Suitability of Wetlands for Migrating and Breeding Waterbirds in Illinois

Blake‐Bradshaw, Abigail G.; Lancaster, Joseph D.; O'Connell, John R.; Matthews, Jeffrey W.; Eichholz, Michael W.; Hagy, Heath M.

doi:10.1007/s13157-020-01276-7

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…During spring migration, water availability and emergent vegetation are important characteristics of stopover habitat for SMBs (Blake‐Bradshaw 2018, Webb et al 2022). Thus, if water is drawn down prior to SMBs migrating through an area, SMB stopover may be detrimentally affected by lack of surface water (Scott 2010).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wetland management practices and secretive marsh bird habitat in the Mississippi Flyway: a review

et al. 2023

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Management regimes on publicly owned freshwater wetlands in the Mississippi Flyway of North America (i.e., Flyway) have historically emphasized waterfowl, but there is limited information on how waterfowl‐focused wetland management affects other wetland‐dependent wildlife. Secretive marsh birds (SMBs) depend on wetlands with emergent vegetation throughout their migratory life cycle and often encounter vegetation and water conditions resulting from waterfowl‐focused management regimes. Thus, there is a need for better understanding of how SMBs are affected by wetland management and the extent to which waterfowl‐focused management regimes provide habitat for SMBs. In this review, we identify the vegetation and water conditions resulting from typical management objectives on freshwater emergent wetlands in the Flyway, review and qualitatively synthesize results from studies that directly evaluate how wetland management practices affect SMBs or their habitat, and assess how the vegetation and water conditions being produced for target species (mainly waterfowl) align with SMB habitat requirements. We searched online databases and used Google Scholar to locate peer‐reviewed literature, technical reports, and graduate theses that pertained to responses of SMBs or their habitat to water‐level manipulation, herbicide application, prescribed fire, disking, mowing, and planting crops. There are several management strategies that complement SMBs and waterfowl, such as reducing cover of woody species and providing flooded emergent vegetation. We also highlight management strategies that may not currently align with SMB life‐cycle needs and suggest adjustments that might promote habitat for SMBs while still achieving waterfowl population objectives. For example, adjusting the dates and duration of spring water‐level drawdowns on a portion of wetlands within a larger complex can provide for spring migrating waterfowl and ensure habitat for migrating and nesting SMBs. Ideally, future studies would address how modifications to management practices affect SMBs and monitor potential effects on waterfowl, resulting in a more holistic approach to wetland management.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wetland management practices and secretive marsh bird habitat in the Mississippi Flyway: a review

et al. 2023

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“…Waterfowl, especially migratory birds, are potentially influenced by the climate conditions and human disturbance in wetlands, which can affect their migrating breeding, and foraging [57]. In terms of the MaxEnt model of waterfowl species distribution, precipitation in the driest month, seasonal variation of precipitation, and annual mean temperature are determined as the key driving factors.…”

Section: Driving Factors For Threatened Waterfowl Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coupling Biodiversity and Human Pressures to Indicate Conservation Priorities for Threatened Waterfowl Species: A Case in the Henan Yellow River Wetland National Nature Reserve

Cao

Wang

Tian

et al. 2023

Land

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Following severe anthropogenic pressure from rapid economic development, wetland biodiversity is now decreasing alarmingly, thus leading to adverse effects. Protected areas (PAs) can be crucial conservation tools to secure wetland biodiversity. However, whether these PAs exhibit high conservation efficiency in buffering wildlife and habitats from human pressures needs to be understood. Given their sensitivity to habitat quality and regional resource changes, threatened waterfowl could be suitable wetland ecosystem indicators. This study examined the conservation effectiveness of Henan Yellow River Wetland National Nature Reserve (HYRWNNR), which is a crucial region on the East Asia–Australia route for global bird migration. We performed Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling based on field survey data of the 19 threatened waterfowl species, and Human Impact Index (HII) was further mapped with waterfowls distribution to identify the conservation gap and priorities of the HYRWNNR. The results indicated that threatened waterfowl distribution were affected by both environmental factors and human pressure, and a conservation gap existed in the HYRWNNR. Two conservation scenarios were generated based on the spatial pattern of conservation priorities, and their corresponding management strategies were suggested. This study identifies conservation priorities from a novel perspective by synthesizing habitat suitability and human pressure, which can present basic information regarding the HYRWNNR management while supporting waterfowl conservation planning, ultimately promoting wetland habitats sustainability.

