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Intertidal habitat utilization patterns of birds in a Northeast Pacific estuary

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Abstract

A habitat-based framework is a practical method for developing models (or, ecological production functions, EPFs) to describe the spatial distribution of ecosystem services. To generate EPFs for Yaquina estuary, Oregon, USA, we compared bird use patterns among intertidal habitats. Visual censuses were used to quantify abundance of bird groups and general species richness in: Zostera marina (eelgrass), Upogebia (mud shrimp)/mudflat, Neotrypaea (ghost shrimp)/sandflat, Zostera japonica (Japanese eelgrass), and low marsh estuarine habitats. Also assessed were (1) spatial variation within a habitat along the estuary gradient and, (2) temporal variation based on bi-monthly samples over a year at five tidal ranges. Z. marina was an important estuarine habitat based on nearly all metrics of bird use, except for shorebird densities. This suggests that reductions in native eelgrass habitat may reduce the abundance and diversity of birds in Yaquina estuary. Our results suggest that a habitat based assessment approach is generally feasible for developing relative EPFs related to the presence of birds within estuarine systems.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Drs. Rick McKinney, Wayne Hoffman, and Robert Ozretich for discussion in the formative stages of this project. Drs. McKinney and Ozretich also provided helpful comments on the draft manuscript. Pat Clinton provided GIS habitat maps based on research efforts of many colleagues at EPA. Karen Ebert and Marianne Colvin assisted with manuscript production. Melanie Frazier was supported by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency postdoctoral fellowship. The information in this document has been funded wholly or in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It has been subjected to review by the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents reflect the views of the Agency, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

Funding

Researchers J. Lamberson and W. Nelson are employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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Author notes

  1. Janet O. Lamberson

    Present address: , 207 Hudson Loop, Toledo, OR, 97391, USA

  2. Melanie R. Frazier

    Present address: National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, 735 State St. Suite 300, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Western Ecology Division, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, 2111 SE Marine Science Dr, Newport, OR, 97365, USA

    Melanie R. Frazier, Janet O. Lamberson & Walter G. Nelson

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  1. Melanie R. Frazier
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Correspondence to Melanie R. Frazier.

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Frazier, M.R., Lamberson, J.O. & Nelson, W.G. Intertidal habitat utilization patterns of birds in a Northeast Pacific estuary. Wetlands Ecol Manage 22, 451–466 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-014-9346-6

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