<p> The Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) is a migratory songbird that breeds in and near the boreal wetlands of northern New England and Canada. Although the Rusty Blackbird was once common, the species has declined by an estimated 90% since the 1960’s (Greenberg et al. 2010). I used single-season occupancy analysis to model breeding Rusty Blackbirds’ use of 60 beaver (Castor canadensis) influenced wetlands in Coos County, New Hampshire and Oxford County, Maine. I conducted three 30 minute detected/ not detected surveys, surveyed food availability and foraging habitat, and digitized each survey wetland. Rusty Blackbirds’ use of wetlands was best predicted by the site covariates mud and invertebrate abundance and detectability was best predicted by survey period. Probability of wetland use decreased with increasing mud cover and increased with increasing aquatic invertebrate abundance. I recommend that future researchers survey for Rusty Blackbirds for 30 minute periods to maximize survey coverage.</p><p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10284445 |
| Date | 02 August 2017 |
| Creators | Pachomski, Amanda L. |
| Publisher | State University of New York Col. of Environmental Science & Forestry |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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