FOREST MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF THREATENED CERULEAN WARBLER AT THE BANKHEAD NATIONAL FOREST

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1028561
• Grant No.: 2022-38821-37256
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $499,947.00
• Proposal No.: 2021-12797
• Project Start Date: May 1, 2022
• Project End Date: Apr 30, 2026
• Grant Year: 2022
• Program Code: [EQ]- Research Project

Recipient Organization
ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY
4900 MERIDIAN STREET
NORMAL,AL 35762

Performing Department
Biological & Environmental Sci

Non Technical Summary
Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) (CERW), one of the fastest declining songbird species in North America, has lost 70% breeding population since 1960s. One of the major factors contributed to this fast decline is the loss of suitable forested habitat. Northern Alabama historically represented CERW's southern-most breeding range where they were common, now is the place of the greatest conservation need of the species. An isolated population has persisted at Bankhead National Forest (BNF). Little is known about why the species occurs there, less is known about species' population status, breeding success, habitat use, and the effect of forest composition, structure, and management. Wildlife management agencies called for CERW studies in Alabama to provide more accurate population estimates and breeding information; forest resource managers including the staff at BNF are seeking scientific bases for effectively managing their forests for the CERW. This project is in response to these requests with the objective of gaining better knowledge of the breeding ecology and habitat association of CERW and the effect of forest management practices, including tornado-created forest openings. Our specific goals are to 1) have a better knowledge of the population status of CERW at BNF, 2) examine avian community associations of the CERW to facilitate a better understanding of the interactions of CERW with other species, 3) identify landscape and microhabitat conditions related to forest composition, structure, and vegetation features that best explain CERW occurrence, and 4) examine if forest openings created by natural disturbrance and forest management provide suitable habitat for CERW. The project will help us to have a better understanding of the impacts of forest habitat change on wildlife and how the collective changes in forest structure due to forest management practices and natural disturbances affect population dynamics of a threatened and conservation priority species and ultimately, biodiversity. The study results will address current knowledge gaps that are particularly important for the best management practices of forest resources that will benefit the conservation of wildlife species and forest ecosystem. This project will also provide training opportunities for the next generation of natural resources and environmental sciences workforce, particularly for minorities.

Animal Health Component

40%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

60%

Applied

40%

Developmental

0%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
136	0820	1070	70%
123	0613	1070	30%

Knowledge Area
136 - Conservation of Biological Diversity; 123 - Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0820 - Wild birds; 0613 - Mixed conifer-broadleaf forests;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;

Keywords

cerulean warbler

climate

conservation

environment

forest

habitat

wildlife

Goals / Objectives
Our specific goals of this project are to 1) have a better knowledge of the population status of CERW at BNF, 2) examine avian community associations of the CERW to facilitate a better understanding of the interactions of CERW with other species, 3) identify landscape and microhabitat conditions related to forest composition, structure, and vegetation features that best explain CERW occurrence, and 4) examine if forest openings created by tornados and forest management provide suitable habitat for CERW.

