Research Objectives:
- Determine if golden-cheeked warblers are using
habitat structural/compositional cues as an indicator
of
prey availability.
- Determine the link between food availability
and foraging effort for golden-cheeked warblers.
- Determine if a threshold exists for the ratio
of juniper to oak in regards to productivity for
golden-cheeked warblers.
- Determine if there is a relationship between
tree species composition, foraging effort, and
avian
productivity for the golden-cheeked warbler.
Management Implications:
- The results of this
study can be a critical
component of making judicious
management decisions
for golden-cheeked warblers,
especially in regards
to the selective removal
of junipers, formulation
of habitat models, and
direct application to
the recovery credit system
(RCS) program.
- The results of this
study can be used to
indicate areas that should
be targeted for conservation
by local, state, and
federal government because
they provide high quality
habitat based on warbler
productivity.
Project Summary:
The golden-cheeked
warbler is a federally endangered songbird that shows
a dependence on Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei) for
nesting material and closed-canopy juniper-oak woodlands
for breeding habitat. The breeding habitat of the
species is highly fragmented through its range. Many
studies have addressed tree species composition as
it relates to abundance and presence/absence of golden-cheeked
warblers, but few have related this composition to
reproductive success.
To determine if there is a link between tree species composition, foraging effort,
and productivity in golden-cheeked warblers, I will be conducting my research
on Fort Hood near Gatesville, Texas. To determine reproductive success, I will
conduct productivity surveys for golden-cheeked warbler territories using the
Vickery Index for nesting behavior. To determine food availability I will take
arthropod samples from territories by removing branch clippings and weighing
the arthropod assemblage. To supplement the direct measure of arthropods I will
also perform behavioral foraging surveys to estimate foraging effort and how
foraging effort differs across a variety of tree species compositions. |
