We’re excited to share we’ve received five years of funding from the NOAA RESTORE Science program to continue our work.
From 2026-2029 we’ll be continuing field work to survey for breeding season Eastern Black Rails and Mottled Ducks, as well as the structure of the high marsh vegetation. This work will take place in Texas, Louisiana and Florida, continuing to build our long term dataset from Firebird 1 through 2029.
We’re welcoming a few new faces onto the Firebird team both as Co-PIs making the work happen, and end users who will helping to continue to design the project and provide feedback along the way.
Our proposed work has two objectives that reflect the continuation and expansion of work started in the Firebird project: (1) Identify prescribed fire practices that support breeding mottled duck and black rail populations through an adaptive resource management process. (2) Determine the impact of microtopography on high marsh vegetation and black rail and mottled duck occupancy and the interactions of fire and marsh microtopography.
We’re pleased to share our prescribed fire manual which takes the results from our project to date and puts them into actionable recommendations for fire managers.
We hosted a webinar on January 15th to kick off sharing the manual, you can watch the recording here.
Cox, J.A., E.A. Beilke, A.M.V. Fournier, E.I. Johnson, K.S. Kalasz, C.S. Kross, B.D. Lamb, J.D. Lancaster, H.E. Levy, L.F. Monopoli, J.A. Nyman, J.K. Wilson, and M.S. Woodrey. 2025. Burning for birds: A manual for the application of prescribed fire in high marshes of the northern Gulf coast. Illinois Natural History Survey Special Publication 33
The FireBird team has published a new paper on the use of autonomous recording units for detecting eastern black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis) vocalizations. The paper, titled “Variation in Detection Distance of Eastern Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis) Vocalizations by Autonomous Recording Units”, was published in the journal Waterbirds. This study comes as the first in a series of Automated Recording Unit related publications from the FireBird team and primarily investigated the detection distance capabilities of various ARU models under a range of environmental conditions. The goal of this work was to provide monitoring recommendations for optimizing Eastern Black Rail detection by maximizing the probability of detection under specific sets of monitoring circumstances that are likely to occur in habitats occupied by Black Rails across the northern Gulf Coast of the U.S. Specifically, we compared Wildlife Acoustics’ Song Meters 2, 3, and 4 in four vegetation types used by Eastern Black Rails: cordgrass, salt pannes, black needlerush, and a mix of cordgrass and woody shrubs. Vocalizations were simulated using a call broadcast speaker at set decibel levels from known distances from Automated Recording Unit arrays. Using these data, we used linear regression to determine the effects of Automated Recording Unit model, microphone wind mufflers, call volume, vocalization type, vegetation type, and environmental conditions (i.e., wind speed, wind direction, temperature, background noise, and relative humidity) on detection probability.
Ultimately, we found that detection distances were increased when using newer ARU models. Detection probability was also greatest in salt pannes and lowest in cordgrass, and faster wind speeds further decreased detection probability in cordgrass relative to other vegetation types. Kickeedo vocalizations were detected over farther distances than other vocalizations and higher call volume significantly increased detection probability. Detection probability was also increased by higher relative humidity but was decreased by louder background noise as well as winds blowing perpendicular between the ARU array and call playback speaker.
Although vocalizations in this study were not from wild birds, this work will provide some general guidelines for improving Eastern Black Rail surveys using Automated Recording Units. By deploying Automated Recording Unit arrays following our results, biologists will improve the likelihood of detecting birds in the habitat they are surveying while reducing the staff time and associated cost of traditional in-person survey methods.
Lamb, BD, Levy, HE, Beilke, EA, Kross, CS, Kappes, PJ, Sukkienik, MJ, Cox, JA, Wilson, JK, Woodrow, JO, Butler, MJ, Zenzal, TJ, Fournier, AMV, Woodrey, MS. In Review Variation in Detection Distance of Eastern Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis) Vocalizations by Autonomous Recording UnitsWaterbirds 48:1-13 10.1675/063.048.0206
A new paper from the Firebird High Marsh Mapping Team titled, “Mapping high marsh and salt pannes/flats along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast” has been published in Geocarto International. The primary objective of this study was to develop a regional map of high marsh and salt pannes/flats for the United States portion of the northern Gulf of Mexico coast. While this work can address many needs, the key motivation for producing the high marsh map was to serve as a baseline for our avian-focused monitoring and research effort funded by NOAA. Our approach used regional random forest models that included spectral indices related to greenness and wetness from optical satellite imagery, elevation data, irregularly flooded wetland probability information from a prior FireBird study (Enwright et al., 2023a), and synthetic aperture radar backscatter. As part of the mapping study, we also developed a map that highlighted irregularly flooded wetlands dominated by Juncus roemerianus (black needlerush) for part of the study area. Both maps had an overall accuracy of around 80%. We found the greatest relative coverage of high marsh along the Texas coast (30% to 65%) and the Florida Panhandle (40%), whereas the greatest relative coverage of salt pannes/flats was along the lower Texas coast (74%) and the middle Texas coast (15%). Data from the FireBird high marsh mapping efforts can be found on USGS ScienceBase (Enwright et al., 2022) and on an online webmap via ArcGIS Online.
