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- Title
Eastern Whip-Poor-Wills ( Antrostomus vociferus) Are Positively Associated With Low Elevation Forest In the Central Appalachians.
- Authors
Slover, Christina L.; Katzner, Todd E.
- Abstract
Populations of the Eastern Whip-poor-will ( Antrostomus vociferus) are thought to be declining because of a range of potential factors including habitat loss, pesticide use, and predation. However, this species is nocturnal and, as a consequence, it is poorly studied, and its population status is not well assessed by traditional diurnal bird surveys. We used nocturnal road surveys to study habitat associations and distribution of Eastern Whip-poor-wills to better understand and contextualize their population status and to provide a framework for subsequent research and management. We used occupancy models to associate presence of Eastern Whip-poor-wills with habitat characteristics. Global models with habitat associations at a radius of 1600 m (1.0-ha area) were the best supported by the data, suggesting that this was the scale at which the species responded to the habitat parameters we measured. At this scale, Eastern Whip-poor-wills most frequently occupied areas lower in elevation and characterized by forested, herbaceous, and wetland cover types. In contrast, high elevation conifer forest communities had substantially fewer Eastern Whip-poor-wills. Detection rates were positively correlated with moon visibility and negatively correlated with noise. We used the results of our surveys to generate a regional model to predict distributions of Eastern Whip-poor-wills and that can be used as a framework for future management. Our results suggest that succession of agricultural fields and other clearings into forested habitats with dense understory may be a contributing factor to ongoing declines of Eastern Whip-poor-wills.
- Subjects
WHIP-poor-will; BIRDS; BIRD surveys; PREDATION; LAND cover; ALTITUDES; APPLICATION of pesticides
- Publication
Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 2016, Vol 128, Issue 4, p846
- ISSN
1559-4491
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1676/15-156.1