StoneLab2014Pres-RallNCUR
- 1. Suitability of the Lake Erie Islands as Bird Breeding Habitat Rachel DiPietro1 and Dr. James Marshall2 1Undergraduate, North Central College 2 Professor of Biology, Rockford University North Central College Advisor: Dr. Gregory Ruthig www.fcps.edu
- 2. Background: Why Bird Habitat? Increasing human influence Species vary in tolerance to habitat alteration (Stauffer and Best 1980) Age ratios are a good habitat indicator (Weinberg and Roth 1998; Hunt 1996; Holmes et al. 1996) Conservation, investment in preserves
- 3. Background: The Islands Lake Erie Islands effective migration stopovers(Ewert, et al. 2005; Miskimen 1970) Variance in human influence Human-dominated areas Preserves Focal common species Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) American robin (Turdus migratorius) Weber
- 4. Hypotheses In favored habitat: More older adults More offspring Adults in better condition Species Predicted Favored Habitat Red-winged blackbird Preserve American robin Preserve
- 5. Methods: Banding Sites South Bass Is. (1450 acres, Langois 1957) Gibraltar Is. (6.55 acres) Middle Bass Is. (813 acres) North Bass Is. (602 acres, Weber) Weber
- 6. Methods 6/24/2014-7/18/2014, mornings Banding, ten mist nets Measurements: wing chord (mm) fat age sex weight (g) Lisa Brohl
- 7. Older adult female blackbirds favor human-dominated areas Age Human Preserve P- value Χ2 Older adult 108 65 0.014 DF=1, N=297 Younger adult 61 63 madmikesamerica.com
- 8. Hatch-year blackbirds favor human-dominated areas Age Human Preserve P- value Χ2 Adult 319 200 P<0.001 DF=1, N=660 Hatch- year 115 26
- 9. Hatch-year robins slightly favor preserves Age Human Preserve P- value Χ2 Adult 89 55 0.080 DF=1, N=211Hatch- year 33 34 blog.mountain-plover.com
- 10. Blackbird Fitness Tests www.birdfellow.com Individual heath not significant between habitats Both males and females (P>0.01) madmikesamerica.com
- 11. Foot Lesion Frequency Figure 1: Percentage of sampled birds with cases of lesions across five years. Cases reached a peak just under 3% in 2013. 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 CaseFrequency(%) Year
- 12. Discussion Hypothesis Supported? Blackbirds favor preserves No Robins favor preserves Yes
- 13. Discussion and Conclusion Investment? Blackbirds and robins living with human influence Other species need preserves Replicate methods Weber
- 14. Acknowledgements Stone Laboratory Friends of Stone Laboratory Ohio Sea Grant North Central College Dr. Gregory Ruthig Dr. James Marshall Dr. Jeff Reutter Dr. Justin Chaffin EEOB Classmates Boat Captains NCUR, Eastern Washington University
- 15. References Dabert, J., A. D. Mihalca, and A. D. Sandor. 2011. The first report of Knemidocoptes intermedius Fain et Macfarlane, 1967 (Acari: Astigmata) in naturally infected European birds. Parasitology Research 109: 237-240. Ewert, D.N., G.J. Soulliere, R.D. Macleod, M.C. Shieldcastle, P.G. Rodewald, E. Fujimura, J. Shieldcastle, and R.J. Gates. 2005. Migratory bird stopover site attributes in the western Lake Erie basin. Final report to The George Gund Foundation. Langois, T. H. 1957. The Natural History of South Bass Island. Columbus: The Ohio State University. Print. Miskimen, M.1970. Red-winged blackbird movements on Lake Erie Islands. Bird Control Seminars Proceedings. Paper 217. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdmbirdcontrol/217 Moore, F. R., P. Kerlinger, and T. R. Simons. 1990. Stopover on a Gulf Coast barrier island by spring trans-gulf migrants. The Wilson Bulletin 102: 487-500. Nero, R. F. 1956. A behavioral study of the red-winged blackbird II. Territoriality. The Wilson Bulletin 68: 129- 150. Peek, F. W. 1971. Seasonal change in the breeding behavior of the male red-winged blackbird. The Wilson Bulletin 83: 383-395. Weber, A., ed. ND. “Explore the Lake Erie Islands.” Ohio Sea Grant. PDF. Stauffer, F., and L. B. Best. 1980. Habitat selection by birds of riparian communities: evaluating effects of habitat alterations. The Journal of Wildlife Management 44: 1-15. Weinberg, H. J., and R. R. Roth 1998. Forest area and habitat quality for nesting Wood Thrushes. The Auk 115: 879-889. Yasukawa, K., R. A. Boley, J. L. McClure, and J. Zanocco. 1992. Nest Dispersion in the Red-Winged Blackbird. The Condor 94: 775-777.
- 16. Questions? Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus American Robin, Turdus migratorius Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis Yellow Warbler, Setophaga petechia Baltimore Oriole (hatch- year), Icterus galbula Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor Red-eyed Vireo, Vireo olivaceus Great Crested Flycatcher, Myiarchus crinitus