Climate, Management and Habitat Associations of Avian Fauna in Restored Wetlands of California’s Central Valley, USA

Abstract

Abstract:The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) is one of several programs implemented by the United States Department of Agriculture to facilitate natural resource management on private lands. Since the WRP's inception approximately 29,000 ha in California's Central Valley (CCV) have been restored. However until now, actual benefits of the program to wildlife have never been evaluated. Hydrology in the CCV has been heavily modified and WRP wetlands are managed primarily to support wintering waterfowl. We surveyed over 60 WRP easements in 2008 and 2009 to quantify avian use and categorized bird species into 11 foraging guilds. We detected over 200 bird species in 2008 and 119 species in 2009, which is similar to or higher than numbers observed on other managed sites in the same area. We found that actively managed WRP wetlands support more waterfowl than sites under low or intermediate management, which is consistent with intended goals. Despite reported water shortages, greater upland and un-restored acreage in the southern CCV, WRP wetlands support large numbers of waterfowl and shorebirds, particularly in the early fall months. This is probably due to the severe lack of alternative habitat such as wildlife friendly crops at appropriate stages of the migration cycle. Improved access to water resources for hydrological management would greatly enhance waterfowl use in the southern CCV. OPEN ACCESSDiversity 2012, 4 397

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“…Though managed wetlands support a wide variety of birds in the spring and summer (Kahara et al 2012), it is unclear whether bird occupancy in those seasons is driven primarily by moist-soil management or other factors. Other studies suggest that characteristics of the site (e.g., Webb et al 2010) and adjacent landscape (Sterling and Buttner 2011, Fleskes et al 2012) play an important role, depending on the species.…”

“…Program Presence estimates the likelihood of detection from patterns of detection and nondetection over multiple visits to the site (MacKenzie et al 2002). We selected covariates a priori on the basis of our observations in the field and previous research during a period including spring migration but before fall migration (Kahara et al 2012).…”

Factors Influencing Nontarget Bird Occupancy of Restored Wetlands in California’s Central Valley

“…Though managed wetlands support a wide variety of birds in the spring and summer (Kahara et al 2012), it is unclear whether bird occupancy in those seasons is driven primarily by moist-soil management or other factors. Other studies suggest that characteristics of the site (e.g., Webb et al 2010) and adjacent landscape (Sterling and Buttner 2011, Fleskes et al 2012) play an important role, depending on the species.…”

Assemblage of wetland bird Species in Purbasthali Oxbow Lake, West Bengal, India: Implications for Management

“…Among them, 310 species can be brought under the categories of wetland birds (Grimmett & Inskipp 2007). However, the natural wetlands over the last two centuries have faced tremendous anthropogenic pressure worldwide due to the escalation of human interventions and resultant environmental changes (Turner et al 2000, Kahara et al 2012. More than half of the global wetlands have either been lost or transformed during the past century, and the remaining are experiencing degradation due to reckless human intercession (Fraser & Keddy 2005).…”