Use of autonomous recording units increased detection of a secretive marsh bird

Bobay, Lucas R.; Taillie, Paul J.; Moorman, Christopher E.

doi:10.1111/jofo.12274

Cited by 24 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…We analyzed the recordings using Kaleidoscope acoustic analysis software to identify black rail vocalizations (see Bobay et al. , for a more detailed description of acoustic analysis).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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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“…We analyzed the recordings using Kaleidoscope acoustic analysis software to identify black rail vocalizations (see Bobay et al. , for a more detailed description of acoustic analysis).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ARU was set to record all sound from 2 h before sunset to 2 h after sunrise on the nights they were deployed. We analyzed the recordings using Kaleidoscope acoustic analysis software to identify black rail vocalizations (see Bobay et al 2018, for a more detailed description of acoustic analysis).…”

Section: Bird Surveysmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Taillie

Moorman

2019

Ecosphere

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“…To reduce the human-induced impacts on species behavior and to extend data collection capabilities through time and space, researchers are increasingly using passive acoustic monitoring. The method is suitable for a wide range of species and habitats: marine species (Parmentier et al 2018, Sousa-Lima et al 2013, mammals (Collier et al 2010), freshwater ecosystems (Linke et al 2018), invertebrates (Fischer et al 1997), bats (Estrada-Villegas et al 2010), anurans (Crouch and Paton 2002), and more recently, marsh birds (Sidie-Slettedahl et al 2015, Drake et al 2016, Bobay et al 2018, Schroeder and McRae 2019, Znidersic et al 2020.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to the apparent variability in the diel timing, the inconsistencies in vocal responsiveness to call-playback among different stages of the breeding cycle (Legare et al 1999) contributes to low detection probabilities (Conway et al 2004), making call-playback surveys difficult and costly. Recent efforts have therefore implemented passive acoustic monitoring for detecting Black Rail (Bobay et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The preparation of an automated recognizer is especially useful where an ecologist must scan many days of data to determine the presence/absence of a species. However, building a recognizer takes both time and skill, and their success is often confounded by a high rate of false-positive and false-negative detections (Bobay et al 2018, Priyadarshani et al 2018. Longduration false-color (LDFC) spectrograms offer a novel way to interpret soundscapes obtained from very long acoustic recordings (Towsey et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eastern Black Rail detection using semi-automated analysis of long-duration acoustic recordings

Znidersic¹,

Towsey²,

Hand³

et al. 2021

ACE

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Detecting presence and inferring absence are both critical in species monitoring and management. False-negatives in any survey methodology can have significant consequences when conservation decisions are based on incomplete results. Marsh birds are notoriously difficult to detect, and current survey methods rely on traditional labor-intensive methods, and, more recently, passive acoustic monitoring. We investigated the efficiency of passive acoustic monitoring as a survey tool for the cryptic and poorly understood Eastern Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis) analyzing data from two sites collected at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center, South Carolina, USA. We demonstrate two new techniques to automate the reviewing and analysis of long-duration acoustic monitoring data. First, we used long-duration false-color spectrograms to visualize the 20 days of recording and to confirm presence of Black Rail "kickee-doo" calls. Second, we used a machine learning model (Random Forest in regression mode) to automate the scanning of 480 consecutive hours of acoustic recording and to investigate spatial and temporal presence. Detection of the Black Rail call was confirmed in the long-duration false-color spectrogram and the call recognizer correctly predicted Black Rail in 91% of the first 316 top-ranked predictions at one site. From ten days of continuous acoustic recordings, Black Rail calls were detected on only four consecutive days. Long-duration false-color spectrograms were effective for detecting Black Rail calls because their tendency to vocalize over consecutive minutes leaves a visible trace in the spectrogram. The call recognizer performed effectively when the Black Rail call was the dominant acoustic activity in its frequency band. We demonstrate that combining false-color spectrograms with a machine-learned recognizer creates a more efficient monitoring tool than a stand-alone species-specific call recognizer, with particular utility for species whose vocalization patterns and occurrence are unpredictable or unknown. Détection duRâle noir de l'Est au moyen d'une analyse semi-automatique d'enregistrements acoustiques de longue durée

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Playback‐Aided Surveys and Acoustic Monitoring in the Detection of the Endangered Forest Owlet Athene blewitti

Rajan,

Neema,

Trivedi

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Monitoring rare and endangered species over the long term is challenging due to limited historical data and comparable methods. Climate and landscape changes can significantly impact species distributions, driving some to extinction. The Forest Owlet is an endangered bird considered extinct but rediscovered after 113 years in 1997. Since its rediscovery, followed by the description of its calls, there have been regular recent sightings of the species from newer locations, leading to its downlisting in the IUCN Red List from critically endangered to endangered. In the Dang region in Gujarat, India, there have been no historical records despite previous systematic ornithological studies over three decades, but have multiple sightings over the last few years. Although we now know a little more about the broad association of the species occurrence with habitat and climate variables, a major focus of this study is to estimate the reasons for the “appearance” of the Forest Owlet in Dangs. We revisited locations of past surveys to determine if the species is currently found in the study sites where it was previously unrecorded. We also examine whether new survey methods using playback of its call could enhance its detection. During resurveys, we located the Forest Owlet at new, previously unrecorded locations. Analyses of satellite imagery products revealed significant changes in the broader Dang landscape, including the loss of native forests, increased agriculture, and shifts in mean maximum temperature and rainfall. Our research suggests playback can enhance detection, although its effectiveness varies across landscapes. A detection strategy for long‐term monitoring was developed using different acoustic detectors. An effective detection distance of 300 m within the habitat was achieved using automated recording units (ARUs). Although the species responds to climate and habitat change, the cause of the increased reports of this endangered species remains undetermined. However, we found increased detections using newer survey techniques involving bioacoustics. We recommend using these techniques carefully for future baseline studies, which are urgently required.

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Use of autonomous recording units increased detection of a secretive marsh bird

Cited by 24 publications

References 41 publications

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

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

Eastern Black Rail detection using semi-automated analysis of long-duration acoustic recordings

Playback‐Aided Surveys and Acoustic Monitoring in the Detection of the Endangered Forest Owlet Athene blewitti

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