Title: Spatial and Temporal Assessment of Habitat Needs and Demography of Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) in Working Wetland Landscapes of the Willamette Valley, Oregon
TASK MOVED IN FY 2007 FROM 9354BO9, TASK 550 Leaders: * Haig, Susan M., susan_haig@usgs.gov, 541-750-7482, FAX 541-758-7761, 3200 S.W. Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331 Locations: United States,Western US,Oregon Objectives: STATUS AND TRENDS OF BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES (Goal 4)
Produce and provide analyses and reports that synthesize information on the status and trends of our Nations flora, fauna, and ecosystems and are responsive to the needs of the scientific community, land and resource managers, policy makers, and the public.
Project objectives include:
1. Map Wilson¿s Snipe distribution and abundance in the Willamette Valley during winter and breeding seasons to provide (a) a population estimate of breeding and wintering individuals; and (b) a spatially-explicit assessment of habitat use, and how habitat changes within/among phases of the annual cycle.
2. Identify seasonal movement patterns and regional fidelity (year-round, winter, transient) of WISN in the Valley within/among years. Define WISN home range; relate distribution/movement patterns to wetland structure (geospatial analysis) to identify processes of wetland connectivity.
3. Contribute to long-term shorebird monitoring projects in the Valley; coordinate with public (state, federal) and private landowners. Establish partnerships with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), according to programs including the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), and Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP). Develop outreach through community-based Wilson¿s Snipe surveys/census.
4. Provide an assessment of state harvest goals for WISN in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon through collaboration with state and regional wildlife areas and hunter check stations.
5. Investigate large-scale geographic population trends for Wilson¿s Snipe at multiple spatial and temporal scales, using data from two major avian survey efforts, the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and Christmas Bird Count (CBC). If possible, produce maps of abundance change using geostatistical interpolation methods. Statement of Problem: Investigation into demographic, habitat, and movement parameters for WISN in the Willamette Valley would provide the unique opportunity to assess snipe habitat needs, movement and wetland spatial structure across the entire annual cycle. The Valley supports year-round populations of Wilson¿s Snipe. Relative estimates of breeding and wintering populations would be novel for the species, region, and for the field of avian ecology, which has traditionally neglected studies of temperate-region resident birds across the annual cycle. Results will be incorporated into an ongoing, multi-species research effort to investigate patterns and processes of shorebird and wetland spatial structure (e.g., Sanzenbacher & Haig 2002a,b; Taft & Haig 2003). 2006 Progress: Wrote study plan, organized logistics, contacted landowners 2006 Statement of Work: Winter/Spring 2006: Finalize collaborations, plan for fieldwork. Student continues M.S. program, thesis proposal is finalized. Work out trapping and monitoring protocols in preparation for summer field season.
May 2006: Hire personnel.
Summer 2006: First field season: trapping and monitoring, carry out radio telemetry, and collaborate with wildlife area partners (check stations). 2007 Progress: Carried out first field season including attachment of 25 radios to Snipe. 2007 Progress: Field work completed data analyses begun. Student will defend thesis in summer 2008. 2007 Statement of Work: Fall 2006: Collaborators conduct periodic monitoring of marked snipe.
Winter 2006-2007: Winter component of first field season: continue monitoring marked snipe, document movement and distribution, conduct surveys, collaborate with wildlife area partners.
Spring 2007: Collaborators conduct periodic monitoring of marked snipe.
Summer 2007: Second field season: telemetry carried out, determine COSN regional fidelity, continue collaborations with hunter check stations. 2008 Progress: During the fiscal year 2007-08, research collaborators have been very active in field, research, and academic efforts, which will contribute to the timely conclusion of the project, and distribution of products to project funders and partners early in the fiscal year 2008-09 (Dec).
