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NORTHEAST REGIONAL CONSERVATION NEEDS GRANTFINAL REPORTGrant Program, Number and Title:2010-03 “Identification of Tidal Marsh Bird Focal Areas in BCR 30”W. Gregory Shriver, 250 Townsend Hall, Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA; gshriver@udel.eduWhitney A. Wiest, 250 Townsend Hall, Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA; wwiest@udel.eduMaureen D. Correll, 211 Deering Hall, School of Biology & Ecology, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469, USA; maureen.correll@maine.eduBrian J. Olsen, 5722 Deering Hall, School of Biology & Ecology, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469-5722, USA; brian.olsen@maine.eduChris S. Elphick, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, U-43, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA; chris.elphick@uconn.eduThomas P. Hodgman, Maine Department of Inland Fish and Wildlife, 650 State Street, Bangor, Maine 04401-5654, USA; tom.hodgman@David R. Curson, Audubon Maryland-DC, 2901 East Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA; dcurson@INTRODUCTIONTidal marshes are dynamic ecosystems sensitive to climate change primarily through accelerated sea level rise and increased coastal storm severity ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"W0MBQE9g","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Morris et al. 2002, Schuerch et al. 2013)","plainCitation":"(Morris et al. 2002, Schuerch et al. 2013)"},"citationItems":[{"id":716,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":716,"type":"article-journal","title":"Responses of coastal wetlands to rising sea level","container-title":"Ecology","page":"2869-2877","volume":"83","issue":"10","source":".udel.idm. (Atypon)","abstract":"Salt marsh ecosystems are maintained by the dominant macrophytes that regulate the elevation of their habitat within a narrow portion of the intertidal zone by accumulating organic matter and trapping inorganic sediment. The long-term stability of these ecosystems is explained by interactions among sea level, land elevation, primary production, and sediment accretion that regulate the elevation of the sediment surface toward an equilibrium with mean sea level. We show here in a salt marsh that this equilibrium is adjusted upward by increased production of the salt marsh macrophyte Spartina alterniflora and downward by an increasing rate of relative sea-level rise (RSLR). Adjustments in marsh surface elevation are slow in comparison to interannual anomalies and long-period cycles of sea level, and this lag in sediment elevation results in significant variation in annual primary productivity. We describe a theoretical model that predicts that the system will be stable against changes in relative mean sea level when surface elevation is greater than what is optimal for primary production. When surface elevation is less than optimal, the system will be unstable. The model predicts that there is an optimal rate of RSLR at which the equilibrium elevation and depth of tidal flooding will be optimal for plant growth. However, the optimal rate of RSLR also represents an upper limit because at higher rates of RSLR the plant community cannot sustain an elevation that is within its range of tolerance. For estuaries with high sediment loading, such as those on the southeast coast of the United States, the limiting rate of RSLR was predicted to be at most 1.2 cm/yr, which is 3.5 times greater than the current, long-term rate of RSLR.","DOI":"10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[2869:ROCWTR]2.0.CO;2","ISSN":"0012-9658","journalAbbreviation":"Ecology","author":[{"family":"Morris","given":"James T."},{"family":"Sundareshwar","given":"P. V."},{"family":"Nietch","given":"Christopher T."},{"family":"Kjerfve","given":"Bj?rn"},{"family":"Cahoon","given":"D. R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2002",10,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,16]],"season":"20:03:01"}}},{"id":799,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":799,"type":"article-journal","title":"Modeling the influence of changing storm patterns on the ability of a salt marsh to keep pace with sea level rise","container-title":"Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface","page":"84-96","volume":"118","issue":"1","source":"Wiley Online Library","abstract":"Previous predictions on the ability of coastal salt marshes to adapt to future sea level rise (SLR) neglect the influence of changing storm activity that is expected in many regions of the world due to climate change. We present a new modeling approach to quantify this influence on the ability of salt marshes to survive projected SLR, namely, we investigate the separate influence of storm frequency and storm intensity. The model is applied to a salt marsh on the German island of Sylt and is run for a simulation period from 2010 to 2100 for a total of 13 storm scenarios and 48 SLR scenarios. The critical SLR rate for marsh survival, being the maximum rate at which the salt marsh survives until 2100, lies between 19 and 22 mm yr-1. Model results indicate that an increase in storminess can increase the ability of the salt marsh to accrete with sea level rise by up to 3 mm yr-1, if the increase in storminess is triggered by an increase in the number of storm events (storm frequency). Meanwhile, increasing storminess, triggered by an increase in the mean storm strength (storm intensity), is shown to increase the critical SLR rate for which the marsh survives until 2100 by up to 1 mm yr-1 only. On the basis of our results, we suggest that the relative importance of storm intensity and storm frequency for marsh survival strongly depends on the availability of erodible fine-grained material in the tidal area adjacent to the salt marsh.","DOI":"10.1029/2012JF002471","ISSN":"2169-9011","journalAbbreviation":"J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf.","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Schuerch","given":"M."},{"family":"Vafeidis","given":"A."},{"family":"Slawig","given":"T."},{"family":"Temmerman","given":"S."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2013"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,16]],"season":"20:06:42"}}}],"schema":""} (Morris et al. 2002, Schuerch et al. 2013). Increases in flooding events and salinity regime changes impact vegetation structure and zonation ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"DqK6zzEJ","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Roman et al. 1984, Olff et al. 1997, Howes et al. 2010)","plainCitation":"(Roman et al. 1984, Olff et al. 1997, Howes et al. 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":715,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":715,"type":"article-journal","title":"Salt marsh vegetation change in response to tidal restriction","container-title":"Environmental Management","page":"141-149","volume":"8","issue":"2","source":"link..udel.idm.","abstract":"Vegetation change in response to restriction of the normal tidal prism of six Connecticut salt marshes is documented. Tidal flow at the study sites was restricted with tide gates and associated causeways and dikes for purposes of flood protection, mosquito control, and/or salt hay farming. One study site has been under a regime of reduced tidal flow since colonial times, while the duration of restriction at the other sites ranges from less than ten years to several decades. The data indicate that with tidal restriction there is a substantial reduction in soil water salinity, lowering of the water table level, as well as a relative drop in the marsh surface elevation. These factors are considered to favor the establishment and spread ofPhragmites australis (common reed grass) and other less salt-tolerant species, with an attendant loss ofSpartina-dominated marsh. Based on detailed vegetation mapping of the study sites, a generalized scheme is presented to describe the sequence of vegetation change from typicalSpartina- toPhragmites-dominated marshes. The restoration of thesePhragmites systems is feasible following the reintroduction of tidal flow. At several sites dominated byPhragmites, tidal flow was reintroduced after two decades of continuous restriction, resulting in a marked reduction inPhragmites height and the reestablishment of typical salt marsh vegetation along creekbanks. It is suggested that large-scale restoration efforts be initiated in order that these degraded systems once again assume their roles within the salt marsh-estuarine ecosystem.","DOI":"10.1007/BF01866935","ISSN":"0364-152X, 1432-1009","journalAbbreviation":"Environmental Management","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Roman","given":"Charles T."},{"family":"Niering","given":"William A."},{"family":"Warren","given":"R. Scott"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1984",3,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2014",12,31]]}}},{"id":713,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":713,"type":"article-journal","title":"Vegetation succession and herbivory in a salt marsh: Changes induced by sea level rise and silt deposition along an elevational gradient","container-title":"The Journal of Ecology","page":"799","volume":"85","issue":"6","source":"CrossRef","DOI":"10.2307/2960603","ISSN":"00220477","shortTitle":"Vegetation Succession and Herbivory in a Salt Marsh","author":[{"family":"Olff","given":"H."},{"family":"Leeuw","given":"J. De"},{"family":"Bakker","given":"J. P."},{"family":"Platerink","given":"R. J."},{"family":"van Wijnen","given":"H. J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1997",12]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2014",12,31]]}}},{"id":807,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":807,"type":"article-journal","title":"Hurricane-induced failure of low salinity wetlands","container-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences","page":"14014-14019","volume":"107","issue":"32","source":".udel.idm.","abstract":"During the 2005 hurricane season, the storm surge and wave field associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita eroded 527 km2 of wetlands within the Louisiana coastal plain. Low salinity wetlands were preferentially eroded, while higher salinity wetlands remained robust and largely unchanged. Here we highlight geotechnical differences between the soil profiles of high and low salinity regimes, which are controlled by vegetation and result in differential erosion. In low salinity wetlands, a weak zone (shear strength 500–1450 Pa) was observed ～30 cm below the marsh surface, coinciding with the base of rooting. High salinity wetlands had no such zone (shear strengths > 4500 Pa) and contained deeper rooting. Storm waves during Hurricane Katrina produced shear stresses between 425–3600 Pa, sufficient to cause widespread erosion of the low salinity wetlands. Vegetation in low salinity marshes is subject to shallower rooting and is susceptible to erosion during large magnitude storms; these conditions may be exacerbated by low inorganic sediment content and high nutrient inputs. The dramatic difference in resiliency of fresh versus more saline marshes suggests that the introduction of freshwater to marshes as part of restoration efforts may therefore weaken existing wetlands rendering them vulnerable to hurricanes.","DOI":"10.1073/pnas.0914582107","ISSN":"0027-8424, 1091-6490","note":"PMID: 20660777","journalAbbreviation":"PNAS","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Howes","given":"Nick C."},{"family":"FitzGerald","given":"Duncan M."},{"family":"Hughes","given":"Zoe J."},{"family":"Georgiou","given":"Ioannis Y."},{"family":"Kulp","given":"Mark A."},{"family":"Miner","given":"Michael D."},{"family":"Smith","given":"Jane M."},{"family":"Barras","given":"John A."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010",8,10]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,16]],"season":"20:17:59"},"PMID":"20660777"}}],"schema":""} (Roman et al. 1984, Olff et al. 1997, Howes et al. 2010) and temperature increases alter food-web dynamics ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1lsql7oaef","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Hoegh-Guldberg and Bruno 2010)","plainCitation":"(Hoegh-Guldberg and Bruno 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":669,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":669,"type":"article-journal","title":"The Impact of Climate Change on the World’s Marine Ecosystems","container-title":"Science","page":"1523-1528","volume":"328","issue":"5985","source":".udel.idm.","abstract":"Marine ecosystems are centrally important to the biology of the planet, yet a comprehensive understanding of how anthropogenic climate change is affecting them has been poorly developed. Recent studies indicate that rapidly rising greenhouse gas concentrations are driving ocean systems toward conditions not seen for millions of years, with an associated risk of fundamental and irreversible ecological transformation. The impacts of anthropogenic climate change so far include decreased ocean productivity, altered food web dynamics, reduced abundance of habitat-forming species, shifting species distributions, and a greater incidence of disease. Although there is considerable uncertainty about the spatial and temporal details, climate change is clearly and fundamentally altering ocean ecosystems. Further change will continue to create enormous challenges and costs for societies worldwide, particularly those in developing countries.","DOI":"10.1126/science.1189930","ISSN":"0036-8075, 1095-9203","note":"PMID: 20558709","journalAbbreviation":"Science","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Hoegh-Guldberg","given":"Ove"},{"family":"Bruno","given":"John F."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010",6,18]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2014",12,22]]},"PMID":"20558709"}}],"schema":""} (Hoegh-Guldberg and Bruno 2010). Increased sea levels coupled with low sediment supply and vertical accretion rates convert tidal marsh to open water, a process that has been occurring in some marsh systems for decades (e.g., Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"3PwRWBdr","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Kearney et al. 2002, Kearny 2008)","plainCitation":"(Kearney et al. 2002, Kearny 2008)"},"citationItems":[{"id":670,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":670,"type":"article-journal","title":"Landsat imagery shows decline of coastal marshes in Chesapeake and Delaware Bays","container-title":"Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union","page":"173-178","volume":"83","issue":"16","source":"Wiley Online Library","abstract":"Dramatic losses of tidal wetlands in the Mississippi Delta and a few areas along the U.S. Atlantic coast have raised concerns about whether these marshes will survive if global sea level continues to rise due to greenhouse warming [Stevenson et al., 1986]. Original greenhouse warming sea-level scenarios projected global sea levels several meters or more higher than present by 2100 [Barth and Titus, 1984], which would result in the disappearance of all coastal marshes, as the scarcity of marsh deposits from the rapid transgression during the middle Holocene testifies [Rampino and Sanders, 1981]. However, more recent estimates of global sealevel change suggest that some coastal marshes could survive [Douglas et al., 2000].","DOI":"10.1029/2002EO000112","ISSN":"2324-9250","journalAbbreviation":"Eos Trans. AGU","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Kearney","given":"Michael S."},{"family":"Rogers","given":"Andrew S."},{"family":"Townshend","given":"John R. G."},{"family":"Rizzo","given":"Eric"},{"family":"Stutzer","given":"David"},{"family":"Stevenson","given":"J. Court"},{"family":"Sundborg","given":"Karen"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2002"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,16]],"season":"02:01:45"}}},{"id":711,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":711,"type":"chapter","title":"The Potential for Significant Impacts on Chesapeake Bay from Global Warming","container-title":"Sudden and Disruptive Climate Change: Exploring the Real Risks and How We Can Avoid Them","publisher":"Earthscan","publisher-place":"New York, NY","page":"85-100","event-place":"New York, NY","author":[{"family":"Kearny","given":"M.S."}],"editor":[{"family":"MacCracken","given":"M.C."},{"family":"Moore","given":"F."},{"family":"Topping, Jr.","given":"J.C."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2008"]]}}}],"schema":""} Kearney et al. 2002, Kearny 2008). Accelerated sea level rise jeopardizes the persistence of tidal marshes worldwide, the ecosystem services marshes provide, and the flora and fauna the habitat supports ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"UHZdvDKd","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Craft et al. 2009, Kirwan et al. 2010)","plainCitation":"(Craft et al. 2009, Kirwan et al. 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":804,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":804,"type":"article-journal","title":"Forecasting the effects of accelerated sea-level rise on tidal marsh ecosystem services","container-title":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","page":"73-78","volume":"7","issue":"2","source":".udel.idm. (Atypon)","abstract":"We used field and laboratory measurements, geographic information systems, and simulation modeling to investigate the potential effects of accelerated sea-level rise on tidal marsh area and delivery of ecosystem services along the Georgia coast. Model simulations using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) mean and maximum estimates of sea-level rise for the year 2100 suggest that salt marshes will decline in area by 20% and 45%, respectively. The area of tidal freshwater marshes will increase by 2% under the IPCC mean scenario, but will decline by 39% under the maximum scenario. Delivery of ecosystem services associated with productivity (macrophyte biomass) and waste treatment (nitrogen accumulation in soil, potential denitrification) will also decline. Our findings suggest that tidal marshes at the lower and upper salinity ranges, and their attendant delivery of ecosystem services, will be most affected by accelerated sealevel rise, unless geomorphic conditions (ie gradual increase in elevation) enable tidal freshwater marshes to migrate inland, or vertical accretion of salt marshes to increase, to compensate for accelerated sea-level rise.","DOI":"10.1890/070219","ISSN":"1540-9295","journalAbbreviation":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","author":[{"family":"Craft","given":"Christopher"},{"family":"Clough","given":"Jonathan"},{"family":"Ehman","given":"Jeff"},{"family":"Joye","given":"Samantha"},{"family":"Park","given":"Richard"},{"family":"Pennings","given":"Steve"},{"family":"Guo","given":"Hongyu"},{"family":"Machmuller","given":"Megan"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009",3,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,16]],"season":"20:13:30"}}},{"id":574,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":574,"type":"article-journal","title":"Limits on the adaptability of coastal marshes to rising sea level","container-title":"Geophysical Research Letters","page":"1-5","volume":"37","issue":"23","source":"Wiley Online Library","abstract":"Assumptions of a static landscape inspire predictions that about half of the world's coastal wetlands will submerge during this century in response to sea-level acceleration. In contrast, we use simulations from five numerical models to quantify the conditions under which ecogeomorphic feedbacks allow coastal wetlands to adapt to projected changes in sea level. In contrast to previous sea-level assessments, we find that non-linear feedbacks among inundation, plant growth, organic matter accretion, and sediment deposition, allow marshes to survive conservative projections of sea-level rise where suspended sediment concentrations are greater than ～20 mg/L. Under scenarios of more rapid sea-level rise (e.g., those that include ice sheet melting), marshes will likely submerge near the end of the 21st century. Our results emphasize that in areas of rapid geomorphic change, predicting the response of ecosystems to climate change requires consideration of the ability of biological processes to modify their physical environment.","DOI":"10.1029/2010GL045489","ISSN":"1944-8007","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Kirwan","given":"M.L."},{"family":"Guntenspergen","given":"G.R."},{"family":"D'Alpaos","given":"A."},{"family":"Morris","given":"J.T."},{"family":"Mudd","given":"S.M."},{"family":"Temmerman","given":"S."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2013",9,15]]}}}],"schema":""} (Craft et al. 2009, Kirwan et al. 2010). The loss of suitable breeding habitat threatens the population viability of avian tidal marsh specialist birds ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"PVM6cSev","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Shriver and Gibbs 2004, Gjerdrum et al. 2005, Shriver et al. 2007)","plainCitation":"(Shriver and Gibbs 2004, Gjerdrum et al. 2005, Shriver et al. 2007)"},"citationItems":[{"id":571,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":571,"type":"chapter","title":"Projected effects of sea-level rise on the population viability of Seaside Sparrows (Ammodramus maritimus)","container-title":"Species Conservation and Management: Case Studies","publisher":"Oxford University Press","publisher-place":"New York, NY","page":"397-409","event-place":"New York, NY","author":[{"family":"Shriver","given":"W.G."},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"J.P."}],"editor":[{"family":"Ak?akaya","given":"H.R."},{"family":"Burgman","given":"M.A."},{"family":"Kindvall","given":"O."},{"family":"Wood","given":"C.C."},{"family":"Sj?gren-Gulve","given":"P."},{"family":"Hatfield","given":"J.S."},{"family":"McCarthy","given":"M.A."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004"]]}}},{"id":78,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":78,"type":"article-journal","title":"Nest site selection and nesting success in saltmarsh breeding sparrows: the importance of nest habitat, timing, and study site differences","container-title":"The Condor","page":"849-862","volume":"107","author":[{"family":"Gjerdrum","given":"C."},{"family":"Elphick","given":"C.S."},{"family":"Rubega","given":"M."