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Download Pacific Great Blue Heron Population Monitoring on Vancouver
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Western Washington University Western CEDAR Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference 2016 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (Vancouver, BC) Pacific Great Blue Heron Population Monitoring on Vancouver Island and the Surrounding Gulf Islands Trudy A. Chatwin Ministry of Forests,Lands and Natural Resource Operations, [email protected] Travis Heckford Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://cedar.wwu.edu/ssec Part of the Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, and the Natural Resources and Conservation Commons Chatwin, Trudy A. and Heckford, Travis, "Pacific Great Blue Heron Population Monitoring on Vancouver Island and the Surrounding Gulf Islands" (2016). Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference. 1. http://cedar.wwu.edu/ssec/2016ssec/species_food_webs/1 This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences and Events at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HERONSONTHEEDGE: PACIFICGREATBLUEHERONPOPULATIONMONITORINGON VANCOUVERISLANDANDTHESURROUNDINGGULFISLANDS PhotobyBillPennell [email protected] [email protected] MinistryofForests,LandsandNaturalResourceOperations,2080LabieuxRoad,Nanaimo,BCCANADA PacificGreatBlueHeron– SalishSeaflagshipspecies PacificGreatBlueHerons(Ardeaherodiasfannini) live theirentirelifewithin5kmofthemarineshoreline. TheyarelistedasaSpeciesofSpecialConcernin Canadaduetopopulationconcernsandthreatsfrom humanandBaldEagledisturbance,contaminants, andhabitatloss.TheHeronWorkingGrouphave helpedstandardizeamonitoringprotocolandI trainedvolunteerstewardsandtechnicianstolocate andassessheroncolonies,countactivenests, determinenestsuccessandfollowasampleofvisible neststodeterminetheproductivityofyoungherons tofledglingage.DataishousedattheConservation DataCentreandprovidedtoLocalgovernmentsand interestedparties.Knowledgeofthelocationand statusofheroncoloniesisessentialtomanaging conservationissuesontheedgeoftheSalishSea. ColonyMap:GreatBlueHeroncoloniesmonitoredin2015 ActiveNestandColonies2002– 2015 Table:AnnualColonySummaryDatafrom2002- 2015 Seashoresentinel–Heronsarevisible monitorsofthenearshoreenvironmentof theSalishSea NestSuccessRate2002– 2015,95%CIIntervals ColonySuccessRate2002– 2015,95%CIIntervals NestProductivity2002– 2015,95%CIIntervals.Twofledglingspernest areneededtomaintainheronpopulations ProtectionIslandheroncolonyindeadarbutus TseycumReserveColony Adultfeedingyoung- CadboroBay Fledgling heron8 weeksold Mainfindings: • Thereareanaverageof536+9activeGreatBlue Heronnestsannually.Thenumberofactivenestsis themostreadilyobtainedpopulationmeasureand itdoesnotshowasignificantdecliningorincreasing trend. • Overallcolonysuccessaveragesat66%andranges from40%in2008to90%in2010. • Nestsuccessvariessignificantlywithanaverageof 65%+ 21%ofsamplednests. • Theaverageannualproductivityoverthelast14 yearswas1.4chickspernest,withonly2006,2010 and2012exceedingthe1.9chickspernest,a necessaryproductivitypopulationmaintenance thresholddeterminedbyHennyandBethers(1971). • BaldEaglepredationonchicksandadultsislikely drivingcolonyfailureandlownestproductivity. • GreatBlueHeroncoloniesappeartobelocating closertourbanareasandthisposesemerging challengeswithvariousdisturbances,urbansafety andbuilding/constructionissuesintherapidly developingSalishSearegion.
