Monitoring of Avian Productivity and Survivorship in the Oil Sands Region (Boreal MAPS)

The boreal forest provides essential breeding habitat for numerous landbird species, many of which are experiencing population declines. However, limited demographic data exist to explain the causes of these declines, particularly those related to productivity and survivorship. To address this gap, the Boreal MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) Program was launched in 2011 in northeastern Alberta’s Oil Sands Region. This program uses standardized bird banding (mark-recapture) methods to study the population ecology of migratory and resident landbirds in both disturbed, reclaimed, and relatively undisturbed habitats. Its objectives are to understand how landbird populations respond to anthropogenic disturbance and habitat recovery while contributing data for continental-scale demographic analyses. In 2019, the Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) Program became a sponsor, supporting the continued operation of 33 MAPS stations that collectively form a key long-term dataset on boreal landbird demographics.

From 2011 to 2019, more than 43,000 birds representing 88 species were captured, revealing a significant overall decline in adult population size and productivity across the study region. Adult populations declined by more than 30% over the nine-year period, while productivity fell steadily, suggesting that breeding-ground stresses are a major contributor to population losses. Most monitoring stations showed declining trends, indicating that these changes are widespread rather than localized. Adult survivorship varied considerably among species, ranging from 0.096 to 0.648, with several species showing regional survivorship rates well below continental averages. Evidence suggests that some species are primarily affected by stresses on the breeding grounds, while others are more impacted by conditions during migration or on wintering grounds. Overall, these findings highlight the severity and breadth of landbird declines in the boreal forest and underscore the importance of continued demographic monitoring to identify the mechanisms driving these trends.