Spatial variation in breeding habitat selection by Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea) throughout the Appalachian Mountains

Than J Boves,T B Wigley,Amanda D Rodewald,Patrick D Keyser,Gregory A George,Andrea Evans,David A Buehler,Jeffrey L Larkin,Felicity L Newell,James Sheehan,Petra Bohall Wood

doi:10.1525/auk.2012.12104

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Studies of habitat selection are often of limited utility because they focus on small geographic areas, fail to examine behavior at multiple scales, or lack an assessment of the fitness consequences of habitat decisions. These limitations can hamper the identification of successful site-specific management strategies, which are urgently needed for severely declining species like Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea). We assessed how breeding habitat decisions made by Cerulean Warblers at multiple scales, and the subsequent effects of these decisions on nest survival, varied across the Appalachian Mountains. Selection for structural habitat features varied substantially among areas, particularly at the territory scale. Males within the least-forested landscapes selected microhabitat features that reflected more closed-canopy forest conditions, whereas males in highly forested landscapes favored features associated with canopy disturbance. Selection of nest-patch and nest-site attributes by female...

Highlights

Particularmente a la escala de los territorios
We evaluated the relationship between habitat selection behavior and nest survival by comparing the sign of the slope (β coefficient) and associated % confidence intervals (CIs) of each univariate feature included in the final suite of models with the direction of habitat selection for that feature
Our results demonstrate that male and female Cerulean Warblers select for a variety of topographic, structural, and floristic habitat features on their breeding grounds in the Appalachian Mountains

Summary

Introduction

Particularmente a la escala de los territorios. Los machos de los hábitats menos boscosos seleccionaron características del microhábitat que reflejaban las condiciones de un dosel cerrado, mientras que los machos de hábitats más boscosos favorecieron características asociadas con disturbio en el dosel. Often are limited in geographic scope, fail to examine habitat selection at multiple scales, and do not link habitat decisions with fitness consequences (Jones , Schaub et al ) These shortcomings can be problematic because habitat selection may be assumed to be a fixed adaptive behavior, whereas in reality it may be scale dependent (e.g., territory vs nest selection; Johnson , Deppe and Rotenberry ), region or site specific (Whittingham et al , Fortin et al , Bamford et al ), or maladaptive (Battin ). These issues are important for species of conservation concern because extrapolation of habitat associations to different scales and regions may result in inappropriate conservation strategies. Cerulean Warblers are designated a “first-priority” species for conservation action by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Partners in Flight (USFWS ) and as “vulnerable” to extinction by BirdLife International ( )

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Conclusion