John Neill’s research while affiliated with Salt Lake Community College and other places

Millions of wetland-dependent birds annually depend on saline lakes and associated wetlands in the western United States. Understanding the population status and trends of birds with different life histories and habitats can guide efforts to secure water resources needed to sustain bird habitats. We used a 21-year dataset to examine population trends for 24 survey units for migratory shorebirds, waterfowl, and other waterbirds at Great Salt Lake and associated wetlands. We found stable or positive trends for 36 of 37 species or groups in fall, spring, or both seasons when considering survey units in aggregate. Stable, positive, and negative trends were observed in individual survey units. Foraging technique, migration distance, and taxonomic groupings were unrelated to trend direction. Research is needed to test whether survey units represent high-quality habitat. With declining regional water resources, stable and positive aggregate trends reinforce the importance of surveyed units at Great Salt Lake and associated wetlands to wetland-dependent birds. Ensuring continuation of stable and positive trends will require identifying environmental factors—including water quantity and quality—driving trends, and require coordinated regional management and monitoring of wetland-dependent birds.

en The value of saline lakes and associated wetlands as habitats in the xeric Great Basin is dependent on having water of sufficient quantity and quality to support wetland-dependent birds. To inform conservation and management of these habitats, models are needed to link birds and hydrological changes due to climate and human water use. We modeled seasonal relationships between counts for 35 migratory shorebird, waterfowl, and other waterbird species or taxonomic groups and hydrological metrics at Bear River Bay, a globally Important Bird Area at Utah’s Great Salt Lake. We found that increased fall surface flows to the bay increased counts of 13 species, including American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana), American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), American Wigeons (Mareca americana), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Redheads (Aythya americana), and Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis). Increased spring surface flows increased counts of Forster’s Terns (Sterna forsteri) and the sandpiper group, whereas intermediate spring flows produced peak counts for American White Pelicans. Thus, conservation or management actions that increase seasonal flows to Bear River Bay are expected to increase bay use by diverse members of the avian community. Counts for 11 species or taxonomic groups responded positively or negatively to the seasonal elevation of Great Salt Lake, and these responses are hypothesized to reflect the relative availability of habitats within the bay versus the lake as a whole. Our models provide tools that allow managers to understand how hydrological changes associated with climate change and human water use will affect birds in Bear River Bay. Addressing lake-wide and regional population implications of changing hydrological conditions at Bear River Bay, Great Salt Lake, and other locations across the Great Basin will require a regionally coordinated assessment of hydrology, habitat, and bird movements in response to changing habitat conditions. RESUMEN es La hidrología afecta aves playeras, anátidas y otras aves acuáticas en Bear River Bay, una Área de Importancia Global para las Aves El valor como hábitat de los lagos salinos y humedales asociados en el Great Basin xérico depende de tener suficiente calidad y cantidad de agua para dar soporte a las aves dependientes de humedales. Para informar la conservación y el manejo de estos hábitats, se necesitan modelos que vinculen a las aves con los cambios hidrológicos relacionados al clima y el uso humano del agua. Modelamos la relación estacional entre los conteos de 35 aves playeras, anátidas y otras especies acuáticas migratorias o grupos taxonómicos, y métricas hidrológicas en Bear River Bay, un Área de Importancia para las Aves en el Great Salt Lake de Utah. En otoño, encontramos que el incremento de flujos de superficie a la bahía aumentó los conteos de 13 especies, incluyendo a Recurvirostra americana, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, Mareca americana, Anas acuta, Aythya americana y Oxyura jamaicensis. En primavera, el incremento de los fujos de superficie aumentó los conteos de Sterna forsteri y varios playeros, mientras que los flujos intermedios produjeron conteos pico de Pelecanus erythrorhynchos. Por ello, se espera que las acciones de conservación o manejo que incrementen los flujos estacionales a Bear River Bay a su vez aumente el uso de la bahía por diversos miembros de la comunidad de aves. Los conteos de 11 especies o grupos taxonómicos respondieron positiva o negativamente a la elevación estacional del Great Salt Lake y tenemos la hipótesis de que estas respuestas reflejan la disponibilidad relativa de hábitats al interior de la bahía versus la del lago completo. Nuestros modelos proveen herramientas que permiten a los gestores entender cómo los cambios hidrológicos asociados con el cambio climático y el uso humano del agua afectarán a las aves en Bear River Bay. Entender las implicaciones del cambio de condiciones hidrológicas en todo el lago y en poblaciones regionales de Bear River Bay, Great Salt Lake, así como en otras localidades a lo ancho del Great Basin, requerirá de una caracterización regionalmente coordinada de la hidrología, hábitat y movimientos de las aves en respuesta a las cambiantes condiciones de sus hábitats.

