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FILLING CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS TO EVALUATE VULNERABILITY OF THE WESTERN YELLOW RAIL

FILLING CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS TO EVALUATE VULNERABILITY OF THE WESTERN YELLOW RAIL. Sean P. Murphy, Susan M. Haig, Faye Weekley , Mark P. Miller, Thomas D. Mullins, Kenneth J. Popper, & M ichael Green. Yellow Rail Symposium 19 July 2013. Objectives. Historical information

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FILLING CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS TO EVALUATE VULNERABILITY OF THE WESTERN YELLOW RAIL

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  1. FILLING CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS TO EVALUATE VULNERABILITY OF THE WESTERN YELLOW RAIL Sean P. Murphy, Susan M. Haig, Faye Weekley, Mark P. Miller, Thomas D. Mullins, Kenneth J. Popper, & Michael Green Yellow Rail Symposium 19 July 2013

  2. Objectives • Historical information • Current knowledge • Ongoing efforts • Historical background • Since 1982 • Nesting ecology • Genetic analyses • Current endeavors

  3. Historical Breeding Distribution • Pre-1950 • Mono Co, CA • Klamath Co, OR • 1950-1980 • Extirpated from all historic sites • 1982 • Rediscovered in west • Shuford & Gardali. 2008. CA Bird Sp. of Special Concern. CA Dept of Fish & Game. • Marshall, D. et al. 2003.Birds of OR. OSU Press.

  4. Winter Distribution • Historically (early 1900’s) • Coasts & bays • Humboldt to Orange (57/64 records) • San Joaquin Valley (6 records) • Recently (since 1970’s) • Extirpated from all historic sites • Shuford & Gardali. 2008. CA Bird Sp. of Special Concern. CA Dept of Fish & Game. • Marshall, D. et al. 2003.Birds of OR. OSU Press.

  5. Current Distribution • Breeding • Majority in sc. Oregon • Winter • Coastal CA? • Western YERA classifications • SENSITIVE-CRITICAL (OR) • SPECIAL CONCERN (CA) • SENSITIVE SPECIES – USFS (R6)

  6. Western Yellow Rail • NESTING ECOLOGY(Popper & Stern 2000) • Hatch: early June through July • Clutch: 8 eggs (n=8; SD = 1.1; range 6-9) • Nest: equal parts dead/senescent and live vegetation • Vegetation:Carex dominated at nest • Water: 7cm depth at calling males (n=638, SD=3.6) • Home range: 19.3 ha • (n=9, range 4.6-45.2; Popper & Stern 1996)

  7. Population Structure & Bottlenecks • GENETIC STRUCTURE • Oregon population subtly different from the others • Likely an artifact of geographic distance • BOTTLENECKS (red) • Oregon • Michigan • Wisconsin/e. Minnesota • Need: additional samples from other breeding populations Miller et al. 2012. Condor 114: 100-112.

  8. Annual Cycle: filling in the blanks • Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge • 40,000 acres of marsh and sedge meadows • Approximately half the western population (~300 pairs) • Fall management activities: haying, burning, grazing • Proposed 10,000 acre river restoration project Impacts of management actions: Identify postbreeding space use Determine fall departure Determine winter location

  9. Field Methods • Captured calling males in late June • 23 in 2012 • 12 in 2013 (one female) • Attached 1.5g VHF transmitters • 19 in 2012 • 11 in 2013 (one female) • Tracked radio-marked birds over subsequent months

  10. Telemetry Methods Haramis & Kearns (2000) attachment Haramis & Kearns. 2000. JFO 71: 135-139. • Transmitter information: • 2012: Holohil BD2N (4-5 mo) • 2013: Lotek Connectivity Tag (6 mo) • Challenges of tracking Yellow Rails

  11. Needle in a Haystack PROBABLE WINTER DISTRIBUTION • Conduct fall/winter ground telemetry surveys at historical winter sites • Looking for more partners

  12. Future Efforts • Survey all known breeding locations (including CA sites) • Partner with stakeholders throughout the western population range • Refine telemetry techniques • Location tags to identify winter location and migration • Collect additional genetic samples from other breeding populations (contact me at smurphy@usgs.gov)

  13. Acknowledgements: • US Geological Survey • Elise Elliott-Smith • Amanda Holland • Daniel Howard • Jeff Hollenbeck • Michael Casazza • Klamath Bird Observatory • Karen Hussey • John Alexander • US Fish and Wildlife • Keely Lopez • Dave Mauser • Mike Johnson • Rob Doster • Michelle McDowell • Jim Rivers – Oregon St. Univ. • Lew Oring – Univ. of NV-Reno • Marty St. Louis – OR Div. Fish & Wildlife • Peter Sanzenbacher – ABR, Inc. • Bruce Taylor – OR Habitat JV • Tom Rickman – Lassen NF • Mark Colwell – Humboldt St. Univ. • Tom Gardali – Point Blue Conserv. Sci.

  14. Klamath Marsh NWR Sycan Marsh Summer Lake Wood River Valley Odessa Creek Aspen Lake Camas Prairie

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