Project Methods
Study Site. This study will be at the BNF, located in Lawrence, Winston, and Franklin Counties of northwestern Alabama. The BNF is a 72,800 ha multi-use forest located along the highly dissected portion of the southern Cumberland Plateau (Gaines and Creed 2003). The Sipsey Wilderness in the BNF is the largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi.Mixed forests of this region tend to be dominated by oak-hickory forest (McWilliams 1991) except in areas where pines, such as Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) were actively planted for commercial purposes. Beginning in the mid-1990s, Southern Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) infestations caused large die-offs of P. taeda throughout the southeast and have produced large numbers of standing dead trees and increased fuel loads, including the BNF.Bird Surveys. We will survey ceruleans using point count following the protocol of Hamel et al. (1996) and our earlier studies (Carpenter et al. 2011, Carpenter and Wang 2018) from May to June during the breeding seasons of 2022 to 2024. The areas to be surveyed include the locations where the birds were reported previously (data provided by Allison Cochran, Wildlife Biologist of BNF and Eric Soehren, Wildlife Ecologist & Manager of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) such as the floodplains and adjacent slopes along Flannigan and Borden creeks in BNF; point counts will also be performed at locations where no cerulean occurrence was reported previous, with a focus on ridges, upper slopes, and near areas of local relief with stratification of canopy trees within deciduous/mixed mature forest within BNF. Point count locations will be determined at random locations and during each encounter with a cerulean. Before beginning, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates will be recorded while allowing all birds to settle. Every bird observed during three-time intervals (0-3 min, 4-5 min, and 6-10 min) will be mapped in the proper direction and distance interval (<25 m, 25-50 m, 50-100 m, >100 m, and flyover). Counts will be centered at the cerulean's original position when detected, and location may vary on subsequent visits throughout the season due to the foraging and territorial nature of birds. If a cerulean is detected at a random point, counts will be conducted at both the pre-determined and under the individual's original locations. Behaviors and locations of all ceruleans will be documented using our protocol develop for this species (Carpenter et al. 2011). Once a cerulean is within discernible range, the bird's relative vertical and horizontal position will be estimated using instantaneous sampling (Hejl et al. 1990). This will be accomplished by counting to five and recording measurements at the instant the count reaches its apex. If a cerulean leaves the vicinity before counting is finished and cannot be relocated, measurements will be taken from the last known position. Additional data will consist of: tree species, tree height, tree diameter at breast height (DBH), tree crown class (dominant, co-dominant, intermediate, and suppressed), GPS coordinates, weather, aspect, gender, and descriptions of any territorial and breeding activities performed. All heights will be estimated with a clinometer and DBH with a logger's tape.Mist-netting, Banding, and Radio Telemetry. Banding and radio telemetry efforts will take place once a week from early May to late June following our protocol (Carpenter and Wang 2018) and (Delancey and Islam 2020). Banding will distinguish individuals from adjacent neighbors and assist in estimating territory size and determining site-fidelity. Radio tracking will aid in nest searching, estimating territory size, and monitoring post-breeding movements. Ceruleans will be lured into a mist-net using a wooden decoy and conspecific song centered in a triangular net design (Carpenter et al. 2011). Every cerulean captured will be ringed with a single aluminum USFWS band on the right tarsus and a plastic colored band on the left and/or right tarsus. Once banded, each bird will be sexed, aged, weighed, and measured according to Pyle (1997). Transmitters weighing approximately 0.35 g (5% of body weight) will be attached to ceruleans using adhesives (Kenward 2001).Forest habitat quantification. Forest habitat will be assessed once nesting has consummated in 2023 and 2024 using the method of our earlier studies (Carpenter et al. 2011, Carpenter and Wang 2018) and other researchers (Delancey and Islam 2020, Wessels and Boves 2021). The 0.04 ha (11.25 m radius) circular plots will be established in "used" and "unused" habitat and at all nest sites. The "used" habitat is regarded as GPS coordinates of cerulean encounters, whereas "unused" habitat is random points where ceruleans are not detected. A supplementary habitat plot will be centered in territories when sufficient information is available to delineate its boundaries. Habitat variables selected for measurement include: species and number of trees ≥ 3 cm DBH, number of saplings and shrubs < 3 cm DBH, number of standing snags ≥ 7.5 cm DBH, percent canopy cover, canopy height, log and tree dispersion, distance to and size of canopy gaps, basal area, tree/basal area ratio, slope, and aspect. Saplings, shrubs, and canopy cover will be measured along two right-angle transects set in the cardinal directions. Total number of woody stems < 3 cm intercepted by out-stretched arms will estimate sapling and shrub density per acre (James and Shugart 1970). Percent canopy cover will be determined by 40 densitometer readings (twenty along each transect) of the presence of vertical vegetation. Canopy structure will be quantified by assigning each plus reading to a height interval (<2 m, 2 to <5 m, 5 to <15, 15 to <25 m, and ≥25 m). Canopy heights of each plot will be averaged from measurements of several trees. Log and tree dispersion will be estimated by measuring distances to and DBH of the nearest tree and distance to, DBH and length of nearest fallen log ≥1.5 m in length and ≥8 cm DBH (Noon 1981). Basal area for each tree will be calculated as BA=0.00545DBH2 (Ashley 1991), and ratio of basal area to tree density as total BA/number of trees ≥ 3 cm (Jones and Robertson 2001).