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2005"]]}}},{"id":47,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":47,"type":"article-journal","title":"Flood tides affect breeding ecology of two sympatric sharp-tailed sparrows","container-title":"The Auk","page":"552-560","volume":"124","issue":"2","source":"CrossRef","ISSN":"0004-8038","journalAbbreviation":"Auk","author":[{"family":"Shriver","given":"W.G."},{"family":"Vickery","given":"P.D."},{"family":"Hodgman","given":"T.P."},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"J.P."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2007"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2010",4,26]]}}}],"schema":""} (Shriver and Gibbs 2004, Gjerdrum et al. 2005, Shriver et al. 2007, Kern and Shriver 2014) and contributes to the sensitivity of these birds to climate change ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2av5mrv7g0","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee 2010)","plainCitation":"(North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":662,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":662,"type":"report","title":"The state of the birds 2010 report on climate change, United States of America","publisher":"U.S. Department of the Interior","publisher-place":"Washington, D.C.","event-place":"Washington, D.C.","URL":"","author":[{"family":"North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010"]]}}}],"schema":""} (North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee 2010).Tidal marsh bird populations are vulnerable to the ongoing and predicted changes to saltmarsh habitat quantity and quality; therefore, reliable abundance and trend estimates are necessary to identifying priority conservation areas and strategies before populations are threatened with rapid declines or extinction. The unique tidal marsh biological community is important on a global scale, is under imminent threat of loss or severe degradation, and its unique characteristics present management challenges necessitating large-scale, collaborative conservation action. The distribution and abundance of 5 tidal marsh birds in northeastern North America (Clapper Rail, Rallus crepitans; Willet, Tringa semipalmata; Nelson’s Sparrow, Ammodramus nelsoni; Saltmarsh Sparrow, A. caudacutus; and Seaside Sparrow, A. maritimus) is relatively unknown. Saltmarsh Sparrow is listed as globally vulnerable due to the species’ small, heavily fragmented range and continuing decline in suitable habitat ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2773qhuauj","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(BirdLife International 2012a)","plainCitation":"(BirdLife International 2012a)"},"citationItems":[{"id":728,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":728,"type":"webpage","title":"Ammodramus caudacutus","container-title":"The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3","URL":"","author":[{"family":"BirdLife International","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2014",12,31]]}}}],"schema":""} (BirdLife International 2012a). In the Northeast USA, each of these species has been identified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) in the Wildlife Action Plans of multiple states (e.g., ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"XJPTKFV2","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(New Hampshire Fish and Game Department 2005, Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife 2006, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife 2008)","plainCitation":"(New Hampshire Fish and Game Department 2005, Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife 2006, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife 2008)"},"citationItems":[{"id":729,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":729,"type":"article","title":"New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan","publisher":"New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, Concord, NH","author":[{"family":"New Hampshire Fish and Game Department","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2005"]]}}},{"id":83,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":83,"type":"article","title":"Delaware Wildlife Action Plan 2007 - 2017.","publisher":"Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Dover, DE","author":[{"family":"Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2006"]]}}},{"id":593,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":593,"type":"article","title":"New Jersey Wildlife Action Plan","publisher":"New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton, NJ","author":[{"family":"New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2008"]]}}}],"schema":""} New Hampshire Fish and Game Department 2005, Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife 2006, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife 2008) and all Northeast states have identified tidal marshes as key habitat for SGCN species.The North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) has been successful in estimating population trends of many landbirds and identifying species in need of immediate conservation action to wildlife management agencies ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"Vu9QATYe","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Robbins et al. 1986, 1989, Peterjohn and Sauer 1999, North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee 2009, 2010, 2014)","plainCitation":"(Robbins et al. 1986, 1989, Peterjohn and Sauer 1999, North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee 2009, 2010, 2014)"},"citationItems":[{"id":545,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":545,"type":"report","title":"The breeding bird survey: Its first fifteen years, 1965-1979","publisher-place":"Washington, D.C.","genre":"U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service Resource Publication 157","event-place":"Washington, D.C.","author":[{"family":"Robbins","given":"C. S."},{"family":"Bystrak","given":"D."},{"family":"Geissler","given":"P. H."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1986"]]}}},{"id":656,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":656,"type":"article-journal","title":"Population declines in North American birds that migrate to the neotropics","container-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences","page":"7658-7662","volume":"86","issue":"19","source":"","abstract":"Using data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey, we determined that most neotropical migrant bird species that breed in forests of the eastern United States and Canada have recently (1978-1987) declined in abundance after a period of stable or increasing populations. Most permanent residents and temperate-zone migrants did not show a general pattern of decrease during this period. Field data from Mexico were used to classify a subset of the neotropical migrants as using forest or scrub habitats during winter. Population declines during 1978-1987 were significantly greater among the forest-wintering species, while populations of scrub-wintering species increased. The same subset of neotropical migrants also showed overall declines in forest-breeding species, but no significant differences existed between species breeding in forest and scrub habitats. Neotropical migrant species that primarily use forested habitats in either wintering or breeding areas are declining, but a statistically significant association between habitat and population declines was detected only in the tropics.","ISSN":"0027-8424, 1091-6490","note":"PMID: 2798430","journalAbbreviation":"PNAS","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Robbins","given":"C. S."},{"family":"Sauer","given":"J. R."},{"family":"Greenberg","given":"R. S."},{"family":"Droege","given":"S."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1989",10,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2014",12,21]]},"PMID":"2798430"}},{"id":660,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":660,"type":"chapter","title":"Population status of North American grassland birds from the North American Breeding Bird Survey","container-title":"Ecology and conservation of grassland birds in the Western Hemisphere","collection-title":"Studies in Avian Biology","publisher":"Allen Press, Inc.","publisher-place":"Lawrence, KS","page":"27-44","volume":"19","event-place":"Lawrence, KS","author":[{"family":"Peterjohn","given":"B.G."},{"family":"Sauer","given":"J. R."}],"collection-editor":[{"family":"Vickery","given":"P.D."},{"family":"Herkert","given":"J.R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1999"]]}}},{"id":724,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":724,"type":"report","title":"The state of the birds, United States of America, 2009","publisher":"U.S. Department of the Interior","publisher-place":"Washington, D.C.","page":"36","event-place":"Washington, D.C.","author":[{"family":"North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}},{"id":662,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":662,"type":"report","title":"The state of the birds 2010 report on climate change, United States of America","publisher":"U.S. Department of the Interior","publisher-place":"Washington, D.C.","event-place":"Washington, D.C.","URL":"","author":[{"family":"North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010"]]}}},{"id":723,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":723,"type":"report","title":"The state of the birds 2014 report","publisher":"U.S. Department of the Interior","publisher-place":"Washington, D.C.","page":"16","event-place":"Washington, D.C.","author":[{"family":"North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2014"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Robbins et al. 1986, 1989, Peterjohn and Sauer 1999, North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee 2009, 2010, 2014). The BBS, however, relies on roadside counts and inadequately samples emergent wetlands ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2d37f8osm6","properties":{"formattedCitation":"{\\rtf (Gibbs and Melvin 1993, Lawler and O\\uc0\\u8217{}Connor 2004)}","plainCitation":"(Gibbs and Melvin 1993, Lawler and O’Connor 2004)"},"citationItems":[{"id":250,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":250,"type":"article-journal","title":"Call-response surveys for monitoring breeding waterbirds","container-title":"Journal of Wildlife Management","page":"27-34","volume":"57","issue":"1","source":"JSTOR","abstract":"We broadcast vocalizations of pied-billed grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus), least bittern (Ixobrychus exilis), Virginia rail (Rallus limicola), and sora (Porzana carolina) to derive a standardized method to monitor breeding populations of these secretive waterbirds. Broadcast of tape-recorded calls at 60 wetlands in Maine improved species detectability by 93-1, 320% over passive observation. Detection rates at wetlands where target species were known to occur ranged between 0.56 (least bittern) and 0.86 (pied-billed grebe) per survey visit. Three visits to a wetland were adequate to determine the presence or absence of all species with 90% certainty. Least bitterns, soras, and Virginia rails were detected primarily within 50 m of observers; pied-billed grebes and American bitterns were detected up to 500 m distant. Most responses were aural. Responsiveness of each species varied nonsystematically in relation to seasonal chronology, time of day, wind, precipitation, and cloud cover. Single, annual surveys at a stratified random sample of wetlands (i.e., waterbird \"miniroutes\") can generate sufficient encounter rates for these species to monitor population trends.","ISSN":"0022541X","note":"ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jan., 1993 / Copyright ? 1993 Allen Press","author":[{"family":"Gibbs","given":"J. P."},{"family":"Melvin","given":"S. M."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1993",1]]}}},{"id":541,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":541,"type":"article-journal","title":"How well do consistently monitored breeding bird survey routes represent the environments of the conterminous United States?","container-title":"The Condor","page":"801-814","volume":"106","issue":"4","source":"BioOne","DOI":"10.1650/7472","ISSN":"0010-5422","journalAbbreviation":"The Condor","author":[{"family":"Lawler","given":"Joshua J."},{"family":"O'Connor","given":"Raymond J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004",11,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2013",1,19]],"season":"21:31:35"}}}],"schema":""} (Gibbs and Melvin 1993, Lawler and O’Connor 2004), thereby limiting its application to estimating trends in marsh bird populations. Marsh bird distribution information can be gathered from Breeding Bird Atlas data, but sampling protocols have varied across states, are performed in different years, and may not provide detailed enough information in the necessary timeframe ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"5c759oep1","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Shriver et al. 2004)","plainCitation":"(Shriver et al. 2004)"},"citationItems":[{"id":141,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":141,"type":"article-journal","title":"Landscape context influences salt marsh bird diversity and area requirements in New England","container-title":"Biological Conservation","page":"545-553","volume":"119","issue":"4","source":"ScienceDirect","abstract":"We evaluated the contributions of spatial distribution, juxtaposition, and quality of salt marsh habitat to salt marsh breeding birds along the New England coast, USA. We divided the region into two landscapes, Long Island Sound and the Gulf of Maine, based on latitude, geologic and human land use histories, and physical characteristics (tidal amplitude, wave energy). Species richness in both landscapes was at least 20% greater on larger salt marshes. Response to marsh isolation and human development varied regionally, with bird species more sensitive to marsh isolation and road proximity in the more pristine (Gulf of Maine) than altered (Long Island Sound) region. Relatively little overlap was evident between regions in predictors of occurrence and effects of marsh area on particular species. These results indicate that: (1) salt marsh bird communities show similar associations with habitat area and isolation as do forest, grassland, and freshwater wetland bird communities, and (2) landscape context mediates the influence of these parameters on the avian community and should be considered when defining the habitat requirements of salt marsh breeding birds.","ISSN":"0006-3207","author":[{"family":"Shriver","given":"W.G."},{"family":"Hodgman","given":"T.P."},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"J.P."},{"family":"Vickery","given":"P.D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004",10]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2010",4,12]]}}}],"schema":""} (Shriver et al. 2004). To address this information need, ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1v7q48r4du","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Johnson et al. 2009)","plainCitation":"(Johnson et al. 2009)"},"citationItems":[{"id":68,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":68,"type":"article-journal","title":"A Sampling Design Framework for Monitoring Secretive Marshbirds","container-title":"Waterbirds","page":"203-215","volume":"32","issue":"2","source":"CrossRef","ISSN":"1524-4695","journalAbbreviation":"Waterbirds","author":[{"family":"Johnson","given":"Douglas H."},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"James P."},{"family":"Herzog","given":"Mark"},{"family":"Lor","given":"Socheata"},{"family":"Niemuth","given":"Neal D."},{"family":"Ribic","given":"Christine A."},{"family":"Seamans","given":"Mark"},{"family":"Shaffer","given":"Terry L."},{"family":"Shriver","given":"W. Gregory"},{"family":"Stehman","given":"Stephen V."},{"family":"Thompson","given":"William L."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009",6]]}}}],"schema":""} Johnson et al. (2009) developed and proposed a sampling design framework specific to secretive marsh birds with the overarching goal of estimating species distributions, abundances, and population trends. This approach was successfully piloted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and seven state agencies ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"YCQyGieS","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Brady and Paulios 2010, Seamans 2011)","plainCitation":"(Brady and Paulios 2010, Seamans 2011)"},"citationItems":[{"id":598,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":598,"type":"article","title":"Implementation of a National Marshbird Monitoring Program: Using Wisconsin as a Test of Program Study Design","publisher":"Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative","author":[{"family":"Brady","given":"R."},{"family":"Paulios","given":"A."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010",1]]}}},{"id":51,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":51,"type":"article","title":"The National Marsh Bird Monitoring Pilot Study; Methods and Preliminary Results (DRAFT)","publisher":"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Population and Habitat Assessment Branch","author":[{"family":"Seamans","given":"M."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin; Brady and Paulios 2010, Seamans 2011) and was found to be a cost effective and appropriate approach for monitoring marsh birds. Data from this monitoring design can be incorporated into an adaptive management program that fully integrates monitoring with management and directs research to guide emergent conservation questions, such as mitigating the impacts of climate change ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"qeogad445","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Conroy et al. 2010)","plainCitation":"(Conroy et al. 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":725,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":725,"type":"article-journal","title":"Effective use of data from marshbird monitoring programs for conservation decision-making","container-title":"Waterbirds","page":"397-404","volume":"33","issue":"3","source":".udel.idm. (Atypon)","abstract":"Abstract. Monitoring programs aimed at understanding the population trends of secretive marshbirds can be altered to benefit from the creative interplay between predictions, designs and models, and provide the template for doing so. Effective application of information to decision making typically requires integration of several types of information in a common framework, including “found” data and retrospective studies, innovative sampling designs and the use of hierarchical data structures. Hierarchical and state-space modeling provide a unified modeling structure for such designs and data. These ideas are illustrated with the problem of investigating and mitigating the effects of climate change on secretive marshbirds in coastal North America. How both ecological theory and available data can be used to provide predictions about the impacts of regional and local climate changes on these avian communities are illustrated.","DOI":"10.1675/063.033.0318","ISSN":"1524-4695","journalAbbreviation":"Waterbirds","author":[{"family":"Conroy","given":"Michael J."},{"family":"Cooper","given":"Robert J."},{"family":"Rush","given":"Scott A."},{"family":"Stodola","given":"Kirk W."},{"family":"Nuse","given":"Bryan L."},{"family":"Woodrey","given":"Mark. S."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010",9,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2014",12,31]]}}}],"schema":""} (Conroy et al. 2010).Here, we apply the Johnson et al. (2009) approach to monitor tidal marsh birds in the Northeast USA (Maine – Virginia; hereafter Northeast). A coordinated, region-wide effort to collect data using a single sampling design and standardized protocols ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"91IfFevD","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Johnson et al. 2009, Conway 2011)","plainCitation":"(Johnson et al. 2009, Conway 2011)"},"citationItems":[{"id":68,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":68,"type":"article-journal","title":"A Sampling Design Framework for Monitoring Secretive Marshbirds","container-title":"Waterbirds","page":"203-215","volume":"32","issue":"2","source":"CrossRef","ISSN":"1524-4695","journalAbbreviation":"Waterbirds","author":[{"family":"Johnson","given":"Douglas H."},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"James P."},{"family":"Herzog","given":"Mark"},{"family":"Lor","given":"Socheata"},{"family":"Niemuth","given":"Neal D."},{"family":"Ribic","given":"Christine A."},{"family":"Seamans","given":"Mark"},{"family":"Shaffer","given":"Terry L."},{"family":"Shriver","given":"W. Gregory"},{"family":"Stehman","given":"Stephen V."},{"family":"Thompson","given":"William L."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009",6]]}}},{"id":9,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":9,"type":"article-journal","title":"Standardized North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Protocol","container-title":"Waterbirds","page":"319-346","volume":"34","issue":"3","author":[{"family":"Conway","given":"C.J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Johnson et al. 2009, Conway 2011) is needed to estimate population trends ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"22gkbnppek","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Shriver et al. 2004)","plainCitation":"(Shriver et al. 2004)"},"citationItems":[{"id":141,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":141,"type":"article-journal","title":"Landscape context influences salt marsh bird diversity and area requirements in New England","container-title":"Biological Conservation","page":"545-553","volume":"119","issue":"4","source":"ScienceDirect","abstract":"We evaluated the contributions of spatial distribution, juxtaposition, and quality of salt marsh habitat to salt marsh breeding birds along the New England coast, USA. We divided the region into two landscapes, Long Island Sound and the Gulf of Maine, based on latitude, geologic and human land use histories, and physical characteristics (tidal amplitude, wave energy). Species richness in both landscapes was at least 20% greater on larger salt marshes. Response to marsh isolation and human development varied regionally, with bird species more sensitive to marsh isolation and road proximity in the more pristine (Gulf of Maine) than altered (Long Island Sound) region. Relatively little overlap was evident between regions in predictors of occurrence and effects of marsh area on particular species. These results indicate that: (1) salt marsh bird communities show similar associations with habitat area and isolation as do forest, grassland, and freshwater wetland bird communities, and (2) landscape context mediates the influence of these parameters on the avian community and should be considered when defining the habitat requirements of salt marsh breeding birds.","ISSN":"0006-3207","author":[{"family":"Shriver","given":"W.G."