Least+Flycatcher

=Behavioral Information for Least Flycatcher (//Empidonax minimus//)=

toc

[[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Empidonax-minimus-001.jpg/240px-Empidonax-minimus-001.jpg]]
//Unless otherwise noted, most information reproduced from the// //The Birds of North America Online (Poole 2005)//

Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data suggest significant declines for this species in Wisconsin and range-wide (Sauer et al 2005), although still relatively common (not a high conservation priority). There appear to be many investigations suggesting forest fragmentation and increased abundance of edge habitat is responsible for population declines, but the data presented in a number of these studies suggest nest abundance peaks 50-200m (DellaSala and Rabe 1987) or 50-500m (Flaspohler et al 2001) from edge. This suggests that they may prefer forest which is slightly removed from edges, as opposed to deep interior?

Status
Global Status: G5 = Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. State Rank: S4B = (Breeding) Apparently secure in Wisconsin, with many occurrences State Status: SC/M = (Special Concern) fully protected by federal and state laws under the Migratory Bird Act // (Status information obtained from Wisconsin Natural Heritage Working List) //

Uncertain about current densities - best data so far found at http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/BBSMap/ra4670.gif, but not sure what it really means.

Migration

 * Spring Migration
 * Overwinters in south (Florida/Mexico)
 * Typically arrive in Vilas county in late April - mid May
 * Males typically arrive ~6 days before females
 * Spring migration timing has advanced by 2.7 days from 1975-2000 (Mills 2005b)
 * typically do not display nest site fidelity from one year to the next
 * Fall Migration
 * Immatures: median date = 29 Aug; 90% in 28-d period from 17 Aug–13 Sep, or about 38 d later than adults
 * Adults: median date = 22 Jul; 90% of birds passing through during 34-d period from 11 Jul-13 Aug

Habitat Requirements

 * Semi-open, second-growth, mid-successional and mature deciduous and mixed woods
 * "Least Flycatchers are often locally abundant in well-stratified forests, with a relatively open subcanopy beneath a dense upper canopy (Breckenridge 1956, Sherry 1979, Briskie 1994)" From Holmes and Sherry (2001)
 * Characteristic of 40-60 year old northern hardwood stands (Holmes and Sherry 2001)
 * occasionally conifer groves, burns, swamp and bog edges, orchards, and shrubby fields
 * Typically forest interior species (core forest with 85m buffer - Beaudry et al 2010), but also found in smaller (< 1ha) forest patches (ie. backyards)
 * Often found near open spaces (clearings, edges, yards), water, roads, or cottage clearings (BNA) - in opposition to core forest requirements described by Beaudry et al.
 * Nest density reported to increase with proximity (< 500 m ?) to forest edge (Flaspohler et al. 2001) - majority appear to be between 50-500m from edge
 * Distance from edge appears to be correlated with size of opening; ~ sigmoidal response approaching max 200m from edge (Dellasala and Rabe 1987)
 * Not sure what this relationship actually means - think it is misrepresented in the analysis and parameterized model is not presented

Feeding Habits
>
 * Feeds almost exclusively on insects caught by hawking from the air or gleaned from foliage of trees and shrubs (Tarof and Ratcliffe 2004, JVB)
 * Generally broad-niched with respect to tree-species use. In New Hampshire, prefers yellow birch (Betula allegheniensis) and avoids beech (Fagus grandifolia), sugar maple, white ash, and conifers (Picea rubens, Tsuga canadensis); slight preference for yellow birch probably attributable to greater densities of insects (Holmes and Robinson 1981). In Wisconsin, Least Flycatchers foraged in tree species in proportion to abundance and not to foraging success, except pines (Pinus spp.) were used less than expected (Rogers 1985)
 * Nocturnal thermoregulatory costs for Least Flycatchers in New Hampshire during summer estimated at 2.8 times standard metabolic rate (4.27 ± 0.13 cc O2/g/h; Holmes et al. 1979)