Progress 05/01/24 to 04/30/25

Outputs
Target Audience:Forest resource managers, private landowners, research scientists, wildlife biologists, graduate students, undergraduates, high school students, ecologists, conservation biologists, natural resource managers, and general publics. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We continued to use the study site and our project to train undergraduate and graduate students. One graduate student worked at the site for his thesis research and another graduate student participated the project to gain bird handling and mist-netting experience during 2024. One undergraduate students was involved with the project, she participated in field data collection and data entry, and interacted with graduate students, gaining firsthand experience in implementing and conducting research.We made two presentations at two professional meetings. We were invited to give a talk at the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV)Technical Committee meeting in August 2024. We discussed our project with the Cerulean Warbler Technical Group (CWTG), which has informed the development of the different CERW conservation strategies as well as the forest management guidelines and served as information sharing hub and also guides current research and monitoring needs. Dr. Wang was invited to join the group, which will help greatly for providing professional development and training opportunities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This project is critical for the continuation of a long-term collaborative relationship we established with the USDA Forest Service's Southern Research Station. We collaborated with the USDA on activities and interacted with stakeholders. We conducted workshops and trainings to disseminate our study result to the USDA Forest Service, landowners, and other resources managements. Our research results are helping these agencies, managers, and landowners make sound management decisions related to forest resource management in relation to the conservation of the Cerulean Warbler and other associated bird species, which will enhance the overall conservation of biodiversity and adaptive management under changing habitat conditions. We presented results at professional meetings and used this research project as an example for the courses that PI and CoPI taught. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next reporting period, we will continue the field work at the BNF. Based on the work of past three field seasons, we will focus more on the capture and radio-tracking targeted individuals to provide more data about the habitat use and breeding success of the species. We will continue our outreach effort and enhance educational activities by involving more students for the research activities. The graduate student who is working on this project is expected to graduate in May 2025. Depending on the funds, we may hire another graduate student to continue to work on this project. We will also explore the possibility to use new technology (the Wildlife Acoustics Song Meter and AI program) to monitor the species.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During 2024, we continued our research and field data collection at the Bankhead National Forest. During the 2024 breeding seasons, we continued to use fixed radius point counts at cerulean detected and random locations, and operated mist-netting to capture targeted individuals. Pedestrian surveys resulted in 53 encounters during the 2022-2024 breeding seasons between mid-April and late June. The earliest cerulean detected singing was on 15-Apr-23 and the last singing detection was on the 26-Jun-23. A male cerulean was visually detected on 23-Aug-23 in upper Borden Creek. In 2022, 18 male cerulean were detected, in 2023, 15 males and 2 female cerulean were detected, and in 2024, 14 males, 2 females, and 2 juvenile cerulean were detected. In 2022-2024, 38 attempts to mist-net capture male ceruleans were conducted. In 2023, 5 males were aged as after-second-year (ASY). In 2024, 2 males were aged as second-year (SY) and 6 as ASY. In 2023 one male Cerulean was captured twice and in 2024 two males were captured multiple times. In 2023, radio transmitters were attached to breeding age male Cerulean warblers. In 2024, 4 transmitters were attached to breeding age males. The mean weight (g) of transmitters, gauze cross attachment, and glue was (0.38 ± 0.004, range = 0.36 - 0.39). The shortest period of attachment was 10 days, and the longest period of attachment was 30 days due to recapture and re-transmitting. The earliest transmitter attachment occurred on May 16, 2024, and the latest transmitter attachment occurred on June 7, 2023. The number of locational data points taken ranged from 19 to 37. The mean duration (minutes) of telemetry surveys was 0.55. All 6 transmitter attachments produced enough data points to conduct kernel density estimates of home range and core use areas. Mean home range estimates (ha) were (1.62 ± 0.25), whereas mean core area estimates (ha) were (0.3 ± 0.03). Minimum convex polygon home range estimates (ha) were (1.62 ± 0.7). The graduate student who has been working on this project as his thesis research: Thomas Thompson, successfully defended his thesis March 2024. We made two presentations at two professional meetings. We were invited to give a talk at the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV)Technical Committee meeting in August 2024. We discussed our project with the Cerulean Warbler Technical Group (CWTG), which has informed the development of the different CERW conservation strategies as well as the forest management guidelines and served as information sharing hub and also guides current research and monitoring needs. Dr. Wang was invited to join the group.

Publications

• Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Hu, Q., Yue Wang, G. Yu, L. Lv, P. Wang, Y. Wen, H. Guan, J. Xu, Y. Wang, Z. Zhang, J. Li. 2024. The effect of ambient temperature on bird embryonic development: a comparison between uniparental incubating silver-throated tits and biparental incubating black-throated tits. Journal of Avian Biology.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Thompson, T., Y. Wang, and A. Cantrell. 2024. Analysis of Space Use for Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea) using Radio Telemetry at its Southernmost Breeding Range. 2024 Annual meeting of Alabama Chapter of the Wildlife Society July 23-25, Alabama Nature Center. Millbrook, Alabama.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Freesland, K, Y. Wang, and A. Cantrell. 2024. The effects of longleaf pine restoration on breeding bird communities of William B. Bankhead National Forest. 2024 Annual meeting of Alabama Chapter of the Wildlife Society July 23-25, Alabama Nature Center. Millbrook, Alabama.