},{"family":"Hodgman","given":"T.P."},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"J.P."},{"family":"Vickery","given":"P.D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004",10]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2010",4,12]]}}}],"schema":""} (Shriver et al. 2004) and compare species abundances across Northeast marsh systems with confidence ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"vTuljqxT","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Conway and Droege 2006)","plainCitation":"(Conway and Droege 2006)"},"citationItems":[{"id":46,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":46,"type":"chapter","title":"A unified strategy for monitoring changes in abundance of birds associated with North American tidal marshes","container-title":"Terrestrial Vertebrates of Tidal Marshes: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation","collection-title":"Studies in Avian Biology","collection-number":"No. 32","publisher":"The Cooper Ornithological Society","publisher-place":"Camarillo, CA","page":"282-297","event-place":"Camarillo, CA","author":[{"family":"Conway","given":"C.J."},{"family":"Droege","given":"S."}],"collection-editor":[{"family":"Greenberg","given":"R."},{"family":"Maldonado","given":"J.E."},{"family":"Droege","given":"S."},{"family":"McDonald","given":"M.V."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2006"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Conway and Droege 2006). The goal of this project was to provide the information necessary for the states in the New England/Mid-Atlantic Coast Bird Conservation Region (BCR 30) to protect regionally important habitats for tidal marsh birds and provide a consistent platform for tidal marsh bird monitoring in the face of anticipated sea level rise and upland/watershed development. Our study is the first to use the recommended sampling framework for a systematic bird survey in tidal marshes. Our objectives were to: (1) develop and implement the Johnson et al. (2009) sampling framework to inventory tidal marsh birds in the Northeast and provide the foundation for monitoring, (2) estimate the occurrence and abundance of Clapper Rail, Willet, Nelson’s Sparrow, Saltmarsh Sparrow, and Seaside Sparrow, and (3) identify regional population centers and specific areas for conservation of these species.METHODSStudy AreaWe conducted this research in tidal marsh habitat from Maine to Virginia during the 2011-12 breeding seasons (April-July). Coastal marshes from the Canada-Maine border to Cape Cod, Massachusetts on the Gulf of Maine are classified as Acadian coastal salt marsh (NatureServe ID: CES201.578; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2q39ufehk2","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Comer et al. 2003, Ferree and Anderson 2013)","plainCitation":"(Comer et al. 2003, Ferree and Anderson 2013)"},"citationItems":[{"id":197,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":197,"type":"article","title":"Ecological systems of the United States: A working classification of U.S. terrestrial systems","publisher":"NatureServe, Arlington, VA","author":[{"family":"Comer","given":"P."},{"family":"Faber-Langendoen","given":"D."},{"family":"Evans","given":"R."},{"family":"Gawler","given":"S."},{"family":"Josse","given":"C."},{"family":"Kittel","given":"G."},{"family":"Menard","given":"S."},{"family":"Pyne","given":"M."},{"family":"Reid","given":"M."},{"family":"Schulz","given":"K."},{"family":"Snow","given":"K."},{"family":"Teague","given":"J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2003"]]}}},{"id":626,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":626,"type":"report","title":"A Map of Terrestrial Habitats of the Northeastern United States: Methods and Approach","publisher":"The Nature Conservancy, Eastern Conservation Science, Eastern Regional Office","publisher-place":"Boston, MA","event-place":"Boston, MA","author":[{"family":"Ferree","given":"C"},{"family":"Anderson","given":"M.G."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2013"]]}}}],"schema":""} Comer et al. 2003, Ferree and Anderson 2013). These polyhaline marshes are interspersed throughout the rocky sections of the Gulf of Maine coast along the ocean shoreline and estuary mouths. Acadian coastal salt marsh is dominated by graminoids Spartina patens and S. alterniflora, and includes patches of other graminoids (e.g., Juncus balticus, J. gerardii, and Puccinellia maritima) and forbs (e.g., Limonium carolinianum and Plantago maritima var. juncoides). Acadian coastal salt marshes typically occur as small patches, but may be more extensive where topography allows, although rarely as extensive as tidal marshes elsewhere along the USA Atlantic coast ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"22omr3f0se","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Comer et al. 2003, Ferree and Anderson 2013)","plainCitation":"(Comer et al. 2003, Ferree and Anderson 2013)"},"citationItems":[{"id":197,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":197,"type":"article","title":"Ecological systems of the United States: A working classification of U.S. terrestrial systems","publisher":"NatureServe, Arlington, VA","author":[{"family":"Comer","given":"P."},{"family":"Faber-Langendoen","given":"D."},{"family":"Evans","given":"R."},{"family":"Gawler","given":"S."},{"family":"Josse","given":"C."},{"family":"Kittel","given":"G."},{"family":"Menard","given":"S."},{"family":"Pyne","given":"M."},{"family":"Reid","given":"M."},{"family":"Schulz","given":"K."},{"family":"Snow","given":"K."},{"family":"Teague","given":"J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2003"]]}}},{"id":626,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":626,"type":"report","title":"A Map of Terrestrial Habitats of the Northeastern United States: Methods and Approach","publisher":"The Nature Conservancy, Eastern Conservation Science, Eastern Regional Office","publisher-place":"Boston, MA","event-place":"Boston, MA","author":[{"family":"Ferree","given":"C"},{"family":"Anderson","given":"M.G."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2013"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Comer et al. 2003, Ferree and Anderson 2013). Coastal tidal marshes from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and intermittently along the southern coast of the Gulf of Maine to southern Maine, are classified as northern Atlantic Coastal Plain tidal salt marsh ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"WA96bZl5","properties":{"unsorted":false,"formattedCitation":"(Comer et al. 2003)","plainCitation":"(Comer et al. 2003)"},"citationItems":[{"id":197,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":197,"type":"article","title":"Ecological systems of the United States: A working classification of U.S. terrestrial systems","publisher":"NatureServe, Arlington, VA","author":[{"family":"Comer","given":"P."},{"family":"Faber-Langendoen","given":"D."},{"family":"Evans","given":"R."},{"family":"Gawler","given":"S."},{"family":"Josse","given":"C."},{"family":"Kittel","given":"G."},{"family":"Menard","given":"S."},{"family":"Pyne","given":"M."},{"family":"Reid","given":"M."},{"family":"Schulz","given":"K."},{"family":"Snow","given":"K."},{"family":"Teague","given":"J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2003"]]}}}],"schema":""} (NatureServe ID: CES203.519; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"0BD57p65","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Comer et al. 2003, Ferree and Anderson 2013)","plainCitation":"(Comer et al. 2003, Ferree and Anderson 2013)"},"citationItems":[{"id":197,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":197,"type":"article","title":"Ecological systems of the United States: A working classification of U.S. terrestrial systems","publisher":"NatureServe, Arlington, VA","author":[{"family":"Comer","given":"P."},{"family":"Faber-Langendoen","given":"D."},{"family":"Evans","given":"R."},{"family":"Gawler","given":"S."},{"family":"Josse","given":"C."},{"family":"Kittel","given":"G."},{"family":"Menard","given":"S."},{"family":"Pyne","given":"M."},{"family":"Reid","given":"M."},{"family":"Schulz","given":"K."},{"family":"Snow","given":"K."},{"family":"Teague","given":"J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2003"]]}}},{"id":626,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":626,"type":"report","title":"A Map of Terrestrial Habitats of the Northeastern United States: Methods and Approach","publisher":"The Nature Conservancy, Eastern Conservation Science, Eastern Regional Office","publisher-place":"Boston, MA","event-place":"Boston, MA","author":[{"family":"Ferree","given":"C"},{"family":"Anderson","given":"M.G."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2013"]]}}}],"schema":""} Comer et al. 2003, Ferree and Anderson 2013) . This intertidal system occurs on the bayside of barrier beaches and along the outer mouths of tidal rivers where saline to mesohaline conditions are not strongly impacted by freshwater flow. Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain tidal salt marshes are also dominated by graminoids S. patens and S. alterniflora, but tend to have more Distichlis spicata and Salicornia sp. than Acadian coastal salt marsh, as well as more developed shrub upland borders containing Iva frutescens, Baccharis halimifolia, Panicum virgatum, and Juniperus virginiana.Sampling DesignWe used a two-stage cluster sampling design ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"20ldfcuikl","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Thompson 2012)","plainCitation":"(Thompson 2012)"},"citationItems":[{"id":204,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":204,"type":"book","title":"Sampling","collection-title":"Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics","publisher":"John Wiley and Sons, Inc.","publisher-place":"New York, NY","edition":"3rd","event-place":"New York, NY","author":[{"family":"Thompson","given":"S. K."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Thompson 2012) with generalized random-tessellation stratified (GRTS) sampling at each stage ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"E0tRiRSn","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Stevens and Olsen 1999, 2003, 2004)","plainCitation":"(Stevens and Olsen 1999, 2003, 2004)"},"citationItems":[{"id":223,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":223,"type":"article-journal","title":"Spatially restricted surveys over time for aquatic resources","container-title":"Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics","page":"415-428","volume":"4","issue":"4","source":"JSTOR","abstract":"Consideration of the natural characteristics of aquatic resources and available frame material has led to the development of new designs for surveying large-scale regions. This paper illustrates survey designs developed to meet the requirements for surveying various aquatic resources, including a finite, discrete population, such as lakes within one or more states; a continuous linear population within a bounded area, such as wadeable streams within one or more states; and a continuous two-dimensional population within a bounded area, such as coastal waters associated with one or more states. We present a unified approach that addresses the differences of the aquatic resources assuming the availability of frame material, such as Geographic Information System (GIS) coverages of the boundary for coastal waters, stream network, and lake locations from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's River Reach File 3, derived from U.S. Geological Survey digital line graph data from 1:100,000 scale maps. The basic design methodology distributes the sample over the spatial extent of the resource domain, and a panel structure can be used to extend the sample through time. Key features for the approach are (1) utilizing survey theory for continuous populations within a bounded area, (2) explicit control of the spatial dispersion of the sample, (3) variable spatial density, (4) nested subsampling, and (5) incorporating panel structures for sampling over time.","ISSN":"1085-7117","note":"ArticleType: research-article / Issue Title: Sampling over Time / Full publication date: Dec., 1999 / Copyright ? 1999 International Biometric Society","author":[{"family":"Stevens","given":"D. L."},{"family":"Olsen","given":"A. R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1999"]]}}},{"id":335,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":335,"type":"article-journal","title":"Variance estimation for spatially balanced samples of environmental resources","container-title":"Environmetrics","page":"593-610","volume":"14","author":[{"family":"Stevens","given":"D. L."},{"family":"Olsen","given":"A. R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2003"]]}}},{"id":195,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":195,"type":"article-journal","title":"Spatially balanced sampling of natural resources","container-title":"Journal of the American Statistical Association","page":"262-278","volume":"99","issue":"465","source":"JSTOR","abstract":"The spatial distribution of a natural resource is an important consideration in designing an efficient survey or monitoring program for the resource. Generally, sample sites that are spatially balanced, that is, more or less evenly dispersed over the extent of the resource, are more efficient than simple random sampling. We review a unified strategy for selecting spatially balanced probability samples of natural resources. The technique is based on creating a function that maps two-dimensional space into one-dimensional space, thereby defining an ordered spatial address. We use a restricted randomization to randomly order the addresses, so that systematic sampling along the randomly ordered linear structure results in a spatially well-balanced random sample. Variable inclusion probability, proportional to an arbitrary positive ancillary variable, is easily accommodated. The basic technique selects points in a two-dimensional continuum, but is also applicable to sampling finite populations or one-dimensional continua embedded in two-dimensional space. An extension of the basic technique gives a way to order the sample points so that any set of consecutively numbered points is in itself a spatially well-balanced sample. This latter property is extremely useful in adjusting the sample for the imperfections common in environmental sampling.","ISSN":"0162-1459","note":"ArticleType: research-article / Full publication date: Mar., 2004 / Copyright ? 2004 American Statistical Association","author":[{"family":"Stevens","given":"D. L."},{"family":"Olsen","given":"A. R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Stevens and Olsen 1999, 2003, 2004) to distribute survey points. The sampling design followed the general sample selection protocol recommendations developed by Johnson et al. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2h0tk0g5su","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Johnson et al. 2009)","plainCitation":"(Johnson et al. 2009)"},"citationItems":[{"id":68,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":68,"type":"article-journal","title":"A Sampling Design Framework for Monitoring Secretive Marshbirds","container-title":"Waterbirds","page":"203-215","volume":"32","issue":"2","source":"CrossRef","ISSN":"1524-4695","journalAbbreviation":"Waterbirds","author":[{"family":"Johnson","given":"Douglas H."},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"James P."},{"family":"Herzog","given":"Mark"},{"family":"Lor","given":"Socheata"},{"family":"Niemuth","given":"Neal D."},{"family":"Ribic","given":"Christine A."},{"family":"Seamans","given":"Mark"},{"family":"Shaffer","given":"Terry L."},{"family":"Shriver","given":"W. Gregory"},{"family":"Stehman","given":"Stephen V."},{"family":"Thompson","given":"William L."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009",6]]}}}],"schema":""} (2009) to monitor secretive marsh birds at regional and continental scales. The GRTS survey design emphasizes a spatially-balanced sample distribution; a sample is dispersed such that the spatial density pattern of the sample closely mimics the spatial density pattern of the environmental resource ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"sWN0dukJ","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Stevens and Olsen 1999, 2003, 2004)","plainCitation":"(Stevens and Olsen 1999, 2003, 2004)"},"citationItems":[{"id":223,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":223,"type":"article-journal","title":"Spatially restricted surveys over time for aquatic resources","container-title":"Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics","page":"415-428","volume":"4","issue":"4","source":"JSTOR","abstract":"Consideration of the natural characteristics of aquatic resources and available frame material has led to the development of new designs for surveying large-scale regions. This paper illustrates survey designs developed to meet the requirements for surveying various aquatic resources, including a finite, discrete population, such as lakes within one or more states; a continuous linear population within a bounded area, such as wadeable streams within one or more states; and a continuous two-dimensional population within a bounded area, such as coastal waters associated with one or more states. We present a unified approach that addresses the differences of the aquatic resources assuming the availability of frame material, such as Geographic Information System (GIS) coverages of the boundary for coastal waters, stream network, and lake locations from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's River Reach File 3, derived from U.S. Geological Survey digital line graph data from 1:100,000 scale maps. The basic design methodology distributes the sample over the spatial extent of the resource domain, and a panel structure can be used to extend the sample through time. Key features for the approach are (1) utilizing survey theory for continuous populations within a bounded area, (2) explicit control of the spatial dispersion of the sample, (3) variable spatial density, (4) nested subsampling, and (5) incorporating panel structures for sampling over time.","ISSN":"1085-7117","note":"ArticleType: research-article / Issue Title: Sampling over Time / Full publication date: Dec., 1999 / Copyright ? 1999 International Biometric Society","author":[{"family":"Stevens","given":"D. L."},{"family":"Olsen","given":"A. R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1999"]]}}},{"id":335,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":335,"type":"article-journal","title":"Variance estimation for spatially balanced samples of environmental resources","container-title":"Environmetrics","page":"593-610","volume":"14","author":[{"family":"Stevens","given":"D. L."},{"family":"Olsen","given":"A. R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2003"]]}}},{"id":195,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":195,"type":"article-journal","title":"Spatially balanced sampling of natural resources","container-title":"Journal of the American Statistical Association","page":"262-278","volume":"99","issue":"465","source":"JSTOR","abstract":"The spatial distribution of a natural resource is an important consideration in designing an efficient survey or monitoring program for the resource. Generally, sample sites that are spatially balanced, that is, more or less evenly dispersed over the extent of the resource, are more efficient than simple random sampling. We review a unified strategy for selecting spatially balanced probability samples of natural resources. The technique is based on creating a function that maps two-dimensional space into one-dimensional space, thereby defining an ordered spatial address. We use a restricted randomization to randomly order the addresses, so that systematic sampling along the randomly ordered linear structure results in a spatially well-balanced random sample. Variable inclusion probability, proportional to an arbitrary positive ancillary variable, is easily accommodated. The basic technique selects points in a two-dimensional continuum, but is also applicable to sampling finite populations or one-dimensional continua embedded in two-dimensional space. An extension of the basic technique gives a way to order the sample points so that any set of consecutively numbered points is in itself a spatially well-balanced sample. This latter property is extremely useful in adjusting the sample for the imperfections common in environmental sampling.","ISSN":"0162-1459","note":"ArticleType: research-article / Full publication date: Mar., 2004 / Copyright ? 2004 American Statistical Association","author":[{"family":"Stevens","given":"D. L."},{"family":"Olsen","given":"A. R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Stevens and Olsen 1999, 2003, 2004). The two-stage cluster design required a geographical division of the study area and separate selection protocols for the two types of sampling units, primary sampling units (PSUs; hexagons) and secondary sampling units (SSUs; survey points). We used a North American continental hexagon grid (40 km2 hexagons) to generate the PSU sampling universe ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2fu8b8h86m","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Seamans 2011)","plainCitation":"(Seamans 2011)"},"citationItems":[{"id":51,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":51,"type":"article","title":"The National Marsh Bird Monitoring Pilot Study; Methods and Preliminary Results (DRAFT)","publisher":"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Population and Habitat Assessment Branch","author":[{"family":"Seamans","given":"M."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Seamans 2011). We selected the subset of the continental grid that included all hexagons located in the 10 Northeast U.S. coastal states (Figure 1) that contained Estuarine Intertidal Emergent Wetland (code ‘E2EM’; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"13jb9rjflp","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Cowardin et al. 1979)","plainCitation":"(Cowardin et al. 1979)"},"citationItems":[{"id":589,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":589,"type":"report","title":"Classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States","publisher":"U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service","publisher-place":"Washington, D.C.","page":"131","event-place":"Washington, D.C.","author":[{"family":"Cowardin","given":"L. M."