Inventory and Monitoring of Northern Waterthrush of the Oregon Cascades

Project ID: 23-JV-11261953-087

Federal Agency: U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station

Partner Institution: Oregon Institute of Technology

Fiscal Year: 2023

Initial Funding: $140,301

Total Funding: $140,301

Principal Investigator: Kellerman, Jherime

Agreement Technical Representative: Lesmeister, Damon

Abstract: 

The purpose of this agreement is to document the cooperation between the parties to develop
bioacoustics monitoring approach for northern waterthrush and other riparian-associated species.
Technological advancements in ecological sampling methods have revolutionized how we
monitor animal populations, dramatically improving the amount and quality of information we
can collect for decreasing cost and effort (Tosa et al. 2021). Further, passive acoustic monitoring
using autonomous recording units (ARUs) is a fast-growing area of wildlife research and has
been especially useful in surveys of species that are rare and difficult to detect by traditional
means (Lesmeister et al. 2022). Novel modeling methods increase our ability to utilize new
technologies, but further development in modeling, data processing, and auto-id of species is
needed to support broad-scale and long-term monitoring of avian species in the Pacific
Northwest. Ultimately, these methods may be used in long-term monitoring of the waterthrush
population in Oregon and could be applied to other remote populations of the species in the state
and in the Intermountain West.