King rail (Rallus elegans) home range and microhabitat characteristics in western Lake Erie coastal marshes

• Published in: Ecology and evolution Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. e10043 - n/a
• Main Authors: Brewer, Dustin E., Gehring, Thomas M., Garcia, Madeline M., Shirkey, Brendan T., Simpson, John W., Fournier, Auriel M. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-04-2023; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Applied Ecology; Aquatic plants; Autecology; Biodiversity; Biotelemetry; Birds; Breeding seasons; Coastal marshes; Conservation; Conservation Ecology; Ecosystem Ecology; Environmental protection; Genera; Great Lakes; Habitat loss; Habitat selection; Habitats; Home range; Invasiveness; Joint ventures; Lakes; Managers; marsh; Marshes; Microenvironments; Microhabitats; Plant communities; Population decline; Radio telemetry; Rails; Rallus elegans; secretive marsh birds; Telemetry; Water depth; Wetland management; Wetlands; Wildlife conservation; Wildlife sanctuaries; Zoology; Lake Erie; Minnesota; Ohio; United States > US; Great Lakes area; Michigan; radio telemetry; secretive marsh birds; Rallus elegans; marsh; Great Lakes
• ISSN: 2045-7758; 2045-7758
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10043

The king rail (Rallus elegans) is a secretive marsh bird that is threatened or endangered in eight of nine states and provinces in the Laurentian Great Lakes (Great Lakes) region. Available survey data suggests that this species has undergone population declines across this region and these are believed to have been driven by habitat loss and degradation. An improved understanding of the amount and type of habitat king rails require during the breeding season at sites within the Great Lakes region would inform and improve progress toward conservation goals. During 2019–2021, we caught and radio‐tagged 14 king rails in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan within impounded coastal wetlands of western Lake Erie. We used radio telemetry to identify breeding season (May–August) home‐range characteristics and third order habitat selection within home ranges (hereafter microhabitat). For the birds whose home range stabilized (N = 10), we found a mean home‐range size of 8.8 ha (±1.63 [SE]; range = 1.9 to 15.8). We generated a classification tree to determine which habitat characteristics were associated with king rail presence within home ranges in our study. We found that vegetative density within home ranges was particularly associated with king rail presence. Phragmites australis was also associated with king rail presence, despite its invasiveness and negative ecological impacts in the region, and could be selectively maintained to benefit king rails. Our results suggest that managers may be able to provide microhabitat for king rails by maintaining water depths of 6 to 17 cm and by promoting native, robust vegetation in the genera Carex and Juncus. Our findings could help inform wetland managers and conservation planners in the Great Lakes region, particularly in western Lake Erie coastal marshes, of patch sizes, water depths, plant communities, and vegetative structure preferred by king rails.
We studied microhabitat and home‐range characteristics of the king rail, a secretive marsh bird of conservation concern, in the western Lake Erie region. Our results suggest that king rails in the region have mean home‐range sizes of 8.8 ha (±1.63 [SE]; range = 1.9 to 15.8) and utilize water depths of 6 to 17 cm within dense vegetation. These findings could help wetland managers to create and maintain king rail habitat.