Spatiotemporal Factors Affecting the Occupancy and Phenology of a Declining Songbird (Bachman's Sparrow - Peucaea aestivalis) at the Western Extent of its Range

<p>The Bachman’s Sparrow (<em>Peucaea aestivalis</em>) is a declining songbird that occurs throughout the southeastern United States. Bachman’s Sparrow is a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Texas, but information crucial to management efforts, such as factors affecting their detectability and occupancy, is lacking. I investigated the predictors of Bachman’s Sparrow occupancy and phenology in Texas using detections from autonomous recording units coupled with site characteristics and weather data. My results indicate that Bachman’s Sparrow occupancy is associated with increasing herbaceous ground cover and decreasing basal area, distance to the nearest source population, and basal area when canopy height is high. Singing phenology is affected by photoperiod and precipitation, with singing occurring between January and October. These results highlight the optimal spatial and temporal conditions for this species to guide future management and monitoring efforts.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science - Forestry

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Forestry

Year dc:date.available

2022

Author dc:creator

• Wolff, Liam G.

Contributors dc:contributor

• I-Kuai Hung
• Brian Oswald
• Christopher M. Schalk

• Bachman's Sparrow
• occupancy
• detection
• management
• conservation
• songbird
• Forest Management
• Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/439

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.sfasu.edu:etds-1478