Interactions

 * Least Flycatchers are pugnacious birds exhibiting aggression to a variety of other species (similar sizes up to and including the occasional hawk)[[image:http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/099/galleries/figures/figure-5/image_large width="351" height="269" align="right" caption="Clumping of territories (from Tarof 2001)"]]
 * e. Ontario: 0.14 ± 0.01 ha (range 0.04-0.30 ha, n = 89 clustered males; Tarof et al. 2005)
 * other areas of Ontario: 0.13 ± 0.10 ha (range 0.03–0.38, n = 10; Martin 1960)
 * New Hampshire: 0.18 ± 0.01 ha (n = 59; Sherry 1979)
 * Michigan: 0.07 ha (range 0.01–0.20, n = 33; MacQueen 1950)
 * Size of territory decreased after laying
 * Territories tend to be clustered
 * Satellite (isolated) nesting observed in a small(?) proportion of the population, but unknown whether they successfully mated or not (Dellasala and Rabe 1987)

Demography

 * nest success
 * 78-90% of nests lost to predation (?)
 * 38 - 53% nests fledge at least 1 young
 * Nest success data from the Nicolet National Forest and Northern Highland-American Legion State forest in Wisconsin from 1995-1997 show 61/133 (46%) failures (Flaspohler et al. 2001)
 * longevity
 * Clapp et al. (1983) report a female Least Flycatcher recovered 5 yrs, 11 mos after banding

=Agent Rules=


 * Agent territory
 * generically described as 1 tile ( = 1 acre, or ~ 0.405 ha)
 * much larger (2x+) than observed territories, but minimum resolution of simulation/game
 * tile suitable for nesting
 * Classified as deciduous (preferably) or mixed forest
 * tree size > 8 (?)
 * tree density > .5 (?)
 * housing density < 4 houses / ha (class 0, 1, or 2) (?)
 * rules for neighborhood of territory
 * define open class codes:
 * 11 = Open Water
 * 21 = Developed, Open Space
 * 22 = Developed, Low Intensity
 * 23 = Developed, Medium Intensity
 * 24 = Developed, High Intensity
 * 31 = Barren Land
 * 52 = Shrub / Scrub
 * 71 = Grassland / Herbaceous
 * 81 = Pasture / Hay
 * 82 = Cultivated Crops
 * 95 = Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands
 * test two proximity to edge rules (1 acre unit ~ 64x64m):
 * open habitat in direct neighbors
 * direct neighbors all forest (41,42,43,90); open habitat within 500m
 * benefit if there are other nests in area
 * Reproduction
 * 3-4 eggs per nest
 * p(losing nest) = .46
 * p(egg hatching|not lost) = .92
 * Daily mortality rate: 0.0004566 (based on oldest individual ~ 6 years, 1/2190)

=References=


 * Beaudry, F., A. M. Pidgeon, V. C. Radeloff, R. W. Howe, D. J. Mladenoff, and G. A. Bartelt. 2010. A framework for regional scale planning for forest birds of conservation concern in the face of limited information and a need for land management guidelines. Biological Conservation, 143(7): 1759-1769. PDF
 * Dellasala, D. A., and Rabe, D. L. (1987). Response of Least Flycatchers Empidonax minimus to Forest Disturbances. Forest Science 41, 291-299.
 * Flaspohler, D. J., Temple, S. A., and Rosenfield, R. N. (2001). Species-Specific Edge Effects on Nest Success and Breeding Bird Density in a Forested Landscape. Ecological Applications 11, 32-46.
 * Holmes, R. T., and Sherry, T. W. (2001). Thirty-Year Bird Population Trends in an Unfragmented Temperate Deciduous Forest: Importance of Habitat Change. The Auk 118, 589-609. Available at: http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1642%2F0004-8038(2001)118%5B0589%3ATYBPTI%5D2.0.CO%3B2.
 * Poole, A. (Editor). 2005. The Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY.