbird
8RufousHummingbird
37
Hummingbirdspp.
4
Kingfishers BeltedKingfisher
Woodpeckers Williamson'sSapsucker 1 2
Yellow-belliedSapsucker Red-napedSapsucker 31 1
DownyWoodpecker 3 HairyWoodpecker 2 NorthernFlicker(Red-shafted) 18 3 2
FalconsandCaracaras AmericanKestrel
Merlin PeregrineFalcon PrairieFalcon FlycatchersandAllies
Olive-sidedFlycatcher 2
WesternWood-pewee 83 4 2WillowFlycatcher 151 9
WesternFlycatcher 5 Pacific-slopeFlycatcher 2 2
CordilleranFlycatcher 4 Hammond'sFlycatcher 15 DuskyFlycatcher 157 19 1
GrayFlycatcher 32 5BlackPhoebe 1
1
Say'sPhoebe 11 1Ash-throatedFlycatcher 54 11EasternKingbird 1
Cassin'sKingbird WesternKingbird 10 3
Flycatcherspp. 37
2
Shrikes LoggerheadShrike 7
NorthernShrike Vireos
Bell’sVireo
1PlumbeousVireo 15 2Cassin'sVireo 8
WarblingVireo 180 19GrayVireo 18 3Red-eyedVireo 1
Vireospp. CrowsandJays
PinyonJay Woodhouse'sScrub-jay 20 1
Black-billedMagpie AmericanCrow CommonRaven Larks
HornedLark MartinsandSwallows
NorthernRough-wingedSwallow TreeSwallow Violet-greenSwallow 7
BankSwallow BarnSwallow 1
CliffSwallow 2 Swallowspp.
ChickadeesandAllies Black-cappedChickadee 27 7
MountainChickadee 13 2JuniperTitmouse 7 1Bushtit 123 27 5
NuthatchesandCreepers BrownCreeper 3
Red-breastedNuthatch 1 White-breastedNuthatch
Wrens Bewick'sWren 141 48 11RockWren 12 11
CanyonWren 10 6 1HouseWren 51 8 1MarshWren 19
1
GnatcatchersandKinglets Blue-grayGnatcathcer 464 110 15Golden-crownedKinglet 2
Ruby-crownedKinglet 341 61 30
Thrushes MountainBluebird 2
WesternBluebird Townsend'sSolitaire 6 2
Swainson'sThrush 18 3 1HermitThrush 153 33 3AmericanRobin 31 19 2
MockingbirdsandThrashers GrayCatbird 28 3
NorthernMockingbird 6 BrownThrasher 1 SageThrasher 23 5
StarlingsandMynas EuropeanStarling
WagtailsandPipits AmericanPipit
Waxwings CedarWaxwing 2
WoodWarblers NorthernWaterthrush 14
Orange-crownedWarbler 213 29 1NashvilleWarbler 23
Virginia'sWarbler 65 4Lucy'sWarbler 32 36 1
MacGillivray'sWarbler 250 28 4CommonYellowthroat 94 1
AmericanRedstart 2 1NorthernParula 2
MagnoliaWarbler 1 1YellowWarbler 375 72 2
Black-throatedBlueWarbler 1 1PalmWarbler 1
Yellow-rumpedWarbler(Unidentified) 16
1Yellow-rumpedWarbler(Audubon's) 426 27 4Yellow-rumpedWarbler(Myrtle) 18 6
Yellow-rumpedWarbler(MxA) 7 Black-throatedGrayWarbler 9 Townsend'sWarbler 4 Wilson'sWarbler 687 66 13
Yellow-breastedChat 483 390 12Warblerspp.
1
Sparrows Green-tailedTowhee 70 30
SpottedTowhee 286 128 20VesperSparrow 13
2
AmericanTreeSparrow 1 ChippingSparrow 51 18
Clay-coloredSparrow 12 6Brewer'sSparrow 310 74 10
LarkSparrow 24 3LarkBunting
Black-throatedSparrow 29 SagebrushSparrow 27 1
SavannahSparrow 1 SongSparrow 514 160 12
Lincoln'sSparrow 230 37 9GrasshopperSparrow 2
FoxSparrow 4
Dark-eyedJunco(Unidentified) 11
2Dark-eyedJunco(Gray-headed) 5
Dark-eyedJunco(Oregon) 284 113 10Dark-eyedJunco(Pink-sided) 17 9
Dark-eyedJunco(Slate-colored) 6 4White-throatedSparrow 13 1 1
White-crownedSparrow(Unidentified) 254 57 15White-crownedSparrow(Mountain) 178 13 4White-crownedSparrow(Gambel's) 437 210 33Golden-crownedSparrow 1
HouseSparrow Sparrowspp. 2
2
Cardinals SummerTanager 1
WesternTanager 228 9 2Rose-breastedGrosbeak 1
Black-headedGrosbeak 65 2 1BlueGrosbeak 54 7 2LazuliBunting 94 24
IndigoBunting 6 1PaintedBunting
1
OriolesandBlackbirds Red-wingedBlackbird
WesternMeadowlark Yellow-headedBlackbird Brewer'sBlackbird CommonGrackle Brown-headedCowbird 25 3 1
HoodedOriole 1 Bullock'sOriole 59 15 1
FinchesandAllies Cassin'sFinch
1
HouseFinch 114 9 1PineSiskin 43 1 1LesserGoldfinch 42 1
AmericanGoldfinch 11 EveningGrosbeak