Saltmarsh Habitat & Avian Research Program · Web viewRAPID DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEYS Saltmarsh Habitat & Avian Research Program Standard Operating Procedure Survey Goal: To measure indices

SHARP SOP 21 May, 2019

RAPID DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEYSSaltmarsh Habitat & Avian Research ProgramStandard Operating Procedure

Survey Goal:To measure indices of reproductive success for tidal marsh birds during short visits (two, one-day visits) in marshes across the breeding range of the saltmarsh sparrow.

General Approach:A variety of metrics will be assessed at the same scale as the standard SHARP point counts to link demographic indices to thirty-two previously established SHARP points (as well as currently operating SHARP demographics sites) and to develop models that can predict bird reproduction using point-level covariates.


Version historyDate Revised Summary of Changes Reason for Change Author Notes

May 21, 2019 Added summary of changes table changes to protocol made after pilot season

Mackenzie Roeder

May 21, 2019 Description of daily tasks per site changed:

1. First day is for assessing accessibility of a marsh and placing all necessary flagging for survey point and transect lines

2. Second day is data collection - full Rapid Demo protocol is run: point count, walking transect, systematic mist-netting, and opportunistic nest searching.

Single day data collection visits were tested during the pilot season and found to be more efficient.

Mackenzie Roeder

May 21, 2019 Change to walking transect data sheet:

1. Added a box to check off if a bird is detected by the recorder that was not detected by the observer

Jonathan Cohen noted it could help with estimates of detection probability

Mackenzie Roeder

May 21, 2019 Clarified that genetic sampling efforts are to collect samples from a MINIMUM of ten of the most common sparrow species per site (not a hard goal of 10)

Suggestion from Jonathan Cohen

Mackenzie Roeder


Candidate Point Selection:The final set of survey areas will include four rapid demo plots per BCR 30 subregion (8 subregions) visited twice for two days on each visit. After first dropping areas in SHARP Region 1 (i.e., Maine) that are east of Penobscot Bay (outside of the saltmarsh sparrow range) and 9 (western Chesapeake), we used our point count data (from 2011 - 2016) to calculate the maximum count of {SALS + UnkSTSP + UnkSparrow} for any given visit and then categorized each point as having a maximum count of 1, 2, 3, or ≥4 birds detected within 100 m of the point. For each of the remaining eight subregions, we selected one survey location for each of these four categories and overdrew (if possible) four additional points (20 points total with the overdraws per subregion) as candidates for sampling. These points cover the range of saltmarsh sparrow abundances experienced across this region (which likely covaries with the abundances of other tidal marsh species of interest) and represents the diversity of marshes well:The first year of selection points resulted in the following characteristics (see chart below). Protocols were repeated in subsequent years to generate new points. We allowed points to be accessed by boat only in years when boats were available.

Patch Size (Ha)

% High Marsh

Percentile of full SHARP point distribution

SHARP Region Rapid Point Average StDev Average StDev Patch Size % High Marsh N

1 All SHARP 84.8 57.2 53.3% 23.5% 821 Rapid Demo 97.6 56.5 54.7% 21.2% 47% 50% 202 All SHARP 985.0 830.4 61.1% 22.3% 8382 Rapid Demo 670.6 704.2 58.8% 21.7% 43% 38% 203 All SHARP 74.8 95.7 34.3% 23.9% 3973 Rapid Demo 58.9 73.2 36.3% 23.5% 54% 54% 204 All SHARP 179.0 132.7 40.4% 28.2% 2454 Rapid Demo 185.0 132.8 46.2% 29.3% 56% 57% 205 All SHARP 2882.6 2577.7 69.8% 19.2% 5165 Rapid Demo 3625.6 2853.1 72.9% 14.9% 69% 51% 206 All SHARP 10797.8 5817.4 41.9% 26.2% 2356 Rapid Demo 11741.3 5939.8 39.6% 29.2% 49% 50% 207 All SHARP 3194.2 2970.2 34.8% 23.9% 1907 Rapid Demo 2179.7 2730.0 36.8% 27.3% 64% 51% 168 All SHARP 17652.5 11886.6 30.0% 24.2% 968 Rapid Demo 18061.6 11711.6 38.7% 24.5% 43% 68% 14


The candidate samples are, however, slightly more impacted by disturbance than the full distribution of surveyed SHARP marshes (we know disturbance is correlated with maximum counts, however, so this is not surprising, since we forced equal representation of all abundance classes):

Roads Downriver Ditches w/in 100mPercentile of full SHARP point distribution

SHARP Region Rapid Point Average StDev Average StDev Roads Ditches N*

1 All SHARP 1.00 1.31 0.18 0.80 2241 Rapid Demo 1.40 1.19 0.75 1.65 75% 94% 202 All SHARP 1.38 2.45 2.87 4.50 3322 Rapid Demo 0.88 1.36 2.63 3.11 46% 66% 83 All SHARP 0.76 0.93 2.71 3.47 1943 Rapid Demo 1.09 1.45 1.91 2.74 84% 52% 114 All SHARP 0.55 0.76 3.82 4.49 1074 Rapid Demo 1.17 0.94 3.17 2.44 84% 56% 125 All SHARP 1.73 2.74 2.29 3.57 2785 Rapid Demo 0.60 1.06 3.87 3.25 42% 75% 156 All SHARP 0.32 0.55 1.28 2.44 1426 Rapid Demo 0.00 0.00 1.55 2.11 0% 71% 117 All SHARP 0.08 0.35 1.07 2.36 2267 Rapid Demo 0.00 0.00 1.87 3.56 0% 79% 158 All SHARP 0.34 0.51 0.72 1.83 1738 Rapid Demo 0.08 0.29 2.92 4.78 61% 90% 12

