ABSTRACT

The Loras College conservation biology class went to

the Mines of Spain Nature Preserve in Dubuque, Iowa in
order to conduct a mark-recapture study of Black-
capped chickadees in order to determine if
supplemental feeding over the winter months
influenced to populations of the chickadees in a
positive way or if it did not influence it at all. They also
set out to determine if second-year birds had a higher
body condition index than after second-year birds. On
March 9, 2017, the class used mesh nets in order to
capture the Black-capped chickadees at the Mines of
Spain Nature Preserve and to tag and record those
captured. After multiple recapture sessions taking
place on March 16, 19, and 20, and a record of the birds
that were captured those days or re-captured from the
previous days. In order to determine the population
size they used The Lincoln Index. To determine how

DOCUMENTING long capture and re-capture sessions should have been,

and the amount of time that should have been in
between capture and recapture, the Loras class used an
EcoBeaker simulation to determine the ideal amount of

POPULATION SIZE time to wait. The class determined if the capture and
survival rates were constant or time-dependent by
looking at 5-years of capture-recapture data. They also
recorded body condition index of all the chickadees to

AND SURVIVAL reach the conclusion if supplemental feeding had an

influence on the hierarchy within chickadees and if
second-year birds were benefiting from the feeding as
well as after second-year birds. The results from the

RATE OF BLACK- first recapture session showed that the population of

Black-capped chickadees in the Mines of Spain Nature
Preserve was between 1 and 263 individuals. Data from
the subsequent recapture periods show that the
CAPPED population is more accurately between 46 and 166
individuals. Capture-survival probabilities were found
to be constant rather than time-dependent at the
Mines of Spain site. The students found that second-
CHICKADEES year birds are benefiting more from the supplemental
feeding compared to the after second-year birds, a
contradiction to the hypothesis. The results of this
Mark-recapture Report study show that supplemental feeding benefits the
Black-capped chickadee population at the Mines of
Spain near the EB Lyons Nature Center in Dubuque,
Iowa.

Rachael E. Molidor
Rachael.Molidor@loras.edu
 Molidor 1

Introduction

One method of determining population size of motile animals would be to count each

individual in the vicinity. This method, however, is flawed because there is no way to determine

which individuals have already been counted, especially during the recount/recapture period.

Another method in order to determine population size is via sampling, counting the amount of

individuals in a small area and then using this sample of the population to determine the

population of a larger area. An issue with this method is that the population can vary in different

areas of a larger location, therefore sampling is not a reliable method to determine a whole

population of an area.

The purpose of the capture and recapture of Black-clapped chickadees was to estimate

the population size of the resident chickadees at and around the EB Lyons Nature Center at the

Mines of Spain in Dubuque, Iowa to determine if supplemental feeding throughout the winter

months has an effect on the survival rates of the chickadees. To capture and mark, Black-capped

chickadees were caught in a net and then banded, later during the recapture the tagged

chickadees were recorded in order to determine the population size. The EcoBeaker computer

simulation was used to examine parameters that maximize the accuracy of prediction of the

population size estimate. The capture and mark-recapture data from the past five years was used

to estimate the survival rate of Black-capped chickadees and test for variation in survival

probability over time. The last objective met from this study is the testing of the hypothesis that

body condition in birds differs according to age between second-year birds and after second-year

birds. Loery et al. (1997) found that there was strong evidence in a lower survival rate of SY

birds in comparison to the survival rate of ASY birds. However, there was no conclusive data to

show that these birds are dying at a higher rate. Chickadees are faithful to their wintering
 Molidor 2

areas which is the root cause of the higher mortality rates of older birds (Loery et al.). The

Loras class conducted their survey in late winter/early spring to determine if the same was true

for the Black-capped chickadees nesting in the Mines of Spain area and to deduce if

supplemental feeding was influencing the survival rates of the population as a whole.

Methods

On March 9, 2017 the Loras College conservation biology class went to the Mines of

Spain around the EB Lyons nature center at the Mines of Spain in Dubuque, Iowa to net and

band Black-capped chickadees. Small mesh nets were used near bird feeders in order to capture

the most birds possible. Two rows of nets were set up in different locations in order to maximize

the number of chickadees captured. Mark-recaptures were done on the 16, 19, and 21 of March

where non-tagged chickadees were tagged at that time as well while the birds that had been

captured on March 9 were recorded. The metal tags were placed around the chickadees leg and

the number on the tag was recorded on a spread sheet along with the length of the chickadees

wing, its weight, and whether it was a second year bird or an after second year bird. In order to

determine population size, we used the Lincoln Index: (n1/N) = (m2/n2), after resetting the

equation to solve for N, the equation becomes N = ((n1+1)*(n2+1)) / (m2+1)-1.

