Grantee Research Project Results
2002 Progress Report: Multi-scale Effects of Forest Fragmentation and Landscape Context on Population Health of Birds
EPA Grant Number: R827673Title: Multi-scale Effects of Forest Fragmentation and Landscape Context on Population Health of Birds
Investigators: Martin, Thomas E. , Redmond, Roland L.
Institution: University of Montana
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: October 1, 1999 through September 30, 2002 (Extended to September 30, 2003)
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2002
Project Amount: $659,331
RFA: Regional Scale Analysis and Assessment (1999) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Aquatic Ecosystems , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration
Objective:
The main objective of this research project is to use data from intensive studies of avian demography at replicated sites and multiple spatial scale regions in the United States to assess the effects of spatial scale and landscape context on major factors (nest predation and Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism) that influence health of bird populations.
Progress Summary:
Our work advanced on several fronts: modeling avian population growth, calculating nest success, predation and parasitism rates, analyzing lambda values from the Breeding Biology Research and Monitoring Database (BBIRD) for all forest species, and computing a range of landscape metrics at radii from 1-150 km around forested sites. We began to explore relationships between avian population parameters and landscape metrics. As a prototype, we completed an assessment of the multiscale effects of forest fragmentation and landscape context on the nesting success of one species, the ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus). We examined how nest predation and Cowbird parasitism varied in relation to land cover type, local patch size and edge effects, and landscape-level fragmentation variables for ovenbirds at 15 sites in the eastern and midwestern states.
Future Activities:
In the final year, we will focus on three main topics. First, for up to 30 bird species, we will quantify how rates of nest predation, brood parasitism, and population growth vary as a function of landscape fragmentation at different spatial scales (from 1 to 150 km radii around study sites). Second, we will examine if and how these relationships vary among three geographic areas of the country (West, Midwest, and Eastern United States), and under different regimens of land use and predator guilds. Third, we will assess how representative the BBIRD sites are of forested landscapes in both the Eastern and Western United States. As we quantify relationships between nest success rates and landscape characteristics, we will develop predictive models of avian demographic responses to forest fragmentation. These models will enable us to predict changes in the finite growth rates of populations from changes in landscape composition and spatial configuration, and to identify landscape conditions that are more likely to support self-sustaining populations. Finally, we hope to determine whether functional groups of birds differ in their vulnerability to fragmentation-induced changes in nest predation/parasitism, and from that to identify high-risk species or species groups.
Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 8 publications | 3 publications in selected types | All 2 journal articles |
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Clark ME, Martin TE. Modeling tradeoffs in avian life history traits and consequences for population growth. Ecological Modelling 2007;209(2-4):110-120. |
R827673 (2002) R827673 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
ecosystem, terrestrial, habitat, biology, avian ecology, modeling, surveys, remote sensing, geographic information systems, GIS., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Forestry, Ecology, Biology, Regional/Scaling, Environmental Monitoring, habitat protection, forest fragmentation, remote sensing imagery, demographic consequences, population sensitivity, parasitism, land use, birds, agriculture, landscape contextRelevant Websites:
http://pica.wru.umt.edu/BBIRD/ Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.