Recipient Organization
NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY
1620 STANDLEY DR ACADEMIC RESH A RM 110
LAS CRUCES,NM 88003-1239
Performing Department
Fisheries & Wildlife
Non Technical Summary
This research will address the management and conservation on pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) populations in New Mexcio. The pinyon jay is a nomadic and social species found in piñon -juniper, chaparral and scrub-oak woodlands of the western United States. This species moves across the landscape in large noisy flocks and flocks stick together year-round. The pinyon jay is a critical species for the piñon -juniper ecosystem as they do not consume all seeds that they cache, contributing greatly to the regeneration of piñon trees (Pinus edulis, P. monophylla). The southwestern United States has experienced substantial declines in piñon trees due to the piñon bark beetle (Ips confuses) and spring drought. Additionally, piñon -juniper management programs across the west include thinning, mechanical clearing, herbicides grazing and fire. The effects of these management practices on pinyon jay populations is not well understood. Our research uses a combination of field, lab, computer modeling and analytical methods to address critical research gaps for pinyon jays in New Mexico and regionally.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Our overall goal is to address research needs that will influence the conservation and management of pinyon jays in New Mexico.Understand the current distribution of pinyon jays in southern New Mexico using species distribution models. This will be conducted in relation toClimate and elevation dataForest management practicesWildfire including size, timing and intensity of fire across the landscape.Habitat fragmentationMajor vegetation classificationsExamine nest-site selection, daily nest survival and productivityExamine adult survival and movement of pinyon jaysEngage graduate and undergraduate students in research and working with state and federal agencies.
Project Methods
Species Distribution ModelsInitially we will create species distribution models to better understand the distribution of pinyon jays in southern New Mexico, the southern limit of the species geographic range. First we will examine pinyon jay distribution in relation to climatic and elevation data from PRISM and WorldCLIM. Following this, we will examine distribution in relation to habitat associations and response to landscape change. Specifically, we will include distribution of forest thinning practices (recent and historic), tree density data, wildfire (recent and historic), piñon crop (if available), habitat fragmentation and major vegetation classifications. We will visit and confirm presence at known colony locations and will conduct more intense surveys in areas that have not been thoroughly searched. We will use the generalized linear model (GLM) and maximum entropywith presence and pseudo-absence data to model the distribution of pinyon jays. We will also investigate the performance of other machine learning methods (e.g. random forest). Both methods will be implemented using the biomod2 packagein R. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under ROC curve (AUC) will be used to evaluate the predictive performance of models.AUC ranges between 0 and 1 and we employed a previously usedscaling system to rank the models: > 0.9 indicated high accuracy, 0.7 to 0.9 indicated good accuracy, and those < 0.7 indicated low accuracy.Species distribution models will also be used to predict the effects of climate change on pinyon jay distribution in southern New Mexico and throughout New Mexico. The southwestern United States is already an extreme environment and is considered to be one of the most "climate-challenged" regions in North America. The effects of climate change including hotter and drier conditions in the southwestmay result in reduced survival and reproduction.We will also examine characteristics of abandoned colonies with active colonies to better understand how forest management, tree vigor, precipitation and piñon crop may interact to influence colony stability. Research has found jays are more likely to abandon colonies with lower tree vigor, including measures of foliage thickness/greenness .Nest Site Selection, Daily Nest Survival and ProductivityPinyon jays are dependent on mast crops of piñon seed to provide the critical resources they need for survival and reproduction. We will search for pinyon jay nests within colony locations to determine factors that influence nest site selection, nest survival and productivity. Once a nest is located we will examine it quickly, to determine nest occupancy and stage (eggs or nestlings) and clutch size. Nests discovered in the building stage will not be approached. We will mark a location 10 m directly south of the nest using a GPS, and a written description of the nest site and drawing of the nest tree will be sketched on the nest card for future nest checks.Nests will be checked every 2-5 days until close to fledging date. At this time, nest check frequency will increase to every other day. Nest checks will occur an hour after sunrise until 10 am, and will not occur after or near dusk, in the presence of predators, or in inclement weather. When an observer is checking a nest, they will monitor parental behavior before approaching nest. While watching with binoculars from a distance of 10m or more, observers will look for parent activity such as visiting nest site, bringing nesting material, bringing food for nestlings or removing fecal sacs. Nests will only be approached and examined after egg laying, hatching or fledging is suspected to determine nest stage and number of eggs or nestlings or when no activity is observed and predation, abandonment or other cause of failure is suspected. A mirror pole will be used for nests higher than 2m to check contents of nests during nest checks. At each visit, the status of the nest will be recorded as active building, laying (female showing signs of laying), incubation (eggs are present), nestling stage (nestlings present) or failure, including apparent causes of failure. The number of eggs, number of nestlings and estimated age of nestlings will be recorded at each visit. Camera traps may be used to document failures by predation and assist in monitoring nests with little disturbance, but will not be placed in the immediate vicinity of the nest, as this may influence abandonment. Cameras will be placed at nests randomly, placed in the ground 3-7m away and disguised with native shrubs to reduce human scent. Evidence of predation could include loss of eggs or nestlings from a nest, the bottom and/or sides of the nest have been torn up and destroyed or nests missing completely and presence of fecal droppings left in the nest. Evidence of abandonment may be inactive nests that still have all or some eggs and/or deceased juveniles still inside.Once a nest attempt is completed or terminated we will examine nest site characteristics as well as characteristics of a randomly selected non-nest tree with 500-1000 m of the nest site. Characteristics of nest trees and random trees will include nest tree, tree height, foliage density, tree root crown diameter, canopy cover, and litter. We will also examine tree density, forest management (thinning, fire, etc), arthropod abundance, measures of habitat fragmentation and precipitation within 500 m of each tree (nest and random). Additional data specific to nest trees will include nest height and distance of nest from tree branch edge. We will use generalized linear models for the analyses of nest site selection, daily nest survival and productivity of pinyon jays.Adult Survival and Movement PatternsAs we move farther into this project we will examine the survival and movement patterns of adult and juvenile pinyon jays in southern New Mexico to better understand factors contributing to declining populations in this region. This will be done using mark-recapture and radio telemetry. Individuals will be captured and color banded using walk in traps erected near automatic feeders and water stations. We will use tail mounted, whip antennas (Holohil Systems Ltd) and the pulse rate of transmitters will be slowed to extend battery life for a full year. Individuals will be monitored 3-5 times a day on a weekly basis to understand daily and seasonal movement patterns. Movement patterns will be examined in relations to precipitation, piñon crop, insect abundance, major vegetation classifications, and forest management.We will use Burnham joint live encounter and dead recovery modelsto assess influences on survival of adult pinyon jays. This modelling technique will allow us to estimate survival (S), fidelity to the study area (F), recapture probability (the probability of encountering a live individual, p), and recovery probability (the probability of recovering a dead individual; r). Individual encounter histories were coded using the "live-dead" format (LD) for each sampling occasion.