Inventory of eastern black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis) to Inform Padre Island National Seashore prescribed fire management
Butler CJ and Olsen TW . 2025. Inventory of eastern black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis) to Inform Padre Island National Seashore prescribed fire management. Science Report. NPS/SR—2025/315. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2311590
The Eastern Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis) is an elusive, federally threatened marsh bird with declining populations, making effective monitoring and habitat management critical. This study investigated Black Rail occupancy and habitat characteristics at Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS) using a combination of call-playback surveys, passive acoustic monitoring, trail cameras, and vegetation sampling. Over a survey season from March to July 2024, call-playback surveys detected Black Rails at eight locations, primarily in Upper Bird Island Basin, although Eastern Black Rails were also detected at Bird Island Basin and the North Shooting Range units. Both detectability and occupancy were low, with a detection probability of only 8.8% and with only 10.6% of apparently suitable habitat occupied. Passive acoustic monitoring and trail cameras proved less effective at documenting Eastern Black Rail presence than call-playback surveys, with only one Black Rail detection via autonomous recording units (ARUs) and no detections using trail cameras. Vegetation sampling revealed that survey points were dominated by emergent vegetation, with limited coverage by shrubs, saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), and cordgrass (Spartina spp.). The above-ground biomass (AGB) of grassy and herbaceous vegetation has been positively correlated with occupancy at other sites and the relatively low AGB observed at sites on Padre Island National Seashore may help explain the limited occupancy (only 10.6% of apparently suitable habitat) observed in this study. Black Rails typically avoid areas of extensive woody vegetation, and prescribed fire can be very effective at reducing woody vegetation encroachment. Consequently, prescribed fire is likely an effective way to manage units for continued Black Rail persistence. However, adjusting the interval between burns may be required to allow AGB to increase to a higher level in order to increase occupancy.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Butler, Christopher; Olsen, Tabitha
- Date of Issue
- 2025-06
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2311590
- Units
- NRSS , PAIS
- Keywords
- acoustic monitoring, call-playback survey, eastern black rail, IMD, inventory, National Park Service, NPS, NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division, NPS Species Inventory Program, occupancy, prescribed fire, survey, trail cameras, vegetation sampling