Abstract
We studied habitat selection and breeding success in marked populations of a protected seabird (family Alcidae), the marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), in a relatively intact and a heavily logged old-growth forest landscape in south-western Canada. Murrelets used old-growth fragments either proportionately to their size frequency distribution (intact) or they tended to nest in disproportionately smaller fragments (logged). Multiple regression modelling showed that murrelet distribution could be explained by proximity of nests to landscape features producing biotic and abiotic edge effects. Streams, steeper slopes and lower elevations were selected in both landscapes, probably due to good nesting habitat conditions and easier access to nest sites. In the logged landscape, the murrelets nested closer to recent clearcuts than would be expected. Proximity to the ocean was favoured in the intact area. The models of habitat selection had satisfactory discriminatory ability in both landscapes. Breeding success (probability of nest survival to the middle of the chick rearing period), inferred from nest attendance patterns by radio-tagged parents, was modelled in the logged landscape. Survivorship was greater in areas with recent clearcuts and lower in areas with much regrowth, i.e. it was positively correlated with recent habitat fragmentation. We conclude that marbled murrelets can successfully breed in old-growth forests fragmented by logging.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
O. Bastian (2001) ArticleTitleLandscape Ecology – towards a unified discipline? Landscape Ecol. 16 757–766
M.S. Boyce P.R. Vernier S.E. Nielsen F.K.A. Schmiegelow (2002) ArticleTitleEvaluating resource selection functions Ecol. Model. 157 281–300 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0304-3800(02)00200-4
R.W. Bradley (2002) Breeding Ecology of Radio-Marked Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus Marmoratus) in Desolation SoundBritish Columbia Simon Fraser University MSc Thesis
R.W. Bradley F. Cooke L.W. Lougheed W.S. Boyd (2004) ArticleTitleInferring breeding success through radiotelemetry in the marbled murrelet J. Wildlife Manag. 68 318–331
R.W. Bradley L.A. McFarlane-Tranquilla B.A. Vanderkist F. Cooke (2002) ArticleTitleSex differences in nest visitation by chick-rearing marbled murrelets Condor 104 178–183
T.M. Brooks S.L. Pimm J.O. Oyugi (1999) ArticleTitleTime lag between deforestation and bird extinction in tropical forest fragments Conserv. Biol. 13 1140–1150 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1523-1739.1999.98341.x
A.E. Burger (2001) ArticleTitleUsing radar to estimate populations and assess habitat associations of marbled murrelets J. Wildlife Manag. 65 696–715
A.E. Burger V. Bahn (2004) ArticleTitleInland habitat associations of marbled murrelets on southwest Vancouver IslandBritish Columbia J. Field Ornithol. 75 53–66
K.P. Burnham D.R. Anderson (2002) Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: A Practical Information-Theoretic Approach Springer-Verlag New York
E. Cam L. Lougheed R.W. Bradley F. Cooke (2003) ArticleTitleDemographic assessment of a marbled murrelet population from capture-recapture data Conserv. Biol. 17 1118–1126 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.01287.x
H.R. Carter S.G. Sealy (1987) ArticleTitleFish-holding behavior of marbled murrelets Wilson Bull. 99 289–291
J. Chen J.F. Franklin T.A. Spies (1995) ArticleTitleGrowing-season microclimatic gradients from clearcut edges into old-growth Douglas-fir forests Ecol. Appl. 5 74–86
V. Choulakian R.A. Lockhart M.A. Stephens (1994) ArticleTitleCramér-von-Mises statistics for discrete distributions Can. J. Stat. 22 125–137
P.J. Clark F.C. Evans (1954) ArticleTitleDistance to nearest neighbour as a measure of spatial relationships in populations Ecology 35 445–453
L.M. Conner B.W. Plowman (2001) Using Euclidean distances to assess nonrandom habitat use J. Millspaugh J.M. Marzluff (Eds) Radio Telemetry and Animal Populations Academic Press San Diego
L.L. Eberhardt (2003) ArticleTitleWhat should we do about hypothesis testing? J. Wildlife Manag. 67 241–247
A.H. Fielding P.F. Haworth (1995) ArticleTitleTesting the generality of bird-habitat models Conserv. Biol. 9 1466–1481 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1523-1739.1995.09061466.x
A.H. Fielding J.F. Bell (1997) ArticleTitleA review of methods for the assessment of prediction errors in conservation presence/absence models Environ. Conserv. 24 38–49
L. Friesen M.D. Cadman R.J. MacKay (1999) ArticleTitleNesting success of neotropical migrant songbirds in a highly fragmented landscape Conserv. Biol. 13 338–346 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1523-1739.1999.013002338.x
S.L. Garman F.J. Swanson T.A. Spies (1999) Pastpresentand future landscape patterns in the Douglas-fir region of the Pacific Northwest J.A. Rochelle L.A. Lehmann J. Wisniewski (Eds) Forest Fragmentation: Implications for Wildlife Management Brill Academic Publishers Leiden 61–86
Geogratis. 2002. Natural Resources Canada. http://geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/clf/en.
