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Recent trends in Tricolored Blackbird colony size: analysis of the 2008 through 2017 Triennial Statewide Surveys

Timothy D. Meehan, Samantha Arthur, Nicole L. Michel, Chad B. Wilsey, Gary M. Langham
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/466532
Timothy D. Meehan
1National Audubon Society, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
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Samantha Arthur
2Audubon California, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA
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Nicole L. Michel
3National Audubon Society, Vancouver, WA 98682, USA
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Chad B. Wilsey
4National Audubon Society, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA
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Gary M. Langham
5National Audubon Society, Washington, DC 20036, USA
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ABSTRACT

Tricolored blackbird (Agelaius tricolor) is a colonial breeder, largely restricted to grasslands, wetlands, and agricultural habitats of California. Tricolored blackbird abundance declined considerably during the 20th century. Recent trends have been less clear, however, hindering efforts to evaluate the conservation needs of the species. We assessed trends in tricolored blackbird colony size using the 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017 Triennial Tricolored Blackbird Statewide Survey, a community-science effort involving hundreds of volunteer observers. After accounting for variation in observer characteristics and survey effort, we found a clear, statistically significant decline in colony size of approximately –5% per year, which translated to a decrease in colony size of approximately –40% between 2008 and 2017. To the extent that colony size is proportional to total abundance, this decline translates to a species half-life of roughly 15 years. We conclude that tricolored blackbird is in considerable need of protection and recovery efforts.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted November 09, 2018.
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Recent trends in Tricolored Blackbird colony size: analysis of the 2008 through 2017 Triennial Statewide Surveys
Timothy D. Meehan, Samantha Arthur, Nicole L. Michel, Chad B. Wilsey, Gary M. Langham
bioRxiv 466532; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/466532
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Recent trends in Tricolored Blackbird colony size: analysis of the 2008 through 2017 Triennial Statewide Surveys
Timothy D. Meehan, Samantha Arthur, Nicole L. Michel, Chad B. Wilsey, Gary M. Langham
bioRxiv 466532; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/466532

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