Identification and evaluation of Yellow-billed Cuckoo habitat using acoustic monitoring and species distribution model methods

Beauregard, Nicholas (2023) Identification and evaluation of Yellow-billed Cuckoo habitat using acoustic monitoring and species distribution model methods. Doctoral thesis, Northern Arizona University.

Text Beauregard_2023_identification_evaluation_yellow-billed_cuckoo_habitat.pdf - Published Version Download (1MB)

Abstract

The western distinct population segment of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo (cuckoo) was federally listed as threatened in 2014. Long considered riparian obligate, populations have declined range-wide as riparian habitat has been lost or degraded due to conversion to agriculture, dams, or other development. Recent surveys, however, have documented cuckoos in southeastern Arizona using xeroriparian vegetation in ephemeral and intermittent drainages not previously known to be occupied. We (Northern Arizona University, in conjunction with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey) confirmed breeding in 23 of 24 sites that were classified as occupied according to standardized playback surveys, providing support for the use of established survey methods to estimate breeding status in xeroriparian habitat. Combining our data with previously collected data, we produced a novel map of cuckoo distribution in southeast Arizona which includes 100 occupied sites in xeroriparian habitat. These results indicate cuckoos in xeroriparian habitat represent a regionally significant and previously undescribed population. We also developed a species distribution model (SDM) for cuckoos in southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico using topographic, climatic, and phenological variables. Our resulting model had an AUC score of 0.971, indicating high model performance. Evaluation of variable contribution suggested cuckoos are associated with warm drainages that experience high productivity during summer monsoon season. The SDM output map highlighted a broader spectrum of riparian and xeroriparian habitat than previous models, including key areas lacking survey data. Finally, we evaluated methods for the use of autonomous recording units (ARUs) to identify and monitor cuckoo habitat. Our semi-autonomous classifier for detecting cuckoo calls had a recall score of 0.33, precision score of 0.06, and an F-score (β = 1) of 0.102, consistent with studies of other cryptic birds. We demonstrated acoustic monitoring can determine occupancy rates comparable to traditional survey protocols with a minimum of 2 hours of daily acoustic recording. Our results provide important new information on cuckoo habitat associations, distribution, and monitoring methods which may inform conservation and management decisions, while our ARU methods provide an important new approach for increasing survey coverage.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	acoustic monitoring; biogeography; phenology; Sky Islands; species distribution modelling; Yellow-billed Cuckoo; Arizona; Endangered species
Subjects:	Q Science > QL Zoology
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences > Biological Sciences
Date Deposited:	23 Oct 2025 23:45
Last Modified:	23 Oct 2025 23:45
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6273

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