{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/129986"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/129986","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"From field to fecal: informing conservation of Chuck-will's-widows through habitat, abundance, & diet analysis","abstract":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2025-10-20 without embargo terms","abstract_html":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2025-10-20 without embargo terms","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Tomczyk, Sonia"],"institution":"University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Natural Res & Env Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Ward, Michael P","Sperry, Jinelle H.","Benson, Thomas J"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-07-25","date_published":"2025-07-25","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:06Z","subjects":["Avian","Fecal Metabardocing","Conservation","Ornithology"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2025 Sonia Tomczyk"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129986","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Ward, Michael P","Sperry, Jinelle H.","Benson, Thomas J"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Tomczyk, Sonia"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-07-25","2025-08"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Natural Res & Env Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Avian","Fecal Metabardocing","Conservation","Ornithology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2025 Sonia Tomczyk"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129986"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2025-10-20 without embargo terms","The student, Sonia Tomczyk, accepted the attached license on 2025-07-23 at 15:40.","The student, Sonia Tomczyk, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2025-07-23 at 16:06.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2025-07-25 at 09:16.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22712 on 2025-10-20 at 20:15:43","Chuck-will’s-widows (Antrostomus carolinensis; CWWI) are a crepuscular nightjar and species of conservation concern that breeds across eastern North America. Most research on this species has been conducted alongside the Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferous; EWPW), leading to clumping of both species’ preferences and knowledge gaps in our understanding of the species-specific ecology of CWWI. By analyzing patterns in CWWI abundance, habitat use, insect abundance, and diet across three populations within its breeding range (Texas, Illinois, and Missouri), my thesis aims to determine whether CWWI exhibits specific habitat or dietary preferences that will inform conservation strategies for this declining species. Point count surveys suggest larger populations in Texas than in Illinois or Missouri, and that CWWI abundance, within all three populations, is positively correlated with increased insect abundance, low to moderate canopy cover, and greater amounts of edge within forests. Metabarcoding analysis of CWWI fecal samples collected across these sites also revealed that CWWI are more opportunistic feeders than other North American nightjars with diets composed of moths, beetles, cockroaches, and vertebrates. In addition, I conducted a methodological study evaluating potential biases in fecal metabarcoding caused by insect morphological traits. The results suggest that insect morphology—particularly exoskeleton type—influences detection probability and DNA yield in avian fecal samples. Specifically, DNA from insects with hard exoskeletons are more likely to be detected and exhibit higher copy numbers. This work contributes to the growing literature on metabarcoding and its applications for diet analysis across taxa, helping to improve the interpretation and reliability of dietary studies."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["From field to fecal: informing conservation of Chuck-will's-widows through habitat, abundance, & diet analysis"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Ward, Michael P","Sperry, Jinelle H.","Benson, Thomas J"],"dc:creator":["Tomczyk, Sonia"],"dc:date":["2025-07-25","2025-08"],"dc:description":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2025-10-20 without embargo terms","The student, Sonia Tomczyk, accepted the attached license on 2025-07-23 at 15:40.","The student, Sonia Tomczyk, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2025-07-23 at 16:06.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2025-07-25 at 09:16.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22712 on 2025-10-20 at 20:15:43","Chuck-will’s-widows (Antrostomus carolinensis; CWWI) are a crepuscular nightjar and species of conservation concern that breeds across eastern North America. Most research on this species has been conducted alongside the Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferous; EWPW), leading to clumping of both species’ preferences and knowledge gaps in our understanding of the species-specific ecology of CWWI. By analyzing patterns in CWWI abundance, habitat use, insect abundance, and diet across three populations within its breeding range (Texas, Illinois, and Missouri), my thesis aims to determine whether CWWI exhibits specific habitat or dietary preferences that will inform conservation strategies for this declining species. Point count surveys suggest larger populations in Texas than in Illinois or Missouri, and that CWWI abundance, within all three populations, is positively correlated with increased insect abundance, low to moderate canopy cover, and greater amounts of edge within forests. Metabarcoding analysis of CWWI fecal samples collected across these sites also revealed that CWWI are more opportunistic feeders than other North American nightjars with diets composed of moths, beetles, cockroaches, and vertebrates. In addition, I conducted a methodological study evaluating potential biases in fecal metabarcoding caused by insect morphological traits. The results suggest that insect morphology—particularly exoskeleton type—influences detection probability and DNA yield in avian fecal samples. Specifically, DNA from insects with hard exoskeletons are more likely to be detected and exhibit higher copy numbers. This work contributes to the growing literature on metabarcoding and its applications for diet analysis across taxa, helping to improve the interpretation and reliability of dietary studies."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129986"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2025 Sonia Tomczyk"],"dc:subject":["Avian","Fecal Metabardocing","Conservation","Ornithology"],"dc:title":["From field to fecal: informing conservation of Chuck-will's-widows through habitat, abundance, & diet analysis"],"dc:type":["text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Natural Res & Env Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:06Z"}