Riparian habitat disturbed by reservoir management does not function as an ecological trap for the Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)

Ecological traps arise when anthropogenic change creates habitat that appears suitable but when selected reduces the fitness of an individual. We evaluated whether riparian habitat within the drawdown zone of the Arrow Lakes Reservoir, British Columbia, creates an ecological trap for Yellow Warblers ( Setophaga petechia (L., 1766)) by investigating habitat preferences and the fitness consequences of habitat selection decisions. Preferences were inferred by examining how habitat variables influenced settlement order, and comparing habitat at nest sites and random locations. Males preferred to settle in territories with more riparian shrub and tree cover, higher shrub diversity, and less high canopy cover. Females built nests in taller shrubs surrounded by a greater density of shrub stems. Habitat preferences were positively associated with fitness: nest sites in taller shrubs surrounded by higher shrub-stem densities were more likely to avoid predation and fledge young, whereas territories with more riparian cover, higher shrub diversity, and less high canopy cover had higher annual productivity. We therefore found no evidence that riparian habitat affected by reservoir operations functions as an ecological trap. Current habitat selection decisions may be associated with fitness because Yellow Warblers are adapted to breeding in a heterogeneous environment subject to periodic flooding.

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Habitat Selection by 2 Closely Related Skinks, Egernia-Modesta Storr and Egernia-Whitii Lacepede (Lacertilia, Scincidae)

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr9860295 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 295 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

DA Milton ◽

JM Hughes

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Human Disturbance ◽

Habitat Preferences ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Niche Separation ◽

Grass Cover ◽

Allopatric Populations ◽

Narrow Zone ◽

Current Distributions ◽

Microhabitat Preferences

'The habitat and microhabitat preferences, and times of activity, of the skinks Egernia modesta and E. whitii were examined in southern Queensland where they coexist in a narrow zone. The above parameters were compared between locally sympatric and allopatric populations, in an attempt to determine whether there was evidence of niche separation in sympatry. E. modesta preferred open habitats with little canopy cover and high grass cover, adjacent to rocky retreats. E. whitii preferred rocky areas with well developed canopy and shrub layers. Both species were active throughout the day, although E. modesta was active later than E. whitii. No evidence was found of competition restricting habitat preferences where the two species coexisted. It is suggested that human disturbance has had some influence on current distributions of these species.

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Habitat selection, movement, and food preferences of Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) in an agri-forested landscape

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/cjz-2020-0074 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 98 (11) ◽

pp. 743-750

Author(s):

S.D. Wallace ◽

G.J. Forbes ◽

J.J. Nocera

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Fourth Order ◽

Woody Debris ◽

Food Preferences ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Ecological Trap ◽

Habitat Features ◽

The Third ◽

Glyptemys Insculpta ◽

Wood Turtles

Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta (Le Conte, 1830)) can use agricultural fields for basking and feeding, but hayfields can be an ecological trap due to mortality associated with agricultural machinery. It is unclear if hayfields are selected habitat or simply occur adjacent to used waterways. We sought to investigate Wood Turtle habitat selection at the third- and fourth-order scales in an agri-forested landscape and quantify food abundance (berries, fungi, and gastropods–worms) among habitat types. To quantify habitat selection by Wood Turtles, we radio-tracked 23 adults from May to November of 2018. We measured habitat features at each turtle location and three random sites within 50 m. At the third order, turtles primarily selected for edge habitat and selected hayfields over forest. At the fourth order, turtles selected for low canopy cover and presence of woody debris. Earthworms (suborder Lumbricina) were abundant within hayfields, and berries and fungi were abundant in forests. Turtles abandoned hayfields at the end of July, likely due to the emergence of food within the forest. Food availability likely influences their habitat use during the season, and hayfields provide a food source that entices Wood Turtles during the prime hay harvest period, which likely increases the risk of machinery-related mortality.

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Do songbirds attend to song categories when selecting breeding habitat? A case study with a wood warbler

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539x-00003461 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 154 (11) ◽

pp. 1123-1144 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Janice K. Kelly ◽

Michael P. Ward

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Social Cues ◽

Breeding Habitat ◽

Yellow Warbler ◽

Individual Fitness ◽

First Category ◽

Different Types ◽

Yellow Warblers ◽

Second Category

Breeding habitat selection strongly affects reproduction and individual fitness. Among birds, using social cues from conspecifics to select habitat is widespread, but how different types of conspecific social cues influence breeding habitat selection remains less understood. We conducted a playback experiment evaluating if the yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia), a species with two song categories linked to pairing status, uses categories differently when selecting breeding habitat. We hypothesized that yellow warblers use second-category singing mode, which is mostly sung by paired males, over first-category singing mode for habitat selection, as successfully paired males should indicate higher-quality habitat. We broadcast yellow warbler first-category singing mode, second-category singing mode, and silent controls at sites in Illinois. Yellow warblers were more abundant at sites treated with second-category singing mode compared other sites. Our results demonstrate that yellow warblers use social cues informing successful pairing over other types of social cues to select breeding habitat.

