Dissertation Research: Habitat Fragmentation Effects on the Stopover Biology of Migratory Landbirds along the Northern Coast of the Gulf of Mexico

栖息地碎片化及其对繁殖和越冬地的相关影响被认为是导致许多新北半球-新热带候鸟数量下降的主要因素。然而，我们对碎片化如何影响鸟类迁徙期间中途停留栖息地的可及性、使用和质量知之甚少。我们提出的假设是，中途停留栖息地的碎片化限制了迁徙的生存能力，并在良好的营养条件下到达目的地。我们将调查栖息地碎片化对鸟类迁徙的影响程度、可用的中途停留栖息地的选择，以及当候鸟在春季通过期间在墨西哥湾北部海岸停留时，中途停留栖息地的内在适宜性。栖息地的可用性将使用遥感数据来表征，而候鸟在中途停留期间的栖息地利用将通过在不同组成、大小和隔离的栖息地中释放带有无线电标记的林画眉(Hylocichla Maselina)来研究。研究结果将有助于我们更好地了解陆鸟候鸟的中途停留生态和适宜中途停留栖息地的决定因素。它们还将进一步提高我们确定迁移期对人口限制的相对重要性的能力。除非将迁徙期间的栖息地要求考虑到保护方程中，否则洲际迁徙的人口将继续下降。

PROJECT SUMMARYHabitat fragmentation and its associated effects on the breeding and wintering grounds have beenimplicated as major factors contributing to the declines of many Nearctic-Neotropical migratory landbird populations. However, we know little about how fragmentation may affect the accessibility, use and quality of stopover habitats for birds during migration. We advance the hypothesis that fragmentation of stopover habitats imposes constraints on the ability of migrants to survive migration and to arrive at their destination in good nutritional condition. We will investigate the degree to which habitat fragmentation influences bird movement, choice of available stopover habitats, and the intrinsic suitability of stopover habitats when migrants stopover along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico during spring passage. Habitat availability will be characterized using remotely-sensed data, while habitat use by migrants during stopover will be studied by releasing radio-tagged Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina ) within habitat patches of different composition, size, and isolation. The results will improve our understanding of the stopover ecology of landbird migrants and the determinants of suitable stopover habitat. They will also further our ability to determine the relative importance of the migratory period for population limitation.Populations of intercontinental migrants will continue to decline unless habitat requirements duringmigration are factored into the conservation equation.