},{"family":"Carter","given":"V."},{"family":"Golet","given":"F. C."},{"family":"LaRoe","given":"E. T."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1979"]]}}}],"schema":""} Cowardin et al. 1979). We used state wetland geospatial data from the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"RvFHLo8g","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Wilen and Bates 1995, National Wetlands Inventory 2010)","plainCitation":"(Wilen and Bates 1995, National Wetlands Inventory 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":385,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":385,"type":"article-journal","title":"The US Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wetlands Inventory project","container-title":"Vegetatio","page":"153-169","volume":"118","author":[{"family":"Wilen","given":"B. O."},{"family":"Bates","given":"M. K."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1995"]]}}},{"id":448,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":448,"type":"article","title":"Download Seamless Wetlands Data by State","publisher":"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services","URL":"wetlands/Data/State-Downloads.html","author":[{"family":"National Wetlands Inventory","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010"]]}}}],"schema":""} Wilen and Bates 1995, National Wetlands Inventory 2010) to determine the extent and location of salt marsh throughout the region. We compiled and processed the Estuarine Intertidal Emergent Wetland geospatial features in ArcGIS ver. 9.3 ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"146ikbj6qi","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(ESRI 2009)","plainCitation":"(ESRI 2009)"},"citationItems":[{"id":117,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":117,"type":"book","title":"ArcGIS 9.3","publisher-place":"Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute","event-place":"Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute","author":[{"family":"ESRI","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":""} (ESRI 2009) to develop a single spatial layer of salt marsh in the Northeast. Northeast hexagons that contained salt marsh became the sampling universe for the selection of PSUs (Table 2).We used the ‘spsurvey’ package ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"9i6fafe3b","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Kincaid and Olsen 2012)","plainCitation":"(Kincaid and Olsen 2012)"},"citationItems":[{"id":174,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":174,"type":"article","title":"spsurvey: Spatial Survey Design and Analysis","publisher":"R package version 2.3. URL: http//nheerl/arm/","author":[{"family":"Kincaid","given":"T.M."},{"family":"Olsen","given":"A. R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Kincaid and Olsen 2012) in the R statistical program ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"24f9rj810","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(R Core Team 2014)","plainCitation":"(R Core Team 2014)"},"citationItems":[{"id":597,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":597,"type":"book","title":"R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing","publisher":"R Foundation for Statistical Computing","publisher-place":"Vienna, Austria, ","event-place":"Vienna, Austria, ","author":[{"family":"R Core Team","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2014"]]}}}],"schema":""} (R Core Team 2014) to select hexagons and survey points. We used three sampling strata to select hexagons: subregion, state lands, and federal lands (US Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] and National Park Service [NPS]). Subregion boundaries were based on Conway and Droege ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2er1l7fu32","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Conway and Droege 2006)","plainCitation":"(Conway and Droege 2006)"},"citationItems":[{"id":46,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":46,"type":"chapter","title":"A unified strategy for monitoring changes in abundance of birds associated with North American tidal marshes","container-title":"Terrestrial Vertebrates of Tidal Marshes: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation","collection-title":"Studies in Avian Biology","collection-number":"No. 32","publisher":"The Cooper Ornithological Society","publisher-place":"Camarillo, CA","page":"282-297","event-place":"Camarillo, CA","author":[{"family":"Conway","given":"C.J."},{"family":"Droege","given":"S."}],"collection-editor":[{"family":"Greenberg","given":"R."},{"family":"Maldonado","given":"J.E."},{"family":"Droege","given":"S."},{"family":"McDonald","given":"M.V."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2006"]]}}}],"schema":""} (2006) and generally delineated by major geomorphological features (e.g., Long Island, Delmarva Peninsula, Chesapeake Bay; Figure 1, Table 2). We randomly selected 25 hexagons as the core sample and 10 hexagons as oversample for the initial hexagon selection within each subregion (GRTS selection). Next, we randomly selected 25 hexagons that contained tidal marsh on state lands in each subregion. Finally, we selected all hexagons that contained tidal marsh on USFWS and NPS lands because the two agencies conduct wildlife surveys and are likely to continue to do so into the future. We used spatial data from the Protected Areas Database ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1jo9fbmdkq","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Program 2011)","plainCitation":"(U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Program 2011)"},"citationItems":[{"id":273,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":273,"type":"book","title":"Protected Areas Database of the United States (PADUS)","version":"1.2","URL":"","author":[{"family":"U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Program","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011",2]]}}}],"schema":""} (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Program 2011) to determine the hexagons that contained protected tidal marsh. We combined the federal lands hexagons with the GRTS-selected hexagons to create the sampling frame. We excluded hexagons that contained less than 10 ha of marsh; hexagons with less marsh can support fewer sampling points, potentially requiring excessive travel time for a few sampling locations.We used ‘spsurvey’ to randomly locate 10 survey points and 10 oversample survey points in each hexagon. To improve our ability to make comparisons with previous tidal marsh surveys, we also acquired coordinates of existing tidal marsh bird survey points from historical and ongoing marsh bird surveys (20 projects total; Table 1. We used ArcGIS to combine existing point locations with the randomly generated points, retaining random points 400 m or more from established points. Point spacing followed the Standardized North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Protocol’s recommendation of a minimum distance of 400 m between survey points ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2588mjcf68","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Conway 2011)","plainCitation":"(Conway 2011)"},"citationItems":[{"id":9,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":9,"type":"article-journal","title":"Standardized North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Protocol","container-title":"Waterbirds","page":"319-346","volume":"34","issue":"3","author":[{"family":"Conway","given":"C.J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Conway 2011). Once the previously established and new, randomly selected points were identified, we ground-truthed all sampling points, prioritizing established points that had historical survey data. We ground-truthed the established points first (if the hexagon possessed them) and then the randomly located survey points followed by the oversample points until we had identified up to 10 survey points in appropriate saltmarsh habitat in each selected hexagon.Defining Saltmarsh PatchesWe delineated habitat patches to assess species abundance within discrete, biologically relevant spatial areas and to allow for comparisons in abundance patterns across the landscape. We used the Estuarine Intertidal Emergent Wetland spatial layer developed in the survey sampling design to define saltmarsh habitat patches. We used ArcGIS ver. 9.3 ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"MuemT0p1","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(ESRI 2009)","plainCitation":"(ESRI 2009)"},"citationItems":[{"id":117,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":117,"type":"book","title":"ArcGIS 9.3","publisher-place":"Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute","event-place":"Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute","author":[{"family":"ESRI","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":""} (ESRI 2009) to create a 50 m buffer around the polygon features. Polygons with buffers that intersected were considered the same patch based on home range size and movement estimates for Saltmarsh and Nelson’s sparrows ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"j4anm1bo8","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Shriver et al. 2010)","plainCitation":"(Shriver et al. 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":631,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":631,"type":"article-journal","title":"Home range sizes and habitat use of Nelson's and saltmarsh sparrows","container-title":"The Wilson Journal of Ornithology","page":"340-345","volume":"122","issue":"2","source":"JSTOR","abstract":"Nelson's (Ammodramus nelsoni) and Saltmarsh (A. caudacutus) sparrows are sympatric breeders in tidal marshes of the southern Gulf of Maine. These sparrows hybridize, have different mating strategies, and males do not defend territories or provide parental care. We estimated and compared core area sizes, home range sizes, and habitat use between species and between males and females. We radio-marked 140 sparrows (63 Nelson's and 77 Saltmarsh sparrows) during three breeding seasons (1999-2001) at Scarborough Marsh, Maine, USA. Home ranges of male A. nelsoni were 2.3 times larger (± SE) (119.68 ± 19.43 ha) than those of male A. caudacutus (52.85 ± 8.68 ha). Home range sizes of female Nelson's and female Saltmarsh sparrows did not differ from each other (female Nelson's home range = 43.58 ± 13.10 ha; female Saltmarsh home range = 27.81 ± 6.3 ha). More than 40% of male and 18% of female home ranges had two discrete core areas and, in most instances, each core area corresponded to a separate lunar cycle. We suggest that differences in mating strategies, densities, and adaptation to nesting in tidal marshes explain the larger home range estimates for male Nelson's Sparrows. Female and male Nelson's Sparrows' home ranges had more Spartina alterniflora cover and female Saltmarsh Sparrows' home ranges had greater Juncus gerardii cover than random locations. Home ranges of female Saltmarsh Sparrows had less Spartina alterniflora cover and more Juncus gerardii cover than female Nelson's Sparrows. We did not detect any differences in vegetation variables between male Saltmarsh and male Nelson's sparrow home ranges.","ISSN":"1559-4491","journalAbbreviation":"The Wilson Journal of Ornithology","author":[{"family":"Shriver","given":"W.G."},{"family":"Hodgman","given":"T.P."},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"J.P."},{"family":"Vickery","given":"P.D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010",6,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2014",9,27]]}}}],"schema":""} (Shriver et al. 2010). For each defined patch we recorded the state (e.g., Maine, New Hampshire), subregion (e.g., Coastal Maine, Cape Cod – Casco Bay), longitude, latitude, and area.Bird SamplingWe used the North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Protocol ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"atemjohcc","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Conway 2011)","plainCitation":"(Conway 2011)"},"citationItems":[{"id":9,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":9,"type":"article-journal","title":"Standardized North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Protocol","container-title":"Waterbirds","page":"319-346","volume":"34","issue":"3","author":[{"family":"Conway","given":"C.J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Conway 2011) to estimate the occurrence and abundance of tidal marsh birds within our study region. At all survey points during the 2011-12 breeding seasons, we conducted 5-minute passive point-counts followed immediately by a sequence of 30-second marsh bird playbacks for a suite of species. A single observer surveyed each sampling point two or three times from April 15 to July 31 each year. Visits to survey points were at least 10 days apart. The list of playback species and survey period dates were tailored for each sampling subregion (see ). We recorded birds seen and/or heard using the marsh during 5, consecutive 1-minute time intervals. We recorded the distance of first detection for each individual encountered in three distance bands: 0–50 m, 50–100 m, >100 m. We conducted surveys in the morning from 30 minutes before sunrise to ~1100 hours. We did not survey during high winds, sustained rain, or heavy fog. We used detections of marsh birds from the 0–50 m distance interval and the 0–5 minute passive period for all following analyses to standardize the sampling procedure across the entire region. Bird Species Occurrence and AbundanceWe estimated the mean percent occurrence for Clapper Rail, Willet, and Nelson’s, Saltmarsh, and Seaside sparrows in each subregion. We used the ‘unmarked’ package ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"16ajndsn5s","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Fiske and Chandler 2011)","plainCitation":"(Fiske and Chandler 2011)"},"citationItems":[{"id":106,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":106,"type":"article-journal","title":"unmarked: An R Package for Fitting Hierarchical Models of Wildlife Occurrence and Abundance","container-title":"Journal of Statistical Software","page":"1-23","volume":"43","issue":"10","author":[{"family":"Fiske","given":"I."},{"family":"Chandler","given":"R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Fiske and Chandler 2011) in the R statistical program ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"xMNfQNkX","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(R Core Team 2014)","plainCitation":"(R Core Team 2014)"},"citationItems":[{"id":597,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":597,"type":"book","title":"R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing","publisher":"R Foundation for Statistical Computing","publisher-place":"Vienna, Austria, ","event-place":"Vienna, Austria, ","author":[{"family":"R Core Team","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2014"]]}}}],"schema":""} (R Core Team 2014) to estimate marsh bird abundance within each surveyed patch. We used a general multinomial-Poisson mixture model ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2g5ggg1aa5","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Royle 2004)","plainCitation":"(Royle 2004)"},"citationItems":[{"id":602,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":602,"type":"article-journal","title":"Generalized estimators of avian abundance from count survey data","container-title":"Animal Biodiversity and Conservation","page":"375-386","volume":"27","issue":"1","author":[{"family":"Royle","given":"J. A."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Royle 2004) using the unmarked fitting function ‘multinomPois’ to estimate abundance for each species. We estimated abundance for each species within each surveyed patch defined above. We used time-of-detection to estimate species detection probability, using the one-minute time intervals within surveys as repeat samples ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"TzQJExL6","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Farnsworth et al. 2002)","plainCitation":"(Farnsworth et al. 2002)"},"citationItems":[{"id":606,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":606,"type":"article-journal","title":"A removal model for estimating detection probabilities from point-count surveys","container-title":"The Auk","page":"414","volume":"119","issue":"2","source":"CrossRef","DOI":"10.1642/0004-8038(2002)119[0414:ARMFED]2.0.CO;2","ISSN":"0004-8038","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Farnsworth","given":"George L."},{"family":"Pollock","given":"Kenneth H."},{"family":"Nichols","given":"James D."},{"family":"Simons","given":"Theodore R."},{"family":"Hines","given":"James E."},{"family":"Sauer","given":"John R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2002"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2014",8,21]]}}}],"schema":""} (Farnsworth et al. 2002). We modeled detection as a function of survey visit to control for seasonal differences in detection rates. We estimated the abundance within the species breeding ranges as follows: Clapper Rail (south of 41.3390°N; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"qg70l8smb","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Rush et al. 2012)","plainCitation":"(Rush et al. 2012)"},"citationItems":[{"id":635,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":635,"type":"article","title":"Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.)","publisher":"Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: ","author":[{"family":"Rush","given":"S.A."},{"family":"Gaines","given":"K.F."},{"family":"Eddleman","given":"W.R."},{"family":"Conway","given":"C.J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]}}}],"schema":""} Rush et al. 2012), Saltmarsh Sparrow (south of 44.0753°N; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"18oc1gtaaq","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Greenlaw and Rising 1994)","plainCitation":"(Greenlaw and Rising 1994)"},"citationItems":[{"id":36,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":36,"type":"article","title":"Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.).","publisher":"Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: ","source":"CrossRef","author":[{"family":"Greenlaw","given":"J.S."},{"family":"Rising","given":"J.D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1994"]]}}}],"schema":""} Greenlaw and Rising 1994), Nelson’s Sparrow (north of 42.8520°N; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1ml7iuh8u2","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Shriver et al. 2011)","plainCitation":"(Shriver et al. 2011)"},"citationItems":[{"id":636,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":636,"type":"article","title":"Nelson's Sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.)","publisher":"Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: ","author":[{"family":"Shriver","given":"W.G."},{"family":"Hodgman","given":"T.P."},{"family":"Hanson","given":"A.R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011"]]}}}],"schema":""} Shriver et al. 2011), and Seaside Sparrow (south of 42.9185°N; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1h921r8vbd","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Post and Greenlaw 2009)","plainCitation":"(Post and Greenlaw 2009)"},"citationItems":[{"id":19,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":19,"type":"article","title":"Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.).","publisher":"Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: ","source":"CrossRef","author":[{"family":"Post","given":"W."},{"family":"Greenlaw","given":"J. S."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":""} Post and Greenlaw 2009). We estimated Willet abundance for all patches because this species breeds throughout the entire region ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2qi9qi3t8r","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Lowther et al. 2001)","plainCitation":"(Lowther et al. 2001)"},"citationItems":[{"id":38,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":38,"type":"article","title":"Willet (Tringa semipalmata), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.).","publisher":"Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: ","source":"CrossRef","author":[{"family":"Lowther","given":"P. E."},{"family":"Douglas, III","given":"H. D."},{"family":"Gratto-Trevor","given":"C. L."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2001"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Lowther et al. 2001). For each species, we developed subregion specific models in ‘unmarked’ to estimate density for each year and patch. We applied the area sampled to the ‘unmarked’ abundance estimates to convert the estimates to density. When a model could not converge on a species’ patch density estimate, we applied the species’ global mean density estimate for a given year to that patch. We averaged the 2011 and 2012 patch density estimates to calculate mean patch density for each species. We calculated the mean species density using occupied marsh patches with density estimates ≥0.01 birds per ha for each subregion and across the Northeast, and used one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD tests (P < 0.05) to test for differences. We multiplied mean species density and occupied patch area to estimate species abundance. We calculated 95% confidence intervals for mean species density and multiplied the lower and upper bounds by the occupied patch area to create 95% confidence intervals for the estimated abundance ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"e8ajok89k","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Zar 1999)","plainCitation":"(Zar 1999)"},"citationItems":[{"id":176,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":176,"type":"book","title":"Biostatistical Analysis","publisher":"Prentice Hall","publisher-place":"Upper Saddle River, NJ","event-place":"Upper Saddle River, NJ","author":[{"family":"Zar","given":"J.H."