How will sea-level rise affect threats to nesting success for Seaside Sparrows?

Hunter, Elizabeth A.

doi:10.1650/condor-17-11.1

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…We checked covariates for multicollinearity by inspecting scatterplots and by computing the variance inflation factor (VIF) for each covariate (Fox & Monette 1992), and assumed that a VIF >10 indicated that a variable could not be included in the analysis (Hair et al 1998). VIF scores indicated that all covariates could be included in the final analysis for spar-rows, but we removed study site (VIF = 44.3) from all models for wrens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tide and habitat features affect salt marsh songbird nest survival in northeast Florida, USA

Cox¹,

Schwarzer²,

Tornwall³

et al. 2020

Endang. Species. Res.

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Tidal salt marshes face numerous pressures that threaten their ecological integrity, and many salt marsh vertebrates have exhibited declines concomitant with the degradation of salt marsh habitats. We studied nest survival of MacGillivray's seaside sparrow Ammospiza maritima macgillivraii and Worthington's marsh wren Cistothorus palustris griseus in smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora and black needlerush Juncus roemerianus dominated salt marshes in northeast Florida, USA, during 2015−2017 to understand why both species have undergone range contractions. We evaluated the effects of tides, habitat features, and weather on nest survival. The probability of a nest surviving from laying to fledging young was low for both species (seaside sparrow: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.10; marsh wren: 0.10, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.18), suggesting that nest survival may limit population growth. The most substantial threat to marsh wren and seaside sparrow nest survival was from greater than normal high tides. However, there was limited evidence of direct nest loss due to flooding. An analysis of only fledged and depredated nests suggests that higher tides influenced nest survival by increasing nest predation, substantially so for marsh wrens. Other factors negatively associated with marsh wren nest survival, albeit less strongly, included precipitation and the amount of black needlerush at and within 50 m of the nest. The effect of tide height on nest survival suggests that salt marsh birds in northeast Florida are vulnerable to continued sea-level rise, which is exacerbated by upland development that will hinder marsh migration. Monitoring and protecting northeast Florida's high-elevation, cordgrass-dominated marshes should be a priority.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tide and habitat features affect salt marsh songbird nest survival in northeast Florida, USA

Cox¹,

Schwarzer²,

Tornwall³

et al. 2020

Endang. Species. Res.

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“…Despite the ability of tidal marshes to build elevation relative to sea‐level rise (Kirwan et al, ; Morris et al, ; Morris, Sundareshwar, Nietch, Kjerfve, & Cahoon, ), the daily, monthly, and yearly inundation patterns from flooding could increase the vulnerability of obligate marsh species of management concern and increase foraging opportunities for predators. In addition, terrestrial species may be synergistically affected by other stressors from flooding such as drowning and nest loss (Field et al, ; Hunter, ), highlighting the complexity of understanding the full effect of climate stressors on wildlife. Our study highlights the importance of predator–prey interactions and the amplification of predation pressure under flooded conditions, which has implications for population persistence in small, fragmented habitats under sea‐level rise.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although endemic species are adapted to living in this tidally dynamic habitat, many species can be sensitive to changes in flooding patterns. For example, the seaside sparrow ( Ammodramus maritimus ) experiences greater risks of nest failure due to predation from various avian and mammalian species when forced to nest at greater heights in the salt marsh (Hunter, ). Following extreme weather events, shifts in abundance and behavior of species can be rapid and difficult to detect, especially in small populations of species with low dispersal (Takekawa et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flooding regimes increase avian predation on wildlife prey in tidal marsh ecosystems

Thorne

Spragens

Buffington

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Within isolated and fragmented populations, species interactions such as predation can cause shifts in community structure and demographics in tidal marsh ecosystems. It is critical to incorporate species interactions into our understanding when evaluating the effects of sea‐level rise and storm surges on tidal marshes. In this study, we hypothesize that avian predators will increase their presence and hunting activities during high tides when increased inundation makes their prey more vulnerable. We present evidence that there is a relationship between tidal inundation depth and time of day on the presence, abundance, and behavior of avian predators. We introduce predation pressure as a combined probability of predator presence related to water level. Focal surveys were conducted at four tidal marshes in the San Francisco Bay, California where tidal inundation patterns were monitored across 6 months of the winter. Sixteen avian predator species were observed. During high tide at Tolay Slough marsh, ardeids had a 29‐fold increase in capture attempts and 4 times greater apparent success rate compared with low tide. Significantly fewer raptors and ardeids were found on low tides than on high tides across all sites. There were more raptors in December and January and more ardeids in January than in other months. Ardeids were more prevalent in the morning, while raptors did not exhibit a significant response to time of day. Modeling results showed that raptors had a unimodal response to water level with a peak at 0.5 m over the marsh platform, while ardeids had an increasing response with water level. We found that predation pressure is related to flooding of the marsh surface, and short‐term increases in sea levels from high astronomical tides, sea‐level rise, and storm surges increase vulnerability of tidal marsh wildlife.

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“…Fourth, sea-level rise and increased intensity of storms are likely to be dominant threats to the persistence of tidal marsh birds in the Northeast in the future (Powell et al 2017). Our spatial prioritizations are based on current conditions and do not reflect projections of sea-level rise or possible synergistic effects that could greatly reduce demographic rates due to increased frequency of flooding events (Field et al 2017) or increased predation rates (Hunter 2017). Integrating models of sea-level rise with the spatial prioritizations developed for the present study could enhance long-term Figure 1).…”

Section: Caro 2010 Branton and Richardson 2011mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating a focal-species approach for tidal marsh bird conservation in the northeastern United States

et al. 2018

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How will sea-level rise affect threats to nesting success for Seaside Sparrows?

Cited by 10 publications

References 27 publications

Tide and habitat features affect salt marsh songbird nest survival in northeast Florida, USA

Tide and habitat features affect salt marsh songbird nest survival in northeast Florida, USA

Flooding regimes increase avian predation on wildlife prey in tidal marsh ecosystems

Evaluating a focal-species approach for tidal marsh bird conservation in the northeastern United States

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