STUDY AREAS
- Old field succession in Tompkins County, New York :
Ficken and Ficken (1968) compiled phenotypic pairing frequencies and
pairing success rates for Vermivora spp. during four seasons
spanning seven years (1961 – 1966). The habitat was a single
successional site with an elevation range of 284 to 315 m.
- Old field succession in Midland County, Michigan: Will
(1986) monitored pairing by Vermivora spp. for three years
(1982-’84) within old field habitat. The study area consisted of one
site with an elevation range of 205 to 209 m. We compiled pairing
success frequencies for his study using data from Will (1986) and
supplemental information (Will, personal communication ).
- Old field succession in Oswego County, New York: Confer
and Larkin (1998) described pairing frequencies by Vermivoraspp. over seven consecutive years (1988-1994) across 21 sites where
elevation ranged from 80 to 130 m. The sites provided dry successional
habitat although some predominately dry sites included adjacent
ephemeral wetlands. Unpaired birds were not determined for this study
and these results could not be used to calculate pairing success
rates.
- Diverse habitats in Orange County, New York (1998-1999):Confer and Tupper (2000) observed pair formation for resident, male
Golden-winged and Brewster’s warblers in Sterling Forest State Park.
Study sites (n = 6) ranged in elevation from 200-350 m and
included utility rights-of-way and other successional habitats. Data
from this study were insufficient to calculate pairing success rates
or hybridization for male Blue-winged Warblers, but were used to
calculate the frequency of primary hybridization and the frequency of
backcrossing by Golden-winged Warblers.
- Diverse habitats in Orange County, New York (2001,
2003-2006, 2008) : Confer et al. (2010) studied Vermivora spp.
pairing in a variety of habitats in southern New York within Sterling
Forest State Park. The habitats monitored included swamp forests,
shrub swamps, managed utility rights-of way, and successional habitat.
In total, 25 sites were monitored ranging in elevation from 200-350 m.
- Lightly grazed pastures in Randolph and Pocahontas
Counties, West Virginia : Phenotypic pairing frequencies and pairing
success rates were monitored at 14 sites during 2008–2014 in grazed
pastures described by Aldinger et al. 2014, Aldinger 2018). Sites were
at 800 to 1,000 m elevation in Randolph County and at 700 to 1,250 m
in Pocahontas County.
- Managed forest in Pike and Monroe Counties,
Pennsylvania : In Pennsylvania’s Delaware State Forest,Vermivora spp. pairing was monitored across seven managed
forest sites ranging from 400-550 m in elevation from 2012–2014.
Habitats were created via over story removal timber harvest and
described in detail by McNeil et al. 2017, 2018).
- Abandoned farmland and pastures in Mercer County, West
Virginia : Canterbury (2012) compiled phenotype pairings byVermivora spp. in abandoned farmland and lightly grazed
pastures from 2001-2009 at four sites. These sites occurred at 700 to
900 m in elevation.
- Abandoned coal mines in Wyoming and Raleigh Counties, West
Virginia : Phenotype pairings by breeding Vermivora spp. were
compiled for six strip mined sites at 700 to 1000 m elevation from
2003–2012 as described by Canterbury (1990), Canterbury et al.
(1993), Canterbury and Stover (1999) and Shapiro et al. (2004).