Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship

Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship
Name	Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship
Discipline	Ornithology
Methods	Banding, Surveys, Modeling

Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) comprises field protocols and analytical frameworks used to estimate natality and longevity in bird populations, informing policy decisions by agencies such as the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Wildlife Fund, BirdLife International, and research programs at institutions like the Smithsonian Institution, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Yale University, University of California, Berkeley, University of British Columbia, Monash University, University of Cape Town, University of São Paulo, University of Tokyo, Peking University, Australian National University, Max Planck Society, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, CNRS, CSIC, National Geographic Society, Royal Society, European Commission, National Science Foundation, Natural Environment Research Council, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Audubon Society, Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, Wetlands International, IUCN Red List, Ramsar Convention, Convention on Biological Diversity, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, United Nations Environment Programme, Global Environment Facility, World Bank, European Bird Census Council, Asian Waterbird Census, African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement). The program integrates expertise from researchers including figures affiliated with David Attenborough-featured projects, legacy ringing initiatives like those of Ernest Hemingway-era collectors, and contemporary initiatives inspired by scientists at Frank Gill's institutions and projects led by Kenn Kaufman and Peter Marra.

Introduction and Scope

MAPS encompasses standardized protocols for estimating clutch success, fledgling production, juvenile recruitment, and adult survival across taxa such as Turdus merula-related assemblages, Passeriformes, Anseriformes, Charadriiformes, and Accipitridae. Programs draw on historical datasets from programs like the British Trust for Ornithology's ringing scheme, the United States Geological Survey’s bird banding, and long-term monitoring at sites such as Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Kruger National Park, Serengeti National Park, Great Barrier Reef adjacent islands, Galápagos Islands, Aleutian Islands, and coastal observatories in Cape Town, Honolulu, Sydney, New York City, London, Paris, and Tokyo. Scope covers demographic rates for policy instruments used in Endangered Species Act petitions, Birds Directive (EU) assessments, and habitat restoration projects funded by entities like the European Investment Bank.

Methods and Survey Design

Field methods include mist-netting, color-banding, nest monitoring, and automated telemetry as practiced in studies at Point Reyes National Seashore, Bitterroot National Forest, Białowieża Forest, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone avifauna studies, and island programs in the Galápagos Islands and Hawaiian Islands. Standardized station-based protocols emulate designs by Roger Tory Peterson-influenced survey frameworks, using equipment produced by firms linked to projects at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Citizen science integration follows models of eBird, Christmas Bird Count, Breeding Bird Survey, and Atlas of Australian Birds, with coordination among organizations such as Zooniverse, iNaturalist, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, and national museums like the Natural History Museum, London, American Museum of Natural History, and Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. Ethical oversight often references guidelines from Society for Conservation Biology, Association of Field Ornithologists, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and regional bodies such as Environment Agency (England) and USFWS.

Data Analysis and Metrics

Analytical approaches employ mark–recapture models initiated by frameworks from Cormack, Jolly-Seber, and developments by Otis Burnham and Lebreton, using software such as Program MARK, R Project for Statistical Computing packages like RMark, unmarked, and Bayesian tools developed with Stan (software), JAGS, and BUGS. Key metrics include apparent survival (phi), fecundity, productivity indices, recruit-per-adult ratios, and life-table parameters used in population viability analysis in programs at Conservation Biology journals and by groups like IUCN SSC and The Pew Charitable Trusts. Spatial analyses integrate remote sensing products from Landsat, MODIS, and Sentinel-2 and link to climate indices such as the North Atlantic Oscillation and El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Trend detection uses methods described by Nicholas Gotelli, Alan Wilcox, and S.N. Wood with cross-validation, hierarchical modeling, and occupancy models developed in collaboration with researchers at Imperial College London and ETH Zurich.

Applications in Conservation and Management

Results inform site-based actions at Ramsar sites, management plans under the EU Natura 2000 network, species recovery under the Endangered Species Act, and harvest regulations overseen by International Whaling Commission-intersecting migratory bird treaties like the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Data support invasive species control modeled after programs in New Zealand, captive-breeding guidance from ZSL (Zoological Society of London), and urban planning decisions in municipalities like New York City, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and London Boroughs. Outputs feed into reporting for Convention on Migratory Species and national biodiversity strategies submitted to the Convention on Biological Diversity and funders including Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and MacArthur Foundation.

Limitations and Sources of Bias

Bias arises from detectability issues identified in foundational work by Gaston, Buckland, MacKenzie (ecologist), and Royle (ecologist), band-reporting heterogeneity documented in historical schemes like the BTO ringing data, and survival overestimation linked to emigration at sites similar to Isle Royale and Channel Islands National Park. Climatic shifts associated with Anthropocene impacts and land-use change studies by Jared Diamond-cited syntheses complicate inference. Taxonomic biases favor species monitored by groups like American Bird Conservancy and BirdLife International while neglecting cryptic taxa in regions such as the Amazon Rainforest, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asian rainforests.

Case Studies and Regional Programs

Representative programs include the MAPS network model applied by North American Bird Conservation Initiative, long-term banding at Point Pelee National Park, demographic studies of Whooping Crane recovery led by International Crane Foundation, island restoration monitoring in Aldabra Atoll and Lord Howe Island, and transcontinental migration analyses integrating radar studies from NOAA and European radar networks coordinated by European Space Agency-linked projects. Regional initiatives include the African Bird Club’s citizen components, the Asian Flyways Project, the Pacific Birds partnerships, and national efforts such as Brazilian Biodiversity Information System and China Bird Report.

Category:Ornithology