Progress 05/01/23 to 04/30/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Forest resource managers, private landowners, research scientists, wildlife biologists, graduate students, undergraduates, high school students, ecologists, conservation biologists, natural resource managers, and general publics. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We continued to use the study site and our project to train undergraduate and graduate students. One graduate studentworked at the site for his thesis research and another graduate student particiated the project to gain bird handling and mist-netting experirnceduring 2023. One undergraduate students was involved with the project, she participated in field data collection and data entry, and interacted with graduate students, gaining firsthand experience in implementing and conducting research. In July 2023, we presented a talk to agricultural extension officers and wildlife professionals in Bankhead National Forest, AL, and received excellent feedbacks. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As it was mentioned before, this project is critical for the continuation of a long-term collaborative relationship we established with the USDA Forest Service's Southern Research Station. We collaborated with the USDA on activities andinteracted with stakeholders. We conducted workshops and trainings to disseminate our study result to the USDA Forest Service, landowners, and other resources managements. Our researchresults are helping these agencies, managers, and landowners make sound management decisions related to forest resource management in relation to the conservation of the Cerulean Warbler and other associated bird species, which will enhance the overall conservaton of biodiveristy and adaptiave managment under changing climate. We presented results atprofessional meetings and used this research project as an example for the courses that PI and CoPI taught. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next reporting period, we will continue the field work at the BNF. Based on the work of past two field seasons, we will focus more on the capture and radio-tracking targeted individuals to provide more data about the habitat use and breeding success of the species. We will continue our outreach effort and enhance educational activities by involving more students for theresearch activities. The graduate student who is working on this project is expected to graduate in 2024. Depending on the funds, we may hire another graduate student to continue to work on this project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During 2023, we continued our research and field data collection at the Bankhead National Forest.During the 2023 breeding seasons, we continued to use fixed radius point counts at cerulean detected and random locations, and operated mist-netting to capture targeted individuals. A total of 63 point counts were conducted in two years. The most common avian species associated with ceruleans were Red-eyed Vireos (Vireo olivaceus) followed by Northern Parulas (Setophaga americana) and Hooded Warblers (Setophaga citrina), indicating species preferring forested habitat with edges and openings. The wing-cords of cerulean's captured revealed an on average smaller size compared to the individuals across its breeding range, which is consistent with the results of previous cerulean captures in BNF and may suggest that the breeding individuals at BNF are of a lower fitness condition.A total of 5 individuals were captured during the 2023 field season, we were able to track twobirds with radio transmitters to identify their habitat associations and temporal activity patterns. The graduate student: Thomas Thompson, successfully defended his thesis research proposal in December 2023. We made two presentations at two professional meetings. Mr. Thompson was awardedfor the best oral presentation at the Alabama Chapter of the Wildlife Society 2023 annual meeting. We also presented a talk to agricultural extension officers and wildlife professionals in Bankhead National Forest, AL, and received excellent feedbacks.

Publications

• Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2023 Citation: Liu, Y., L. Tian, Z. Zhou, K. Gao, D. Chen, D. Li, Y. Wang, and Z. Zhang. 2023. Barn Swallows in East Asia show strong tolerance against nest mites. Ornithology, Volume 140, Issue 2, https:/Thompson, T. and Y. Wang, A. Cantrell/ornithology/ukad001.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Thompson, T. and Y. Wang, A. Cantrell. 2023. Avian Community Association and Morphometric Features of Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea) in Bankhead National Forest. 2023 Annual meeting of Alabama Chapter of the Wildlife Society August 11-12, 2023, Calera, AL.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Thompson, T. and Y. Wang, A. Cantrell. 2023. Breeding Ecology and Habitat Selection of Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea) in Bankhead National Forest. The 100th Annual meeting of Alabama Academy of Sciences. March 8-10, 2023, Birmingham, AL.

