Streamside Bird Monitoring Protocol

Vital Signs: Louisiana Waterthrush, Breeding Birds, Riparian Birds
Protocol will be implemented: all ERMN parks except UPDE and JOFL

Justification/Issue being addressed:

Louisiana waterthrush (Seiurus motacilla) is the only bird species in the ERMN that depends on flowing waters for food and reproduction. Waterthrushes feed on benthic macroinvertebrates many of which decline following human impacts such as sedimentation or acidification. Waterthrushes are also more likely to occur along streams embedded within wide (e.g., > 80 m) tracts of older (e.g., > 50 years) deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forest. As such, waterthrushes can serve as indicators of local riparian forest ecosystem integrity. Monitoring other bird species that occur along streams can also serve as cost-effective indicators due to their relative conspicuousness and responsiveness to ecological gradients and changes. Therefore, monitoring the occupancy and abundance of select bird species or guilds that are known to respond to landscape and patch-scale changes can serve as indicators of watershed conditions throughout the ERMN.

This protocol will provide park managers with comprehensive long-term data about the status and trends in the bird community along headwater streams potentially including the effects of ecological and anthropogenic stressors. Permanent transects will be used to document changes in the bird community over time while accounting for species detectability. The overarching objective of the protocol is to characterize the current status of Louisiana waterthrush populations and other streamside bird species/guilds and document changes over time.

Monitoring objectives:

1. Estimate annual levels of watershed-scale occupancy, abundance, and richness of focal bird species or guilds, while accounting for imperfect detection, to evaluate associations with existing watershed conditions.
2. Estimate temporal changes in watershed-scale occupancy, abundance, and richness of focal bird species or guilds, while accounting for imperfect detection, to evaluate effects of changing watershed conditions.
3. Compare the status and trends of bird communities within the park/network to those within the region.

Protocol Status: The streamside bird protocol has been under development for two years with peer-reviewd drafts of both the protocol narrative and all standard operating procedures (SOPs) available. Data collection for protocol development occurred during spring of 2007 and 2008 and will continue in 2009.

Principal investigators and NPS lead: Drs. Brady Mattson and Robert Cooper, University of
Georgia, are the lead PIs for this project. Dr. Matt Marshall, ERMN Coordinator, is the lead NPS
contact.