Relating Yellow Rail (<i>Coturnicops noveboracensis</i>) Occupancy to Habitat and Landscape Features in the Context of Fire

Austin, Jane E.; Buhl, Deborah A.

doi:10.1675/063.036.0209

Cited by 19 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Similar to Burkman (1993), we found Yellow Rail occurrence was greatest at less than 2 years post burn, while we detected individuals in few sites at greater than 2 years post burn. Austin and Buhl (2013) reported similar results where, at a larger scale, time since fire was the most important factor explaining Yellow Rail presence during the breeding season. In addition, shorter fire return intervals in pine savanna ecosystems have been shown to influence the occur- rence of other winter grassland bird species of conservation concern such as Henslow's Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii) (Tucker et al 2003;Bechtoldt and Stouffer 2005).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Burkman (1993) found that on the breeding grounds, Yellow Rail were more likely to be found in burned habitats having lower percentage of shrubs and higher percentage of sedges (Carex lasiocarpa) than control plots, suggesting suitability of habitat for Yellow Rail diminishes with the encroachment of woody plant species. Similarly, two previous studies conducted on Yellow Rail in Michigan noted a negative relationship between time since fire and Yellow Rail presence (Burkman 1993;Austin and Buhl 2013). Austin and Buhl (2013) found fire was the most important factor explaining the presence of Yellow Rail on their breeding grounds.…”

mentioning

confidence: 55%

“…Similarly, two previous studies conducted on Yellow Rail in Michigan noted a negative relationship between time since fire and Yellow Rail presence (Burkman 1993;Austin and Buhl 2013). Austin and Buhl (2013) found fire was the most important factor explaining the presence of Yellow Rail on their breeding grounds.…”

mentioning

confidence: 55%

“…Due to the inverse correlation of herbaceous cover and woody cover among sites, we selected woody cover to remain in the global model as previous studies indicated a negative relationship between Yellow Rail occurrence and woody cover (Burkman 1993;Martin 2012;Austin and Buhl 2013). Subsequently, we designated woody cover as a proxy for collected woody features and selected density to remain in the model to represent habitat structure.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The species winters along the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains region from Texas to North Carolina, USA, primarily selecting high marsh habitat with dense, low undergrowth (Lima 1993;Butler et al 2014;Leston and Bookhout 2015). As such, periodic disturbance including fire, herbivory, and flooding across breeding and wintering grounds appears critical in maintaining Yellow Rail habitat suitability (Burkman 1993;Mizell 1998;Austin and Buhl 2013). These disturbances recycle nutrients, increase ground cover biodiversity, remove litter, and top-kill woody vegetation, limiting encroachment (Platt 1999).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis) Occupancy in the Context of Fire in Mississippi and Alabama, USA

et al. 2017

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

mentioning

confidence: 55%

mentioning

confidence: 55%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis) Occupancy in the Context of Fire in Mississippi and Alabama, USA

et al. 2017

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Marsh bird occupancy along the shoreline‐to‐forest gradient as marshes migrate from rising sea level

Taillie

Moorman

2019

Ecosphere

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One mechanism by which coastal marshes may persist as sea-level rises is to expand landward into existing forest, a process known as marsh migration. Though recent studies highlight the importance of marsh migration to the conservation of birds associated with coastal marshes, marsh bird responses to this transition from forest to marsh are poorly understood. To address this need, we conducted surveys of five focal marsh bird taxa at 92 points distributed across the gradient from the shoreline to the marsh-forest interface in one of the most vulnerable regions to sea-level rise in North America where marshes have been migrating landward for at least several decades. Given this landward movement of the forest-marsh interface, we modeled focal taxa occurrence as a function of distance-to-forest, thereby assuming that marshes closer to the forest were newer than those closer to the shoreline. In addition, we investigated the effects of vegetation conditions and fire frequency. Occupancy probability of marsh birds decreased closer to the forest-marsh interface where woody vegetation was taller and herbaceous cover was dominated by Cladium jamaicense, suggesting migrated marsh may provide limited habitat for these bird species, at least in the short term. Though parameter estimate uncertainty for black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis) was high due to a limited number of detections, occupancy of this species may increase with the conditions associated with migrated marsh, specifically greater C. jamaicense dominance and decreasing distance-to-forest. Clapper/king rail (Rallus crepitans/elegans) occupancy was greater at sites that had burned more frequently over the past decade, and occupancy of all focal taxa was greater in areas with vegetation conditions consistent with the effects of fire in coastal marshes, including reduced herbaceous vegetation density and shorter woody vegetation. As such, prescribed fire may serve as an effective method of facilitating marsh migration and increasing the quality and quantity of habitat for coastal marsh birds as sea-level rises.

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Coastal Texas black rail population states and survey effort

et al. 2018

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Eastern black rails (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis) are of conservation concern. These birds vocalize infrequently and inhabit dense vegetation, making them difficult to detect. We conducted the first large-scale study of black rail occupancy and abundance in Texas, USA. We conducted point count surveys that were 6-minute call-playback broadcasts and detected rails acoustically. We fit 19 occupancy and 19 abundance models while accounting for imperfect detection. We used the top occupancy model to estimate the required survey effort to precisely estimate black rail occupancy with and without detection correction methods. We found that detection increased with moon phase but decreased with wind speed and ambient noise. Occupancy and abundance increased with cordgrass (Spartina spp.) and intermediate marsh cover. Estimates of mean occupancy (0.27 and 0.26) and abundance (1.08 and 1.00 rails/point) were similar between 2015 and 2016. Estimated survey efforts under mean (wind ¼ 6-10 km/hr, lunar phase ¼ half-moon) and optimal (wind ¼ 0-5 km/hr, lunar phase ¼ full moon) environmental conditions were less for detection correction methods than for non-correction methods. We also concluded that efforts to predict black rail presence from na€ ıve occupancy estimates are impractical. Managers and researchers who wish to monitor black rails populations should use detection correction techniques when estimating occupancy and abundance. Ó

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Relating Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis) Occupancy to Habitat and Landscape Features in the Context of Fire

Cited by 19 publications

References 21 publications

Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis) Occupancy in the Context of Fire in Mississippi and Alabama, USA

Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis) Occupancy in the Context of Fire in Mississippi and Alabama, USA

Marsh bird occupancy along the shoreline‐to‐forest gradient as marshes migrate from rising sea level

Coastal Texas black rail population states and survey effort

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