Browsing by Author "Jones, Malcolm T"

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    Breeding bird monitoring in Great Lakes National Forests: 1991-1999
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2000) Lind, Jim; Danz, Nicholas P; Jones, Malcolm T; Hanowski, JoAnn M; Niemi, Gerald J
    A total of 135, 168, and 133 stands (1,268 survey points) were surveyed for breeding birds in the Chippewa, Superior, and Chequamegon National Forests, respectively. Surveys have been completed for nine years in the Chippewa and Superior, and for eight years in the Chequamegon NF. Breeding bird surveys in the St. Croix region of Minnesota have been conducted over the last eight years at 171 points. Surveys in Southeast Minnesota have been conducted over the last five years at 211 points. We were able to examine trends in abundance for 79 bird species in at least one of the five study areas. Fifty-two species in the Chequamegon NF, 48 species in the Superior NF, 53 species in the Chippewa NF, 33 species in the St. Croix region, and 35 species in Southeast Minnesota were tested. Sixteen species showed a significant increase in at least one of the five study areas, and 13 species showed a significant decrease. Of the 16 increasing species, the American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and American Redstart showed significant increases in more than one study area. Of the 13 decreasing species, six declined significantly in more than one study area. The Eastern Wood-Pewee, Black-and-white Warbler, Ovenbird, Mourning Warbler, and Brown-headed Cowbird declined in two study areas and the White-throated Sparrow declined in three study areas.
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    Breeding bird monitoring in Great Lakes National Forests: 1991-2000
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2001) Lind, Jim; Danz, Nicholas P; Jones, Malcolm T; Hanowski, JoAnn M; Niemi, Gerald J
    • A total of 135, 168, and 133 stands (1,268 survey points) were surveyed for breeding birds in the Chippewa, Superior, and Chequamegon National Forests, respectively. Surveys have been completed for ten years in the Chippewa and Superior, and for nine years in the Chequamegon NF.• Breeding bird surveys in the St. Croix region of Minnesota have been conducted over the last nine years at 171 points. Surveys in southeast Minnesota have been conducted over the last six years at 211 points.• We were able to examine trends in abundance for 72 bird species in at least one of the five study areas. Fifty species in the Chequamegon NF, 40 species in the Superior NF, 47 species in the Chippewa NF, 36 species in the St. Croix region, and 36 species in Southeast Minnesota were tested.• Twenty-nine species showed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in at least one of the five study areas, and 23 species showed a significant decrease. The Least Flycatcher showed significant increases (P < 0.01) in two study areas and the American Robin increased in three study areas. The Eastern Wood-Pewee, Black-and-white Warbler, and Brown-headed Cowbird showed significant declines (P < 0.01) n two study areas and the Common Yellowthroat and White-throated Sparrow declined in three study areas.• Nine (18%) of the species tested in the Chequamegon NF had increasing trends and nine (18%) had decreasing trends. In the Chippewa NF, 12 (26%) of the species tested increased significantly and 10 (21%) decreased. Seven (18%) of the species tested in the Superior NF had significant increasing trends, and seven (18%) had decreasing trends. In the St. Croix study area, six (17%) of the species tested increased significantly, and seven (19%) decreased. In the Southeast, ten (28%) species increased significantly and three (8%) decreased.• The regional analysis of the three National Forests combined revealed five species (14%) with significant increases; Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Redbreasted Nuthatch, American Robin, and American Redstart. Six species (17%) had significant decreases: Eastern Wood-Pewee, Ovenbird, Canada Warbler, Scarlet Tanager，Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow.• Over 70% of the decreasing species nest on the ground, which is significantly more than would be expected. Ground-nesting species that declined in multiple study areas, such as the White-throated Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Black-and-white Warbler, and Ovenbird, warrant closer attention in the future.• Neither increasing nor decreasing species showed a relationship with any particular migration strategy, although no permanent residents declined significantly.• The abundance of many species varied over the survey period but did not show significant increases or decreases. A common thread among many species was a decline in abundance between 1994 and 1996, with an increase from 1996 to 1998. The reason for this pattern is unclear, but it may be related to winter and spring weather.