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“…The IRV has been impacted by multiple anthropogenic stressors including floodplain wetland drainage, channelization, installation of locks and dams, pollution, increased base-flow, and increased flood frequency and amplitudes following the completion of the Chicago sanitary and ship canal in 1900 (Bellrose et al 1979;Havera 1999;Lemke et al 2017). Anthropogenic changes have influenced vegetation communities and wetland quality for waterfowl in areas with a continued connection to the main channel of the Illinois River (Bellrose et al 1979;Havera and Bellrose 1985;Stafford et al 2010;Blake-Bradshaw et al 2020). Our study encompassed federal, state, and private wetlands within the Alton, La Grange, and Peoria reaches of the Illinois River (river miles 0-231; Figure 1).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Food Selection by Spring-Migrating Green-Winged Teal

Klimas

Osborn

Yetter

et al. 2022

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

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The Mississippi Flyway supports millions of waterfowl during spring migration as individuals replenish vital nutrients en route to breeding locations. Green-winged teal Anas crecca consume natural plant and animal foods in shallow wetlands during autumn and winter, but little information is available to describe food use and selection during spring migration. We experimentally collected green-winged teal and quantified food use and availability to determine selection in the Illinois River Valley during February–April 2016–2018. We removed, dried, and weighed (± 0.1 mg) food items by taxa from the upper digestive tract (proventriculus and esophagus) of birds and core samples for comparison. Additionally, we evaluated retention of common diet items between small (#60; 250 µm) and medium (#35; 500 µm) sieves and the effect of processing sieve size on selection coefficients. Seeds of moist-soil vegetation occurred in all green-winged teal diets, while invertebrates and vegetative material occurred in 67.4% and 25.8% of diets, respectively. Green-winged teal consumed 85.8% (CI95 = 81.2–90.3%) plant material and 14.2% (CI95 = 9.6–18.7%) invertebrates based on aggregate dry biomass. We failed to find support for selection of either plant or animal foods in general, but green-winged teal selected Cyperus spp., Ammannia spp., Leptochloa spp., and Potamogeton spp. and avoided Amaranthus spp., Ipomoea spp., Echinochloa spp., and Oligochaeta individual taxa. We found no support for a difference in selection ratios between sexes, but selection ratios differed among years and wetland connectivity regimes with changes in food availability. Sieve size had minimal impact on rank and selection intensity of most food items, but only small sieves captured Ammannia spp., which was an important diet item. We found no evidence that green-winged teal selected invertebrates in our mid-latitude migration study area as has been speculated for dabbling ducks in general during spring migration (i.e., spring diet-shift hypothesis). We encourage managers to provide shallowly flooded wetlands with desirable plant taxa (e.g., Cyperus spp., Ammannia spp., Leptochloa spp.) for green-winged teal by maintaining actively-managed moist-soil wetlands that are made available during spring migration.

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Suitability of Wetlands for Migrating and Breeding Waterbirds in Illinois

Cited by 7 publications

References 76 publications

Wetland management practices and secretive marsh bird habitat in the Mississippi Flyway: a review

Wetland management practices and secretive marsh bird habitat in the Mississippi Flyway: a review

Coupling Biodiversity and Human Pressures to Indicate Conservation Priorities for Threatened Waterfowl Species: A Case in the Henan Yellow River Wetland National Nature Reserve

Food Selection by Spring-Migrating Green-Winged Teal

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