T.L. George S. Zack (2001) ArticleTitleSpatial and temporal considerations in restoring habitat for wildlife Restor. Ecol. 9 272–279 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1526-100x.2001.009003272.x
R.E. Green G.A. Tyler J.J. Stowe A.V. Newton (1997) ArticleTitleA simulation model of the effect of mowing agricultural grassland on the breeding success of the corncrake (Crex crex) J. Zool. 243 81–115
L.H. Hartman A.J. Gaston D.S. Eastman (1997) ArticleTitleRaccoon predation on ancient murrelets on East Limestone IslandBritish Columbia J. Wildlife Manag. 61 377–388
E.J. Henske S.K. Robinson J.D. Brawn (2001) ArticleTitleNest predation and neotropical migrant songbirds: piecing together the fragments Wildlife Soc. Bull. 29 52–61
J.M. Hipfner A.J. Gaston (2002) ArticleTitleGrowth of thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia) chicks in relation to parental experience and hatching date Auk 119 827–832
D.W. Hosmer S. Lemeshow (2000) Applied Logistic Regression John Wiley and Sons New York
C.L. Hull G.W. Kaiser C. Lougheed L. Lougheed S. Boyd F. Cooke (2001) ArticleTitleIntraspecific variation in commuting distance of marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus): ecological and energetic consequences of nesting father inland Auk 118 1036–1046
J. Jones (2001) ArticleTitleHabitat selection studies in Avian Ecology: a critical review Auk 118 557–562
J.B. Johnson K.S. Omland (2004) ArticleTitleModel selection in ecology and evolution Trends Ecol. Evol. 19 101–108 Occurrence Handle10.1016/j.tree.2003.10.013
B.G. Jonsson (1997) ArticleTitleRiparian bryophyte vegetation in the Cascade mountain rangeNorthwest USA: patterns at different spatial scales Can. J. Bot. 75 744–761
J.D. Kelson I.A. Manley H.R. Carter (1995) ArticleTitleDecline of the marbled murrelet in Clayoquot SoundBritish Columbia: 1982–1993 Northwest. Nat. 76 90–98
H. Kokko M.P. Harris S. Wanless (2004) ArticleTitleCompetition for breeding sites and site-dependent population regulation in a highly colonial seabirdthe common guillemot Uria aalge J. Animal Ecol. 73 367–376
T.M. Lillesand R.W. Kiefer J.W. Chipman (2004) Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation John Wiley and Sons New York
I.A. Manley (1999) Behaviour and Habitat Selection of Marbled Murrelets Nesting on the Sunshine Coast Simon Fraser University M.Sc. Thesis
J.M. Marzluff M. Restani (1999) The effects of forest fragmentation on avian nest predation J.A. Rochelle L.A. Lehmann J. Wisniewski (Eds) Forest Fragmentation: Implications for Wildlife Management Brill Academic Publishers Leiden 155–169
R. Parish J.A. Antos (2004) ArticleTitleStructure and dynamics of an ancient montane forest in coastal British Columbia Oecologia 141 562–576 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s00442-004-1690-4 Occurrence Handle15322898
C.B. Meyer S.L. Miller (2002) ArticleTitleUse of fragmented landscapes by marbled murrelets for nesting in southern Oregon Conserv. Biol. 16 755–766 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.00004.x
C.B. Meyer S.L. Miller C.J. Ralph (2002) ArticleTitleMulti-scale landscape and seascape patterns associated with marbled murrelet nesting areas on the U.S. west coast Landscape Ecol. 17 95–115 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1016574928706
K. Mizuno (1998) ArticleTitleSuccession processes of alpine vegetation in response to glacial fluctuations of Tyndall GlacierMt. KenyaKenya Arctic Alpine Res. 30 340–348
MWALP. 2004. Marbled murrelet Brachyramphus marmoratus. Identified Wildlife Management Strategy. Ministry of WaterLand and Air Protection. Victoria B.C.http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/wld/identified/accounts.html.
