Predictors of Bachman's Sparrow Occupancy at its Northern Range Limit

Fish, Alexander C.; Moorman, Christopher E.; Perno, Carlo Federico; Schillaci, Jessica M.; Hess, George R.

doi:10.1656/058.017.0108

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Hence, the most impactful training activities on Fort Bragg generally were situated away from breeding Bachman's sparrows. Bachman's sparrows are unambiguously associated with upland pine woodland on Fort Bragg (Fish et al ), using the dense herbaceous groundcover for nesting and foraging (Allaire and Fisher , Haggerty , Jones et al ). Ground training in upland forested areas consisted of individual or small groups of troops (<10) traversing through Bachman's sparrow territories for short durations (<1 hr) and did not influence Bachman's sparrow habitat use.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bachman's sparrows are highly secretive and even when detected, re-sighting, and identifying individuals is not logistically feasible, preventing use of a mark-resight analysis framework. The detection estimate used in the N-mixture model was similar to other detection estimates for Bachman's sparrows (Cox and Jones 2009, Taillie et al 2015, Fish et al 2018; therefore, we proceeded with use of a N-mixture model. We created a state covariate to account for HIT and LIT areas, which allowed for comparison of relative abundance between HIT and LIT training areas.…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The influence of military activity is of particular concern for ground‐nesting birds such as Bachman's sparrows ( Peucaea aestivalis ). The Bachman's sparrow has experienced long‐term population declines (Sauer et al ), and the species is closely associated with the endangered fire‐maintained longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) ecosystem (Dunning and Watts , Plentovich et al , Winiarski et al , Fish et al ), common on military bases in the southeastern United States. Bachman's sparrows forage (Allaire and Fisher ) and nest (Haggerty , Jones et al , Winiarski et al ) in the dense herbaceous layer that develops immediately following prescribed fire, and ground‐based military training commonly occurs in these same fire‐maintained forests.…”

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Influence of military training on breeding ecology of Bachman's sparrow

et al. 2018

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Anthropogenic disturbance may cause birds to flush and relocate, abandon breeding sites, experience increased nest failure, or fledge fewer young. Ground‐based military activities are of particular concern for ground‐nesting birds because of the increased risk of nest destruction and trampling of vegetation. We investigated how different intensities of disturbance from ground‐based military training affected reproductive ecology of Bachman's sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis) from 2014–2016, on Fort Bragg Military Installation, North Carolina, USA. We designated 2 training intensity regimes and monitored sparrows at 6 observation areas, 3 in high‐intensity training areas (i.e., foot traffic every 1–3 days) and 3 in low‐intensity training (i.e., foot traffic <1 per month) areas. We compared seasonal productivity metrics and daily nest survival between training intensities. Additionally, we compared male sparrow relative abundance and micro‐habitat use between high‐ and low‐intensity training areas. We monitored 106 male territories and located 110 nests opportunistically and by tracking telemetered female sparrows. We used fixed‐radius point counts to estimate relative abundance in each observation area and measured vegetation composition and structure at a subset of 10 locations in each male territory. Seasonal productivity metrics, daily nest survival, relative abundance, and vegetation composition and structure at male locations did not differ between areas with high and low military training intensity. In 2015, 1 sparrow nest was trampled by military personnel, but ≥1 nestling force‐fledged and the nest was considered successful. Bachman's sparrow nesting ecology was not affected by intensity of ground‐based military training activity, likely because activity was sufficiently dispersed across the landscape, even in high‐intensity training areas. We recommend ground‐based training attempts to minimize ground vegetation destruction by dispersing large groups and traversing variable routes when in forested uplands. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

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Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

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Influence of military training on breeding ecology of Bachman's sparrow

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“…Additionally, we recorded the presence or absence of bare ground cover immediately beneath each Wiens pole reading. We calculated percent grass, forb, and woody cover at each location by calculating the proportion of the 21 Wiens pole readings with ≥ 1 hit of each vegetation type (Fish et al 2018, 2019). We estimated percent bare ground cover by calculating the proportion of 21 Wiens poles readings classified as bare ground.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fledgling Bachman’s Sparrows in a longleaf pine ecosystem: survival, movements, and habitat selection

Fish

DePerno

Schillaci³

et al. 2020

J. Field Ornithol.

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Fledgling ecology remains understudied for many passerine species, yet information about the fledgling life stage is critical for understanding full‐annual life cycles and population recruitment. We examined the survival, habitat selection, and movements of fledgling Bachman’s Sparrows (Peucaea aestivalis) in a longleaf pine‐wiregrass (Pinus palustris‐Aristida stricta) community managed with frequent prescribed fire. We captured and marked 36 fledglings on the day of fledging and used radio‐telemetry to relocate them daily until independence during three breeding seasons (2014–2016). We visually confirmed the status of fledglings as live or dead during daily relocations and determined causes of mortality. We measured vegetation characteristics at fledgling locations and compared them to the characteristics of vegetation at the locations of adult males. We used a Known Fates analysis in Program MARK to estimate fledgling survival, and generalized linear mixed effect models to determine habitat selection. Estimated fledgling survival until independence was 0.31 (SE = 0.08), with most mortality during the first 4 d post‐fledging. Fledglings with longer wing chords had higher rates of survival than those with shorter wing chords, possibly due to an increased ability to evade predators. Fledgling movements were restricted primarily to natal territories. Fledgling Bachman’s Sparrows were located in areas with greater woody plant, forb, and grass cover and less bare ground than available in natal territories. Similar to fledglings of other songbirds, understory woody and herbaceous plants appear to provide critical cover for fledgling Bachman’s Sparrows, and maintenance of such cover should receive consideration in management plans for longleaf pine communities.

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