NMGIC Hummingbird Presentation

Hummingbirds from Space: 

Hummingbirds from Space Crystal Krause University of New Mexico, CREATE Department of Geography NMGIC April 28, 2006

Outline: 

Outline Rufous Hummingbirds - Selasphorus rufus Nectar Corridors Problem Statement Study Area Population Decline of Rufous Hummingbirds Disturbances in Nectar Corridors Methods Anticipated Results Conclusion

Rufous HummingbirdSelasphorus rufus: 

Rufous Hummingbird Selasphorus rufus

Rufous Hummingbird Description: 

Rufous Hummingbird Description Longest migration of all migrating birds Approximately 4000 km or more 49 Million Body Lengths between breeding and winter ranges.

Nectar Corridors: 

Nectar Corridors Migratory routes sequence of blooming plants on a south-to-north gradient in the spring and the reverse in the fall. Corridors are distinctive as a series of vegetation habitats providing crucial food resources. Timing and routes of Rufous Hummingbird migration, suggested by Phillips (1975); banding recaptures and recoveries are beginning to confirm these.

Nectar Corridor: Resources and Benefits: 

Nectar Corridor: Resources and Benefits Nectar resource to hummingbirds in the form of sugars, lipids and amino acids. Pollination Services Plants Require

Nectar Corridor:Plant List: 

Nectar Corridor: Plant List Bee Plant Bee-Balm Butter and Eggs Chuparrosa Cigarrito Fireweed Honey Mesquite Limita Morning Glories Ocotillos Paintbrush Pineapple Sage Pink Beardtongue Purple Larkspur Scarlet Gilia Snapdragon

Pretty Bird Pictures: 

Pretty Bird Pictures

Problem Statement: 

Problem Statement Many of these corridors are no longer fully intact. A variety of disturbances threaten these habitats and migrants. In some cases, these disturbances have eliminated floral resources over 30 to 100km segments of the corridor.

Study Area: 

Study Area The study area extends from southwestern Mexico to north of the Intermountain West of the U.S. and Canada.

Population Declines: 

Population Declines North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) Population Trend Analysis for 1966 – 2003 Trend -2.1 P 0.01 N 228 ( 95% CI ) -3.6 -0.7 R.A. 1.35

BBS Maps: 

BBS Trend Map, 1966 - 2003 BBS Summer Distribution Map, 1994 - 2003 BBS Maps

Disturbances in Nectar Corridors: 

Disturbances in Nectar Corridors Disturbances may include: land use change climatic variability and change habitat fragmentation outbreak of invasive species

Disturbance Types: 

Disturbance Types Invasive Species: Buffel Grass Land Use Change: Phoenix, AZ Habitat Fragmentation

Methods: 

Methods Identify vegetation. Distinguish migration corridor by vegetation cover type. Analysis of vegetation/habitat classifications using MODIS and AVHRR satellite imagery

Nectar Corridor by Vegetation Type: 

Nectar Corridor by Vegetation Type

MODIS and AVHRR satellite imagery: 

MODIS and AVHRR satellite imagery Image Source: CREATE

Western US - MODIS Image: 

Western US - MODIS Image MODIS Image for: MA2RG_2006_109_2046_500m. Source: USGS

Anticipated results: 

Anticipated results Vegetation/habitat types Identification of habitat fragmentation Identification of geographic and temporal bottlenecks Assessment of risk for habitat loss Define general procedures for monitoring of migratory pollinator habitats Conservation strategies and recommendations for the preservation of migratory routes

Conclusions: 

Conclusions Factors Affecting Population Decline Standardized Procedures/Protocols for assessment of migratory pollinator habitats

Questions??: 

Questions??

Sources:: 

Sources: Ackery, P.R. and R.I. Vane Wright. 1984. Milkweed Butterflies: Their Cladistics and Biology. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. Ackery, P.R. and R.I. Vane-Wright. 1985. Patterns of Plant Utilization by Danaine Butterflies. Third Congress of European Lepidoptera, Cambridge, England. Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM). 2002. Migratory Pollinators and Their Nectar Corridors in the Southwestern U.S. and Northwestern Mexico. Final Report to Turner Foundation, Atlanta, GA. Brower, Lincoln P. and Robert M. Pyle. 2004. The Interchange of Migratory Monarchs between Mexico and the Western United States, and the Importance of Floral Corridors to the Fall and Spring Migrations: In Conserving Migratory Pollinators and Nectar Corridors in Western North America. University of Arizona Press; Tucson, AZ pp.144-166. Buchmann, Stephen and Gary Nabhan. 1996. The Forgotten Pollinators. Island Press, Washington D.C. Burwell, Trevor. 1995. Bootlegging on a desert mountain: the political ecology of agave demographic change in the Sonora River Valley, Sonora, Mexico. Human Ecology. 407 (26): 23-26 Calder, W. A. 1987. Southbound through Colorado: Migration of Rufous Hummingbirds. National Geographic Research. 3(1): 40-51 Calder, W.A. 1993. Rufous Hummingbird. In The Birds of North America, No. 53 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.) Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington D.C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union. Fleming, Theodore H. 2004. Migration and the Annual Cycle of Lesser Long-Nosed Bats: In Conserving Migratory Pollinators and Nectar Corridors in Western North America. University of Arizona Press; Tucson, AZ pp.23-42. Ingram, M., Gary Nabhan and Stephen Buchman. 1996. Our Forgotten Pollinators: Protecting the Birds and Bees. Global Pesticide Campaigner. 6(4). Morse, Roger and Nicholas Calderone. 2000. The Value of Honey Bees as Pollinators of US Crops in 2000. Cornell University. http://www.beeculture.com/beeculture/pollination2000/pg1.html Nabhan, Gary Paul and Ted Fleming. 1993. The Conservation of New World Mutualisms. Conservation Biology. 7(3):457-459. Russell, Robert W., F. Lynn Carpenter, Mark A. Hixon and David C. Paton. 1994. Impacts of Stopover Habitat in Migrating Rufous Hummingbirds. Conservation Biology. 8(2):483-490. Stokes, Donald. 2002. Beginner’s Guide to Hummingbirds. Little, Brown and Company; New York. Pp.54-59.