S.K. Nelson (1997) Marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) A. Poole F. Gill (Eds) The Birds of North America Academy of Natural Sciences and American Ornithologists’ Union Philadelphia and Washington
S.K. Nelson T.E. Hamer (1995) Nest success and the effects of predation on marbled murrelets C.J. Ralph J.G.L. Hunt M.G. Raphael J.F. Piatt (Eds) Ecology and Conservation of the Marbled Murrelet Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, US. Department of Agriculture Albany, California 89–98
D.N. Nettleship T.R. Birkhead (1985) The Atlantic Alcidae: the Evolution, Distribution and Biology of the Auks Inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean and Adjacent Water Areas Academic Press San Diego
S.E. Nielsen R.H.M. Munro E.L. Bainbridge G.B. Stenhouse M.S. Boyce (2004) ArticleTitleGrizzly bears and forestry II. Distribution of grizzly bear foods in clearcuts of west-central AlbertaCanada Forest Ecol. Manag. 199 67–82
L.A. Parendes J.A. Jones (2000) ArticleTitleRole of light availability and dispersal in exotic plant invasion along roads and streams in the H. J. Andrews Experimental ForestOregon Conserv. Biol. 14 64–75 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.99089.x
J.E. Peck P.S. Muir (2001) ArticleTitleEstimating the biomass of harvestable epiphytic moss in central western Oregon Northwest Sci. 75 99–106
M.Z. Peery S.R. Beissinger S.H. Newman B.H. Becker E. Burkett T.D. Williams (2004) ArticleTitleIndividual and temporal variation in inland flight behavior of marbled murrelets: implications for population monitoring Condor 106 344–353
C.J. Pennycuick (1987) ArticleTitleFlight of Auks (Alcidae) and other northern seabirds compared with southern procellariiformes - ornithodolite observations J. Exp. Biol. 128 335–347
A.M. Pidgeon V.C. Radeloff N.E. Mathews (2003) ArticleTitleLandscape-scale patterns of black-throated sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) abundance and nest success Ecol. Appl. 13 530–542
C.J. Ralph G.L. Hunt SuffixJr. M.G. Raphael J.F. Piatt (1995) Ecology and conservation of the marbled murrelet in North America: an overview C.J. Ralph J. G. L. Hunt M.G. Raphael J.F. Piatt (Eds) Ecology and Conservation of the Marbled Murrelet Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest ServiceU.S. Department of Agriculture Albany, California 2–32
M. Raphael D.E. Mack J.M. Marzluff J.M. Luginbuhl (2002) ArticleTitleEffects of forest fragmentation on populations of the marbled murrelet Stud. Avian Biol. 25 221–235
W.J. Ripple S.K. Nelson E.M. Glenn (2003) ArticleTitleForest landscape patterns around marbled murrelet nest sites in the Oregon coast range Northwest. Nat. 84 80–89
M.S. Rodway H.M. Regehr (2000) ArticleTitleMeasuring marbled murrelets activity levels in valley bottom habitat: bias due to station placement on stream channel flight corridors J. Field Ornithol. 71 415–422
V.A. Saab K.T. Vierling (2001) ArticleTitleReproductive success of Lewis’ woodpecker in burned pine and cottonwood riparian forests Condor 103 491–501
S.W. Singer N.L. Naslund S.A. Singer C.J. Ralph (1991) ArticleTitleDiscovery and observation of two tree nests of the marbled murrelet Condor 93 330–339
K. Vermeer L. Cullen (1979) ArticleTitleGrowth of rhinoceros auklets and tufted puffins, Triangle IslandBritish Columbia Ardea 67 22–27
Waterhouse F.L., Donaldson A. and Lank D.B. 2004. Using airphotos to interpret marbled murrelet nesting habitat in British Columbia: application of a preliminary classification scheme (Technical Report No TR-029 Wildlife). Research Section, Ministry of Forests, VictoriaB.C. URL: http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/rco/research/index.htm.
D.R. Whitworth J.Y. Takekawa H.R. Carter W.R. McIver (1997) ArticleTitleA night-technique for at-sea capture of Xantus’ murrelets Colonial Waterbirds 20 525–531
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10980-007-9084-8.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zharikov, Y., Lank, D.B., Huettmann, F. et al. Habitat Selection and Breeding Success in a Forest-nesting Alcid, the Marbled Murrelet, in Two Landscapes with Different Degrees of Forest Fragmentation. Landscape Ecol 21, 107–120 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-005-1438-5
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-005-1438-5