What Species?

1
What Species?

• We assume this workshop is primarily focused on
  secretive marshbirds, as defined in the 1998
  workshop.
• But in some (many?) areas, implementation will be
  part of implementing general programs for
  waterbirds, shorebirds and even waterfowl.
• So we will consider other aquatic species when
  doing so is relatively easy (e.g., in the
  discussion of management issues to be addressed
  and sampling plan to be used).

2
Primary Species

• Pied-billed grebe least and American bitterns
  sora clapper, king, Virginia, black and yellow
  rails American coot (?) purple gallinule and
  common snipe (?)

3
Management Issues the Marshbird Monitoring
Program Will Help Us Address

• and how identifying them now may help us design
  the marshbird monitoring program

4
Preview

• Identify how marshbird monitoring data is likely
  to be used
• Describe different views on using this
  information to design the marshbird monitoring
  program
• Offer a recommendation based on work in the
  intermountain west

5
How is Marshbird Monitoring Data Likely to be
Used?

• Considered marshbird issues also reviewed how
  BBS data has been used
• Answer In LOTS (dozens, maybe hundreds) of ways.

6
Quote on Monitoring from Paul Schmidt

• Where would conservation be without monitoring
  programs? Its hard to imagine. They provide
  scientists, wildlife officials, private
  organization and industry leaders, and the public
  with essential information to make scientifically
  based decisions to improve bird conservation and
  management. They provide information to
  determine which species are in the greatest need
  of conservation and management and to establish
  priorities for allocation of limited resources.
  They also help scientists and managers evaluate
  bird response to habitat manipulation and
  regulate game bird harvest. In fact, monitoring
  and evaluation should be integral components of
  all on-the-ground projects and population
  management decisions. Such adaptive resource
  management is just good business and helps keep
  us accountable for the work we do.

7
Identifying Species at Risk

• Wetlands are declining wetland species probably
  are too.
• Species of concern yellow rail, black rail,
  limpkin, little blue heron, reddish egret, sedge
  wren, Nelsons sharp-tailed sparrow, saltmarsh
  sharp-tailed sparrow, seaside sparrow, and
  LeContes sparrow
• Others on BCR lists

8
Monitoring Population Size

• Waterbird, shorebird, and landbird initiatives
  have adopted accuracy targets for trend
  estimation.
• Large-scale, long-term programs are the only way
  to achieve these accuracy targets.
• Products will probably include both standardized
  trend estimates and numerous analyses published
  in the peer reviewed literature

9
Setting Harvest Limits

• Seasons for most secretive marshbirds in both the
  US and Canada.
• Agencies have requirements unmet at present
  to obtain reliable information on which to base
  the harvest regulations.
• The marshbird monitoring program will provide the
  needed information.

10
Designing and Evaluating Management and
Conservation Programs

• Marshes face numerous threats (drainage,
  ditching, dredging, nutria, pollutants)
• Reveal habitat relationships, regional
  differences in trends, and more complex
  interactions (e.g, between species)
• Dozens of examples from the BBS literature

11
Documenting Progress Towards Population Goals

• Increased pressure to document progress (e.g.,
  from OMB in the US)
• The long-term, large-scale, multi-species
  programs provide the only way to do this.

12
Investigating Basic Biology

• Relationships at the regional to rangewide scale.
• Habitat studies mentioned above.
• Examples from BBS
• ID sub-populations and interactions
• Dispersal and population growth
• Models to predict distribution
• Outlets Science, Nature, Ecol. Appl., Condor,
  Oecologia

13
Helping Managers Address Local Issues

• Sampling plan, field protocols, analytic methods
  may all be useful
• Data may be stored in the continental database
  (as in 999 BBS routes)
• For this program, data from local efforts may
  also contribute to continental program, thus
  enhancing the value of local projects.

14
Summary LOTS of Ways

• Identifying Species at Risk
• Monitoring Population Size
• Setting Harvest Limits
• Designing and Evaluating Management and
  Conservation Programs
• Documenting Progress Towards Population Goals
• Investigating Basic Biology
• Helping managers address local issues

15
How to Use This Information in Designing the MMP

• Formal Power Analysis
• Could provide quantitative basis for design and
  sample size estimation.
• Requires one, or a very few, quantitative
  objectives (e.g., 80 power).
• Thus requires prioritizing potential uses and
  ignoring all but a few.
• Hard for a continental group to include local
  priorities.
• Requires advance estimates of variance components
  which would be difficult for secretive marshbirds

16
Design a series of local and regional projects to
address specific management issues

• Avoids the problems in doing a power analysis
• Sampling effort may be uneven or even
  discontinuous in time and space
• Issues for which long-term, large-scale data are
  needed may not be addressable
• Differences in sampling plans and protocols may
  arise
• Summary this approach doesnt yield a
  continental plan.

17
A Compromise

• Consider the potential management issues the mmp
  can help address in selecting the design
• Build a continental infrastructure that doesnt
  ignore any of the potential uses of the data
• Make target and sampled population as similar as
  possible
• Assess effects of differences between them
• Consider ways to estimate detection rates
• Collect environmental information, both regional
  GIS layers and field data

18
A Compromise - 2

• Populate the infrastructure by learning where the
  good areas are, which are being surveyed, and by
  investigating which good but non-covered areas
  might be surveyed.
• Consider spending a few years on an inventory and
  assessment program prior to designing the
  long-term survey.

19
An Example The IW

• Interviewed regional and local biologists
  throughout the IW to learn where good sites are,
  what concerns exist about these sites, what
  surveys are being done, and what surveys might be
  done.

20
(No Transcript)
21
Information About the Areas

• 424 sites
• Detailed site descriptions for 34
• Species, surveys being done, difficulty of adding
  surveys for all
• Local contacts for all

22
Survey Aerial Water-fowl Ground-based waterbird Secretive Marshbird Migrating Shorebird Breeding Colonies All surveys
Existing survey 117 119 44 29 79 388
No survey at present 28 112 73 93 64 370
Volunteers could conduct 7 30 40 30 34 141
Volunteers could help 0 13 4 5 4 26
Staff would conduct 0 46 23 42 24 135
Survey would be difficult 21 23 6 16 2 68
Information lacking 263 191 293 276 242 1265

1. 44 secretive marshbird surveys at present
2. Opportunities for 73 more
3. Volunteers could do 40 of them
4. Staff would need to help or do all of 27 surveys
5. Only 6 would be difficult

23
Summary

• Describe general purposes of the survey
• Create the needed infrastructure
• Good sites and species at each
• Site descriptions
• Current and potential surveys
• Data management system
• Organizational support
• Identify initial areas of emphasis (e.g., 3-5
  year inventory and assessment)
• Implement the survey

24
Recommendations

• Important to think broadly about possible uses of
  data that will, or could, be collected.
• Formal power analyses would be difficult and may
  not be too useful due to the large number of uses
  of the data.
• Suggest creating an infrastructure that will
  support data collection to address all major
  management issues.
• Make sample size decisions using professional
  judgment based on existing surveys, new surveys
  that could be implemented easily, and initial
  priorities at the continental level.
• Adjust these recommendations to meet local and
  regional needs.
• Defer decisions on a long-term program for a few
  years.