Before going to tag the chickadees, the Loras class did an EcoBeaker simulation in order

to determine what the best plan of action was to have the most successful capture and recapture

period. The EcoBeaker simulation was used to determine how many hours were necessary in

order to have successful capture and recapture to determine population size of pigeons as a guide

for the chickadee capture and mark-recapture. The simulation allowed the class to set the

number of individuals were possible for capture and the amount of time for capture, recapture,
 Molidor 3

and the waiting interval in between. The simulation had pigeons flying randomly and each time

they flew into a trap, they were automatically marked.

Once tagged and recorded, we used MARK software to fit four models to determine if the

5-year survival model for Black-capped chickadees tagged in the Mines of Spain survival-

capture probability were constant or time-dependent. The class also compared body condition

index between second-year birds and after second-year birds collected from the study to

determine if there was a difference between the two age groups body condition.

Results

On 09 March, we captured and banded 18 chickadees. The following week, March 16,

we captured and banded 12 new chickadees and recaptured 1. On March 19, 7 new chickadees

were captured and banded and 2 for the initial capture date were recaptured. On the last

recapture date, March 21, 9 new chickadees were captured and banded and 4 were recaptured (2

from the initial capture and 2 from the March 16 recapture). The results of the population of the

first recapture is N = ((18+1)*(13+1)) / (1+1)-1, this results in N= 132 with a 95% lower

confidence limit of 0.20 and an upper confidence limit of 263.8. Because these results were not

narrow enough, data from the following recaptures were taken in order to yield a more precise

population count. With the recaptures from the other two dates, the new equation become N =

((18+1)*(33+1)) / (5+1)-1 which yields N = 106.7 with the lower confidence limit being 46.8

and the upper confidence limit being 166.5 (Table 1).

 Molidor 4

Table 1: Results of mark-recapture study of Black-capped Chickadees

n1 n2 m2 N 95Cl LCL UCL

Recapture: 18 13 1 132.0 131.8 0.20 263.8

March 16

Recapture: 18 33 5 106.7 59.9 46.8 166.5

March 16-

21

(To determine if capture probability (p) and survival probability (phi or ) are dictated by both

being constant (.), time-dependent (t), or a combination of the two.) By using the MARK

simulation, we are able to concluded that capture and survival probability are both constant,

rather than being time-dependent as shown in Table 2.

Image 1

The data shown in image 1 shows that Phi(.)p(.) yielded the model likelihood result of 1, while

the other possibilities: Phi(.)p(t), Phi(t)p(.), Phi(t)p(t) all had model likelihoods being less than 1,

showing that survival and capture probability were constant across the five-year period. By

keeping capture and survival constant throughout, we were able to estimate the survival rate at

53% (95% CL: 39-67%) and the capture probability at 35% (95% CL: 22-52%) that was

gathered using the MARK program as well.

 Molidor 5

The last component that the data that was compiled through the capture of the Black-

capped chickadees that we attempted to determine was to test the null hypothesis that there is a

difference between body condition and age. By using the information collected during capture

and recaptures, the population of second year birds (SY) was 15 and after second year birds

(ASY) was 30. In this case, t43 = 2.44; p = 0.019 as shown in table 3. Because p = 1.9%, we are

98.1% certain that we can reject the null hypothesis.

Table 2
Group Statistics

Age N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

BCI SY 15 .4991 .03491 .00901

ASY 30 .4686 .04165 .00760

Discussion
Based on the EcoBeaker simulation, there are a few adjustments that should have been

done to the capture and recapture in order to have a more successful estimate of the Black-

capped chickadee population. The hours for capture and recapture should have been drastically

increased compared to the actual capture and recapture. Due to class time constraints, there was

no way that the Loras class could capture for 80 hours and recapture for 200 hours with 300

hours in between the capture and recapture time periods. By increasing time for capture, time for

recapture, and the interval in between there is an increase in the accuracy and precision in

determining the population size estimate. Another key difference between the study and the

simulation was that the Black-capped chickadees in the area quickly realized that there were

traps surrounding the feeders, changing the routine patterns of the chickadees. This was not an

issue in the simulation because the pigeons moved at random and did not adapt to the presence of

the traps. In order to counteract this problem, the orientation of the nets could have been
 Molidor 6

changed periodically, in order to yield a higher amount of captured chickadees. To increase the

amount of birds caught and marked, the chickadees could also have been marked with a safe dye

so that the Loras class could keep track of which chickadees had already been caught with no

need to attempt to catch them again.