Progress 05/01/22 to 04/30/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Forest resource managers, private landowners, research scientists, wildlife biologists, graduatestudents, undergraduates, high school students, ecologists, conservation biologists, natural resource managers, and general publics. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We coordinated and hosted "a bird research day" for the summer forestry apprenticeship program of AAMU in June, 2022. We trained students for mist-netting birds and point count survey. We showed the students how to analyze the data collected from field and tested if there were any differences in species richness among the three habitat types surveyed and across species.We provided the support for the training program hosted by Bankhead National Forest for the Alabama Chapter of the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals on July 31, 2023. We provided the field tours and presented our research projects at the site. The participants were very impressed by the range of topics, the depth of our knowledge, and the clear importance of our many partnerships to achieving our conservation mission. One gradaute student have been using this resarch as his thesis resarch and we are in the process of recruting another graduate student.Serveral undergradaute students have participated field work, which provided the handson experience for wildlife and forestry relatedconservation and research. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As mentioned above, we provided the support for the training program hosted by Bankhead National Forest for the Alabama Chapter of the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals on July 31, 2023. We provided the field tours and presented our research projects at the site. The participants were very impressed by the range of topics, the depth of our knowledge, and the clear importance of our many partnerships to achieving our conservation mission. This wasalso a great disseminationopportunity as many of the participants of this program workfor the AL Extension Service, the impact of our effort will have a great levelege effectthrough them as theyinteract with various communities daily. The PI attended annual conference of Ecological Society of American during August 13-19, 2022 at Montreal, Canada and communicated with colleagues who are working on similar subject areas. The graduate student who is working on this project presented a posterat the Annual Meeting of the Chapter of the Wildlife Society, which was held on September 14-15, 2022 at the Alabama Power General Service Complexin Calera, AL, an oral presentation at the 100th Annual meeting of Alabama Academy of Sciences. March 8-10, 2023, Birmingham, AL, and a oral presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Chapter of the Wildlife Society, which was held August 10-11, 2023 at theAlabama Power General Service Complexin Calera, AL. He won"The Best Student Oral Presentation" award for the last oral presentation. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next reporting period, we will continue the field work at the BNF. Based on the work of past two field seasons, we will make some justifications by starting bird survey earlier and foucsing on more radio tracking and landscape habiat assessment. We will continue our outreach effort and enchance educational activities by invoiving more students for the research activities. One graduate student is expected to graduate from this projectand another graduate student will be recruited and continue to work on this projectnext year.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We were notified the award in the mid-April, 2022 and given the urgency of the seasonality of the field work, we quickly established the research account at the beginningof May 2022. Below is a summary of accomplishments related to the above mentioned goals during last period.We recruited one graduate student in May 2022 and started the field work in May 2022, conducting bird survey and mist-netting. We detected the CERW at 18 locations. A total of 63 point counts were conducted in 2022 and 2023 field seasons. The most common avian species associated with CERW were Red-eyed Vireos (Vireo olivaceus) followed by Northern Parulas (Setophaga americana) and Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), indicating the species preferring forested habitat with edges and openings. Morpholoical feautures were recorded, thewing-cords of CERW that we capturedrevealed an on average smaller size compared to the individuals across its breeding range, which is consistent with the results of previous CREWcaptured in BNF and may suggest that the breeding individuals at BNF are in a less fitness condition. A total of 5 individuals were captured during the 2023 field season, we were able to track two birds with radio transmitters to identify their habitat associations and temporal activity patterns. We have collected some landscape and micorhabitat data but the works are still on-going. Ourpreliminary results already show some interesting patterns and we have communicated our findings to the USDA Forest Service at the Bankhead National Forest for their potentials of the management and conservation of this important species.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Tian, S., S. Lu, J. Hua, J. Chang, J. Li, Z. Zhang, Y. Wang, and J. Xu. 2022. Integrating habitat suitability assessments to improve the effectiveness of nature reserves in conserving global threatened species: a case study of Reevess Pheasant in China. Submitted. Bird Conservation International 32(3): 384-397. doi:10.1017/S095927092100023X
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Thompson, T. T., A. Cantrell, and Y. Wang. 2022. Breeding ecology of cerulean warbler in Bankhead National Forest. 2022 Annual meeting of Alabama Chapter of the Wildlife Society September 14-15, 2022, Calera, AL.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Thompson, T. and Y. Wang, A. Cantrell. 2023. Breeding Ecology and Habitat Selection of Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea) in Bankhead National Forest. 100th Annual meeting of Alabama Academy of Sciences. March 8-10, 2023, Birmingham, AL.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Thompson, T. and Y. Wang, A. Cantrell. 2023. Avian Community Association and Morphometric Features of Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea) in Bankhead National Forest. 2023 Annual meeting of Alabama Chapter of the Wildlife Society August 11-12, 2023, Calera, AL.