Successful forest management requires an understanding of the habitat requirements of individual species at multiple spatial scales. The cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea) is a neotropical migratory songbird that has recently gained widespread attention as a species of conservation and management concern. It breeds in mature, deciduous forests of eastern North America and has experienced precipitous range-wide declines over the last 40 years. Although Kentucky likely supports one of the largest breeding populations of the species, no information exists on cerulean warbler habitat selection within the state. The overall purpose of this study was to identify important habitat features associated with cerulean warbler distribution on breeding grounds in eastern Kentucky. In 2004 and 2005, I examined cerulean warbler distribution and associated vegetative characteristics within a hierarchical framework at the stand, territory, and nest-site levels. I used the Information-Theoretic approach to develop 2 sets of a priori models. The first set of models attempted to explain cerulean warbler site occupancy through presence and absence data obtained from point counts. The second set of models attempted to explain differences between preferred song perches and available habitat. Due to small sample size, nest-site information was not used in modeling efforts. Results from presence and absence modeling were inconclusive as no habitat-related differences were identified between occupied and unoccupied locations within the study area. However, territory modeling revealed three potentially important predictors of cerulean warbler habitat: large diameter trees, east-facing aspect, and increased shrub cover. This study reinforces general patterns observed throughout the cerulean warblers breeding range. Although the mechanisms causing cerulean warbler declines are still poorly understood, conservation and management efforts directed toward protecting and establishing large tracts of mature forest with large trees on mesic, sheltered sites should be a reasonable approach to managing cerulean warbler populations on the breeding grounds.

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The Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) is a mature forest obligate and one of the fastest declining songbird species in the United States. This decline may be related to a lack of disturbance within contemporary forests; however, the consequences of disturbance on the species have not been rigorously evaluated. Thus, we assessed multiple responses by Cerulean Warblers to a range of experimental forest disturbances across the core of their breeding range in the Appalachian Mountains. We quantified individual and population responses to these manipulations, and assessed the potential consequences of disturbance on the sexual signaling system. Male ceruleans were strongly attracted to intermediate and heavy disturbances at the stand scale. Despite attraction to disturbed habitats, nest success declined in these conditions, particularly in the highly productive Cumberland Mountains of northern Tennessee. Taken together, these opposing responses suggest that anthropogenically-disturbed forests may act as local ecological traps, but the impact of these local traps on the global population is dependent on several unestimated parameters. At a finer scale, selection for habitat features varied spatially. Males consistently selected for territories near canopy gaps and on productive slopes, but they displayed inconsistent territory selection in regards to tree diameter, basal area, overstory canopy cover, and canopy height. Females were more consistent in their selection of features within territories, selecting nest patches with large, well-spaced trees near disturbances. Floristically, female ceruleans consistently selected for sugar maples (Acer saccharum), white oaks (Quercus alba), and cucumber magnolias (Magnolia acuminata) as nest trees and they selected against red maples (A. rubrum) and red oaks (Q. rubra). Disturbances had little effect on male age structure, but males that occupied disturbed forest habitat were in better condition than those in undisturbed habitat. Parental behavior differed among disturbances, with birds in more highly disturbed habitats provisioning their young at greater rates, but bringing smaller food loads, potentially helping to explain the decrease in nest survival in disturbances. Finally, we found that male ceruleans displayed various plumage ornaments that signaled individual quality. However, the relationship between breast band width and body mass was contingent on habitat, and only existed in intermediate disturbances.