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1999"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Zar 1999). Means are presented as mean ± SE.RESULTSSampling DesignSampling universe. The primary sampling universe in surveyed subregions (1-8) consisted of 1,110 total hexagons containing 280,722 ha of salt marsh (Table 2). The number of hexagons in each subregion ranged from 88 hexagons in Delaware Bay (59,956 ha of salt marsh), to 212 hexagons in Eastern Chesapeake Bay (78,337 ha of salt marsh). Because we stratified our sampling effort independent of the extent of salt marsh in a subregion, a large sample of total hexagons did not indicate a large quantity of salt marsh. For example, Coastal Maine contained the second highest number of hexagons (n = 208), but the smallest area of salt marsh (6,223 ha), and Coastal New Jersey contained two more hexagons than Long Island, but encompassed 40,434 ha (408%) more salt marsh.Sampled hexagons. We sampled 277 (135,042 ha of salt marsh) of the 1,110 total hexagons from Coastal Maine to Eastern Chesapeake Bay. The number of hexagons surveyed in each subregion ranged from 22 in Eastern Chesapeake Bay to 44 in Cape Cod – Casco Bay (Table 2). Marsh owned by state agencies occurred in 127 of the surveyed hexagons; 60 surveyed hexagons contained both state and federally-owned marsh; and an additional 32 surveyed hexagons contained marsh owned by federal agencies only. Of the 92 surveyed hexagons containing federally-owned marsh, 23 hexagons contained NPS-owned marsh, 63 hexagons contained USFWS-owned marsh, and 6 hexagons contained marsh owned by both agencies.Sampled survey points. We sampled 1,780 survey points in the sampled hexagons. Surveyed points were composed of 1,314 new points and 466 historical points from 18 of the 20 projects (Table 1). The number of survey points in each subregion ranged from 119 points in Long Island to 340 points in Cape Cod – Casco Bay (Table 2). We sampled 1,642 points in 2011, 1,714 points in 2012, and 1,575 points in both 2011 and 2012. Survey points included a mix of wetland edge and marsh interior locations, and were accessed by foot, vehicle, and both non-motorized and motorized boats.Defining Saltmarsh PatchesWe defined 13,332 saltmarsh habitat patches in the Northeast (Table 4). Total patches per subregion ranged from 166 patches in Delaware Bay to 4,927 patches in Western Chesapeake Bay. Although Delaware Bay had the fewest defined patches, these patches averaged largest (mean = 360 ± 145 ha). Patches north and south of Delaware Bay in Coastal New Jersey and Coastal Delmarva also were large and shared similar average area dimensions: roughly 500 patches in each subregion with a mean area of ~95 ± 27 ha. Cape Cod – Casco Bay also contained ~500 patches, but patches were smaller (38 ± 8 ha). Mean patch area in Long Island and Eastern Chesapeake Bay was 14 ± 1 ha and 23 ± 9 ha, respectively. In Coastal Maine, Southern New England, and Western Chesapeake Bay, saltmarsh patches consisted of many (over 1,000) small patches less than 10 ha in area.Bird Species Occurrence and AbundanceClapper Rail. We detected Clapper Rails from Southern New England south and Clapper Rail percent occurrence was greatest in Coastal Delmarva (49 ± 5%; Table 3). Mean Clapper Rail density was 0.58 ± 0.07 birds per ha in occupied patches across the Northeast (n = 91) and did not differ among subregions (F5,85 = 1.59, P = 0.17; Figure 2A and Table 4). Clapper Rail estimated abundance was 106,814 birds (95% CI = 82,385 to 131,242 birds) across all detected patches (Table 4). Regionally, Clapper Rail density was greatest in Coastal Delmarva, ranging from 0.04 – 2.75 birds per ha (mean = 0.85 ± 0.15 birds per ha) and peaked at the south end of Chincoteague Island with a patch area of 165 ha (Figure 8A). Clapper Rail density in Coastal New Jersey ranged from 0.04 – 3.73 birds per ha (mean = 0.58 ± 0.15 birds per ha) and was greatest at the Rainbow Islands in Great Egg Harbor Bay with a patch area of 82 ha (Figure 6A). Clapper Rail density in Long Island ranged from 0.07 – 1.41 birds per ha (mean = 0.46 ± 0.12 birds per ha) and was greatest in a part of Gilgo State Park with a patch area of 30 ha (Figure 5A). Eastern Chesapeake Bay Clapper Rail density ranged from 0.05 – 1.50 birds per ha (mean = 0.46 ± 0.12 birds per ha) and was greatest at Finneys Island with a patch area of 36 ha (Figure 8A). In Delaware Bay, Clapper Rail density ranged from 0.11 – 1.16 birds per ha (mean = 0.42 ± 0.10 birds per ha) and was greatest at part of Heislerville Wildlife Management Area (WMA) with a patch area of 75 ha (Figure 7A).Willet. We detected Willets in all subregions. Willet percent occurrence was 13 ± 1% or greater from Casco Bay south and was greatest in Coastal Delmarva (39 ± 1%; Table 3). Mean Willet density was 0.82 ± 0.06 birds per ha in occupied patches across the Northeast (n = 165) and differed among subregions (F7,157 = 3.11, P = 0.004; Figure 2B and Table 4). Mean Willet density was 3.3 times greater in Long Island (P = 0.006) and 2.9 times greater in Southern New England (P = 0.03) than Cape Cod – Casco Bay. Mean Willet density did not differ between other subregions (P > 0.05). Willet estimated abundance was 158,152 birds (95% CI = 133,699 to 182,606 birds) across all detected patches (Table 4). Regionally, Willet density was greatest in Long Island, ranging from 0.09 – 3.66 birds per ha (mean = 1.19 ± 0.16 birds per ha), and peaked at Lanes Island and part of Shinnecock County Park West with a patch area of 46 ha (Figure 5B). Southern New England had the next greatest Willet density, where it ranged from 0.05 – 4.43 birds per ha (mean = 1.03 ± 0.17 birds per ha) and was greatest at Stage Island and Davis Beach with a patch area of 16 ha (Figure 5B). Willet density in Coastal New Jersey ranged from 0.05 – 2.60 birds per ha (mean = 0.79 ± 0.15 birds per ha) and was greatest at Little Beach- E.B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) with a patch area of 1,598 ha (Figure 6B). Coastal Delmarva Willet density ranged from 0.08 – 2.07 birds per ha (mean = 0.72 ± 0.10 birds per ha) and was greatest at part of Pirate Islands-Assateague Island National Seashore with a patch area of 4 ha (Figure 8B). Coastal Maine Willet density ranged from 0.22 – 1.97 birds per ha (mean = 0.67 ± 0.33 birds per ha) and was greatest at part of Hay Creek with a patch area of 5 ha (Figure 3A). In Delaware Bay, Willet density ranged from 0.33 – 1.10 birds per ha (mean = 0.62 ± 0.12 birds per ha) and was greatest at the marsh extending from Mill Creek to Cohansey River with a patch area of 7,979 ha (Figure 7B). In Cape Cod – Casco Bay, Willet density ranged from 0.05 – 1.10 birds per ha (mean = 0.36 ± 0.06 birds per ha) and was greatest at the marsh complex extending from the Merrimack River mouth along Plum Island-Parker River NWR with a patch area of 1,322 ha (Figure 4A). Eastern Chesapeake Bay Willet density ranged from 0.06 – 0.88 birds per ha (mean = 0.29 ± 0.10 birds per ha) and was greatest at marsh along Tarkill Creek with a patch area of 189 ha (Figure 8B).Nelson’s Sparrow. Nelson’s Sparrow percent occurrence was greatest in Coastal Maine (34 ± 1%; Table 3). Mean Nelson’s Sparrow density was 0.94 ± 0.11 birds per ha in occupied patches across Coastal Maine and Cape Cod – Casco Bay (n = 57), and differed between subregions (F1,55 = 6.22, P = 0.02; Table 4). Mean Nelson’s Sparrow density was 2.3 times greater in Coastal Maine than Cape Cod – Casco Bay. Nelson’s Sparrow estimated abundance was 5,376 birds (95% CI = 4,167 to 6,585 birds) across all detected patches (Table 4). Nelson’s Sparrow density was greatest in Coastal Maine, ranging from 0.06 – 3.28 birds per ha (mean = 1.08 ± 0.13 birds per ha) and was greatest at a marsh along the Machias River with a patch area of 34 ha (Figure 3B). Cape Cod – Casco Bay Nelson’s Sparrow density ranged from 0.02 – 1.29 birds per ha (mean = 0.48 ± 0.11 birds per ha) and was greatest at Scarborough Marsh with a patch area of 889 ha (Figure 4B).Saltmarsh Sparrow. We detected Saltmarsh Sparrows in all subregions; however, average percent occurrence varied geographically with no clear pattern from north to south (Table 3). Saltmarsh Sparrow percent occurrence ranged from 2 ± 2% in Coastal Maine to 26 ± 1% in Southern New England. Mean Saltmarsh Sparrow density was 0.46 ± 0.05 birds per ha in occupied patches across the Northeast (n = 192) and differed among subregions (F7,184 = 2.64, P = 0.01; Figure 2C and Table 4). Mean Saltmarsh Sparrow density was 2.2 times greater in Southern New England than Long Island (P = 0.02), but did not differ between other subregions (P > 0.05). Saltmarsh Sparrow estimated abundance was 76,712 birds (95% CI = 61,382 to 92,042 birds) across all detected patches (Table 4). Regionally, Saltmarsh Sparrow density was greatest in Southern New England, ranging from 0.06 – 4.34 birds per ha (mean = 0.73 ± 0.12 birds per ha) and peaked at Monomoy NWR with a patch area of 37 ha (Figure 5C). Coastal New Jersey had the next greatest Saltmarsh Sparrow density where it ranged from 0.07 – 2.06 birds per ha (mean = 0.53 ± 0.12 birds per ha) and was greatest at Cedar Creek Point and Sloop Point with a patch area of 45 ha (Figure 6C). In Cape Cod – Casco Bay, Saltmarsh Sparrow density ranged from 0.06 – 1.95 birds per ha (mean = 0.50 ± 0.10 birds per ha) and was greatest at a marsh in Wellfleet Harbor with a patch area of 416 ha (Figure 4C). Saltmarsh Sparrow density in Long Island ranged from 0.01 – 2.75 birds per ha (mean = 0.33 ± 0.07 birds per ha) and was greatest at two marsh patches, Thatch Island (area = 42 ha) and Elder Island (area = 34 ha; Figure 5C). Coastal Delmarva Saltmarsh Sparrow density ranged from 0.02 – 0.62 birds per ha (mean = 0.27 ± 0.05 birds per ha) and was greatest at the marsh complex extending along Newport and Chincoteague bays, from Spence Cove to Scarboro Creek, with a patch area of 1,711 ha (Figure 8C). In Coastal Maine, Saltmarsh Sparrow density ranged from 0.02 – 0.60 birds per ha (mean = 0.17 ± 0.09 birds per ha) and was greatest at Back Cove Park with a patch area of 2 ha (Figure 3C). In Eastern Chesapeake Bay, Saltmarsh Sparrow density ranged from 0.01 – 0.24 birds per ha (mean = 0.11 ± 0.04 birds per ha) and was greatest at the marsh complex extending from Taylors Island to the Nanticoke River with a patch area of 27,779 ha (Figure 8C). Delaware Bay Saltmarsh Sparrow density ranged from 0.06 – 0.13 birds per ha (mean = 0.09 ± 0.02 birds per ha) and was greatest at the marsh complex extending from Silver Run Wildlife Area to Bowers Beach with a patch area of 16,937 ha (Figure 7C).Seaside Sparrow. Seaside Sparrow percent occurrence was 19 ± 5% or greater from Long Island south and was greatest in Eastern Chesapeake Bay (64 ± 6%; Table 3). Mean Seaside Sparrow density was 0.86 ± 0.09 birds per ha in occupied patches across the Northeast (n = 92) and differed among subregions (F6,85 = 2.71, P = 0.02; Figure 2D and Table 4). Mean Seaside Sparrow density did not differ between subregions (P > 0.05), but the difference was borderline for Coastal Delmarva and Long Island (P = 0.052). Mean Seaside Sparrow density was 2.8 times greater in Coastal Delmarva than Long Island. Seaside Sparrow estimated abundance was 140,952 birds (95% CI = 110,167 to 171,737 birds) across all detected patches (Table 4).Regionally, Seaside Sparrow density was greatest in Coastal Delmarva, ranging from 0.03 – 4.11 birds per ha (mean = 1.31 ± 0.30 birds per ha) and peaked at a part of Pirate Islands-Assateague Island National Seashore with a patch area of 6 ha (Figure 8D). Delaware Bay had the next greatest Seaside Sparrow density where it ranged from 0.22 – 2.52 birds per ha (mean = 1.29 ± 0.31 birds per ha) and was greatest at the marsh extending from Mill Creek to Cohansey River with a patch area of 7,979 ha (Figure 7D). In Eastern Chesapeake Bay, Seaside Sparrow density ranged from 0.22 – 2.07 birds per ha (mean = 1.19 ± 0.17 birds per ha) and was greatest at the marsh complex extending from Back Creek to Hall Creek with a patch area of 3,051 ha (Figure 8D). Coastal New Jersey Seaside Sparrow density ranged from 0.07 – 3.92 birds per ha (mean = 0.82 ± 0.18 birds per ha) and was greatest at Cedar Creek Point and Sloop Point with a patch area of 45 ha (Figure 6D). Seaside Sparrow density in Long Island ranged from 0.03 – 2.36 birds per ha (mean = 0.47 ± 0.14 birds per ha) and was greatest at Thatch Island with a patch area of 42 ha (Figure 5D). Seaside Sparrow density in Southern New England ranged from 0.13 – 1.99 birds per ha (mean = 0.43 ± 0.17 birds per ha) and was greatest in marshes at the Connecticut River mouth, including the Great Island WMA, with a patch area of 376 ha (Figure 5D). Cape Cod – Casco Bay Seaside Sparrow density ranged from 0.11 – 0.16 birds per ha (mean = 0.13 ± 0.03 birds per ha) and was greatest at a marsh along Weymouth Fore River with a patch area of 4 ha (Figure 4D). DISCUSSIONWe detected tidal marsh specialist birds throughout the Northeast at varying densities in the subregions and provide the first comprehensive assessment of the distribution for these taxa in the Northeast USA. Marshes in the core and near the peripheries of the study area hosted species in the highest and lowest density ranges, as depicted in Figures 3-8. The flexibility and probabilistic design of our sampling framework was critical to successful development and implementation of our regional monitoring scheme. By sampling marsh birds in saltmarsh breeding habitat in all ten coastal northeast states in two years, we have created a baseline platform for future monitoring efforts. Our systematic data collection at the regional scale provides contemporary information on patterns of occurrence and abundance of specialist tidal marsh species and allows for the identification of priority areas for their conservation.Clapper Rail densities were greatest in extensive back-barrier lagoon marsh systems in Coastal Delmarva and Coastal New Jersey, and in smaller back-barrier systems on Long Island. Clapper Rails occurred in relatively high densities across Virginia marshes on the Delmarva Peninsula, from Chincoteague Bay to Fisherman Island. In Coastal New Jersey, marshes with the greatest Clapper Rail densities were clustered around Great Egg Harbor Bay. On the U.S. East Coast, Clapper Rails prefer low tidal salt marsh that is flooded at least once daily and dominated by Spartina sp. of moderate height ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2808hj8pv3","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Meanley 1985)","plainCitation":"(Meanley 1985)"},"citationItems":[{"id":548,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":548,"type":"book","title":"The marsh hen-A natural history of the clapper rail of the Atlantic coast salt marsh","publisher":"Tidewater Publishers","publisher-place":"Centerville, MD","event-place":"Centerville, MD","author":[{"family":"Meanley","given":"B."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1985"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Meanley 1985), habitat characteristics indicative of back-barrier lagoon marshes. Mangold ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"23jkuigli6","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Mangold 1974)","plainCitation":"(Mangold 1974)"},"citationItems":[{"id":702,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":702,"type":"report","title":"Research on shore and upland migratory birds in New Jersey: clapper rail studies, 1974 final report","publisher":"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Accelerated Research Program, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection","publisher-place":"Trenton, NJ","page":"17","event-place":"Trenton, NJ","author":[{"family":"Mangold","given":"R.E."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1974"]]}}}],"schema":""} (1974) found Clapper Rails in New Jersey tended to use natural and ditched marsh habitats with short-form S. alterniflora, followed by areas of tall-form S. alterniflora; few Clapper Rails were detected in S. patens. Clapper Rails nest in emergent wetlands or scrub/shrub mangroves typically within 15 m of a tidally influenced waterbody (e.g., ditches, creeks, streams, rivers, embayments; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"4s55l9aq","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Lewis and Garrison 1983)","plainCitation":"(Lewis and Garrison 1983)"},"citationItems":[{"id":703,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":703,"type":"report","title":"Habitat suitability index models: clapper rail","publisher":"U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. FWS/OBS-82/10.51","page":"15","author":[{"family":"Lewis","given":"J.C."},{"family":"Garrison","given":"R.L."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1983"]]}}}],"schema":""} Lewis and Garrison 1983), although many East Coast nests are found within 5 m of water ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"a6fb3hdgd","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Kozicky and Schmidt 1949, Stewart 1951)","plainCitation":"(Kozicky and Schmidt 1949, Stewart 1951)"},"citationItems":[{"id":704,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":704,"type":"article-journal","title":"Nesting habits of the clapper rail in New Jersey","container-title":"Auk","page":"355-364","volume":"66","author":[{"family":"Kozicky","given":"E.L."},{"family":"Schmidt","given":"F.V."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1949"]]}}},{"id":705,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":705,"type":"article-journal","title":"Clapper rail populations of the Middle Atlantic States","container-title":"Transactions of the North American Wildlife Conference","page":"421-430","volume":"16","author":[{"family":"Stewart","given":"R.E."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1951"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Kozicky and Schmidt 1949, Stewart 1951). Clapper Rail subspecies crepitans, formerly R. longirostris crepitans ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"9ko1e528q","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(del Hoyo et al. 2014)","plainCitation":"(del Hoyo et al. 2014)"},"citationItems":[{"id":706,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":706,"type":"book","title":"HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World","publisher":"Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International","publisher-place":"Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK","event-place":"Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK","author":[{"family":"del Hoyo","given":"J."},{"family":"Collar","given":"N.J."},{"family":"Christie","given":"D.A."},{"family":"Elliott","given":"A."},{"family":"Fishpool","given":"L.D.C."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2014"]]}}}],"schema":""} (del Hoyo et al. 2014), breeds from southern New England to southern North Carolina ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1t9hr2h4i3","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Rush et al. 2012)","plainCitation":"(Rush et al. 2012)"},"citationItems":[{"id":635,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":635,"type":"article","title":"Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.)","publisher":"Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: ","author":[{"family":"Rush","given":"S.A."},{"family":"Gaines","given":"K.F."},{"family":"Eddleman","given":"W.R."},{"family":"Conway","given":"C.J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Rush et al. 2012) and is more common in southern states as the extent of S. alterniflora-dominated low marsh increases. Our higher detection levels and greater density estimates on Coastal Delmarva, as well as the occurrence of high density patches at the southern end of Eastern Chesapeake Bay on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, are consistent with the expected distribution and density patterns of the subspecies.Willet occurrence was widespread in the Northeast; the Eastern Willet subspecies semipalmatus has a large latitudinal breeding range, extending along the North American Atlantic and Gulf coasts and in the West Indies ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2cpgei055e","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Lowther et al. 2001)","plainCitation":"(Lowther et al. 2001)"},"citationItems":[{"id":38,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":38,"type":"article","title":"Willet (Tringa semipalmata), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.).","publisher":"Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: ","source":"CrossRef","author":[{"family":"Lowther","given":"P. E."},{"family":"Douglas, III","given":"H. D."},{"family":"Gratto-Trevor","given":"C. L."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2001"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Lowther et al. 2001). Willet percent occurrence was greatest in Coastal Delmarva, but overall density was greatest in Long Island and Southern New England. In Long Island, patches with the greatest densities were located in close proximity to inlets, particularly Shinnecock and Fire Island inlets; similarly, Coastal New Jersey Willet densities were greatest around Great Egg Harbor and Little Egg inlets. Across Southern New England, higher density patches were well interspersed with low and zero density patches, but there was a small group of higher density patches clustered around Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts. Mean Willet density in Coastal New Jersey, Delaware Bay, and Coastal Delmarva was comparable. In Coastal Delmarva, Willet densities were greatest around the Maryland-Virginia border; however, local conservation practitioners do not consider the species a tidal marsh specialist since Willets in southern states, including Virginia, often nest in short vegetation behind dunes or on bare ground ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2lo0ugdevt","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Tomkins 1965, Douglas, III 1996)","plainCitation":"(Tomkins 1965, Douglas, III 1996)"},"citationItems":[{"id":772,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":772,"type":"article-journal","title":"The Willets of Georgia and South Carolina","container-title":"The Wilson Bulletin","page":"151-167","volume":"77","author":[{"family":"Tomkins","given":"I.R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1965"]]}}},{"id":771,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":771,"type":"thesis","title":"Communication, evolution and ecology in the Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus): its implications for shorebirds (Suborder Charadrii)","publisher":"Wake Forest University","publisher-place":"Winston-Salem, NC","genre":"M.S. Thesis","event-place":"Winston-Salem, NC","author":[{"family":"Douglas, III","given":"H. D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1996"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Tomkins 1965, Douglas 1996). Willets nesting in non-saltmarsh habitats have also been documented in more northern states (sand dune areas with Ammophila breviligulata, ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"ab09v44l0","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Burger and Shisler 1978)","plainCitation":"(Burger and Shisler 1978)"},"citationItems":[{"id":763,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":763,"type":"article-journal","title":"Nest-site selection of willets in a New Jersey salt marsh","container-title":"The Wilson Bulletin","page":"599-607","volume":"90","issue":"4","author":[{"family":"Burger","given":"J."