Examples of high marsh and salt pannes/flats along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, USA. (a) High marsh dominated by Spartina patens (saltmeadow cordgrass) located at Cypremort State Park in South Louisiana (Photo credit: Nicholas Enwright). (b) High marsh with Distichlis spicata (saltgrass) with areas dominated by Juncus roemerianus (black needlerush; labeled as JURO) and salt panne habitat in the Florida Big Bend region (Photo credit: Heather Levy). (Figure is from Enwright et al., 2023b)
What do the results mean?
Maps depicting high marsh and salt pannes/flats can serve as a baseline of contemporary wetland coverage and regional variation. It is important to develop efficient and repeatable methods, such as those used in our study, for developing maps of coastal wetland types over time because coastal wetlands are predicted to undergo widespread transformation due to climate change. Coastal inundation is estimated to increase over the next several decades with accelerated sea-level rise (Sweet et al. 2022). Increased inundation is predicted to lead to the upslope migration of these irregularly flooded wetlands (Pitchford et al. 2022) or lead to localized loss in areas that cannot keep pace with sea-level change via vertical accretion (Saintilan et al. 2022). Mapping these ecosystems at regular intervals can help highlight changes to these important environments. In addition to baseline information, high marsh and salt pannes/flats maps can have numerous applications including: (1) developing new wetland research sites or monitoring sites; (2) identifying new sites for marsh bird monitoring; (3) highlighting areas for detailed assessments of high marsh, such as the exploration of biomass or microtopography; and (4) increasing our understanding and ability to model the distribution of high marsh-dependent species.
Example of high marsh and salt pannes/flats map products for the Grand Bay estuary, Mississippi, USA. (a) land cover map modified from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Change Analysis Program 30-m layer (NOAA 2016). (b) map of high marsh, salt pannes/flats, and other irregularly flooded wetlands. (c) map of irregularly flooded wetlands dominated by J. roemerianus. White areas in panes b and c represent areas outside the coastal wetland mask. (Figure is from Enwright et al., 2023b)
Take Home Message
This is the first map of high marsh and salt pannes/flats that spans the entire northern Gulf of Mexico. Our effort found that irregularly flooded wetland probability, synthetic aperture radar backscatter, and spectral indices related to greenness and wetness were important predictor variables and that differences in wetland zonation and species composition along the study area led to variation in models by region. This map provides a baseline for the current high marsh and salt panne/flat distribution and a snapshot to compare to future wetland distribution to identify where climate change-related wetland transformations are occurring.
Literature Cited Enwright, NM, WC Cheney, KO Evans, HR Thurman, MS Woodrey, AMV Fournier, DB Gesch, JL Pitchford, JM Stoker, and SC Medeiros. 2023a. Elevation-based probabilistic mapping of irregularly flooded wetlands along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast. Remote Sensing of Environment, v 287, 113451, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2023.113451.
Enwright, NM, WC Cheney, KO Evans, HR Thurman, MS Woodrey, AMV Fournier, A Bauer, J Cox, S Goehring, H Hill, K Hondrick, P Kappes, H Levy, J Moon, JA Nyman, J Pitchford, D Storey, M Sukiennik, and J Wilson. 2022. Mapping irregularly flooded wetlands, high marsh, and salt pannes/flats along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast: U.S. Geological Survey data release (ver. 2.0, June 2023), https://doi.org/10.5066/P9MLO26U.
Enwright, NM, WC Cheney, KO Evans, HR Thurman, MS Woodrey, AMV Fournier, JA Moon, HE Levy, JA Cox, PJ Kappes, JA Nyman, and JL Pitchford. 2023b. Mapping high marsh and salt pannes/flats along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast: Geocarto International, v 38, 2285354, https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2023.2285354.
Pitchford JL, K Cressman, JA Cherry, BT Russell, J McIlwain, MJ Archer, and WV Underwood. 2022. Trends in surface elevation and accretion in a retrograding delta in coastal Mississippi, USA from 2012–2016. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 30(3), 461–475, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-022-09871-7.
Saintilan N, KE Kovalenko, G Guntenspergen, K Rogers, JC Lynch, DR Cahoon, CE Lovelock, DA Friess, E Ashe, KW Krauss, N Cormier, T Spencer, J Adams, J Raw, C Ibanez, F Scarton, S Temmerman, P Meire, T Maris, K Thorne, J Brazner, GL Chmura, T Bowron, VP Gamage, K Cressman, C Endris, C Marconi, P Marcum, K St. Laurent, W Reay, KB Raposa, JA Garwood, and N Khan. 2022. Constraints on the adjustment of tidal marshes to accelerating sea level rise. Science, v 377(6605), 523–527, https:/doi.org/10.1126/science.abo7872.
Sweet WV, BD Hamlington, RE Kopp, CP Weaver, PL Barnard, D Bekaert, W Brooks, M Craghan, G Dusek, and T Frederikse. 2022. Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States: updated Mean Projections and Extreme Water Level Probabilities Along U.S. Coastlines. Technical Report NOS 01. Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, NOAA.
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