Specifically, M.S. student Brittany Cline (Oregon State University) concluded all field and data collection efforts for the project during fall and winter 2007, with the final ground and aerial telemetry efforts completed in December. Concurrent with fieldwork completion and the cessation of field crew activity, data organization and analysis tasks began in earnest in January 2007. The graduate student designed and developed a relational database (MS Access) for storage of all Wilson¿s Snipe banding, genetic, telemetry, and habitat use data ¿ implementing skills attained during 12 hours of relational database training with the OSU Department of Forest Sciences Computing and Statistics Services (two courses; Dec 2007, Jan 2008). Entry and organization of shorebird telemetry and habitat use data was completed in spring 2007 (> 1700 individual bird movement detections; individual bird banding and morphometric data; genetic sample data; spatially-explicit bird location and habitat use data). Following data organization, the graduate student conducted all analyses for her thesis and the associated publication. Specific data analyses involved use of spatial statistical visualizations and calculations in a ArcGIS and included studies of Wilson¿s Snipe residency, regional and local fidelity, differential migration, seasonal movement patterns and home range across seasons (2007) in the Willamette Valley. Ongoing student research efforts involve (1) the preparation of figures and text for the MS thesis; (2) the development of analyses for the remaining thesis chapters and publications.
In addition to the above research and analysis efforts for the Wilson¿s Snipe Seasonal Movement and Habitat Use project, M.S. student Brittany Cline has been involved with many outreach, scientific conference, and scholarship activities during the fiscal year 2007-08. In February 2008, the graduate student prepared an application for attendance and travel to the National Science Foundation-funded MIGRATE (Migration Interest Group: Research Applied Toward Education) Meeting in Ithaca, NY. Brittany was subsequently awarded attendance and travel costs to the meeting at the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology (3-5 April 2008). Concurrent with meeting objectives to discuss new technologies for studying bird migration, the student participated in activities with the MIGRATE Subcommittee on Training and Education. In association with the MIGRATE Subcommittee on Education, the graduate student attended and performed teaching-assistant duties for a telemetry workshop at the International Course on Avian Movements and Migration Technology, held at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport Oregon from 29 July to 2 August 2008.
The graduate student also presented and disseminated research findings for the project during the fiscal year 2007-08. In August 2008, the student presented project analyses (chapter one) at the American Ornithologists¿ Union Meeting in Portland, Oregon (see Products; AOU Presentation on 7 Aug 2008). Specifically, this presentation involved residency, regional fidelity and seasonal movement (home range) studies of Wilson¿s Snipe across multiple phases of the annual cycle in the Willamette Valley (2007). The graduate student and Dr. Susan Haig also prepared an abstract for the Wetlands 2008 Meeting (Wetlands and Global Climate Change) in Portland, Oregon; their abstract was accepted for presentation at the meeting (16-18 September 2008). Finally, various student scholarship applications have been submitted during the fiscal year 2007-08, including the 2008 Oregon Chapter of The Wildlife Society (15 Feb 2008; decision pending). 2008 Statement of Work: Continue data analysis; begin preparation of final reports and subsequent manuscripts. 2009 Statement of Work: The 2008-09 fiscal year will see the full fruition of project goals, with (1) completion of all research analyses, (2) graduate student defense, (3) manuscript preparation, and (4) submission of subsequent manuscripts for journal and international peer review. Graduate student, Brittany Cline will defend her MS thesis in November 2008, with presentation of a public seminar for her academic department (OSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife) and project partners (private landowners, state and federal agencies, etc.); the full academic committee will also be in attendance. Prior to the defense, ongoing student research efforts will involve (1) the preparation of figures and text for chapter one of the MS thesis (and the associated publication) and (2) the development of analyses for the remaining thesis chapters and publications. The latter task will occur in frequent consultation with the Principal Investigator, Dr. Susan Haig and the ArcGIS Specialist at USGS-FRESC, Patricia Haggerty. Specific analyses proposed for chapter two of the project include a methodological review of Wilson¿s Snipe field sexing methods (and comparison with molecular sexing results for the project), and a characterization of snipe home range habitat structure using a Geographic Information System (ArcGIS). Following the thesis defense, the MS student will (1) prepare a final project report for funders and collaborators, including the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and (2) fulfill peer review recommendations for publication of project manuscripts. Product: Presentations Delivered Cline, B.B. and S.M. Haig. 2008. Regional fidelity, residency, and seasonal movement patterns of Wilson¿s Snipe (Gallinago delicata) across the annual cycle in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Oral presentation at the American Ornithologists¿ Union (AOU) 126th Meeting: Portland, Oregon. 4-9 August 2008. Product: Report Planned Grauate Student Thesis: Spatial and Temporal Assessment of Habitat Needs and Demography of Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)in Working Wetland Landscapes of the Willamette Valley, Oregon, Product: Planned Spatial and Temporal Assessment of Habitat Needs and Demography of Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)in Working Wetland Landscapes of the Willamette Valley, Oregon,
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