},{"family":"Shisler","given":"J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1978"]]}}}],"schema":""} Burger and Shisler 1978; sphagnum bog, ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2q585ecgrr","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Wells and Vickery 1990)","plainCitation":"(Wells and Vickery 1990)"},"citationItems":[{"id":773,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":773,"type":"article-journal","title":"Willet nesting in sphagnum bog in eastern Maine","container-title":"Journal of Field Ornithology","page":"73-75","volume":"61","issue":"1","author":[{"family":"Wells","given":"J.V."},{"family":"Vickery","given":"P.D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1990"]]}}}],"schema":""} Wells and Vickery 1990) and in Nova Scotia (open fields and pastures near marshes, ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2k2mmrnc2f","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Tufts 1986)","plainCitation":"(Tufts 1986)"},"citationItems":[{"id":774,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":774,"type":"book","title":"Birds of Nova Scotia","publisher":"Nova Scotia Museum","publisher-place":"Halifax","event-place":"Halifax","author":[{"family":"Tufts","given":"R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1986"]]}}}],"schema":""} Tufts 1986), but nesting habitat in the Northeast remains predominantly salt marshes with S. alterniflora and S. patens ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"81v05hcpk","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Lowther et al. 2001)","plainCitation":"(Lowther et al. 2001)"},"citationItems":[{"id":38,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":38,"type":"article","title":"Willet (Tringa semipalmata), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.).","publisher":"Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: ","source":"CrossRef","author":[{"family":"Lowther","given":"P. E."},{"family":"Douglas, III","given":"H. D."},{"family":"Gratto-Trevor","given":"C. L."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2001"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Lowther et al. 2001).Results for Nelson’s Sparrow were consistent with the known U.S. extent of the breeding range of the Acadian race subvirgatus, which breeds in salt marshes from Quebec to the northeastern shore of Massachusetts ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"96af1f2mc","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Greenlaw and Woolfenden 2007)","plainCitation":"(Greenlaw and Woolfenden 2007)"},"citationItems":[{"id":734,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":734,"type":"article-journal","title":"Wintering distributions and migration of saltmarsh and nelson's sharp-tailed sparrows","container-title":"The Wilson Journal of Ornithology","page":"361-377","volume":"119","issue":"3","source":".udel.idm. (Atypon)","abstract":"Abstract We delineate the winter distributions of the five subspecies of Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed (Ammodramus caudacutus) and Nelson's Sharp-tailed (A. nelsoni) sparrows, and comment on patterns of migration. The two subspecies of A. caudacutus (A. c. caudacutus, A. c. diversus) have similar core winter ranges that extend along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to northeastern Florida. They also occupy two isolated areas within peninsular Florida in Everglades National Park and on the northwest Gulf coast. Migration in A. caudacutus is mainly confined to the coast. The subspecies of A. nelsoni (A. n. nelsoni, A. n. alterus, A. n. subvirgatus) occupy different but overlapping winter ranges. A. n. nelsoni is the most widespread, occurring from North Carolina to Texas. Some birds migrate along the Atlantic coast southwards in fall, and others follow interior routes through the Mississippi River watershed in both fall and spring. We suggest A. n. nelsoni wintering along the Atlantic coast in spring fly directly inland towards their northern breeding areas. Some birds in fall also approach the southeastern coastline directly across the Appalachian Mountains. A. n. alterus mainly winters along the southeastern Atlantic coast to Florida, and in fewer numbers along the Gulf coast at least to Louisiana. Some A. n. alterus may migrate to the Gulf coast directly via inland routes west of the Appalachian Mountains. A. n. subvirgatus has the most limited wintering distribution, from South Carolina to northeast Florida, and is strictly a coastal migrant south of New England. Limited wintering ranges and narrow winter habitat requirements place continental populations of sharp-tailed sparrows at risk.","DOI":"10.1676/05-152.1","ISSN":"1559-4491","journalAbbreviation":"The Wilson Journal of Ornithology","author":[{"family":"Greenlaw","given":"Jon S."},{"family":"Woolfenden","given":"Glen E."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2007",9,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,3]],"season":"00:11:25"}}}],"schema":""} (Greenlaw and Woolfenden 2007). High density patches were scattered throughout Coastal Maine and primarily situated in an estuarine embayment geomorphological setting, both as stream channel wetlands and saline fringe marshes ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1pajja5fgn","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Cahoon et al. 2009)","plainCitation":"(Cahoon et al. 2009)"},"citationItems":[{"id":581,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":581,"type":"chapter","title":"Coastal Wetland Sustainability","container-title":"Coastal Sensitivity to Sea-Level Rise: A Focus on the Mid-Atlantic Region","collection-title":"Synthesis and Assessment Product","collection-number":"4.1","publisher":"U.S. Climate Change Science Program","publisher-place":"Washington D.C., USA","page":"57-72","event-place":"Washington D.C., USA","author":[{"family":"Cahoon","given":"D.R."},{"family":"Reed","given":"D J."},{"family":"Kolker","given":"A.S."},{"family":"Brinson","given":"M.M."},{"family":"Stevenson","given":"J.C."},{"family":"Riggs","given":"S."},{"family":"Christian","given":"R."},{"family":"Reyes","given":"E."},{"family":"Voss","given":"C."},{"family":"Kunz","given":"D."}],"container-author":[{"family":"Titus","given":"J.G."},{"family":"Anderson","given":"K.E."},{"family":"Cahoon","given":"D.R."},{"family":"Gesch","given":"D.B."},{"family":"Gill","given":"S.K."},{"family":"Gutierrez","given":"B.T."},{"family":"Thieler","given":"E.R."},{"family":"Williams","given":"S.J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Cahoon et al. 2009). At the southern end of the range the subspecies occurs sympatrically with Saltmarsh Sparrow ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"o9np8ucb7","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Montagna 1942, Greenlaw 1993, Hodgman et al. 2002)","plainCitation":"(Montagna 1942, Greenlaw 1993, Hodgman et al. 2002)"},"citationItems":[{"id":741,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":741,"type":"article-journal","title":"The sharp-tailed sparrows of the Atlantic coast","container-title":"The Wilson Bulletin","page":"107-121","volume":"54","issue":"2","author":[{"family":"Montagna","given":"W."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1942"]]}}},{"id":742,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":742,"type":"article-journal","title":"Behavioral and morphological diversification in sharp-tailed sparrows (Ammodramus caudacutus) of the Atlantic coast","container-title":"The Auk","page":"286-303","volume":"110","issue":"2","author":[{"family":"Greenlaw","given":"J.S."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1993"]]}}},{"id":289,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":289,"type":"article-journal","title":"Redefining range overlap between the sharp-tailed sparrows of coastal New England","container-title":"The Wilson Bulletin","page":"38-43","volume":"114","issue":"1","source":"JSTOR","abstract":"With the designation of Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni) and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow (A. caudacutus) as species of high conservation priority in the northeastern United States, the need to document fully their abundance, distribution, and the extent of range overlap has become increasingly important. We surveyed saltmarshes in coastal New England for both species from 1997 to 2000. The current overlap zone extends from Parker River, Massachusetts, north to Weskeag River, Maine, which expands the previously reported range overlap of 48 km to 208 km. Among the 49 sites surveyed within the current overlap zone, both species were present at 25 sites. It is possible that the species have experienced range expansion over the last several decades, especially the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Our findings indicate that the nominate subspecies of the Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow warrants the greatest conservation concern given its limited geographic range, a potentially expanding hybrid zone with A. n. subvirgatus, and the potential for habitat degradation from an oil spill associated with the urban/industrial centers of the Northeast.","ISSN":"00435643","note":"ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 2002 / Copyright ? 2002 Wilson Ornithological Society","author":[{"family":"Hodgman","given":"Thomas P."},{"family":"Shriver","given":"W. Gregory"},{"family":"Vickery","given":"Peter D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2002",3]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2010",4,12]]}}}],"schema":""} (Montagna 1942, Greenlaw 1993, Hodgman et al. 2002); the overlap zone extends from the Weskeag River in South Thomaston, Maine to Parker River NWR in Newburyport, Massachusetts ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2c52r272sa","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Hodgman et al. 2002)","plainCitation":"(Hodgman et al. 2002)"},"citationItems":[{"id":289,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":289,"type":"article-journal","title":"Redefining range overlap between the sharp-tailed sparrows of coastal New England","container-title":"The Wilson Bulletin","page":"38-43","volume":"114","issue":"1","source":"JSTOR","abstract":"With the designation of Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni) and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow (A. caudacutus) as species of high conservation priority in the northeastern United States, the need to document fully their abundance, distribution, and the extent of range overlap has become increasingly important. We surveyed saltmarshes in coastal New England for both species from 1997 to 2000. The current overlap zone extends from Parker River, Massachusetts, north to Weskeag River, Maine, which expands the previously reported range overlap of 48 km to 208 km. Among the 49 sites surveyed within the current overlap zone, both species were present at 25 sites. It is possible that the species have experienced range expansion over the last several decades, especially the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Our findings indicate that the nominate subspecies of the Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow warrants the greatest conservation concern given its limited geographic range, a potentially expanding hybrid zone with A. n. subvirgatus, and the potential for habitat degradation from an oil spill associated with the urban/industrial centers of the Northeast.","ISSN":"00435643","note":"ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 2002 / Copyright ? 2002 Wilson Ornithological Society","author":[{"family":"Hodgman","given":"Thomas P."},{"family":"Shriver","given":"W. Gregory"},{"family":"Vickery","given":"Peter D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2002",3]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2010",4,12]]}}}],"schema":""} (Hodgman et al. 2002). In general, we encountered both species in the same patches in the overlap zone. Nelson’s Sparrow had higher densities than Saltmarsh Sparrow in most patches from Saco River, Maine to the northern boundary of the overlap zone.Hybridization between Nelson’s and Saltmarsh sparrows has been documented in the overlap zone ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"3JHxOi2s","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Rising and Avise 1993, Hodgman et al. 2002, Shriver et al. 2005, Walsh et al. 2011)","plainCitation":"(Rising and Avise 1993, Hodgman et al. 2002, Shriver et al. 2005, Walsh et al. 2011)"},"citationItems":[{"id":743,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":743,"type":"article-journal","title":"Application of genealogical-concordance principles to the taxonomy and evolutionary history of the sharp-tailed sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus)","container-title":"The Auk","page":"844-856","volume":"110","issue":"4","source":"CrossRef","DOI":"10.2307/4088638","ISSN":"00048038, 19384254","author":[{"family":"Rising","given":"James D."},{"family":"Avise","given":"John C."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1993",10]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,3]],"season":"05:18:05"}}},{"id":289,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":289,"type":"article-journal","title":"Redefining range overlap between the sharp-tailed sparrows of coastal New England","container-title":"The Wilson Bulletin","page":"38-43","volume":"114","issue":"1","source":"JSTOR","abstract":"With the designation of Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni) and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow (A. caudacutus) as species of high conservation priority in the northeastern United States, the need to document fully their abundance, distribution, and the extent of range overlap has become increasingly important. We surveyed saltmarshes in coastal New England for both species from 1997 to 2000. The current overlap zone extends from Parker River, Massachusetts, north to Weskeag River, Maine, which expands the previously reported range overlap of 48 km to 208 km. Among the 49 sites surveyed within the current overlap zone, both species were present at 25 sites. It is possible that the species have experienced range expansion over the last several decades, especially the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Our findings indicate that the nominate subspecies of the Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow warrants the greatest conservation concern given its limited geographic range, a potentially expanding hybrid zone with A. n. subvirgatus, and the potential for habitat degradation from an oil spill associated with the urban/industrial centers of the Northeast.","ISSN":"00435643","note":"ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 2002 / Copyright ? 2002 Wilson Ornithological Society","author":[{"family":"Hodgman","given":"Thomas P."},{"family":"Shriver","given":"W. Gregory"},{"family":"Vickery","given":"Peter D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2002",3]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2010",4,12]]}}},{"id":737,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":737,"type":"article-journal","title":"Concordance between morphological and molecular markers in assessing hybridization between sharp-tailed sparrows in new england","container-title":"The Auk","page":"94-107","volume":"122","issue":"1","source":".udel.idm. (Atypon)","abstract":"Abstract Hybridization is pivotal in framing ideas about species concepts and has the potential to produce novel genotypes that may serve as starting points for new evolutionary trajectories. Presently, Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows (Ammodramus nelsoni subvirgatus) and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows (A. caudacutus caudacutus) are in contact in salt marshes of Maine, New Hampshire, and northern Massachusetts. These two species hybridize, but the extent and direction of introgression has not been determined. We assessed morphological and genetic variation of 123 sharp-tailed sparrows from 5 salt marshes in New England. We used six morphological variables, including a plumage-scoring index, and five mic-rosatellite primers to assess the extent of introgression and to determine whether there was concordance between phenotypic and genotypic variation. We identified apparent hybrids and each of the two sharp-tailed sparrow species using a plumagescoring index. In general, we found that hybrids were more similar morphologically and genetically to Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows. The alleles of hybrids were 62% Saltmarsh and 38% Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows, supporting the asymmetrical hybridization hypothesis. Concordancia entre Marcadores Morfológicos y Moleculares al Evaluar la Hibridación entre Ammodramus nelsoni subvirgatus y A. caudacutus caudacutus en Nueva Inglaterra , Resumen La hibridación es un proceso clave para plantear ideas sobre conceptos de especie y tiene el potencial de producir genotipos novedosos que pueden representar puntos de partida para nuevas trayectorias evolutivas. En la actualidad, los gorriones Ammodramus nelsoni subvirgatus y A. caudacutus caudacutus están en contacto en los pantanos de agua salada de Maine, New Hampshire y el norte de Massachusetts. Estas dos especies hibridan entre sí, pero el grado y la dirección de la introgresión no han sido determinados. En este estudio examinamos la variación morfológica y genética de 123 individuos de cinco pantanos ubicados en Nueva Inglaterra. Empleamos seis variables morfológicas, incluyendo un índice para calificar el plumaje y cinco iniciadores de microsatélites para determinar el grado de introgresión y determinar si existe concordancia entre la variación fenotípica y la variación genética. Identificamos híbridos aparentes e individuos de cada una de las dos especies usando un índice para calificar el plumaje. En general, encontramos que los híbridos fueron más similares morfológica y genéticamente a A. caudacutus caudacutus. El 62% de los alelos de los híbridos fueron de A. caudacutus caudacutus y el 38% de A. nelsoni subvirgatus, lo que apoya la hipótesis de hibridación asimétrica.","DOI":"10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[0094:CBMAMM]2.0.CO;2","ISSN":"0004-8038","journalAbbreviation":"The Auk","author":[{"family":"Shriver","given":"W. Gregory"},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"James P."},{"family":"Vickery","given":"Peter D."},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"H. Lisle"},{"family":"Hodgman","given":"Thomas P."},{"family":"Jones","given":"Peter T."},{"family":"Jacques","given":"Christopher N."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2005",1,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,3]],"season":"00:13:45"}}},{"id":732,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":732,"type":"article-journal","title":"Genetic barcode RFLP analysis of the Nelson's and saltmarsh sparrow hybrid zone","container-title":"The Wilson Journal of Ornithology","page":"316-322","issue":"Jun 2011","DOI":"10.1676/10-134.1","ISSN":"1559-4491","author":[{"family":"Walsh","given":"J."},{"family":"Kovach","given":"A.I."},{"family":"Lane","given":"O.P."},{"family":"O'Brien","given":"K.M."},{"family":"Babbitt","given":"K.J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Rising and Avise 1993, Hodgman et al. 2002, Shriver et al. 2005, Walsh et al. 2011) and hybrids can potentially occur in all marshes where the two species co-exist ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1oad6fknu1","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Shriver et al. 2005, Walsh et al. 2011)","plainCitation":"(Shriver et al. 2005, Walsh et al. 2011)"},"citationItems":[{"id":737,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":737,"type":"article-journal","title":"Concordance between morphological and molecular markers in assessing hybridization between sharp-tailed sparrows in new england","container-title":"The Auk","page":"94-107","volume":"122","issue":"1","source":".udel.idm. (Atypon)","abstract":"Abstract Hybridization is pivotal in framing ideas about species concepts and has the potential to produce novel genotypes that may serve as starting points for new evolutionary trajectories. Presently, Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows (Ammodramus nelsoni subvirgatus) and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows (A. caudacutus caudacutus) are in contact in salt marshes of Maine, New Hampshire, and northern Massachusetts. These two species hybridize, but the extent and direction of introgression has not been determined. We assessed morphological and genetic variation of 123 sharp-tailed sparrows from 5 salt marshes in New England. We used six morphological variables, including a plumage-scoring index, and five mic-rosatellite primers to assess the extent of introgression and to determine whether there was concordance between phenotypic and genotypic variation. We identified apparent hybrids and each of the two sharp-tailed sparrow species using a plumagescoring index. In general, we found that hybrids were more similar morphologically and genetically to Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows. The alleles of hybrids were 62% Saltmarsh and 38% Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows, supporting the asymmetrical hybridization hypothesis. Concordancia entre Marcadores Morfológicos y Moleculares al Evaluar la Hibridación entre Ammodramus nelsoni subvirgatus y A. caudacutus caudacutus en Nueva Inglaterra , Resumen La hibridación es un proceso clave para plantear ideas sobre conceptos de especie y tiene el potencial de producir genotipos novedosos que pueden representar puntos de partida para nuevas trayectorias evolutivas. En la actualidad, los gorriones Ammodramus nelsoni subvirgatus y A. caudacutus caudacutus están en contacto en los pantanos de agua salada de Maine, New Hampshire y el norte de Massachusetts. Estas dos especies hibridan entre sí, pero el grado y la dirección de la introgresión no han sido determinados. En este estudio examinamos la variación morfológica y genética de 123 individuos de cinco pantanos ubicados en Nueva Inglaterra. Empleamos seis variables morfológicas, incluyendo un índice para calificar el plumaje y cinco iniciadores de microsatélites para determinar el grado de introgresión y determinar si existe concordancia entre la variación fenotípica y la variación genética. Identificamos híbridos aparentes e individuos de cada una de las dos especies usando un índice para calificar el plumaje. En general, encontramos que los híbridos fueron más similares morfológica y genéticamente a A. caudacutus caudacutus. El 62% de los alelos de los híbridos fueron de A. caudacutus caudacutus y el 38% de A. nelsoni subvirgatus, lo que apoya la hipótesis de hibridación asimétrica.","DOI":"10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[0094:CBMAMM]2.0.CO;2","ISSN":"0004-8038","journalAbbreviation":"The Auk","author":[{"family":"Shriver","given":"W. Gregory"},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"James P."