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Assessment of northern bobwhite survival and fitness in the West Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion.

ABSTRACT: In the West Gulf Coastal Plains (WGCP) northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) are declining faster than range-wide averages and such declines have been linked to the consequences of land management. Management for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) has benefitted northern bobwhite by restoring mature pine-grassland ecosystems in some areas of the region. However, at Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, Crossett, Arkansas, USA, the bobwhite population was not increasing despite the availability of seemingly suitable habitat from management for the endangered species. To understand factors that may be affecting bobwhite survival on Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge we conducted a telemetry study and assessed summer survival, brood survival, and nest success from 1 April- 11 August in 2013 and 1 April- 15 August in 2014. We also calculated home-range sizes and measured microhabitat characteristics around nests. Summer survival rates were 71% (SE = 0.17) and 47% (SE = 0.14); while nest success was 47% (SE = 0.02) and 100% for 2013 and 2014, respectively. Between years, both 95% and 50% kernel home-ranges were not different (pooled, 63.92±6.07 ha and 14.94±1.75 ha); however minimum convex polygon home-range sizes were (113.8 ± 20.1 ha in 2013; and 393.1 ± 49.0 ha in 2014, P < 0.001). Only numerical differences in microhabitat vegetation characteristics of nest sites and non- nest sites were observed. We suggest management for red-cockaded woodpeckers supports bobwhite populations but only as a buffer against more severe declines. Since bobwhites are declining range-wide, we believe areas federally managed for red-cockaded woodpeckers will become increasingly more important for sustaining regional bobwhite population levels.

SUBMITTER: Doggett JW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6049910 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Resource selection is a key component in understanding the ecological processes underlying population dynamics, particularly for species such as northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), which are declining across their range in North America. There is a growing body of literature quantifying breeding season resource selection in bobwhite; however, winter information is particularly sparse despite it being a season of substantial mortality. Information regarding winter resource selection is necessary to quantify the extent to which resource requirements are driving population change. We modeled bobwhite fall and winter resource selection as a function of vegetation structure, composition, and management from traditionally (intensively) managed sites and remnant (extensively managed) grassland sites in southwest Missouri using multinomial logit discrete choice models in a Bayesian framework. We captured 158 bobwhite from 67 unique coveys and attached transmitters to 119 individuals. We created 671 choice sets comprised of 1 used location and 3 available locations. Bobwhite selected for locations which were closer to trees during the winter; the relative probability of selection decreased from 0.45 (85% Credible Interval [CRI]: 0.17-0.74) to 0.00 (85% CRI: 0.00-0.002) as distance to trees ranged from 0-313 m. The relative probability of selection increased from near 0 (85% CRI: 0.00-0.01) to 0.33 (85% CRI: 0.09-0.56) and from near 0 (85% CRI: 0.00-0.00) to 0.51 (85% CRI: 0.36-0.71) as visual obstruction increased from 0 to 100% during fall and winter, respectively. Bobwhite also selected locations with more woody stems; the relative probability of selection increased from near 0.00 (85% CRI: 0.00-0.002) to 0.30 (85% CRI: 0.17-0.46) and near 0.00 (85% CRI: 0.00-0.001) to 0.35 (85% CRI: 0.22-0.55) as stem count ranged from 0 to 1000 stems in fall and winter, respectively. The relative probability of selection also decreased from 0.35 (85% CRI: 0.20-0.54) to nearly 0 (85% CRI: 0.00-0.001) as percent grass varied from 0 to 100% in fall. We suggest that dense shrub cover in close proximity to native grasslands is an important component of fall and winter cover given bobwhite selection of shrub cover and previously reported survival benefits in fall and winter.

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Assessment of northern bobwhite survival and fitness in the West Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion.

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