*these metrics only include points for which we assessed these disturbances, which are only points surveyed in the initial four years of SHARP. Point selection for the entire candidate list occurred using all SHARP points, which explains why only a subset of the candidate list and total points were used to estimate these disturbance characteristics

Final Point Selection:To select the final 32 points from the list of candidate points, visit each list of points for each abundance category and subregion in the order they were drawn and select the first accessible site. Once a point has been selected, any other points in any abundance category must be at least 200 m away. If the survey point is on a road or terrestrial edge, shift the point 100 m directly into the marsh, and record the new GPS coordinate.

We will also execute this protocol for any site where we have more detailed demographic data for the same year (e.g., ME, CT, NY, & NJ). Any collaborator who is interested is encouraged to execute the protocol on other sites of long-term interest where current demographic work is not occurring as well.


Methods:Five different formal survey methods (and two opportunistic surveys) will be conducted at each of the final selected points during a two-day early season (NJ and south: 1 May – 22 June; NY and north: 15 May – 8 July) and a two-day late-season visit (NJ and south: 23 June – 15 August; NY and north: 9 July – 31 August). Due to the arrival times of birds on site in the spring the Northern crew will start at the Southernmost sites (NY) and work their way North. The Southern crew typically starts in the more Northern region and works their way South. Vegetation surveys will occur only on the second visit to each survey site.

Method Reproductive Metric

1. Point count Abundance2. Fixed effort mist-netting Abundance

Breeding state (bp/cp)Sex ratioPopulation genetic sampleFledglings per female

3. Opportunistic netting (only if needed) Population genetic sample4. Transect walks Abundance5. Fixed effort nest searching Breeding confirmation

Clutch or brood size6. Vegetation (second visit only) Habitat characteristics

7. Other signs of breeding Breeding state (e.g., wing displays, alarm calls)

Day 1 ~

1. Recon days – The first day or two in a region is used to plot out logistics for each site as well as to place all necessary flagging to minimize the amount of disturbance when completing the formal survey methods. You drive out to each of your selected points in the area to make sure you can find and access the point (it is useful to record GPS coordinates of where you plan on parking).

2. Flag the transect walks, vegetation transect, and survey point– Before leaving the field after day one, flag out your survey point as well as two, 100m-long transect survey walks (flags approximately every ten meters). These two transects (Fig. 1) must be oriented parallel to, and 20 m on either side of, the 100-m vegetation survey (which will occur on the second visit). See the vegetation transect SOP for more details on determining this orientation. This flagging is necessary so you can survey those transects on an undisturbed marsh upon your return the next day, and so you can walk the transect easily while keeping your attention on the birds around you (not on trying to figure out where the transect is). Take the GPS points for the ends of both transects as well as the vegetation survey transect. Be sure to check if coordinates already exist for the vegetation survey transect at each point from data collected in previous years.


Fig. 1. Example placement of two bird survey transects (black dashed lines). The central (black) line is the vegetation survey transect, and its placement is prescribed by that SOP. Arrows indicate the direction of movement by each technician and the dotted square denotes the area where detected birds should be recorded.

Day 2 ~

1. Point count – On the morning of each of your two seasonal visits (after completion of site recon), conduct a standard SHARP point count at the rapid demographic survey point immediately upon arrival (see point count SOP). Be sure the point is flagged to make sure you survey from the same location on the second seasonal visit (all flagging should be removed after the second visit).

2. Transect walks – Upon completion of the point count, each technician should walk simultaneously on transects 20 m from each side of the vegetation transect. All four transect ends (start and end on both sides of the vegetation transect) should be flagged and their GPS locations recorded from the previous day. Note the start and end times of the transect walk (the time spent on the transect will be variable, and we need to record this). One technician will act as the “detector” for all birds seen, saying them out loud to be recorded by the other technician, who will act as the “recorder”. Two technicians will flush more birds than one technician (increasing detection probability) but having a designated recorder will allow the “detector” to continually observe birds flushing around the two technicians. Record all birds within 50 m (estimated visually) to the left and right of the center of the vegetation transect (“survey area” denoted by dotted line in Fig. 1). For each bird that is “using the marsh” (same definition described in the point count survey SOP) that is detected by the “detector”, please note: species, age (adult or

20m

Survey Area

Survey Area

Transect 2

Veg Survey Transect

Transect 1

100m

50 m


juvenile, if possible), and time passed since the beginning of the transect walk (in minutes and seconds). Attempt to count each bird only one time on the transect. If you flush a bird ahead of you and then you flush it a second time while you are still walking the same transect, do not count it again. Whether or not you think a bird is the same is always a judgment call, do your best. Birds can be detected visually or aurally, but only record a bird and its distance for the first detection. For example, if you hear a seaside sparrow, and later flush a seaside sparrow from the same general area where you heard the song, do not record a new detection. If the “recorder” notices a bird that is not observed by the “detector”, it can be recorded in the appropriate space on the datasheet. Once the transect is finished, note the stop time.

