Modeling detection probability to improve marsh bird surveys in southern Canada and the Great Lakes states
Marsh birds are notoriously elusive, with variation in detection probability across species, regions, seasons, and different times of day and weather. Therefore, it is important to develop regional field survey protocols that maximize detections, but that also produce data for estimating and analyti...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Resilience Alliance
2016-12-01
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| Series: | Avian Conservation and Ecology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ace-eco.org/vol11/iss2/art3/ |
| _version_ | 1797969194811129856 |
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| author | Douglas C. Tozer Kiel L. Drake C. Myles. Falconer |
| author_facet | Douglas C. Tozer Kiel L. Drake C. Myles. Falconer |
| author_sort | Douglas C. Tozer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Marsh birds are notoriously elusive, with variation in detection probability across species, regions, seasons, and different times of day and weather. Therefore, it is important to develop regional field survey protocols that maximize detections, but that also produce data for estimating and analytically adjusting for remaining differences in detections. We aimed to improve regional field survey protocols by estimating detection probability of eight elusive marsh bird species throughout two regions that have ongoing marsh bird monitoring programs: the southern Canadian Prairies (Prairie region) and the southern portion of the Great Lakes basin and parts of southern Québec (Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region). We accomplished our goal using generalized binomial N-mixture models and data from ~22,300 marsh bird surveys conducted between 2008 and 2014 by Bird Studies Canada's Prairie, Great Lakes, and Québec Marsh Monitoring Programs. Across all species, on average, detection probability was highest in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region from the beginning of May until mid-June, and then fell throughout the remainder of the season until the end of June; was lowest in the Prairie region in mid-May and then increased throughout the remainder of the season until the end of June; was highest during darkness compared with light; and did not vary significantly according to temperature (range: 0-30°C), cloud cover (0%-100%), or wind (0-20 kph), or during morning versus evening. We used our results to formulate improved marsh bird survey protocols for each region. Our analysis and recommendations are useful and contribute to conservation of wetland birds at various scales from local single-species studies to the continental North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Program. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:58:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-52838c2128444fa598f6a4cbf7b1a23c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1712-6568 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:58:19Z |
| publishDate | 2016-12-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Avian Conservation and Ecology |
| spelling | doaj.art-52838c2128444fa598f6a4cbf7b1a23c2023-01-02T14:33:27ZengResilience AllianceAvian Conservation and Ecology1712-65682016-12-01112310.5751/ACE-00875-110203875Modeling detection probability to improve marsh bird surveys in southern Canada and the Great Lakes statesDouglas C. Tozer0Kiel L. Drake1C. Myles. Falconer2Bird Studies CanadaBird Studies CanadaBird Studies CanadaMarsh birds are notoriously elusive, with variation in detection probability across species, regions, seasons, and different times of day and weather. Therefore, it is important to develop regional field survey protocols that maximize detections, but that also produce data for estimating and analytically adjusting for remaining differences in detections. We aimed to improve regional field survey protocols by estimating detection probability of eight elusive marsh bird species throughout two regions that have ongoing marsh bird monitoring programs: the southern Canadian Prairies (Prairie region) and the southern portion of the Great Lakes basin and parts of southern Québec (Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region). We accomplished our goal using generalized binomial N-mixture models and data from ~22,300 marsh bird surveys conducted between 2008 and 2014 by Bird Studies Canada's Prairie, Great Lakes, and Québec Marsh Monitoring Programs. Across all species, on average, detection probability was highest in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region from the beginning of May until mid-June, and then fell throughout the remainder of the season until the end of June; was lowest in the Prairie region in mid-May and then increased throughout the remainder of the season until the end of June; was highest during darkness compared with light; and did not vary significantly according to temperature (range: 0-30°C), cloud cover (0%-100%), or wind (0-20 kph), or during morning versus evening. We used our results to formulate improved marsh bird survey protocols for each region. Our analysis and recommendations are useful and contribute to conservation of wetland birds at various scales from local single-species studies to the continental North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Program.http://www.ace-eco.org/vol11/iss2/art3/detection probabilitymarsh birdN-mixture modelwaterbird |
| spellingShingle | Douglas C. Tozer Kiel L. Drake C. Myles. Falconer Modeling detection probability to improve marsh bird surveys in southern Canada and the Great Lakes states Avian Conservation and Ecology detection probability marsh bird N-mixture model waterbird |
| title | Modeling detection probability to improve marsh bird surveys in southern Canada and the Great Lakes states |
| title_full | Modeling detection probability to improve marsh bird surveys in southern Canada and the Great Lakes states |
| title_fullStr | Modeling detection probability to improve marsh bird surveys in southern Canada and the Great Lakes states |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modeling detection probability to improve marsh bird surveys in southern Canada and the Great Lakes states |
| title_short | Modeling detection probability to improve marsh bird surveys in southern Canada and the Great Lakes states |
| title_sort | modeling detection probability to improve marsh bird surveys in southern canada and the great lakes states |
| topic | detection probability marsh bird N-mixture model waterbird |
| url | http://www.ace-eco.org/vol11/iss2/art3/ |
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