About This Project

Maine has historically provided vast habitat for forest-breeding birds. Numerous species that breed in North American boreal forests exhibit southern range margins in Maine. As the state's climate warms during the 21st century, climatic models suggest that high elevation and eastern coastal zones may provide cool microhabitats where boreal breeding birds can persist. This project will address current inventory gaps by characterizing the forest songbird communities on twelve Maine islands.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

The recently completed 2nd Maine Bird Atlas (MBA; 2018­–2022) compiled extensive data on the distribution and abundance of breeding birds in Maine. MBA data will document changes in species’ distributions and abundances since the completion of the 1^st MBA (1978–1983). These logistically challenging, multi-year atlases are critical benchmarks in our understanding of how birds are responding to climate change. While the 2^nd MBA had extensive spatial coverage across Maine, there are significant data gaps that remain. In particular, the MBA included only a small subset of the thousands of coastal islands that span the Maine coast. There are few available data on the use of small forested islands—an abundant habitat type in Maine—by breeding landbirds.

What is the significance of this project?

As mean and maximum air temperatures increase in Maine over the 21st century, the distributions of some landbirds are predicted to shift toward cooler microclimates, such as northern forest and eastern coastal zones. Given these probable range contractions in Maine for some landbirds, it is critical to collect comprehensive baseline data in the zones of future climate change refugia. Monitoring avian biodiversity on small forested islands will allow wildlife managers and island recreators in Maine to understand the value of this widespread habitat type within the larger coastal ecosystem.

What are the goals of the project?

We will use a passive acoustic monitoring approach on twelve islands in Maine between Penobscot Bay and Cobscook Bay. Autonomous recording units (ARUs) will be deployed on islands in mid-May and retrieved in mid-July. ARUs will collect acoustic data for two hours after sunrise and one hour before sunset, during which periods breeding birds are most vocally active. We will place units within various sub-habitat types—such as forest interior, forest edge, and shrubland—to maximize detection across bird groups. The main output from this project with be an open-access, interactive geospatial web tool that will allow wildlife biologists and the public to view our project data.