},{"family":"Vickery","given":"Peter D."},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"H. Lisle"},{"family":"Hodgman","given":"Thomas P."},{"family":"Jones","given":"Peter T."},{"family":"Jacques","given":"Christopher N."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2005",1,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,3]],"season":"00:13:45"}}},{"id":732,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":732,"type":"article-journal","title":"Genetic barcode RFLP analysis of the Nelson's and saltmarsh sparrow hybrid zone","container-title":"The Wilson Journal of Ornithology","page":"316-322","issue":"Jun 2011","DOI":"10.1676/10-134.1","ISSN":"1559-4491","author":[{"family":"Walsh","given":"J."},{"family":"Kovach","given":"A.I."},{"family":"Lane","given":"O.P."},{"family":"O'Brien","given":"K.M."},{"family":"Babbitt","given":"K.J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Shriver et al. 2005, Walsh et al. 2011). In the putative hybrid zone, “pure” individuals are difficult to distinguish from introgressed individuals by morphology alone; at the south end of the zone, individuals confirmed to be hybrids using genetic testing were identified as Saltmarsh Sparrows in the field based on morphological characteristics ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"c40rVSD8","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Shriver et al. 2005, Walsh et al. 2011)","plainCitation":"(Shriver et al. 2005, Walsh et al. 2011)"},"citationItems":[{"id":737,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":737,"type":"article-journal","title":"Concordance between morphological and molecular markers in assessing hybridization between sharp-tailed sparrows in new england","container-title":"The Auk","page":"94-107","volume":"122","issue":"1","source":".udel.idm. (Atypon)","abstract":"Abstract Hybridization is pivotal in framing ideas about species concepts and has the potential to produce novel genotypes that may serve as starting points for new evolutionary trajectories. Presently, Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows (Ammodramus nelsoni subvirgatus) and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows (A. caudacutus caudacutus) are in contact in salt marshes of Maine, New Hampshire, and northern Massachusetts. These two species hybridize, but the extent and direction of introgression has not been determined. We assessed morphological and genetic variation of 123 sharp-tailed sparrows from 5 salt marshes in New England. We used six morphological variables, including a plumage-scoring index, and five mic-rosatellite primers to assess the extent of introgression and to determine whether there was concordance between phenotypic and genotypic variation. We identified apparent hybrids and each of the two sharp-tailed sparrow species using a plumagescoring index. In general, we found that hybrids were more similar morphologically and genetically to Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows. The alleles of hybrids were 62% Saltmarsh and 38% Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows, supporting the asymmetrical hybridization hypothesis. Concordancia entre Marcadores Morfológicos y Moleculares al Evaluar la Hibridación entre Ammodramus nelsoni subvirgatus y A. caudacutus caudacutus en Nueva Inglaterra , Resumen La hibridación es un proceso clave para plantear ideas sobre conceptos de especie y tiene el potencial de producir genotipos novedosos que pueden representar puntos de partida para nuevas trayectorias evolutivas. En la actualidad, los gorriones Ammodramus nelsoni subvirgatus y A. caudacutus caudacutus están en contacto en los pantanos de agua salada de Maine, New Hampshire y el norte de Massachusetts. Estas dos especies hibridan entre sí, pero el grado y la dirección de la introgresión no han sido determinados. En este estudio examinamos la variación morfológica y genética de 123 individuos de cinco pantanos ubicados en Nueva Inglaterra. Empleamos seis variables morfológicas, incluyendo un índice para calificar el plumaje y cinco iniciadores de microsatélites para determinar el grado de introgresión y determinar si existe concordancia entre la variación fenotípica y la variación genética. Identificamos híbridos aparentes e individuos de cada una de las dos especies usando un índice para calificar el plumaje. En general, encontramos que los híbridos fueron más similares morfológica y genéticamente a A. caudacutus caudacutus. El 62% de los alelos de los híbridos fueron de A. caudacutus caudacutus y el 38% de A. nelsoni subvirgatus, lo que apoya la hipótesis de hibridación asimétrica.","DOI":"10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[0094:CBMAMM]2.0.CO;2","ISSN":"0004-8038","journalAbbreviation":"The Auk","author":[{"family":"Shriver","given":"W. Gregory"},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"James P."},{"family":"Vickery","given":"Peter D."},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"H. Lisle"},{"family":"Hodgman","given":"Thomas P."},{"family":"Jones","given":"Peter T."},{"family":"Jacques","given":"Christopher N."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2005",1,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,3]],"season":"00:13:45"}}},{"id":732,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":732,"type":"article-journal","title":"Genetic barcode RFLP analysis of the Nelson's and saltmarsh sparrow hybrid zone","container-title":"The Wilson Journal of Ornithology","page":"316-322","issue":"Jun 2011","DOI":"10.1676/10-134.1","ISSN":"1559-4491","author":[{"family":"Walsh","given":"J."},{"family":"Kovach","given":"A.I."},{"family":"Lane","given":"O.P."},{"family":"O'Brien","given":"K.M."},{"family":"Babbitt","given":"K.J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Shriver et al. 2005, Walsh et al. 2011). More research across the hybrid zone is needed to determine if there is a bias toward either sparrow phenotype; moreover, the effect of introgression on vocalization remains unstudied. Hybridization has clear implications for detecting species accurately from visual markers and/or vocal cues during point counts. Technicians surveying in the hybrid zone may falsely record an introgressed sharp-tailed sparrow as a “pure” Saltmarsh Sparrow leading to underestimates of hybrids coupled with overestimates of Saltmarsh Sparrows, and vice versa for Nelson’s Sparrow. Additional hybrid research will help improve Nelson’s and Saltmarsh sparrow population estimates and distribution mapping, as well as assist conservation practitioners with weighing the threat of hybridization to species conservation and evaluating possible strategies to protect genetically “pure” populations.Saltmarsh Sparrow density in individual marsh patches was greatest in New England and Long Island where small groups of patches with higher density estimates were clustered around Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts; Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island; and South Oyster Bay, New York. Our results show that south of the Nelson’s-Saltmarsh overlap zone, Saltmarsh Sparrow was the dominant sparrow inhabiting coastal marshes south to the Barnegat Bay in New Jersey. In Barnegat Bay salt marshes, Seaside Sparrows occur in increasingly higher densities than Saltmarsh Sparrows. Coastal southern New Jersey is also the transition zone for the two forms of Saltmarsh Sparrow; from this area, the northern Saltmarsh Sparrow (A. c. caudacutus) breeds north to Maine and the southern Saltmarsh Sparrow (A. c. diversus) breeds south to Virginia ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"175k37hnta","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Greenlaw and Rising 1994)","plainCitation":"(Greenlaw and Rising 1994)"},"citationItems":[{"id":36,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":36,"type":"article","title":"Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.).","publisher":"Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: ","source":"CrossRef","author":[{"family":"Greenlaw","given":"J.S."},{"family":"Rising","given":"J.D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1994"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Greenlaw and Rising 1994). When compared to density estimates from southern Maine to New Jersey, Saltmarsh Sparrows occurred at low densities in Coastal Maine, Delaware Bay, Coastal Delmarva, and Eastern Chesapeake Bay. The greatest Saltmarsh Sparrow densities in the southern portion of the breeding range were in Chincoteague Bay. We detected Saltmarsh Sparrows in limited numbers around the southern boundary of the species’ breeding range, near the Accomack and Northampton county border on the Eastern Shore of Virginia ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"24p5v4e30e","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Watts and Smith 2010)","plainCitation":"(Watts and Smith 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":755,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":755,"type":"post-weblog","title":"Southern range limit for breeding in the saltmarsh","container-title":"The Center for Conservation Biology/News Story","URL":"","author":[{"family":"Watts","given":"B."},{"family":"Smith","given":"F."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,3]],"season":"20:33:27"}}}],"schema":""} (Watts and Smith 2010, Wiest personal observation). Overall, the spatial distribution of our Saltmarsh Sparrow detections on the Delmarva Peninsula was similar to the distribution of detections from another recent marsh bird survey ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"qrhnt2n4c","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Watts and Smith 2010)","plainCitation":"(Watts and Smith 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":755,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":755,"type":"post-weblog","title":"Southern range limit for breeding in the saltmarsh","container-title":"The Center for Conservation Biology/News Story","URL":"","author":[{"family":"Watts","given":"B."},{"family":"Smith","given":"F."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,3]],"season":"20:33:27"}}}],"schema":""} (Watts and Smith 2010).Seaside Sparrow density was greatest in the Mid-Atlantic, consistent with the core of the breeding range for the subspecies maritima ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1viklur4dh","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Post and Greenlaw 2009)","plainCitation":"(Post and Greenlaw 2009)"},"citationItems":[{"id":19,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":19,"type":"article","title":"Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.).","publisher":"Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: ","source":"CrossRef","author":[{"family":"Post","given":"W."},{"family":"Greenlaw","given":"J. S."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Post and Greenlaw 2009). Average Seaside Sparrow percent occurrence was greatest in the bay subregions (Delaware and Eastern Chesapeake bays), but mean subregion density was similar across Delaware Bay, Coastal Delmarva, and Eastern Chesapeake Bay. Marshes with the greatest densities were spatially distributed throughout the three southern subregions and in Coastal New Jersey. Seaside Sparrows occurred on Long Island, but overall patch density was low; the greatest density estimates occurred on the south shore in back-barrier lagoon marsh systems behind Fire and Jones Beach islands. In New York, the species is considered a rare and local breeder in state maritime areas ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2ck27t5i7","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Arbib 1988, Greenlaw 2008)","plainCitation":"(Arbib 1988, Greenlaw 2008)"},"citationItems":[{"id":757,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":757,"type":"chapter","title":"Seaside sparrow. Ammodramus maritimus","container-title":"The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State","publisher":"Cornell University Press","publisher-place":"Ithaca, NY","page":"454-455","event-place":"Ithaca, NY","author":[{"family":"Arbib","given":"R."}],"editor":[{"family":"Andrle","given":"R.F."},{"family":"Carroll","given":"J.R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1988"]]}}},{"id":758,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":758,"type":"chapter","title":"Seaside sparrow. Ammodramus maritimus","container-title":"The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State","publisher":"Cornell University Press","publisher-place":"Ithaca, NY","page":"562-563","event-place":"Ithaca, NY","author":[{"family":"Greenlaw","given":"J.S."}],"editor":[{"family":"McGowan","given":"K.J."},{"family":"Corwin","given":"K."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2008"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Arbib 1988, Greenlaw 2008), but presence in subcoastal marshes has been documented (on Hudson River; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"pk19cjphh","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Bull 1974)","plainCitation":"(Bull 1974)"},"citationItems":[{"id":759,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":759,"type":"book","title":"Birds of New York State","publisher":"Doubleday","publisher-place":"Garden City, NY","event-place":"Garden City, NY","author":[{"family":"Bull","given":"J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1974"]]}}}],"schema":""} Bull 1974). Seaside Sparrow breeding populations in New England are localized and disjunct ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"0W6LhWi4","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Post and Greenlaw 2009)","plainCitation":"(Post and Greenlaw 2009)"},"citationItems":[{"id":19,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":19,"type":"article","title":"Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.).","publisher":"Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: ","source":"CrossRef","author":[{"family":"Post","given":"W."},{"family":"Greenlaw","given":"J. S."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Post and Greenlaw 2009) and our results aligned with this distribution; individuals were present in low densities in few marsh patches from Massachusetts to Connecticut. The species is rarely detected in Maine and New Hampshire ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1Uc65e1h","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Post and Greenlaw 2009)","plainCitation":"(Post and Greenlaw 2009)"},"citationItems":[{"id":19,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":19,"type":"article","title":"Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.).","publisher":"Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: ","source":"CrossRef","author":[{"family":"Post","given":"W."},{"family":"Greenlaw","given":"J. S."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Post and Greenlaw 2009); we detected one individual in Maine at Scarborough Marsh in 2011, greater than 100 m from the observer.We mapped bird densities within the single, broad habitat estuarine emergent marsh and did not distinguish among basic saltmarsh zones (e.g., low marsh, high marsh, salt pans, and terrestrial border; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"obd4vrqbn","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Bertness 1999)","plainCitation":"(Bertness 1999)"},"citationItems":[{"id":11,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":11,"type":"book","title":"The Ecology of Atlantic Shorelines","publisher":"Sinauer Associates","publisher-place":"Sunderland, MA","event-place":"Sunderland, MA","author":[{"family":"Bertness","given":"M.D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1999"]]}}}],"schema":""} Bertness 1999). Habitat use in marsh vegetation zones and in adjacent habitats (e.g., tidal flats, beaches) differs by species ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"N5ZJbV2s","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Hanson and Shriver 2006, Nocera et al. 2007, Shriver et al. 2010)","plainCitation":"(Hanson and Shriver 2006, Nocera et al. 2007, Shriver et al. 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":722,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":722,"type":"chapter","title":"Breeding birds of northeast saltmarshes: habitat use and conservation","container-title":"Terrestrial Vertebrates of Tidal Marshes: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation","collection-title":"Studies in Avian Biology","collection-number":"No. 32","publisher":"The Cooper Ornithological Society","publisher-place":"Camarillo, CA","page":"141-154","event-place":"Camarillo, CA","author":[{"family":"Hanson","given":"A.R."},{"family":"Shriver","given":"W.G."}],"collection-editor":[{"family":"Greenberg","given":"R."},{"family":"Maldonado","given":"J.E."},{"family":"Droege","given":"S."},{"family":"McDonald","given":"M.V."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2006"]]}}},{"id":720,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":720,"type":"article-journal","title":"Differential habitat use by Acadian Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrows: implications for regional conservation","container-title":"Journal of Field Ornithology","page":"50-55","volume":"78","issue":"1","source":"Wiley Online Library","abstract":"ABSTRACT Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows (Ammodramus nelsoni) that breed along the Atlantic coast of North America (Acadian subspecies subvirgatus) are considered saltmarsh specialists. However, these sparrows occasionally use upland habitats, such as hayfields. To evaluate the importance of hayfields as breeding habitat, we studied populations of A. n. subvirgatus in saltmarsh and hayfields in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 2004 and 2005. We monitored relative abundance and breeding phenology at 64 point-count stations (48 in hayfields and 16 in saltmarsh) and used an ordinal (0–5) observational index to quantify reproductive activity. A. n. subvirgatus showed more evidence of reproductive activity in saltmarsh (44% of point-count stations) than hayfields (28%; P= 0.07). However, there was no difference in either mean reproductive activity (saltmarsh = 0.83, hayfields = 0.53; P= 0.69) or mean relative abundance (saltmarsh = 0.27, hayfields = 0.26; P= 0.93). Although A. n. subvirgatus apparently breeds primarily in saltmarsh, hayfields appear to be an alternative breeding habitat. Use of hayfield habitat by A. n. subvirgtus, however, seems to vary between southern Maine and eastern Canada, suggesting that management plans will require approaches uniquely tailored to specific regions.","DOI":"10.1111/j.1557-9263.2006.00084.x","ISSN":"1557-9263","shortTitle":"Differential habitat use by Acadian Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrows","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Nocera","given":"Joseph J."},{"family":"Fitzgerald","given":"Trina M."},{"family":"Hanson","given":"Alan R."},{"family":"Randy Milton","given":"G."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2007"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2014",12,31]]}}},{"id":631,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":631,"type":"article-journal","title":"Home range sizes and habitat use of Nelson's and saltmarsh sparrows","container-title":"The Wilson Journal of Ornithology","page":"340-345","volume":"122","issue":"2","source":"JSTOR","abstract":"Nelson's (Ammodramus nelsoni) and Saltmarsh (A. caudacutus) sparrows are sympatric breeders in tidal marshes of the southern Gulf of Maine. These sparrows hybridize, have different mating strategies, and males do not defend territories or provide parental care. We estimated and compared core area sizes, home range sizes, and habitat use between species and between males and females. We radio-marked 140 sparrows (63 Nelson's and 77 Saltmarsh sparrows) during three breeding seasons (1999-2001) at Scarborough Marsh, Maine, USA. Home ranges of male A. nelsoni were 2.3 times larger (± SE) (119.68 ± 19.43 ha) than those of male A. caudacutus (52.85 ± 8.68 ha). Home range sizes of female Nelson's and female Saltmarsh sparrows did not differ from each other (female Nelson's home range = 43.58 ± 13.10 ha; female Saltmarsh home range = 27.81 ± 6.3 ha). More than 40% of male and 18% of female home ranges had two discrete core areas and, in most instances, each core area corresponded to a separate lunar cycle. We suggest that differences in mating strategies, densities, and adaptation to nesting in tidal marshes explain the larger home range estimates for male Nelson's Sparrows. Female and male Nelson's Sparrows' home ranges had more Spartina alterniflora cover and female Saltmarsh Sparrows' home ranges had greater Juncus gerardii cover than random locations. Home ranges of female Saltmarsh Sparrows had less Spartina alterniflora cover and more Juncus gerardii cover than female Nelson's Sparrows. We did not detect any differences in vegetation variables between male Saltmarsh and male Nelson's sparrow home ranges.","ISSN":"1559-4491","journalAbbreviation":"The Wilson Journal of Ornithology","author":[{"family":"Shriver","given":"W.G."},{"family":"Hodgman","given":"T.P."},{"family":"Gibbs","given":"J.P."