Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis)

Eddleman, William R.; Flores, R. E.; Legare, M.

doi:10.2173/bna.blkrai.02

Cited by 8 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…We programmed the units to record continuously from 2 h before sunset to 2 h after sunrise to capture the times when most marsh birds are most active (Conway ) and the overnight period when species such as Eastern Black Rails ( L. j. jamaicensis ) are known to vocalize (Eddleman et al. ) and ambient noise is at a minimum (Goyette et al. ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of autonomous recording units increased detection of a secretive marsh bird

2018

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Obtaining sufficient numbers of detections during point counts to make inferences concerning the presence and abundance of secretive species, such as many species of marsh birds, can be difficult. However, autonomous recording units (ARUs) can provide extended survey windows, potentially allowing for more effective detection of elusive species. We assessed the feasibility of using both ARUs and point‐count surveys to monitor Black Rails (Laterallus jamaicensis) and Least Bitterns (Ixobrychus exilis), two secretive marsh birds of conservation concern. We identified vocalizations in ARU recordings using acoustic analysis software, and combined these observations with those from point counts to model occupancy of both species in coastal marshes of eastern North Carolina in 2016 and 2017 while accounting for variation in detection. Use of ARUs doubled the number of points where we detected Black Rails; thus, the combined point count‐ARU model yielded a greater occupancy probability for this species. However, the ARUs recorded few Least Bittern vocalizations, suggesting that successful application of ARUs may depend on the vocal complexity of focal species. Although the appropriateness of integrating ARUs with in‐person monitoring varies among species, our results illustrate that this integration increased detections of an elusive species of conservation concern.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Least Bitterns ( Ixobrychus exilis ) and Black Rails ( Laterallus jamaicensis ) vocalize irregularly and are difficult to monitor (Eddleman et al. , LeGare et al. , Bogner and Baldassarre ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Use of autonomous recording units increased detection of a secretive marsh bird

2018

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“…Endangered Species Act. Yet, little is known about the species’ life history and demography, aside from habitat requirements, because it is so secretive (Conway & Sulzman, ; Eddleman et al., ; Richmond et al., ; Roach & Barrett, ). Black rails are rarely seen and appear to be weak flyers; however, similar species of rails have traveled great distances to colonize oceanic islands (Ripley & Beehler, ; Taylor, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Black rails are small ( M = 29 g, n = 158; unpubl. data) and have a highly disjunct distribution in North America (Eddleman et al., ). They are non‐migratory, year‐round residents in the Sierra Nevada foothills, but turnover (i.e., patch extinction and re‐colonization) occurs regularly (Richmond et al., ; Risk et al., ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mean dispersal distance estimated for black rails from IFMs in this region was 8 km (Risk, de Valpine, & Beissinger, ). This distance is short relative to the extent of the metapopulation (~100 km north to south) and, in combination with the weak flight behaviour of black rails (Eddleman, Flores, & Legare, ), suggests this species may be dispersal‐limited. In our dynamic rail metapopulation, occupancy models and parentage assignments measure similar dispersal processes because turnover is common, and patches can change suitability within months (Richmond, Tecklin, & Beissinger, ; Risk et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Validating dispersal distances inferred from autoregressive occupancy models with genetic parentage assignments

Hall

Schmidt

Beissinger

2018

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Dispersal distances are commonly inferred from occupancy data but have rarely been validated. Estimating dispersal from occupancy data is further complicated by imperfect detection and the presence of unsurveyed patches. We compared dispersal distances inferred from seven years of occupancy data for 212 wetlands in a metapopulation of the secretive and threatened California black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus) to distances between parent-offspring dyads identified with 16 microsatellites. We used a novel autoregressive multi-season occupancy model that accounted for both unsurveyed patches and imperfect detection to quantify patch isolation using buffer radius (BRM) and incidence function (IFM) connectivity measures at 15 scales (1-10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 km). Connectivity measures were then fit as colonization covariates in occupancy models to estimate a model-averaged dispersal distance. As predicted, colonization was more strongly related to connectivity at small spatial scales (<10 km). AIC weights were greatest at 7 km for BRM and at 4 km for IFM. Model-averaged dispersal distances (BRM = 7.46 km; IFM = 5.48 km) showed good agreement with the mean M(±SE) dispersal distance from 23 parent-offspring dyads (5.58 ± 1.92 km), indicating reasonably accurate mean dispersal distances can be inferred from occupancy data when isolation strongly affects colonization.

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Evolutionary history of the Galápagos Rail revealed by ancient mitogenomes and modern samples

Chaves

Martinez-Torres

Depino

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The biotas of the Galápagos Islands are probably one of the best studied island systems and have provided a broad model of insular species’ origins and evolution. Nevertheless, some Galápagos species remain poorly characterized, such as the Galápagos Rail Laterallus spilonota. This bird species is one of the less explored groups of endemic vertebrates on these islands, due to its elusive behavior, cryptic plumage and restricted distribution. To date there is no genetic assessment of its origins and sister relationships to other taxa, and importantly, there is no data on its current genetic diversity. This lack of information is critical given the adverse fate of island rail species around the world in the recent past. Here we examine the genetics of Galápagos Rails using a combination of mitogenome de novo assembly with multi-locus sequencing (mtDNA+nuDNA) from both modern and historical samples. We show that the Galápagos Rail is part of the ‘American black rail clade’, sister to Black Rail L. jamaicensis, with a colonization of Galápagos dated to 1.2 Mya. The separate analysis of cytb, ND2, and RAG-1 markers demonstrates shallow population structure across sampled islands, possibly due to elevated island connectivity. Additionally, birds sampled from Pinta possessed the lowest levels of genetic diversity, most likely reflecting the impact of past bottlenecks due to habitat loss caused by invasive goats grazing on sensitive habitat. The data presented here highlights the low genetic diversity in this endemic rail species and suggests the use of genetic data (both modern and historical) to guide conservation efforts.

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Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis)

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Use of autonomous recording units increased detection of a secretive marsh bird

Use of autonomous recording units increased detection of a secretive marsh bird

Validating dispersal distances inferred from autoregressive occupancy models with genetic parentage assignments

Evolutionary history of the Galápagos Rail revealed by ancient mitogenomes and modern samples

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