● Note – this protocol is to be executed by two people only. If the crews consist of more than two individuals designate two people per site that are responsible for the walking transect.

3. Fixed effort mist-netting – After the point count, erect a slightly concave net array of six 12-m mist-nets centered on the survey point (see figure below). The precise arrangement (e.g., N-S, NE-SW, E-W) and center (i.e., how many nets are to either side of the point) of the net array can vary to take advantage of local topography (e.g. proximity to water or large ditches), but it must cross the survey point and efforts should be made to center it on the point when possible. Technicians will repeatedly drive birds from approximately 50 m away from the point center toward the net array. Drives should occur from one side of the array approximately every 30 minutes for 1.5 hours. Then pivot the outer nets in the array to change the direction of the concavity and drive birds into the array from the other half of the survey circle for another 1.5 hours. Take the GPS coordinates at the center of every net in the array for each 1.5-hour sampling period (i.e., record the array location before and after the pivot). Follow the standardized SHARP banding protocol for birds captured during these sampling events. The most important measures for the Rapid Demographic Survey are: species, sex, age, cp/bp condition, and a blood sample.

● Note – If, during the systematic netting protocol, you find you are catching more birds than you can process in a timely manner and need to close the nets – record the time you close the nets and when you reopen them. Add the amount of time that the nets were closed on to the remainder of your netting time so that all netting efforts are standardized at 3 hours total. These disjunct netting sub-sessions must be recorded separately on the Capture Locations form.


Fig. 2. Net array (black dotted lines indicate two, concave array shapes) centered on a survey point. Drives occur toward the net array for 1.5 hours on each side of the circle from a distance of 50 m to sample the entire 100 m diameter circle. The green dotted line through the center shows the previously described vegetation transect (see Fig. 1) and the blue dotted lines represent the walking transects.

4. Opportunistic mist-netting – If, during the course of the fixed-effort mist-netting session, you do not get blood samples from a minimum of ten adults of the most common sparrow species, you can move the net arrays (or single nets, or whatever you think is best to capture birds) to any location within 200 m of the survey point to achieve this goal. You can also do this if you have extra time before moving to the next region and during the two days of the second visit. The goal is to get blood samples from a minimum of ten adults for each site from as many species as possible over the course of the season. As a bit of a clarifying aside, you should collect blood samples from juveniles as well as adults. Those samples can be used to ascertain whether juveniles we capture were offspring of adults we captured (to test our assumption that most of the fledglings we capture were born locally). Population genetic structure investigations, however, cannot use parent-offspring pairs (it makes the population look unduly inbred), so we are shooting for samples from ten adults from each survey location, if possible (it will not always be possible) to ensure that we have ten, presumably unrelated, individuals to use for those sorts of tests. It will not be possible to attain ten samples for any species for some of the low-density sites. Just do your best, while making sure you complete all of the other surveys. During any opportunistic mist-netting bouts, still record the GPS points of the array location (center of each net), and the open and close times so we can record how much effort was expended to capture the birds we catch at a site across all mist-netting bouts.

50 m

100 m


5. Opportunistic nest searching – If any nests are found during the visit, follow the Nest SOP to record the appropriate data. If time allows in the day, one technician (it can be more; just record how many people are looking in the data sheet) can walk in a grid in the area within a 200 m radius of the survey center (you might use some flagging to make this area clearer) looking for nests of all bird species. If this is done be sure to record how much time was dedicated to the search.

6. Vegetation survey – During the final visit of the season to each site, follow the standard SHARP vegetation sampling SOP to assess vegetation around the survey center. The center line of the bird transect walk will double as the vegetation transect for this survey.

7. Species-specific signs of breeding – During all of the time you are within 200 m of the survey center point (during all of the formal surveys above, as well as any other time on the marsh), you should take note of any behavioral signs of nesting if they are observed. These include sudden flushes within 15 m of the observer, any antipredator behavior (i.e., adults that are calling/chipping at you incessantly and staying nearby or circling, wing drags, dive bombing); adults carrying food, fecal sacs, or nest material; and any clapper rail “hoo” (associated with nesting) or “prr” (chick communication) calls. Additionally, note the location of any nests you might find outside of the formal nest-finding survey period as well and collect the same data on those nests.

Mock data sheets


1) Point Count

2) Line Transect

3) Breeding bird behavior

HRC097


4) Capture Locations

5) Banding Datasheet


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Saltmarsh Habitat & Avian Research Program · Web viewRAPID DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEYS Saltmarsh Habitat & Avian Research Program Standard Operating Procedure Survey Goal: To measure indices