Using microphone arrays and a new localization workflow to determine critical habitat and microhabitat of landbirds in a boreal forest ecosystem

Ethier, Jeffrey P. (2018) Using microphone arrays and a new localization workflow to determine critical habitat and microhabitat of landbirds in a boreal forest ecosystem. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (1MB)

Abstract

Biodiversity is declining rapidly among North American landbirds. While population decreases are most evident in species at risk, steep declines in common avian species have also been observed and shown to have significant economic and ecological impacts. Basic data on distributions and habitat preferences are lacking for many species. Traditional methods used to obtain this information are limited by cost, accuracy, and human resources. Furthermore, traditional methods have a limited capacity to accurately estimate metrics such as population density and microhabitat selectively. Recently, microphone arrays have become a more affordable, portable, and capable method of obtaining this data. I deployed 110 microphone arrays in the Labrador portion of the Boreal Shield Ecozone. My objectives were to (1) demonstrate a new localization workflow using microphone arrays, (2) determine the relationships between habitat characteristics and avian community parameters, and (3) identify microhabitat features associated with two common species in steep decline, the Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus) and the Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina).

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