Multispecies benefits of wetland conservation for marsh birds, frogs, and species at risk / Douglas C. Tozer, Owen Steele, and Mark Gloutney.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 167-168).

Wetlands conserved using water level manipulation, cattle exclusion, naturalization of uplands, and
other techniques under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (“conservation project wetlands”)
are important for ducks, geese, and swans (“waterfowl”). However, the assumption that conservation
actions for waterfowl also benefit other wildlife is rarely quantified.We modeled detection and
occupancy of species at sites within 42 conservation project wetlands compared to sites within 52
similar nearby unmanaged wetlands throughout southern Ontario, Canada, and small portions of the
adjacent U.S., using citizen science data collected by Bird Studies Canada's Great Lakes Marsh Monitoring
Program, including 2 waterfowl and 13 non-waterfowl marsh-breeding bird species (n ¼ 413 sites) and 7
marsh-breeding frog species (n ¼ 191 sites). Occupancy was significantly greater at conservation project
sites compared to unmanaged sites in 7 of 15 (47%) bird species and 3 of 7 (43%) frog species, with
occupancy being higher by a difference of 0.12e0.38 across species. Notably, occupancy of priority
conservation concern or at-risk Black Tern (Chlidonias niger), Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata), Least
Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis), Sora (Porzana carolina), and Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata) was
significantly higher at conservation project sites compared to unmanaged sites. The results demonstrate
the utility of citizen science to inform wetland conservation, and suggest that actions under the North
American Waterfowl Management Plan are effective for conserving non-waterfowl species.