Browsing by Author "Etterson, Matthew"

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    A 15 and 20-Year Summary of Breeding Bird Trends in National Forests of Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2010) Niemi, Gerald J; Howe, Robert; Danz, Nicholas P; Etterson, Matthew
    The breeding bird communities of the western Great Lakes region have among the richest diversity of breeding bird species in North America (Robbins et al. 1987; Green 1995, Rich et al. 2004). The importance of this diversity and concerns with potential declines of some species has led to a strong interest in monitoring forest bird populations in the region. The relatively heavily forested landscapes of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin are considered to be population 'sources' for many forest bird species and may be supplementing population 'sinks' in the agricultural landscapes of the lower Midwest (Robinson et al. 1995, Temple and Flaspohler 1998). Analysis of population trends is used as an 'early-warning system' of potential problems in a species population and serves as a measure of the ecological condition of the environment (Niemi and McDonald 2004). Large-scale population monitoring programs such as the U.S. Geological Survey’s Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) provide important information on trends at a continental scale. However, limited coverage in some areas can make it difficult to use BBS data to characterize population trends at smaller geographic scales (Peterjohn et al. 1995). Continental trends also have the potential to mask regional population trends (Holmes and Sherry 1988), thus there is a need for regional monitoring programs that can provide more localized information (Howe et al. 1997). In response to the need for regional population data, a long-term forest breeding bird monitoring program was established in 1991 in the Chippewa and Superior NFs, and in 1992 in the Chequamegon NF. The Forest Service is mandated to monitor certain management indicator species (Manley 1993), and our monitoring program expands beyond indicator species to include all forest songbird species that we can adequately sample. Currently, approximately 420 stands (1,271 points) within the three national forests are surveyed during the breeding season (June 1 to July 10). The primary objective of this report is to update U.S. Forest Service personnel on results of the forest bird monitoring program. Here we focus on relative abundance trends of individual species. Because we slightly changed our point count methodology in 1995 by including unlimited point counts, here we focus on a comparison of the results from three different distance radii x time categories: 1) 100 m radius distance for 1991-2009, 2) 100 m radius distance for 1995-2009, and 3) unlimited distance for 1995-2009. Our intent here is to summarize the most important results and to provide detailed information in appendix form for those who need more specific results.
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    Breeding bird monitoring in Great Lakes National Forests: 1991-2006
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2007) Etterson, Matthew; Danz, Nicholas P; Lind, Jim; Hanowski, JoAnn M; Niemi, Gerald J
    • A total of 132, 133, and 164 stands (1,254 survey points) were surveyed for breeding birds in the Chequamegon, Chippewa, and Superior National Forests (NF), respectively in 2006. Annual surveys have been conducted since 1991 in the Chippewa and Superior NF, and since 1992 in the Chequamegon NF. • Comprehensive surveys of vegetation structure were carried out on 93, 74, and 63 points in the Chequamegon, Chippewa, and Superior NFs, respectively, on over 50 observer-days of sampling. Monitoring personnel on the Chippewa and Superior NFs provided excellent assistance in the coordination and completion of this effort. • Trends in relative abundance were calculated for 72 bird species, including 57 species in the Chequamegon NF, 57 in the Chippewa NF, and 49 in the Superior NF. Thirty-nine species were also tested for a pooled trend by combining data from the three national forests. • A total of 163 species/national forest trends were calculated in 2006 (not including pooled trends), 68 (42%) of which were significant (P ≤ 0.05). Twenty three species increased significantly (P ≤ 0.05) in at least one national forest and 24 species decreased. Eleven species had significant increasing pooled trends and 11 had decreasing trends. Of the 158 species/national forest trends calculated in 2005, 19 (12%) changed in 2006. • The percent of increasing species on each national forest ranged from 9% in the Chequamegon NF, to 25% in the Chippewa NF. The percent of decreasing species ranged from 20% in the Superior NF, to 28% in the Chequamegon NF. • The short-distance migrant guild showed highly significant declines on all national forests. Long-distance migrants also declined on all national forests. Permanent residents increased on the Chippewa and Superior NF and in the pooled NFs, but were stable on the Chequamegon NF. • The ground nesting guild showed highly significant declines on all national forests. Shrub/sub-canopy nesters increased on Chippewa NF, but were stable in Chequamegon and Superior NFs. Canopy nesters increased in Chquamegon NF and cavity-nesters increased in Chippwa and Superior NFs. All nesting guilds showed significant trends in the pooled NFs with increases in shrub/subcanopy-nesters and cavity-nesters and decreases in ground- and canopy-nesters. • The deciduous and mixed forest bird guilds declined on the Chequamegon and Superior NFs and the pooled NFs. The lowland coniferous forest bird guild declined on the Chippewa NF and the pooled NFs. The early-successional bird guild increased on the Chippewa NF and the upland coniferous bird guild increased on the Chippewa and Superior NFs as well as in the pooled NFs. • Evidence from previous regional studies have demonstrated greater nest predation rates on ground nests near forest/clearcut edges, as well as a significant increase in the creation of forest edges in recent years. Increasing amounts of forest edge and nest predation may be having negative effects on declining ground-nesters such as the Winter Wren, Veery, Hermit Thrush, Ovenbird, and White-throated Sparrow. • Of the 1274 survey sites on the three national forests, 15.5% have been at least partially harvested since the beginning of monitoring, which is about 1% a year. This harvest rate is comparable to the documented 4.8% change from mature forest to early-successional types on federally managed forest lands in northeastern Minnesota between 1990 and 1995 (i.e., ~1% annual change). Thus, it appears that management activities on our sample sites are representative of the national forests as a whole, and that the trends we are documenting are probably occurring across the regional landscape. • Many of the declining trends that we have detected appear to be consistent across years instead of being due to a few years with very low or high abundance. One of the main goals of this monitoring program is to identify potential declines of forest bird species, especially for species of conservation concern such as the Eastern Wood-Pewee, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Ovenbird, and White-throated Sparrow. The declines observed over the past years for common species such as the Ovenbird and White-throated Sparrow are a continuing concern and special management consideration should be given to these species.
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    Breeding Bird Monitoring in Western Great Lakes National Forests: 1991-2008
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2009) Niemi, Gerald J; Danz, Nicholas P; Peterson, Anna; Linne-Dolan, Paul; Etterson, Matthew
    A total of 425 existing stands were surveyed for breeding birds including 131, 126, and 168 stands (1,298 survey points) in the Chequamegon, Chippewa, and Superior National Forests (NFs), respectively in 2008.