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Population Status of the Seaside Sparrow in Rhode Island: A 25-Year Assessment.
Citation:
Berry, W., S. Reinert, M. Gallagher, S. Lussier, AND E. Walsh. Population Status of the Seaside Sparrow in Rhode Island: A 25-Year Assessment. NORTHEASTERN NATURALIST. Eagle Hill Publications, ME, 22(4):658-671, (2015).
Impact/Purpose:
The population status of breeding Seaside Sparrows (Ammodramus maritimus) in Rhode Island is in doubt, because the breeding habitat of these birds is being eroded from both the seaward and landward sides. Our work will help to inform several conservation efforts underway in RI. The USFWS is currently carrying out studies of Seaside Sparrows and other salt marsh-obligate breeders on their refuges in RI. The information in this report will help them to formulate management plans for their marsh reserves. Save The Bay is doing assessments of a number of marshes in RI, to develop a baseline that can be used to measure the effects of global climate change. The data in this report will help them to develop a Seaside Sparrow baseline, and to highlight the recent decreases in the Seaside Sparrows on RI marshes. Finally, the Seaside Sparrow’s conservation classification in RI is currently “Concern”. This classification may need to be reconsidered, given the marked drop in the number of Seasides Sparrows which we found on RI salt marshes from 1982 to 2007.
Description:
To assess long-term changes in the population status of breeding Ammodramus maritimus Wilson (Seaside Sparrow) in Rhode Island, we repeated surveys conducted in 1982 by Stoll and Golet (1983). In June and July of 2007 and 2008, we surveyed 20 of Rhode Island’s largest salt marshes. The relative abundance of Seaside Sparrows declined at 10 of 12 marshes where Stoll and Golet (1983) documented the presence of sparrows in 1982, whereas sparrow relative abundance increased on three marshes, one of which had no sparrows detected in 1982. We used aerial photographs to quantify changes in habitat at each site, including development within 150-m and 1-km buffers surrounding each marsh. Within the 150-m buffer, there was a 38% increase in the average number of structures from 1981 to 2008; the increase was 66% within the 1 km buffer. Concomitantly, salt marsh area decreased by an average of 8.9%. Seaside sparrow abundance was related to marsh size, but our analyses did not detect a statistically clear relationship of landscape or habitat-loss variables with the decline in sparrows. The Seaside Sparrow is currently classified in Rhode Island as a species of “Concern”; however, we suggest that their status be reconsidered given the marked decline we documented throughout Rhode Island, and the continued decline of their salt marsh habitat.
