Positive correlation between Ammospiza caudacuta (Saltmarsh Sparrow) capture and productivity supports use of a novel rapid assessment monitoring protocol

Salt marshes in the northeastern United States provide critical breeding
habitat for tidal marsh specialist birds like the Saltmarsh Sparrow
(Ammospiza caudacuta). The Saltmarsh Sparrow population has declined by
nine percent annually, necessitating immediate conservation actions for
this vulnerable species. However, estimating species vital rates across a
large geographic region is logistically challenging and cost prohibitive.
Therefore, we developed and tested a rapid assessment monitoring protocol
focused on reproductive metrics to enhance future conservation planning.
We used three years of intensive demographic data from 12 sites to
estimate daily nest survival, nest period success, fledglings produced per
female, and successful broods per female. We implemented the rapid
assessment protocol co-located at intensive sites in the same years to
estimate the number of captured females and juveniles. We used Pearson’s
correlation analyses to determine the association of intensive metrics
with rapid metrics. We found that the sum of Saltmarsh Sparrow female and
juvenile captures was positively correlated with daily nest survival, nest
period success, fledglings produced per female, and successful broods per
female. Our results demonstrate that fixed-effort mist-netting from our
rapid assessment protocol is an informative and time-efficient sampling
method that can aid in making informed management decisions related to
Saltmarsh Sparrow conservation.