Conflicting nest survival thresholds across a wetland network alter management benchmarks for an endangered bird

Fletcher, Robert J.; Robertson, Ellen P.; Poli, Caroline; Dudek, Sarah; González, Alfredo Jiménez; Jeffery, Brian

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108893

Cited by 11 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…In the long-term, increases in adult survival are hypothesized to occur when animals in good condition recognize high-quality habitat [ 13 ], compete for high-quality habitat [ 12 ], and invest effort in searching for high-quality habitat [ 12 ] compared to animals in poor condition. Where management of kites and wetland habitat is concerned, it is critical to account for hydrology [ 19 ], particularly given the strong effects of the exotic snail.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Surveys for snail kites were conducted throughout wetlands ( figure 2 ) at 2–3 week intervals during peak nesting from 1 March to 30 June 2002–2019. Surveys included counting kites, resighting individually banded kites, finding and monitoring nests, and banding fledglings [ 19 , 23 ]. Upon banding, two feathers were taken from the back and processed via capillary electrophoresis to determine sex.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To understand hydrology at the natal site, we focused on hydrologic gauges maintained by natural resource agencies, which provide daily measures of the stage (defined as the height of the water surface above an established datum plane) at each wetland. Stage data have been used to successfully interpret nest survival in snail kites [ 19 ]. For each breeding wetland, we contacted managers to determine gauges used to guide management activities [ 22 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Linear effects assume that quality either increases or decreases with stage, while quadratic effects allow for the potential that quality is highest at a moderate stage (e.g. low survival at low and high stage), which we expected could occur based on prior research on snail kite nesting [ 19 ]. We included random effects of year of fledging and natal wetland to account for non-independence in the data.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In comparison to native apple snails, P. maculata reproduces rapidly, grows larger, is more tolerant to drought, and occurs at higher densities [ 17 , 18 ] (for a comparison of characteristics, see electronic supplementary material, table S1). The tolerance of the exotic snail to drought conditions may be particularly important in the context of natal effects for snail kites, as hydrology plays a key role in nesting habitat suitability and it is actively managed in nearly all wetlands where kites breed [ 19 ]. Historically, low water levels led to low availability of native snails [ 20 ], but exotic snails could disrupt this relationship.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An invasive prey provides long-lasting silver spoon effects for an endangered predator

et al. 2022

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The natal environment can have long-term fitness consequences for individuals, particularly via ‘silver spoon’ or ‘environmental matching’ effects. Invasive species could alter natal effects on native species by changing species interactions, but this potential remains unknown. Using 17 years of data on 2588 individuals across the entire US breeding range of the endangered snail kite ( Rostrhamus sociabilis ), a wetland raptor that feeds entirely on Pomacea snails, we tested for silver spoon and environmental matching effects on survival and movement and whether the invasion of a non-native snail may alter outcomes. We found support for silver spoon effects, not environmental matching, on survival that operated through body condition at fledging, explained by hydrology in the natal wetland. When non-native snails were present at the natal site, kites were in better condition, individual condition was less sensitive to hydrology, and kites fledged across a wider range of hydrologic conditions, leading to higher survival that persisted for at least 10 years. Movement between wetlands was driven by the current (adult) environment, and birds born in both invaded and uninvaded wetlands preferred to occupy invaded wetlands post-fledging. These results illustrate that species invasions may profoundly impact the role of natal environments on native species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An invasive prey provides long-lasting silver spoon effects for an endangered predator

et al. 2022

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Foray movements are common and vary with natal habitat for a highly mobile bird

Poli,

Meyer,

Darby

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Understanding dispersal is central to interpreting the effects of climate change, habitat loss and habitat fragmentation, and species invasions. Prior to dispersal, animals may gather information about the surrounding landscape via forays, or systematic, short‐duration looping movements away from and back to the original location. Despite theory emphasizing that forays can be beneficial for dispersing organisms and that such behaviors are predicted to be common, relatively little is known about forays in wild populations. Theory predicts that individuals that use forays may delay dispersal and such behaviors should increase survival, yet empirical tests of these predictions remain scarce. We tested these predictions in a natural system using the critically endangered snail kite (Rostrhaumus sociabilis), a wetland‐dependent raptor. We GPS tracked 104 snail kites from fledging through emigration from the natal site across their breeding range to understand the demographic consequences of movement. We found that forays were common (82.7% of individuals tracked), and natal habitat played an important role in the initiation, execution, and outcome of foray behavior. The effect of foraying on survival was indirect, where forayers emigrated later than non‐forayers, and individuals that emigrated later had the highest survival. Poor hydrological conditions in the natal environment were especially important for eliciting forays. Finally, females responded more strongly to natal hydrology than males, making more forays and significantly longer, more distant trips. These results emphasize the fundamental role of natal habitat for determining behavioral patterns, strengthen links between individual movement decisions and their demographic consequences, and provide an important behavioral focal point for interpreting movement tracks that would not otherwise be captured by conventional movement models.

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Nest‐site selection model for endangered Everglade snail kites to inform ecosystem restoration

et al. 2023

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The once vast and interconnected Everglades wetland ecosystem in Florida underwent a 50% reduction in area in the 1900s, resulting in a highly compartmentalized and managed system where ecological restoration is ongoing. Everglade snail kites (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus, hereafter snail kites) are federally endangered wetland specialists with a single population in Florida, USA. Predictive models can help inform restoration and natural resource management decision‐making regarding both the quantity and timing of water delivered through the hundreds of water management structures in the Everglades. We developed a spatially explicit real‐time nest‐site selection model, KiteNest, using environmental predictors of nesting for snail kites in south Florida. The results of our modeling indicate that hydrology, percent canopy cover, and proximity to recently burned areas were the most important factors associated with nest‐site selection for snail kites. Water depths between 75 and 100 cm, water recession rates between 0 and 1.25 cm/day, percent canopy covers <20%, and areas <10 km from recently burned habitat were associated with the greatest likelihood of nest‐site selection. KiteNest is applicable to natural resource management decisions in the Everglades and may be useful independently or in conjunction with other ecological models for restoration decision support.

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Conflicting nest survival thresholds across a wetland network alter management benchmarks for an endangered bird

Cited by 11 publications

References 49 publications

An invasive prey provides long-lasting silver spoon effects for an endangered predator

An invasive prey provides long-lasting silver spoon effects for an endangered predator

Foray movements are common and vary with natal habitat for a highly mobile bird

Nest‐site selection model for endangered Everglade snail kites to inform ecosystem restoration

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