Restoring hydro-impacted wetlands for secretive marsh birds
Westphal, Ashleigh M. (author) British Columbia Institute of Technology Ecological Restoration Program (Degree granting institution)
Research paper/project
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
British Columbia Institute of Technology
2019
78 pages
Secretive marsh birds can be difficult to detect and are dependent on wetlands, leaving them vulnerable to wetland loss or alteration. This study examines the influence of management-altered hydrological regimes on five secretive marsh bird species in the West Kootenay and Columbia Wetlands in British Columbia, Canada. Focal species occupied wetlands with less frequently altered hydrological regimes more often and in greater numbers. Occupancy models suggested that woody vegetation, tall vegetation, and open water are important drivers of occupancy for these species. Wetlands most frequently experiencing heavily altered hydrological regimes had more open water and less tall vegetation, both of which were negatively associated with wetland occupancy. Water management operations may be promoting altered vegetation communities within these wetlands, in turn promoting lower occupancy of secretive marsh bird species. Restoration recommendations include: prioritizing lower elevation wetlands, limiting woody vegetation encroachment, and experimentally restoring the hydrological regime of affected wetlands.
secretive marsh bird Kootenays British Columbia hydro water management wetlands
Wetlands -- British Columbia. Birds -- British Columbia.
Ecological Restoration Program
electronic
© Ashleigh M. Westphal 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright heron may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphics, electronic, or mechanical including photocopying, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems – without written permission of the author.
Master of Science in Ecological Restoration