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Eavesdropping on Referential Yellow Warbler Alarm Calls by Red-Winged Blackbirds Is Mediated by Brood Parasitism Risk

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2021.706170 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Shelby L. Lawson ◽

Janice K. Enos ◽

Sharon A. Gill ◽

Mark E. Hauber

Keyword(s):

Brood Parasitism ◽

Molothrus Ater ◽

Agelaius Phoeniceus ◽

Alarm Calls ◽

Playback Experiments ◽

Yellow Warbler ◽

Incubation Stage ◽

Yellow Warblers ◽

Current Risk ◽

Setophaga Petechia

Referential alarm calls that denote specific types of dangers are common across diverse vertebrate lineages. Different alarm calls can indicate a variety of threats, which often require specific actions to evade. Thus, to benefit from the call, listeners of referential alarm calls must be able to decode the signaled threat and respond to it in an appropriate manner. Yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia) produce referential “seet” calls that signal to conspecifics the presence of nearby obligate brood parasitic brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), which lay their eggs in the nests of other species, including yellow warblers. Our previous playback experiments have found that red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), a species also parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds, eavesdrop upon and respond strongly to yellow warbler seet calls during the incubation stage of breeding with aggression similar to responses to both cowbird chatters and predator calls. To assess whether red-winged blackbird responses to seet calls vary with their own risk of brood parasitism, we presented the same playbacks during the nestling stage of breeding (when the risk of brood parasitism is lower than during incubation). As predicted, we found that blackbirds mediated their aggression toward both cowbird chatter calls and the warblers’ anti-parasitic referential alarm calls in parallel with the low current risk of brood parasitism during the nestling stage. These results further support that red-winged blackbirds flexibly respond to yellow warbler antiparasitic referential calls as a frontline defense against brood parasitism at their own nests.

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Age-dependent costs of cowbird parasitism in Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/cjz-2013-0014 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 91 (7) ◽

pp. 505-511 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

C.A. Rock ◽

S.P. Quinlan ◽

M. Martin ◽

D.J. Green

Keyword(s):

Brood Parasitism ◽

Molothrus Ater ◽

Breeding Cycle ◽

Yellow Warbler ◽

Age Related ◽

Annual Productivity ◽

Yellow Warblers ◽

Cowbird Parasitism ◽

Breeding Attempt ◽

Setophaga Petechia

Brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater (Boddaert, 1783)) often reduces the reproductive success of their hosts. We examined whether the ability of females to avoid or mitigate the costs of brood parasitism improved with age in a population of Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia (L., 1766)) breeding near Revelstoke, British Columbia, between 2004 and 2011. Cowbirds parasitized 18% of Yellow Warbler nesting attempts and females rejected 24% of parasitized nests, principally by deserting the nest and initiating a new breeding attempt. We found no evidence that older females were better at avoiding parasitism or more likely to reject parasitized nests than yearlings. On average, brood parasitism reduced clutch sizes by 0.8 eggs, had no effect on nest success, but reduced the number of young fledged from successful nests by 1.3 offspring. Despite age-related improvement in some measures of breeding performance, the costs of brood parasitism at each period of the breeding cycle did not vary with age. There was, however, some evidence, that brood parasitism reduced the annual productivity (total number of young fledged) of older females less than the annual productivity of yearlings suggesting that the cumulative costs of brood parasitism varied with age.

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Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia) rear second broods in some years at Delta Marsh, Manitoba

The Canadian Field-Naturalist ◽

10.22621/cfn.v128i1.1549 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 128 (1) ◽

pp. 44

Author(s):

Spencer G. Sealy

Keyword(s):

Molothrus Ater ◽

Breeding Ecology ◽

Yellow Warbler ◽

Delta Marsh ◽

Published Evidence ◽

Double Brooding ◽

Yellow Warblers ◽

Dune Ridge ◽

Setophaga Petechia

Twenty cases of double brooding by colour-marked Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia) were recorded in 5 of 11 years (1975–1986, no data collected in 1977) during studies of breeding ecology in the dune-ridge forest at Delta Marsh, Manitoba (1 pair in 1975, 3 pairs in 1976, 3 pairs in 1984, 9 pairs in 1985, and 4 pairs in 1986). At least one member of each of the 20 pairs was marked. Eleven pairs re-used their first nest for the second attempt, whereas 9 females built a new nest, in 5 cases because the original nests had disintegrated. Four of the second nests (3 in 1985 and 1 in 1986) were parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater). All 20 first nests produced at least one young, a condition for double brooding, and 13 second nests, including 3 that were parasitized, were successful. Failure of about 60% of annual nesting attempts at Delta Marsh may contribute to the low number of pairs with double broods recorded in some years and the absence of double brooding in years of comparable phenology. This is the first published evidence of double brooding in the Yellow Warbler.