In Loery, et al (1997) study of chickadee survival, they concluded that younger birds

have a higher mortality rate than older birds but was not able to distinguish between death or

emigration because he did not conduct his study in a closed population. Our study determined

that younger Black-capped chickadees have a better body condition index, we speculated this is

because they are more agile in their younger age. Neither study has confidence in the survival

rates between the two age groups.

In the winters between 1982 and 1985, Brittingham and Temple (1998) collected data

from 418 marked chickadees through three winters, between the months of October through

April. The experiment had a control group of 158 chickadees that were not given supplemental

food throughout the winter, while the rest were. The study found that the monthly survival rates

of the supplemental fed chickadees was 95% while the rate for the ones not given extra food was

87%. A larger difference was between the average overwinter survival rates, the experimental

group had a survival rate of 69% while the control groups rate was 37%. The data reveals that

through supplemental feeding, chickadees survival rate increase throughout the winter by more

than 30%. The findings of Brittingham and Temple (1998) helped us to determine that

supplemental feeding in the Mines of Spain area would increase the population and better the

survival rates of the chickadees in the area and, overall, there was a higher probability in

catching a bird that had been previously marked in the last five years.
 Molidor 7

Gooch (2009) documented the effects of West Nile Virus and many species of birds,

including the Black-capped and Carolina chickadees. The expected impact on chickadees,

according to Gooch, was moderate. The study is from Ladeau, et al. (2007) and showed that the

number of regions that were studied in relation to chickadees was 4 while the regions that had a

significant impact due to the virus was 2 only 50% of regions that contained the chickadee

species had an impact from the West Nile Virus. The conclusion that Gooch comes to is that

Black-capped and Carolina chickadees, along with several other species were not significantly

affected by the West Nile Virus while other birds, such as the American Crow and Tufted

Titmouse suffered drastically from the outbreak. Our data shows that the Black-capped

chickadee population in the Mines of Spain was not affected by the West Nile Virus because the

survival-capture probability results were both constant over a 5-year period. This means that the

population over the course of 5-years did not decline drastically as it would have if the chickadee

population was affected by the West Nile Virus.

We believed as a class that ASY birds body condition would be superior to SY birds

because they have more experience in survival and know how to find food the best. Smith

(1976) conducted a study on whether or not there is a hierarchy in Black-capped chickadee

flocks. She found that there is a, in fact, a hierarchy within the male population of flocks that

coordinate with experience/age. The rank of females was found to be directly correlated with the

rank of her mate. This information led us to believe that after second-year birds would then be

the first allowed to feed and therefore have the best body condition overall. However, SY birds

have better body composition in comparison to ASY birds. A main reason for this difference

may be that the younger birds participate in more risk taking behavior in comparison to

experienced birds partaking in risk aversion behavior. Another difference between the young
 Molidor 8

birds and experienced birds is that the second-year birds may not understand that they can limit

their food intake with the supplemental feeding. Their higher weight may be due to the fact that

they are just overeating because they do not have the experience to know that they will have a

meal next time they go to the feeders. The issue with this study is that this is the first winter for

many of the second-year birds. The study is potentially biased because after the first winter there

is usually high mortality rates among the second-year birds. The SY birds that were marked and

recorded could be considered the super group of survivors and therefore not an accurate

sample to represent the SY population of Black-capped chickadees as a whole

Literature Cited

Brittingham, M., Temple, S. A. (1988). Impacts of Supplemental Feeding on Survival Rates of

Black-Capped Chickadees [Abstract]. Ecology, 69(3), 581-589.

Gooch, L. C. (2009). The Impact of West Nile Virus on Ohio Birds. The Ohio Cardinal 32(3-4),

176-194.

Loery, G., et al. (1987). Age-Specificity of Black-Capped Chickadee Survival Rates: Analysis of

Capture-Recapture Data [Abstract]. Ecology, 68(4), 1038-1044.

Smith, S.M. (1976). Ecological Aspects of Dominance Hierarchies in Black-Capped Chickadees.

The Auk, 93(1), 95-107.