Millions of wetland-dependent birds annually depend on saline lakes and associated wetlands in the western United States. Understanding the population status and trends of birds with different life histories and habitats can guide efforts to secure water resources needed to sustain bird habitats. We used a 21-year dataset to examine population trends for 24 survey units presumed to be high-quality habitat for migratory shorebirds, waterfowl, and other waterbirds at Great Salt Lake and associated wetlands. As expected for high-quality habitats, we found stable or positive trends for 36 of 37 species or groups in fall, spring, or both seasons when considering survey units in aggregate. Despite stable or positive aggregate trends, negative trends did occur in some individual survey units. Foraging, migration distance, and taxonomic groupings were unrelated to trend direction. Research is needed to test whether survey units represent high-quality habitat. With declining regional water resources, stable and positive aggregate trends reinforce the importance of surveyed units at Great Salt Lake and associated wetlands to wetland-dependent birds. Ensuring continuation of stable and positive trends will require identifying environmental factors - including water quantity and quality - driving trends, and require coordinated regional management and monitoring of wetland-dependent birds.

Great Salt Lake (GSL) is recognized as a site of “Hemispheric Importance” for shorebirds by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. An estimated ten million birds visit GSL every year for breeding, staging, and for some species, as a wintering destination. American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) rely on GSL for both breeding and foraging habitat. Surveys conducted by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) during mid-September 1997 estimated over 85,000 pelicans using GSL wetlands for foraging and loafing. Gunnison Island, situated in the northwestern section of GSL, is home to one of the largest breeding colonies of American white pelicans in North America. Aerial counts completed by the UDWR have shown up to 20,000 breeding pelicans on the island. Naturally protected by water and the island’s remoteness, pelicans have been able to breed and raise their young free from predation and disturbance from red fox (Vulpes vulpes), coyote (Canis latrans), and humans. Lower water availability and threats of increasing pressure on water resources in recent years has caused increased attention to, preparation for, and response to losses of aquatic habitat. The population of American white pelicans in Utah has remained stable over time, but the potential effects of local and regional stressors on pelicans and their habitat are poorly understood. Recent research provides an eye into the lives of American white pelicans in Utah and to the broader watershed and flyway dynamics.

Survivability of diapausing (cryptobiotic) life stages over time in nature, beyond maximum observed time for viability, is not well understood. Because these life stages are an adaptation to overcome harsh conditions, survivability over time is assumed to be high. Brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) diapausing eggs (cysts) permit overwinter survival to initiate the population each spring. An experiment was designed to examine overwinter survival of brine shrimp cysts for 17 yr in Great Salt Lake (Utah, U.S.A.). Initial hatchability entering the winter (17.8–78.8%) and overwinter survivability (9.9–65.9%) of cysts varied dramatically among years. Better maternal nutrition increased initial hatchability. Overwinter survival of cysts decreased in part because some cysts hatch when it is too cold for the hatchlings to feed (0.8–39.4% among years), so they starve. However, overwinter cyst survival decreases the most with warmer waters in winter, and with better maternal nutrition, as both factors lead to diapause being easier to break. Annual variation in initial hatchability and survival is shown to be important to Great Salt Lake brine shrimp populations. Therefore, cryptobiotic life‐stage ecology needs to be better understood, as these life stages may have highly variable hatchability and survivability with normal environmental stresses.