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Distribution and habitat preference of protected reindeer lichen species (Cladonia arbuscula, C. mitis and C. rangiferina) in the Balaton Uplands (Hungary)

The Lichenologist ◽

10.1017/s0024282921000165 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 53 (3) ◽

pp. 271-282

Author(s):

Mónika Sinigla ◽

Erzsébet Szurdoki ◽

László Lőkös ◽

Dénes Bartha ◽

István Galambos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vascular Plants ◽

Management Practices ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Habitat Preferences ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Lichen Species ◽

Oak Forests ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Cladonia Rangiferina

AbstractThe maintenance of protected lichen species and their biodiversity in general depends on good management practices based on their distribution and habitat preferences. To date, 10 of the 17 protected lichen species of Hungary have been recorded in the Bakony Mts including the Balaton Uplands region. Habitat preferences of three protected Cladonia species (C. arbuscula, C. mitis and C. rangiferina) growing on underlying rocks of red sandstone, basalt, Pannonian sandstone and gravel were investigated by detailed sampling. We recorded aspect, underlying rock type, soil depth, pH and CaCO3 content, habitat type (as defined by the General National Habitat Classification System Á-NÉR), all species of lichen, bryophyte and vascular plants as well as percentage cover of exposed rock, total bryophytes, lichens, vascular plants and canopy, degree of disturbance and animal impacts. Sporadic populations of these species mostly exist at the top of hills and mountains in open acidofrequent oak forests, but they may occur in other habitats, such as closed acidofrequent oak forests, slope steppes on stony soils, siliceous open rocky grasslands, open sand steppes, wet and mesic pioneer scrub and dry Calluna heaths. Cladonia rangiferina was found to grow beneath higher canopy cover than either C. arbuscula or C. mitis in the Balaton Uplands. Furthermore, there were significant differences in canopy cover between occupied and unoccupied quadrats in the case of all three species. Cladonia rangiferina is a good indicator species of natural habitats in Hungary due to its restricted distribution and low ecological tolerance. These results may lead to the adoption of effective conservation methods (e.g. game exclusion, artificial dispersal) in the future.

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Habitat selection of sympatric Siberian Grouse and Hazel Grouse in natural and exploited forests of the lower Amur region

Ornis Fennica ◽

10.51812/of.113446 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 98 (4) ◽

pp. 142-161

Author(s):

Tobias Ludwig ◽

Ralf Siano ◽

Alexander V. Andreev

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Russian Far East ◽

Far East ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Late Summer ◽

Breeding Habitat ◽

Empirical Modelling ◽

Hazel Grouse ◽

Pioneer Trees ◽

Selection Of

The Siberian Grouse (Falcipennis falcipennis), which is endemic to the “dark-needle” taiga of the Russian Far East, is one of the least studied grouse species in the world. We examined post-breeding habitat selection of Siberian Grouse and contrasted it with that of the better examined Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia) in two areas near Komsomolsk na Amure, Russia. To infer species-specific preferences, we used field sampling, logistic regression, and AIC model selection, and compared late summer habitats of Siberian Grouse and Hazel Grouse in a mountain- and hilly area in the dark needle taiga. Our study is the first to explain Siberian Grouse habitat relationships with an empirical modelling approach. Results indicate proportions of coniferous/ pioneer trees forest and rejuvenation to be the most important covariates separating Siberian and Hazel Grouse observation sites in forests from both areas. Siberian Grouse tended to select sites with low proportions of pioneer trees and rejuvenation but availability of dwarf shrubs. Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) appeared to be of high importance for the presence of Siberian Grouse in both regions. Hazel Grouse were common in places dominated by pioneer trees with high canopy cover, and high proportions of grass/herb cover. Hazel Grouse also occurred more often in forest sites with dense vertical layering and rejuvenation. Modern forestry, which results in increasing amounts of forests at younger successional stages, is likely to favour the Hazel Grouse at the expense of the Siberian Grouse.

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Habitat Selection in a Changing Environment: The Relationship Between Habitat Alteration and Spotted Owl Territory Occupancy and Breeding Dispersal

The Condor ◽

10.1093/condor/109.3.566 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 109 (3) ◽

pp. 566-576 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Mark E. Seamans ◽

R.J. Gutiérrez

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Sierra Nevada ◽

Coniferous Forest ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Habitat Alteration ◽

Breeding Dispersal ◽

Conifer Forest ◽

Avian Behavior ◽

Spotted Owl ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Abstract. Understanding the effect of habitat alteration on avian behavior is important for understanding a species' ecology and ensuring its conservation. Therefore, we examined the relationship between Spotted Owl habitat selection and variation in habitat in the Sierra Nevada. We estimated habitat selection by modeling the probability of territory colonization (γ), territory extinction (ε), and breeding dispersal in relation to the amount of mature conifer forest within and among territories. Alteration of ≥20 ha of mature conifer forest (coniferous forest with >70% canopy cover dominated by medium [30.4–60.9 cm dbh] and large [>60.9 cm dbh] trees) within individual territories (n = 66) was negatively related to territory colonization and positively related to breeding dispersal probability. Although territory extinction was negatively related to the amount of mature conifer forest, it was not clear whether this relationship was due to variation of mature conifer forest within or among territories. Although modeling results for territory colonization and extinction generally supported the hypothesis that individuals are “ideal” when selecting a habitat in the sense that they settle in the highest-quality site available, we did not find a clear benefit in terms of habitat quality for Spotted Owls that exhibited breeding dispersal.

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