Marine Habitat Selection by Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) during the Breeding Season.

ABSTRACT: The marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) is a declining seabird that is well-known for nesting in coastal old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. Most studies of habitat selection have focused on modeling terrestrial nesting habitat even though marine habitat is believed to be a major contributor to population declines in some regions. To address this information gap, we conducted a 5-year study of marine resource selection by murrelets in Washington, which contains a population experiencing the steepest documented declines and where marine habitat is believed to be compromised. Across five years we tracked 157 radio-tagged murrelets during the breeding season (May to August), and used discrete choice models to examine habitat selection. Using an information theoretic approach,

SUBMITTER: Lorenz TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5040416 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature