EFFECTS OF NEST PREDATION AND BROOD PARASITISM ON POPULATION VIABILITY OF WILSON'S WARBLERS IN COASTAL CALIFORNIA

We studied the consequences of nest predation and brood parasitism on a population of Wilson's Warblers (Wilsonia pusilla) breeding in coastal riparian woodlands in northern California. We monitored 90 warbler nests from 1997 to 2000; only 16 of these produced Wilson's Warbler young. Of 74...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Wilson bulletin (Wilson Ornithological Society) 2004-03, Vol.116 (1), p.41-47
Main Authors: MICHAUD, JENNIFER C, GARDALI, THOMAS, NUR, NADAV, GIRMAN, DEREK J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal nesting
Bird nesting
Birds
Breeding
Brood parasitism
CONTENTS
Eggs
Eggs and nests
immigration
Molothrus ater
nesting
nests
Predation
Productivity
Reproductive success
risk
Songbirds
viability
Warblers
woodlands
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Summary:We studied the consequences of nest predation and brood parasitism on a population of Wilson's Warblers (Wilsonia pusilla) breeding in coastal riparian woodlands in northern California. We monitored 90 warbler nests from 1997 to 2000; only 16 of these produced Wilson's Warbler young. Of 74 failed nests, 73% (54/74) failed due to nest predation. Overall, 33% (30/90) of the nests were parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater). Nest success, as calculated by the Mayfield method, was 0.085 and notably lower than values reported for other warbler species. We used a simple demographic population model—under scenarios of high, average, and low productivity and survival—to evaluate the viability of this population and found it to be at risk of local extirpation without immigration. This was due to the combined effects of high levels of nest predation and the impacts of brood parasitism.
ISSN:0043-5643
2162-5204
DOI:10.1676/03-062