Habitat Suitability of the Yellow Rail in South-Central Manitoba: An analysis at multiple spatial scales
Kristen A. Martin1, Dr. Nicola Koper1, Dr. Micheline Manseau1,2, Ron Bazin3
1.Natural Resources Institute at the University of Manitoba2.Parks Canada3.Canadian Wildlife Service (Environment Canada)
Yellow Rail Habitat Typically associated with fine-stemmed
vegetation, shallow water, senescent vegetation cover
Yellow Rail Habitat What are the habitat requirements at
larger spatial scales?For example:-wetland size?-composition or configuration of surrounding landscape?
Research Objectives
1) To evaluate the influence of variables from multiple spatial scales on habitat suitability for yellow rails:
Landscape Patch (wetland) Plot (survey point)
Phil Thorpe, USFWS
26 documented sites (excluding Hudson Bay)
Many areas have not been surveyed
Uncertainty about distribution, abundance, & population trends
Yellow Rails in Manitoba
Map from mgmt plant
Map adapted from COSEWIC 2009, in Environment Canada. 2012. Management Plan for the Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis) in Canada [Proposed]. Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series. Environment Canada, Ottawa. iii + 23 pp.
Research Objectives
2) To investigate the distribution of yellow rails in south-central Manitoba
Study Area Non-random
wetland selection
80 study wetlands: 44 in 2010, 36 in 2011
167 survey points
Surveyed in 2011
Surveyed in 2010Basemap layer from ESRI (2010)
Methods – Yellow Rail Surveys
Two night surveys at each survey point: 23 May to 5 July Call-broadcast: 5 min passive listening, 3 min call-broadcast,
2 min passive listening
Methods – Habitat Data 3-km radius buffer
around study wetland to create each landscape
FRAGSTATS to calculate:
- Habitat Amount- Habitat Composition- Habitat Fragmentation- Habitat Configuration
Methods – Habitat Data
Vegetation Transects – 50 m long or until reached open water
Patch Scale: 3 random transects per wetland; wetland size Plot Scale: 1 transect at each survey point
Photo by D. Furutani
Methods – Data Analysis
Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) used to evaluate the effects of habitat variables on yellow rail presence
Analysis of each spatial scale conducted separately – included year*variable interactions where necessary
Best fitting model selected using Akaike’s Information Criterion corrected for small sample sizes (AICc)
Results – Yellow Rail Detections
Year
# YERA Detected Round 1
# YERA Detected Round 2
2010 88 69
2011 31 16
Yellow rails detected at:
- 47% of survey points- 44% of wetlands
Yellow rails detected
Yellow rails not detected
Results – Landscape Scale
Model Parameters
Parameter Estimates (Lower 95% CI, Upper 95% CI)
p-value AICc ΔAICc
AICc Weight
Habitat CompositionHabitat richness -0.496 (-1.007, 0.014) 0.061
100.41 0 0.434Year -6.703 (-13.384, 0.022) 0.053Habitat richness*year 0.646 (0.084, 1.207) 0.027
Habitat Amount%Marsh/fen 0.093 (0.007, 0.179) 0.038
100.84 0.43 0.350Year 2.327 (0.433, 4.222) 0.019% Marsh /fen*year -0.095 (-0.196, 0.006) 0.070
Habitat Fragmentation Mean marsh shape 2.601 (-0.478, 5.679) 0.102 103.28 2.87 0.103
Null Intercept -0.163 (-0.620, 0.295) 0.488 104.15 3.74 0.067
Results – Landscape ScaleYear Model Parameter
Parameter Estimate (Lower 95% CI, Upper 95% CI) p-value
2010
Habitat CompositionHabitat Richness 0.149 (-0.092, 0.391) 0.213
Habitat Amount% Marsh/fen -0.002 (-0.057, 0.053) 0.938
2011
Habitat CompositionHabitat Richness -0.496 (-1.029, 0.036) 0.067
Habitat Amount% Marsh/fen 0.093 (0.003, 0.183) 0.043
Weak, positive relationship between yellow rail presence and the proportion of marsh/fen habitat in the landscape in 2011
Results – Patch ScaleModel & Parameters
Parameter Estimate (Lower 95% CI, Upper 95% CI)
p-value AICc ΔAICc
AICc Weight
GlobalWetland area 0.003 (-0.001, 0.007) 0.136
95.16 0 0.819
Water depth -0.086 (-0.181, 0.009) 0.082% Cyperaceae 0.039 (-0.020, 0.097) 0.201% Poaceae -0.013 (-0.092, 0.066) 0.752% Rush 0.149 (0.019, 0.279) 0.028Year -0.892 (-2.930, 1.136) 0.049% Cattail -0.434 (-0.929, 0.062) 0.091% Cattail*Year 0.506 (-0.012, 1.024) 0.060% Shrub -0.312 (-0.725, 0.102) 0.144% Shrub*Year 0.675 (0.014, 1.335) 0.049
Wetland Area
Wetland Area 0.003 (3.668E-05, 0.006) 0.051105.7
3 5.42 0.054
Null
Intercept -0.206 (-0.652, 0.240) 0.369109.3
6 9.05 0.009
Results – Patch Scale
YearModel Parameter
Parameter Estimate (Lower 95% CI, Upper 95% CI)
p-value
2010 Shrubs% Shrubs 0.423 (-0.190, 1.030) 0.17
2011 Shrubs% Shrubs -0.185 (-0.726, 0.350) 0.487
Weak, positive relationship between yellow rail presence and the proportion of rushes at the patch scale in both years
Results – Plot ScaleModel & Parameters
Parameter Estimates (Lower 95% CI, Upper 95% CI)
p-value AICc ΔAICc
AICc Weig
htWater Depth
Water depth -0.072 (-0.154, 0.010) 0.087185.71 0 0.272
Vegetation Composition & Water Depth% Cattail -0.107 (-0.250, 0.036) 0.147 185.7
8 0.07 0.263% Shrub -0.104 (-0.259, 0.051) 0.195Water depth -0.082 (-0.174, 0.010) 0.088
Null
Intercept -1.293 (-3.183, 0.597) 0.184186.61 0.9 0.174
Vegetation Composition % Cattail -0.121 (-0.272, 0.030) 0.120 186.6
9 0.98 0.167% Shrub -0.092 (-0.258, 0.074) 0.280No significant relationships between yellow rail presence and any of the plot scale variables
Discussion
Yellow rail presence was widespread throughout study area: 25 new sites identified
BUT...2010 & 2011 were wet years – unsure if these locations suitable in drier years
Discussion
Importance of wetlands in landscape:
- important below certain threshold? 2010: landscapes had mean of 17% marsh/fen habitat 2011: landscapes had mean of 12% marsh/fen habitat
- initial habitat selection cue?- use of multiple wetlands?
Discussion Proportion of rushes at patch scale No effect of wetland size (<1 ha to >1800
ha)
Lack of significant associations at plot scale- could be related to non-random wetland selection- different in drier years?
Recommendations Amount of marsh/fen habitat in
landscape may be important for identifying suitable yellow rail habitat
Conduct multiple spatial scale study in drier years to see if trends are consistent
“Lots” of yellow rail habitat in south-central Manitoba in wet years....
Thank You! Dr. Nicola Koper, Dr. Micheline Manseau,
Ron Bazin Manitoba Conservation SDIF Grant Manitoba Graduate Fellowship NSERC Derek Furutani Manitoba landowners