},{"family":"Vickery","given":"P.D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010",6,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2014",9,27]]}}}],"schema":""} (Hanson and Shriver 2006, Nocera et al. 2007, Shriver et al. 2010), and marsh birds are typically concentrated in particular areas, leading to high spatial variation in abundance within a marsh ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2h22vesvco","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Conway and Droege 2006)","plainCitation":"(Conway and Droege 2006)"},"citationItems":[{"id":46,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":46,"type":"chapter","title":"A unified strategy for monitoring changes in abundance of birds associated with North American tidal marshes","container-title":"Terrestrial Vertebrates of Tidal Marshes: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation","collection-title":"Studies in Avian Biology","collection-number":"No. 32","publisher":"The Cooper Ornithological Society","publisher-place":"Camarillo, CA","page":"282-297","event-place":"Camarillo, CA","author":[{"family":"Conway","given":"C.J."},{"family":"Droege","given":"S."}],"collection-editor":[{"family":"Greenberg","given":"R."},{"family":"Maldonado","given":"J.E."},{"family":"Droege","given":"S."},{"family":"McDonald","given":"M.V."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2006"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Conway and Droege 2006). Distribution maps typically illustrate species’ ranges regardless of the array of habitats used ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"wyZ1aY5e","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Kantrud 1982)","plainCitation":"(Kantrud 1982)"},"citationItems":[{"id":701,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":701,"type":"report","title":"Maps of distribution and abundance of selected species of birds on uncultivated native upland grasslands and shrubsteppe in the Northern Great Plains","publisher":"U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, FWS/OBS-82/31","page":"31","author":[{"family":"Kantrud","given":"H.A."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1982"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Kantrud 1982), and our density maps illustrate species density across all salt marsh habitat regardless of species dependence and preference for marsh vegetation zone. Therefore, maps should not be construed as the overall species distribution in the study area, a caution common to interpreting larger scale species distribution and abundance maps ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"iNaOuxFD","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Kantrud 1982)","plainCitation":"(Kantrud 1982)"},"citationItems":[{"id":701,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":701,"type":"report","title":"Maps of distribution and abundance of selected species of birds on uncultivated native upland grasslands and shrubsteppe in the Northern Great Plains","publisher":"U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, FWS/OBS-82/31","page":"31","author":[{"family":"Kantrud","given":"H.A."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1982"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Kantrud 1982). Along similar lines, occurrence maps for some species do not necessarily correspond well with species nesting occurrence maps, as is the case for Saltmarsh Sparrow ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1qvb3kb1l4","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Meiman et al. 2012)","plainCitation":"(Meiman et al. 2012)"},"citationItems":[{"id":775,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":775,"type":"article-journal","title":"Comparing habitat models using ground-based and remote sensing data: Saltmarsh sparrow presence versus nesting","container-title":"Wetlands","page":"725-736","volume":"32","issue":"4","source":"link..udel.idm.","abstract":"Remote sensing data can represent various habitat characteristics, and thus can substitute for detailed ground sampling when constructing habitat models. To predict saltmarsh sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus) distribution and nesting activity, we compared Bayesian hierarchical models in which variables were generated from field or remote sensing data, at a scale of 1-ha plots and at the landscape scale. Field data consisted of plant structure and plant composition variables. Data derived from remote sensing included high and low marsh classifications, LiDAR elevation data, and a classification derived from spectral characteristics specifically associated with saltmarsh sparrow habitat use. The best sparrow presence model used a variable derived from spectral reflectance values associated with plots where sparrows did not occur, indicating that the remote sensing data included additional information about conditions associated with saltmarsh sparrow occurrence than was provided by plant composition, structure, or community classes. In contrast, nest presence was modeled best using vegetation structure variables that required data collection on the ground, although the best remote-sensing model was almost as good. These results reinforce the value of remote-sensing data in habitat modeling, and highlight the need to distinguish between sites that contribute to reproduction and sites where a species is merely present.","DOI":"10.1007/s13157-012-0306-8","ISSN":"0277-5212, 1943-6246","shortTitle":"Comparing Habitat Models Using Ground-Based and Remote Sensing Data","journalAbbreviation":"Wetlands","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Meiman","given":"Susan"},{"family":"Civco","given":"Daniel"},{"family":"Holsinger","given":"Kent"},{"family":"Elphick","given":"Chris S."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012",8,1]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2015",1,12]],"season":"19:08:00"}}}],"schema":""} (Meiman et al. 2012), warranting additional caution for this species. Still, our mapping results provide a reasonable means to begin synthesizing tidal marsh specialist bird species occurrence and abundance across a broad geographic region.Knowing basic species location and population level information is critical to identifying regional and continental scale patterns in species distribution and abundance. Only once these patterns are known can we begin evaluating how distribution and abundance changes through time and space and identify what environmental factors influence these changes, to effectively prioritize conservation actions at these larger scales. Taking a proactive, collaborative, large-scale approach to tidal marsh bird conservation will be necessary to combat the threats of climate change to these species. Habitat patches that we identified as supporting high densities of tidal marsh specialist birds are naturally home to other coastal bird species of conservation concern that are susceptible to the same major threats. For example, Lanes Island in Shinnecock Bay, NY had a high Willet density estimate and supports colonies of state-listed Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) and state-listed and federally endangered Roseate Tern (S. dougallii; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1308t1abqv","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1997)","plainCitation":"(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1997)"},"citationItems":[{"id":760,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":760,"type":"article","title":"Significant Habitats and Habitat Complexes of the New York Bight Watershed","publisher":"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Charlestown, RI","author":[{"family":"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1997"]]}}}],"schema":""} U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1997). East Coast U.S. salt marshes are also critically important for American Black Duck (Anas rubripes; the species winters in salt marshes) and the globally near threatened Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis; ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"o59bcmmno","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(BirdLife International 2012b)","plainCitation":"(BirdLife International 2012b)"},"citationItems":[{"id":778,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":778,"type":"webpage","title":"Laterallus jamaicensis","container-title":"The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3","URL":"","author":[{"family":"BirdLife International","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2014",12,31]]}}}],"schema":""} BirdLife International 2012b); both species are of high conservation concern across their entire range and breed locally at low abundances in BCR 30. Our sampling yielded too few detections to perform analyses for these species and additional monitoring is needed to assess their breeding status in Northeast salt marshes. Evaluating priority marsh bird conservation areas in the context of priority areas for other vulnerable coastal bird species will further help direct the allocation of limited conservation funds, facilitate habitat management strategies and decisions, and focus future monitoring efforts to target information gaps. With a Northeast regional marsh bird monitoring platform now in place, we can begin to shed light on how changes to marsh habitat brought about by climate change and human activity will affect the persistence of tidal marsh bird populations and target our conservation actions to give these species their best chance for survival.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThis research was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Regional Conservation Needs Grant Program and Region 5 - Division of Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration under State Wildlife Grant # U2-5-R-1. We would especially like to thank Northeast state, federal, and NGO biologists and their organizations for help with field logistics, additional support, and allowing us to work on their properties. We also thank the numerous private landowners who granted us permission to work on their properties multiple years and supported our research. We thank the 2011 and 2012 Saltmarsh Habitat and Avian Research Program (SHARP) survey field crews for help with data collection, as well as the C. Conway lab for playback sequences, M. Seamans and A. Olsen for assistance with the sampling design and ‘spsurvey’ package, and K. Serno for creating the manuscript’s density maps. The research findings and conclusions in this article are those solely of the authors. No funders had any input into the content of the manuscript nor required their approval of the manuscript before submission or publication. LITERATURE CITED ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Arbib, R. 1988. Seaside sparrow. Ammodramus maritimus. Pages 454–455 in R. F. Andrle and J. R. Carroll, editors. The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.Bertness, M. D. 1999. The Ecology of Atlantic Shorelines. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.BirdLife International. 2012a. Ammodramus caudacutus. .BirdLife International. 2012b. 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Vickery. 2010. Home range sizes and habitat use of Nelson’s and saltmarsh sparrows. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 122:340–345.Shriver, W. G., T. P. Hodgman, and A. R. Hanson. 2011. Nelson’s Sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: , W. G., P. D. Vickery, T. P. Hodgman, and J. P. Gibbs. 2007. Flood tides affect breeding ecology of two sympatric sharp-tailed sparrows. The Auk 124:552–560.Stevens, D. L., and A. R. Olsen. 1999. Spatially restricted surveys over time for aquatic resources. Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics 4:415–428.Stevens, D. L., and A. R. Olsen. 2003. Variance estimation for spatially balanced samples of environmental resources. Environmetrics 14:593–610.Stevens, D. L., and A. R. Olsen. 2004. Spatially balanced sampling of natural resources. Journal of the American Statistical Association 99:262–278.Stewart, R. E. 1951. Clapper rail populations of the Middle Atlantic States. Transactions of the North American Wildlife Conference 16:421–430.Thompson, S. K. 2012. Sampling. 3rd edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, NY.Tomkins, I. R. 1965. The Willets of Georgia and South Carolina. The Wilson Bulletin 77:151–167.Tufts, R. 1986. Birds of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Museum, Halifax.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1997. Significant Habitats and Habitat Complexes of the New York Bight Watershed. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Charlestown, RI.U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Program. 2011. Protected Areas Database of the United States (PADUS).Walsh, J., A. I. Kovach, O. P. Lane, K. M. O’Brien, and K. J. Babbitt. 2011. Genetic barcode RFLP analysis of the Nelson’s and saltmarsh sparrow hybrid zone. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology:316–322.Watts, B., and F. Smith. 2010. Southern range limit for breeding in the saltmarsh.Wells, J. V., and P. D. Vickery. 1990. Willet nesting in sphagnum bog in eastern Maine. Journal of Field Ornithology 61:73–75.Wilen, B. O., and M. K. Bates. 1995. The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wetlands Inventory project. Vegetatio 118:153–169.Zar, J. H. 1999. Biostatistical Analysis. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.Figure 1. The sampling universe in the Northeast USA delineated into subregions; subregions are composed of 40 km2 hexagons containing estuarine intertidal emergent marsh (also see Table 2). State acronyms: CT – Connecticut, DE – Delaware, DC – District of Columbia, ME – Maine, MD – Maryland, MA – Massachusetts, NH – New Hampshire, NJ – New Jersey, NY – New York, NC – North Carolina, PA – Pennsylvania, RI – Rhode Island, VT – Vermont, VA – Virginia, and WV – West Virginia. -101602343785C00C41509952343150D00D-23495-17145A00A4124960-15240B00BFigure 2. Average density (± SE) for tidal marsh specialist birds in the Northeast USA, 2011-12, by subregion (north to south) and region-wide. Means were calculated using surveyed marsh patches with species density estimates ≥0.01 birds per ha (also see Table 4 for sample sizes).27929420B00B12703718983C00C00A00AFigure 3. The average species densities (birds per ha) during 2011-2012 for tidal marsh specialist birds in marsh patches in Subregion 1: Coastal Maine.27838403692313D00D1270-15875A00A2785745-17780B00B25403700992C00CFigure 4. The average species densities (birds per ha) during 2011-2012 for tidal marsh specialist birds in marsh patches in Subregion 2: Cape Cod – Casco Bay.-74082606040C00C34651952606040D00D3468158-18415B00B-7408-14605A00AFigure 5. The average species densities (birds per ha) during 2011-2012 for tidal marsh specialist birds in marsh patches in Subregions 3 and 4: Southern New England and Long Island.-6350-5715A00A2776855-8255B00B-63503710305C00C27753733701415D00DFigure 6. The average species densities (birds per ha) during 2011-2012 for tidal marsh specialist birds in marsh patches in Subregion 5: Coastal New Jersey.3810-12700A00A2786380-15875B00B31753702685C00C27846873693795D00DFigure 7. The average species densities (birds per ha) during 2011-2012 for tidal marsh specialist birds in marsh patches in Subregion 6: Delaware Bay.27743153694430D00D-69853703320C00C2776220-15240B00B-3598-11430A00AFigure 8. The average species densities (birds per ha) during 2011-2012 for tidal marsh specialist birds in marsh patches in Subregions 7 and 8: Coastal Delmarva and Eastern Chesapeake Bay. Table 1. Historical and ongoing studies with existing marsh bird survey points; studies are listed by organization type, then from north to south. In the Resurveyed column, a ‘Y’ is marked if historical points were resurveyed in 2011 and/or 2012 as part of this research, and an ‘N’ is marked if no points were resurveyed. See Figure 1 for state acronym definitionsOrganizationHistorical studyState(s) surveyedResurveyed AcademicUniversity of Connecticut CTYState University of New York, College of Environmental Science and ForestryNH, MA, RI, CTYState GovernmentMaine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife MEYNew Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (Rail surveys)NJYNew Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (Saltmarsh birds) NJYDelaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control DEYMaryland Department of Natural Resources MDYFederal GovernmentU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Salt marsh integrity project pilot study)ME, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, DE, VAYRachel Carson National Wildlife RefugeMEYParker River National Wildlife RefugeMAYMonomoy National Wildlife RefugeMAYBombay Hook National Wildlife RefugeDEYSmithsonian Migratory Bird Center (DeLuca) VANSmithsonian Migratory Bird Center (Greenberg) DEYNon-GovernmentalNew Hampshire Audubon (Hampton) NHYMassachusetts Audubon MAYNew Jersey Audubon (Gateway)NJYNew Jersey Audubon (Raritan) NJNNew Jersey Audubon (Meadow) NJYNew Jersey Audubon (Peters)NJYTable 2. Subregions used for sampling stratification, and summary statistics of the sampling universe (number of hexagons [n] and marsh area [hectares]) and sampled area (number of sampled hexagons [n], marsh area [hectares], and number of survey points [n]). Subregion boundaries were developed based on suggestions by Conway and Droege ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"dQzi4EAr","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Conway and Droege 2006)","plainCitation":"(Conway and Droege 2006)"},"citationItems":[{"id":46,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":46,"type":"chapter","title":"A unified strategy for monitoring changes in abundance of birds associated with North American tidal marshes","container-title":"Terrestrial Vertebrates of Tidal Marshes: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation","collection-title":"Studies in Avian Biology","collection-number":"No. 32","publisher":"The Cooper Ornithological Society","publisher-place":"Camarillo, CA","page":"282-297","event-place":"Camarillo, CA","author":[{"family":"Conway","given":"C.J."},{"family":"Droege","given":"S."}],"collection-editor":[{"family":"Greenberg","given":"R."},{"family":"Maldonado","given":"J.E."},{"family":"Droege","given":"S."},{"family":"McDonald","given":"M.V."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2006"]]}}}],"schema":""} (2006; also see Figure 1 for subregion map and state acronym definitions).Sampling universeSampled areaSubregionState(s)BoundariesHexagonsMarsh areaHexagonsMarsh areaSurvey points1 Coastal MaineMELubec, ME to north side Casco Bay, ME2086,223432,5732442 Cape Cod - Casco BayME/NH/MACasco Bay, ME to Cape Cod, MA (incl. north side U.S. Rt. 6)11320,4724410,8263403 Southern New EnglandMA/RI/CT/NYSouth of Cape Cod, MA (incl. south side U.S. Rt. 6) to Hudson River, NY18010,127354,0052054 Long IslandNYLong Island, NY1079,920316,2631195 Coastal New JerseyNY/NJStaten Island, NY; NJ Meadowlands to Cape May, NJ (oceanside) 10950,3544332,9772936 Delaware BayNJ/DECape May, NJ (bayside) to Lewes, DE (bayside)8859,9562324,4441537 Coastal DelmarvaDE/MD/VALewes, DE (oceanside) to Fisherman Island NWR, VA9345,3333625,6832418 Eastern Chesapeake BayMD/VAChesapeake Bay coast east of Susquehanna River mouth21278,3372228,2721859 Western Chesapeake BayMD/VAChesapeake Bay coast west of Susquehanna River mouth31135,409000Table 3. Mean percent occurrence (± SE %) of tidal marsh specialist bird species during the breeding season, 2011-12, by subregion (north to south). Percent occurrence is the percent of survey points where one or more individuals of a given species was detected at 0-50 m during the 5-minute passive point count across all survey visits.SubregionSpecies1Coastal Maine2Cape Cod - Casco Bay3Southern New England4Long Island5Coastal New Jersey6Delaware Bay7Coastal Delmarva8Eastern Chesapeake BayClapper RailNANA2 (1)11 (3)22 (7)25 (12)49 (5)22 (3)Willet3 (2)17 (1)20 (1)34 (4)23 (7)23 (7)39 (1)13 (1)Nelson’s Sparrow34 (1)10 (2)NANANANANANASaltmarsh Sparrow2 (2)15 (4)26 (1)15 (1)18 (11)9 (5)16 (1)8 (0)Seaside SparrowNA1 (0)5 (0)19 (5)31 (13)45 (11)28 (1)64 (6)Table 4. The total number of saltmarsh habitat patches (n) in the Northeast USA and the sampled area, and summary statistics for tidal marsh specialist birds during the breeding season, 2011-12, by subregion (north to south) and region-wide. Species summary statistics were calculated using surveyed marsh patches with species density estimates ≥0.01 birds per ha and include: number of patches detected (n) with the percent of these patches relative to the number of sampled patches in parentheses (%); area of detected patches (hectares); and species estimated abundance (number of birds) with 95% confidence intervals in parentheses.Subregion1Coastal Maine2Cape Cod - Casco Bay3Southern New England4Long Island5Coastal New Jersey6Delaware Bay7Coastal Delmarva8Eastern Ches. BayNortheastUSANortheast patches1,4415361,2017165331664713,34113,332aSampled patches142b109c133d6963143121582eClapper RailNo. patches detectedNANA4 (7%)14 (20%)26 (41%)10 (71%)25 (81%)12 (57%)91 (36%)Area of patches5131,71438,07153,08436,71252,535182,627Estimated abundance (95% CI)86 (±63)783(±436)22,142(±11,896)22,450(±12,425)31,303(±11,346)24,021(±14,330)106,814(±24,428)WilletNo. patches detected5 (4%)23 (21%)43 (32%)31 (45%)24 (38%)6 (43%)25 (81%)8 (38%)165 (28%)Area of patches35113,4431,9542,62837,87452,44435,62247,441191,757Estimated abundance (95% CI)237(±317)4,878(±1,732)2,021(±661)3,117(±877)30,065(±11,877)32,374(±15,519)25,682(±7,307)13,942(±10,857)158,152(±24,453)Nelson’s SparrowNo. patches detected44 (31%)13 (25%)NANANANANANA57 (30%)Area of patches1,7473,9555,701Estimated abundance (95% CI)1,887(±445)1,893(±962)5,376(±1,209)Saltmarsh SparrowNo. patches detected6 (9%)26 (24%)52 (39%)65 (94%)18 (29%)4 (29%)16 (52%)5 (24%)192 (38%)Area of patches49212,6792,6283,48436,44940,00526,25245,851167,841Estimated abundance (95% CI)85(±113)6,355(±2,509)1,907(±650)1,144(±483)19,167(±9,000)3,485(±2,035)6,992(±2,935)4,866(±4,929)76,712(±15,330)Seaside SparrowNo. patches detectedNA2 (3%)10 (8%)20 (29%)24 (38%)7 (50%)18 (58%)11 (52%)92 (24%)Area of patches1,3268671,98038,68352,52017,07451,076163,527Estimated abundance (95% CI)178(±426)376(±342)923(±566)31,808(±14,781)67,867(±39,513)22,312(±10,743)60,681(±19,582)140,952(±30,785)a Total patches defined in Subregion 9: Western Chesapeake Bay (n = 4,927) are not included in the table, but are included in the total.b n = 69 for Saltmarsh Sparrow.c n = 51 for Nelson’s Sparrow and n = 59 for Seaside Sparrow.d n = 57 for Clapper Rail.e n = 255 for Clapper Rail, n = 193 for Nelson’s Sparrow, n = 509 for Saltmarsh Sparrow, and n = 390 for Seaside Sparrow. ................
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