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    Breeding bird monitoring in Great Lakes National Forests: 1991-2001
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2001) Lind, Jim; Danz, Nicholas P; Jones, Malcolm T; Hanowski, JoAnn M; Niemi, Gerald J
    • A total of 135, 168, and 133 stands (1,268 survey points) were surveyed for breeding birds in the Chippewa, Superior, and Chequamegon National Forests, respectively. Eleven years of surveys have been completed in the Chippewa and Superior NF, and ten years in the Chequamegon NF. • Breeding bird surveys in the St. Croix region of Minnesota have been conducted over the past ten years at 171 points. Surveys in southeast Minnesota have been conducted over the past seven years at 211 points. • We were able to examine trends in abundance for 77 bird species in at least one of the five study areas. Fifty species in the Chequamegon NF, 49 species in the Chippewa NF, 41 species in the Superior NF, 39 species in the St. Croix region, and 40 species in Southeast Minnesota were tested for population trends. Thirty- five species were also tested for a regional trend (three national forests combined). • Twenty-six species increased significantly (P > 0.05) in at least one study area and 32 species decreased. Two species had highly significant (P < 0.01) increasing trends in multiple study areas, and seven species had highly significant decreasing trends in multiple study areas. Four species had significant increasing regional trends and 11 had decreasing trends. • The most convincing increasing trends were those of the Red-breasted Nuthatch and American Redstart regionally and in the Chippewa NF, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckcer and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in the Chequamegon NF, the Chestnutsided Warbler in the Chippewa NF, the Northern Parula in the Superior NF, and the Least Flycatcher in the St. Croix region. Eight other species had highly significant trends in southeastern Minnesota, albeit with a shorter time span than the northern sites. • The most convincing decreasing trends are those of the Eastern Wood-Pewee, Winter Wren, Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager, and Song Sparrow regionally, the Eastern Wood-Pewee in the Chequamegon and Superior NF, the Winter Wren in the Chequamegon NF, the Song Sparrow in the Chippewa NF, the Hermit Thrush in the Chequamegon and Chippewa NF, and the Black-and-white Warbler in the Chequamegon NF, Superior NF and St. Croix region. The Brown-headed Cowbird decreased in southeastern Minnesota during the six years of monitoring there. • The percentage of increasing species in each study area ranged from 13% in St. Croix, MN study area to 28% in Southeast MN. The percentage of decreasing species ranged from 20% in Southeast MN to 31% in the Chippewa NF. Over half the species in each study area had a non-significant trend (P > 0.05). • There are 17 instances where a species showed a significant increase in a particular study area in results from 2000, with no increase noted in 2001, and 11 instances where a species was not increasing in 2000 and is increasing in 2001. Conversely, there are five instances where a decreasing species in a particular study area from 2000 is no longer showing a significant decrease, and 25 instances where a species was not decreasing in 2000 and is decreasing in 2001. • Ten of the 35 species that were tested for a regional trend had similar trends on Breeding Bird Survey routes. One species had an increasing regional trend and an increasing BBS trend, three species had decreasing trends on both, and six species had non-significant trends on both. • When compared to all species tested, ground nesters were more prevalent among decreasing species (33% vs. 48%) and less prevalent among increasing species (33% vs. 19%), however the differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.069). Evidence from other regional studies have demonstrated greater nest predation rates on ground nests near forest edges, as well as a significant increase in the creation of forest edges in recent years. Landscape fragmentation and nest predation may be having negative effects on declining ground-nesters such as the Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Ovenbird, and Song Sparrow. • Averaged over all study areas, 10.6% of the points have been harvested since the beginning of monitoring, which is about 1% a year. This is comparable to the 4.8% change from mature forest to early-successional types on federally managed forest lands in northeastern Minnesota between 1990 and 1995.
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    Minnesota's Forest Bird Diversity Initiative FY02-03 Final Report
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2003) Niemi, Gerald J; Hanowski, JoAnn M; Danz, Nicholas P; Lind, Jim; Jones, Malcolm T; Sales, James
    The Minnesota Forest Bird Diversity Initiative (MFBDI) was initiated in 1991 as a comprehensive monitoring, research, and education effort to maintain Minnesota’s rich diversity of forest birds. The Initiative was motivated by: 1) forest-related problems in the eastern US and emerging issues in the Pacific Northwest US, 2) a major study on the potential effects of increased forest harvesting and management in Minnesota (known as the GEIS) indicated that forest birds may exhibit substantial changes in the future unless several mitigation measures were implemented, and 3) little was known about many fundamental issues on the ecology of forest birds. These included limited information on a) population trends of forest birds, b) factors associated with nest success, c) how landscape level changes affect forest bird distribution and abundance, d) how forest management activities affected forest birds, and e) the ability to predict the effects of increased forest harvesting (three-fold increase from 1950 to 1990) on forest birds. Significant progress has been made during this 12-year effort towards improving our understanding of Minnesota’s forest birds. Major accomplishments include: 1) establishment of a comprehensive and effective monitoring program throughout the forested areas of Minnesota to identify habitats used by birds and to detect trends in populations; 2) examination of recent population trends (using data gathered during the past twelve years from the Initiative’s monitoring program) and long-term population trends (using data gathered during the past 37 years from the US Geological Survey’s Breeding Bird Survey roadside routes) to identify forest birds with declining populations; 3) development of a detailed, state-of-the-art classification of Minnesota’s forested areas using satellite imagery (30 m pixel resolution); 4) development of many species-specific models relating bird distribution and abundance to forest cover, age, and landscape patterns; 5) completion of a variety of nesting studies on forest birds that have revealed low reproductive success in southeastern Minnesota and highly variable reproductive success in northern Minnesota; 6) a simulation analysis of the Nashwauk Uplands for four alternative management scenarios - an analysis that links a landscape, succession, and disturbance (LANDIS) model of forest change with the response by forest birds, 7) a prediction on the potential effects of forest plan alternatives that have been proposed for managing the Chippewa and Superior National Forests, and 8) production of a multitude of materials to transfer the knowledge gained from this effort to landowners, land managers, foresters, wildlife biologists, and others. The latter includes the delivery of more than 130 presentations; over 40 peer-reviewed publications and technical reports; training of ten graduate students and two post-doctoral associates; publication of a book, Birds and forests: a conservation and management guide, that reviews current research and management guidelines on birds and their relationships to forest habitats; organizing and participating in numerous workshops on forest bird management and conservation; and publication of a small booklet, Planning for the birds: things to consider when managing your forest, for distribution to private woodland owners through the Forest Stewardship Program. Most of this information is summarized in a web site on Minnesota’s forest birds - www.nrri.umn.edu/mnbirds.